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Partitioning your hard drive in Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10

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UPDATE- Please read Comments if Shrink is not working for you.

I’ve been asked by many of my friends about partitioning their computer’s hard disk drive. The question is how to partition it & which application is to be used. This question is also asked on most of the forums particularly by new notebook owners. Most of the new notebooks come with Windows pre-installed. Therefore the first question I ask them is which Operating System are they using & if it’s Windows, which is in most cases, I tell them they do not need any third party application for partitioning. You need not spend  your hard earned cash anymore on any application just to partition your hard disk drive.

How to create a new partition in Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10:

  • Right click ‘Computer’ icon on your desktop or in Start menu & click ‘Manage’.

Launch MMC

  • Enter the Administrator’s credentials in the UAC prompt.
  • The Computer Management Window will open. Click Disk Management on the left panel.

MMC Window

  • Right click on the partition from which you want to create another partition & select ‘Shrink Volume’.

Shrink Volume

  • Enter the shrink size.

Enter Size

  • The selected drive will be shrinked & free space will now be shown in the Computer Management window. You can create as many partitions as you wish.

Free Space

  • Right click the Free Space & select ‘New Simple Volume’.

Create Simple Volume

  • The New Simple Volume Wizard will now appear. Click ‘Next’.

Simple Volume Wizard

  • In the next window enter the desired partition/volume size, if you want to create multiple partitions & click ‘Next’. If you want a single partition just click ‘Next’.

Enter Partition Size

  • In the next window assign the drive letter or, if you are not sure, leave it as it is & click ‘Next’.

Assign Drive Letter

  • Set the file system to FAT32 or NTFS, Enter the label if desired, select ‘Quick Format’, in the next window, and click ‘Next’.

Choose File System

  • Click ‘Finish’ in the next window to finish the New Simple Volume Wizard.

Finish the Wizard

  • The new partition is now created & shown in Computer Management window.

The new partition is created

You can now access the new partition in the Computer.

Wasn’t that really awesome? It’s simple & you need not pay a single penny to create a new partition!

Happy Computing!

Internet Explorer 8 released

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Microsoft has released the final version of Internet Explorer 8 with claims of it being easier, faster & safer. You can download Internet Explorer 8 from here.

What’s worth mentioning:

  • Improved tabs- Internet Explorer 8 has improved the way tabs work. Links opened up from one tab in new tabs will have same tab colour & the group can be identified by just having a look at the tab colours. The whole group can be closed by one single click
  • Accelerators- This is a new concept in Internet Explorer 8. They help in accelerating user’s work by providing shortcuts to Search, Maps, Email etc. Eg. You can directly right click on the address on a web page & get the map & directions to the address.
  • Developer tools- Just like Safari & Chrome, Internet Explorer 8 has introduced developer tools to examine the structure and elements on a website.
  • Compatibility- Internet Explorer 8 comes with compatibility list of websites which have do not display properly in Internet Explorer 8. IE 8 automatically switched to compatibility mode for these websites. In case the website isn’t in the compatibility list & isn’t displaying properly all you need to do is click the Compatibility View button. It lies next to the Refresh button on the address bar.
  • Safer- The new SmartScreen filter and other built-in security features help you stay safe by protecting against deceptive and malicious websites which can compromise your data, privacy, and identity.

More (External links):

Tour Internet Explorer 8

Why you should download Internet Explorer 8 (PDF)

Get the facts on browser performance

Download Internet Explorer 8 RC1

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Microsoft has released the Release Candidate (RC) 1 of Internet Explorer 8. It is now available for Windows XP, Windows Vista 32 bit & 64 bit versions. This release will not work on Windows 7 Beta.

What’s new in IE 8 RC1:

  • Accelerators- View driving directions, translate words, email your discoveries on the web to others, and more in just a few mouse clicks. Complete your everyday browsing activities more quickly with the new Accelerator feature.
  • Privacy- Surf the web without saving your history, shop for that special gift with confidence knowing your family won’t accidentally find out, or use a shared computer without leaving a trace with new InPrivate Browsing and InPrivate Filtering features.
  • Web Slices- The new Web Slice feature provides up-to-the-minute information on the sites you care about most in one convenient place on the new Favorites bar.
  • Smart Search- Let the Instant Search Box do the thinking for you as instantaneous image and text suggestions appear as you type.
  • Security- The new SmartScreen Filter lets you browse and email more safely by helping to protect against deceptive and malicious websites which can compromise your data, privacy, and identity.
  • Compatibility View- Browse in compatibility view if you see display problems on a website like misaligned text, images, or text boxes.

Download Internet Explorer 8 RC1

Microsoft Office 14 screenshots leaked?

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As per Neowin reports, Microsoft Office 14 screenshots were leaked by a Russian website. Office 14 was provided to select alpha testers by Microsoft. I am not sure if these screenshots are real or fake ones. From what appears in the screenshots, the UI looks pretty much the same. It’s quite possible that the UI hasn’t been upgraded in this release yet.

According to Alpha testers Microsoft is targeting a 2009 release and Office 14 could still be named Office System 2009.

– Neowin

Below are some of the screenshots of Office 14:

Windows 7 Beta Download Finally Available

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After unsuccessfully hammering Microsoft servers to download Windows 7 beta, Windows 7 enthusiasts can finally rejoice. Windows 7 beta is finally available and Microsoft also removed the 2.5 million download limit. Now any number of users can download the Windows 7 beta through January 24th.

Due to an enormous surge in demand, the download experience was not ideal so we listened and took the necessary steps to ensure a good experience. We have clearly heard that many of you want to check out the Windows 7 Beta and, as a result, we have decided remove the initial 2.5 million limit on the public beta for the next two weeks (thru January 24th). During that time you will have access to the beta even if the download number exceeds the 2.5 million unit limit.

Thank you for your enthusiasm, interest and willingness to beta test. It has been great to see the positive early reviews and feedback. As you know, this is a beta product. We are working hard to get Windows 7 ready and right. Your input is a critical part of that process. Thank you!

The Windows Team Blog

Download:

To download Windows 7 beta you need a Windows Live ID. You can download the beta from Windows 7 website or directly from the Beta download page.