As I mentioned, you still need to take one more step before you can actually use your new disk space. In order to store (and more importantly keep track of) files, the partitions must be formatted with a file system. File systems represent the "rules and regulations" that the OS uses for storing and retrieving information on a logical drive. A file system works much like the table of contents in the book you're holding right now. The file system helps the OS keep track of what's stored where, and it helps locate information quickly. It sounds simple enough, but the underlying technology really isn't.
To format a partition, right-click on the partition space in the Disk Management Tool and choose Format. A dialog box asks you which file system to use (see Figure 4-5). Figure 4-5. Formatting prepares the partition for storage.Note that Disk Management won't let you reformat the system or boot partitionsto do so would be OS self-immolation, and XP won't let it happen. At any rate, you're now faced with a choice between file systems. The next chunks should help with your decision. |