Create a boot partition

Applies to all editions of Windows Vista. Which edition of Windows Vista am I using?

You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps.

A boot partition, or volume (the terms are often used interchangeably), is a partition that contains the files for the Windows operating system. If you want to install another operating system on your computer (called a dual-boot or multiboot configuration), you need to create another partition on the hard disk, and then install the additional operating system on the new partition. Your hard disk would then have one system partition and two boot partitions. For more information, see What are system partitions and boot partitions?

To create a partition on a basic disk using Disk Management, a Microsoft Management Console (MMC)‌ snap-in, there must be unallocated disk space on your hard disk. With Disk Management, you can create a maximum of three primary partitions on a hard disk. You can create extended partitions, which include logical drives within them, if you need more partitions on the disk.

If there is no unallocated space, you will either need to create space by shrinking or deleting an existing partition, or use a third-party partitioning tool to repartition your hard disk. For more information, see Can I repartition my hard disk?

To create a boot partition

If you are installing different versions of Windows, you must install the earliest operating system first. For example, if you plan to create a multiboot computer using both Windows 2000 and this version of Windows, you must install Windows 2000 first. Doing otherwise might render your computer inoperable. 1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. 2. In the Navigation pane, under Storage, click Disk Management. 3. Right-click an unallocated region on your hard disk, and then click New Simple Volume. 4. In the New Simple Volume Wizard, click Next. 5. Type the size of the volume you want to create in megabytes (MB) or accept the maximum default size, and then click Next. 6. Accept the default drive letter or choose a different drive letter to identify the volume, and then click Next. 7. In the Format Partition dialog box, do one of the following: • If you don't want to format the volume right now, click Do not format this volume, and then click Next. • To format the volume with the default settings, click Next. For more information on file formats and requirements for earlier operating systems, see Comparing NTFS and FAT file systems. 8. Review your choices, and then click Finish.

See also

• Formatting disks and drives