Efi partition primary or logical Jul 6, 2025 · A primary partition is a partition on your hard drive or an SSD that contains Windows operating system and all the other important files and data. In order to circumvent this limit and still remain compatible with older systems, you can create an extended partition however. Supports many partitions (rather than just four primary Nov 5, 2020 · TypeID Use TypeID to manually specify a hard-drive partition type, such as a utility partition type. Sep 28, 2025 · However, the fifth partition cannot be created. Diskpart create partition or volume and format partition fat32 mbr gpt efi partition or bootable usb on Windows 10 8 7. e. Sep 28, 2025 · Are you confused with the jargon of logical and primary partition? Do you want to know the difference between primary and extended partitions? This article will provide you with a comprehensive guide of anything you want to know about logical and primary partition. Extended partitions are containers, and always contain one or more Logical partitions Jan 24, 2023 · Our experts show you how to partition your hard drive yourself or with software. thes partitions are inside the primary partition only. 5. Extended partitions are usually only used to overcome the limitation on having only 4 primary partitions dictated by the structure of the partition table in the Master Boot Record. The minimum size of this partition is 100 MB, and is formatted using the FAT32 file format. Some tools refer to these as "primary partitions," although in the absence of extended and logical partition types, the designation "primary" is meaningless. It is limited to a maximum of four partitions per hard drive and can be set as the active partition. I am planning to install Debian and am wondering which partition should be primary and which should be logical. 1. I'm finding a lot of information concerning the ESP inside GPT disks, but none about them being inside an MBR based disk as a logical partition. Not 4 each but [number of primary partitions] + [number of extended partitions] <= 4. May 5, 2015 · Here is one good reason for not having EFI partition be first. One side has a standard USB connector and the other a USB-C connector for phones. The drive has multiple 5 partitions on it for various Linux installs and one data partition. in MBR, you must have at least 1 primary partition, so unless you want multiple partitions on the disk, just make it primary. GPT and MBR disk layout comparison ¶ This specification defines the GUID Partition table (GPT) disk layout (i. Because of MBR hard disk limitations, either up to four primary partitions or up to three primary partitions plus an extended partition can be created for each basic MBR hard disk. Logical Block Addresses (LBAs) are 64 bits (rather than 32 bits). All Windows operating systems can let users divide a hard disk into multiple partitions. I want to create four partitions: /boot 300 MB ext2 --&gt; primary or logical? / MBR partitioning scheme allows you to have up to 4 partitions on a drive, one of those partitions can be an "extended partition", which acts as a container for any number of "logical partitions". Differences between primary and logical: 1st you can boot only from primary partition (i. The partitions which are not inside the extended partition are called "primary partitions". May 31, 2017 · The logical partitions are basically extended partitions. Logical partitions by remoulder » Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:36 pm JoeFootball wrote: What are the consequences (if any) of using Logical partitions over Primary partitions? Linux doesn't care. Why are you putting home in a primary? your original post and add [SOLVED] once your question is resolved. Nov 23, 2016 · Ok - first thing - primary and logical partitions are concept for MBR disks only. ) Jan 12, 2019 · It really doesn't matter, as UEFI has a very high partition limit and a logical partition is not really required. Provides both a primary and backup partition table for redundancy. Mar 9, 2012 · There's nothing wrong at all with having the disk partitioned as a single primary partition, or with up to 4 primary partitions. The point of all this is that you can ignore any instructions to create an extended partition or to create a certain mix of primary and logical partitions. The old limit is still there, but it only affects primary and extended partitions. To store classified data, multiple Logical partitions sit inside extended partitions and can contain filesystems. Learn the difference between primary and logical drives. Apparently I cannot create more than 4 primary partitions on my laptop. Android Jan 24, 2024 · Windows has already created 3 primary partitions. May 11, 2014 · For root and swap you can choose logical or primary your choice but remember you can only have 4 primary partitions on the hard disk after that no more partitions (logical or primary) will be created (i mean you cannot create partitions after that). There are three kinds of partitions: primary partition, extended partition and logical partition. If you want to create more than four partitions, you need to convert one primary partition to logical partition first. Aug 21, 2024 · The EFI System Partition (ESP) is usually stored on the primary hard drive (ex: "Disk 0:") without a drive letter. If you want to create partitions you should convert one primary to extended (or logical) partition and split that into several partitions. An extended partition does not directly hold data and logical partitions are mainly used for storing data. Uses CRC32 fields for improved data integrity. Sep 30, 2010 · I know that you can only have 4 primary partitions on a hard drive. If you wish to create separate partitions for your /home directories, they can be created on primary partitions or on logical partitions, no problem. A logical partition is really a workaround for the legacy BIOS, which only allowed for 4 partitions on one drive. , partitioning scheme). And how to create and convert between primary, extended, and logical partitions. Applies To: Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 Creates a partition on a disk. microsoft. Five partition types are already built in: primary, extensible firmware interface (EFI), extended, logical, and Microsoft Reserved (MSR). In general, a logical partition is a logical segmentation of mainframe memory and other resources. Apr 4, 2015 · Every Windows system must have its own primary partition and there only can be a maximum of 4 primary + extended partitions. May 12, 2023 · About Partition A disk partition is a defined storage space on a hard drive. May 9, 2025 · partitioning format and the disk contains either 4 primary partitions, (no more partitions may be created), or 3 primary partitions and one extended partition, (only logical drives may be created). The swap partition can be a primary partition or a logical partition, no problem. Regards, Ajit May 27, 2022 · What is the difference between primary partition and basic data partition? I formatted two spare drives I have and am confused that the lower one says &quot;basic data partition&quot;. For modern GPT format disks - all partitions are primary. Mar 5, 2017 · Learn How to create disk partitions in windows using diskpart command. Jul 23, 2025 · This post primarily explores primary vs extended vs logical partition on Windows and the connections between them. Microsoft has provided an article on Apr 15, 2021 · When I go to EasyBCD to Change Boot Drive, it says (target) partition is a Logical partition Whereas Windows Disk Management as well as EaseUS Partition Manger shows that it is Primary Patition. I think logical partition is only on MBR Disks but I have two HDDs, both GPT, booting as EFI Mar 13, 2024 · Check the difference between primary vs extended partition vs logical drive. The device boots to this partition. However, it is impossible to start the Windows operating system from logical partitions of the disk. 03K subscribers Subscribed Aug 10, 2025 · The tool requires the disk to have no more than three primary partitions, must not contain extended or logical partitions, and needs sufficient contiguous free space at the end for creating the EFI System Partition (ESP). See full list on learn. (For example, Windows won't like it. The current standard for Windows 10 is the GPT Partition Table which arrived alongside EFI and UEFI Booting. Supports many partitions (rather than just four primary partitions). so if Jun 25, 2019 · If you are using a Logical Partition in an Extended Partition, then you are using the old-fashioned MBR Partition Table which is limited to drives of 2TB or less. Here is the lines from the text file: select disk 0 clean convert gpt create partition primary size=768 format quick fs=ntfs label="Windows RE tools" 6 days ago · Learn in detail what primary, extended, and logical partitions are, and how to properly manage them on your hard drive. The following list outlines the advantages of using the GPT disk layout over the legacy Master Boot Record (MBR) disk layout: Logical Block Addresses (LBAs) are 64 bits (rather than 32 bits). com May 12, 2023 · Primary partition and logical partition are two different partitions that each has their own roles but both can store data, so we can’t say which is better. . Use diskpart command to create a partition or repair partition. But if you're using less than 4, is there a benefit/penalty for using logical partitions? Jun 9, 2013 · Logical partition Logical partitions are partitions created in extended partition. An extended partition can contain multiple logical partitions within it. A primary partition is a standalone partition that can be used to install an operating system or store data. Only two types work well, your disk and PC can perform well. The thing is, I don't want to convert my disk to GP Sep 20, 2017 · Under GPT you can have up to 128 partitions and do not need to distinguish between "primary" and "extended" partitions. On the other hand, an extended partition is a special type of primary partition that can be further divided into logical partitions. By placing the data partition first, both Windows and Android can mount and read/write. Dec 31, 2009 · Re: Primary vs. Logical partitions are similar to primary partitions. This article teaches you how to change partition to primary using Diskpart and provides a quick and easier way for you to change partition to primary. Aug 26, 2021 · A logical disk or partition (also called LPAR) is no different in its use and functions from the primary partition: both contain information. I have a SanDisk Extreme USB Flash drive that is dual ended. So the answer is : No point in converting primary to logical partitions under UEFI/GPT. Nov 28, 2023 · BIOS, UEFI, MBR, GPT, Primary, Extended and Logical Partition Types Explained ComputerNetworkingNotes 4. A help and support forum for Ubuntu Linux. Mar 1, 2019 · If you get asked this question at all, this indicates you're using a MBR/DOS partition table – which is permitted for UEFI, but not ideal. However, the number of logical partitions that can exist on a hard disk is unlimited. Jan 25, 2024 · On a modern computer I recommend creating GPT partitions rather than MBR partitions, and GPT partitions are neither Primary or Extended/Logical (or you can think of them as only Primary). Only four primary/extended partitions can exist on a drive, but an extended partition can contain a large number of logical partitions. In this way, users can allocate one physical hard disk into several smaller logical partitions. How do I for You simply can't create more than four primary partitions under the original PC partition scheme (MBR partitions). Uses version number and size fields for future expansion. Dec 1, 2018 · Ubuntu and Mint systems can live in either a primary partition or in a logical partition, no problem. Can some one suggest if making /, /home, /boot, efi as logical partition is acceptable or not? If not, how can I make partitions created by windows as logical drive to proceed. there can be four primary partitions in a system but when u want more partition then you can divide the primary partion into logical partitions. GPT has additional features which help protect your data better, transparantly. There's no difference in how they function or anything. bootloader partition always is primary) 2nd there are limitations of how many primary partitions on MBR disk you Sep 8, 2025 · What’s the difference between basic data partition vs primary partition? This post explains it and shows you how to convert between them. cp87j yy9q0gr ua4n sr0us 9h6o ujkylu oem 2am v6qld 79k7mw