How do you partition your HDD? Personally, i haven't used a partition for my pc but i have done partitioning on HDD's previously in the company where i worked as desktop support. In the office i would use Norton's PartitionMagic and it was an easy way to partition a HDD. I also Googled "Partition software" and i found alot of programs that you can use for HDD partition. However, a friend of mine told me that using a third-party partitioning program isn't really that reliable. Any of you guys know anything partitioning? Kindly share your knowledge. Thanks!

First let give to all users some data about partitioning. Partitioning is one of the necessary steps to prepare a hard drive for use in a system. It's the process of defining areas of hard disk for the operating system to use.
When you've a new disk, you have to partioning, because they came "blank" without nothing, so we've to prepare to recieve data.
Well although most hard drive have only one partition, but you can do is divide a hard disk into several distinct partitions. Each partition occupies a physically separate area of the hard drive and the functions almost as if it were and indepent hard drive.

if you want to do an extra partition on your hard disk you'have to:

BACKUP YOUR DATA!!!!!

It's doesn't matter what software do you use or if you are in another planet, always exists a little chance were something can goes wrong.
Well before to do a partitiong, ask yourself... why i want to do a partition ?, if you can't answer this question forget it don't do it.
The most simply answer for that question are a better order in hard disk or antoher OS, some users can have another answers, but these two options above are most common.

I use long time a go the dos command fdisk to partition hard drives, now I've winxp and it came with Disk Management from there you can partitioning a disk. If you want resize the partition of your disk (personaly I don't recommend) in order to create another partion you can use Partition Magic, i've heard from some users is the best option.

Greets Deivid.

a cheap one, actually free the fdisk(very handy tool)
yes partition magic is nice tool partitioning hdd within windows, you can also partition your hdd when installing win xp(clean install)

Everyone that want to work with partitions must get "Partition Magic" . With this application you can split partitions (without to format the partition), to convert partitions (without to format the partition), to format them and all kinds of actions with partitions.

I also use boot disks(the FDISK), especially Windows ME's. As long as you have enough knowledge about partitioning, there would be no problem. I have used partition magic 7 but then boot disks works better for me. I have only 1 partition in my current system and that is for my current OS, currently using NTFS file system and the whole 40 Gig capacity of my drive running Windows XP SP 2. I wonder if anyone here knows how to partition-separate bad sectors? [An alternate for marking bad sectors using scandisk, etc.]

Partition is good if you are running multiple OS's or if you want a backup space in your hard drive, it is not necessary though if you are planning to run a single secure OS.

1) you don't want to reinstall your system.
--> i guess partition magic is THE tool then. you don't lose your files,;..

2) you have nothing on your hdd that you haven't backed up.
go for a total format and take the windows xp setup cd. before installing divide your drive in partitions.

i'm currently using 4 partitions:
1 windows partition, 10gig, for windows & installed software
1 linux partition, just the os
1 linux swap
1 fat filesystem, that i can access and modify from both linux & windows, that contains all my documents, installation files, music,...

if u want to partition an empty hdd follow the steps. else backup data and then follow these..

just boot ur system using a bootable floppy disc or bootable CD. then type "fdisk" at the command prompt and press enter and act acording to the on screen instructions and u r done.

partioning hdd is difficult until tried once.

I don't like Partition Maqic cause I had some situations when it couldn't partition some discs and there were errors... Linux installers have very good partitions programs. I've never had problems with it.

Well what I use normally and prefer, is FDISK, the patitioning software that comes bundled with Windows....

The main reasons for this is that this software is free, and does the job very quickly...

ok.. i have a 160gig HD.. more than 4partitions, arent so well ones someone told me.. so i have 15gig for windows and so on.. windows con on this partition what it want to..! it grows more and more, i dont know how?!
the next partition is 40gig, just for programs.. i should made it bigger!! i think next time i will make it about 60gig!!
the next partition is again 40gig big, it contains my data.. so letters emails pics and so on.. just my private stuff
the last partition is for downloads, saved websites and everything which is from the web!
i really like this combination! everything has enough place and the system ist fast! in the windows registry i changed all installationpaths.. so its quite simpel and fast to install something!