Windows 10 Partitions Issue
Windows 10 Partitions Issue
Previously, my SSD had one partition for the system and the HDD was a single partition for everything else. I planned to split the HDD into two partitions—keeping my work files together and my Steam games in another. I reduced the HDD partition, made a second one, moved my games there, and further reduced the first partition to add another 100GB. When I tried to extend it, Windows showed a dynamic volume warning. I didn’t understand what that meant and accepted it, which changed the color to yellow. Now I have two partitions, but only one HDD partition. I’m unsure if this affects anything, but I prefer having everything in one place.
Don't do this, no reason to. Just use folders. Id the drive MBR?
It should be simpler to back up and sync the partition, and I’ll likely encrypt it. My games will remain unaffected. Two partitions on one HDD might cause issues? 2. Both SSD and HDD use GPT, though the HDD uses Dynamic GPT (updated July 1, 2017 by Omseik).
The additional space at the end, the extra partition you mentioned, is typical. You can't change it much except by adjusting how partitions are sized to fit standard unit sizes in your system. Some tools will automatically adjust these values for a cleaner appearance. The Partition Master provides an accurate picture of your drive's condition and actions. Windows Disk Manager may conceal smaller partitions, but they remain distinct; the MBR is capped at four partitions. To work around this, you can create an extended partition within one of them, which lets you store logical partitions instead. An extended partition can hold up to four partitions. Still, no operating system can be installed or made bootable inside it—only non-logical ones, known as primary partitions. This is because the BIOS searches for an OS boot loader there. GPT supports unlimited partitions beyond your drive, though. As for why MBR has a four-partition rule, it dates back to 1983 when costs were high and components were costly—even simple chips like clock timers were expensive. This explains why older DOS games run faster on modern CPUs, since many systems lacked precise timing circuits. It also accounts for the need to tweak emulator settings, like adjusting CPU clock speed in DOSBox, or using Turbo features for compatibility. Anything else?
It seems the disk's unallocated space was mistakenly added to a partition that already occupied that area. Basic disks don’t support this; they must have unallocated space before or after the partition. A dynamic disk is needed for such operations. Windows prompted you to convert your basic disk to a dynamic one, and after confirming, it worked. This enables advanced features like spanning partitions across multiple drives. The color now indicates dynamic volumes. Yes, you have two partitions—one labeled "1->E:Steam" is actually an extension of the second partition, with the E drive starting on the second drive and ending on the first. This non-contiguous layout only works with a dynamic disk. Let me know if this clears your confusion!
These might influence you or the results. Having two partitions combined into one seems possible. If so, you could merge them together. Otherwise, it's likely best to keep them separate. Appreciate your question!
There should be no performance problems; Windows usually handles this well. If you decide to combine everything into one partition, remove both "E" partitions first (back up data first), then create the new single partition. Also, you can't delete the second E partition before the 100GB partition since the E partition begins at the 390GB point.
Thanks for your assistance. I think I’ll keep them as is unless they create issues.