MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-270): Installing ...

10-10 Chapter 10 Managing Data Storage
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Figure 10-4 shows an extended partition on Disk 1 that contains a 502 MB logical drive
and 612 MB of remaining free space.
Figure 10-4 Viewing extended and logical partitions in Disk Management.
Formatting Volumes
Formatting a basic or dynamic volume with a file system prepares the volume to
accept data. Unformatted volumes contain no file system and are not accessible by
using Windows Explorer or any other application.
You can format volumes in the following ways:
■ By using Disk Management and formatting the new volume as it is being created
■ By using Disk Management, right-clicking an existing volume, and then selecting
Format
■ By using Windows Explorer, right-clicking the drive letter, and then selecting Format
■ By using a command prompt, using the Format.exe command, and selecting the
appropriate parameters
If you format an existing volume that contains data, all data is lost. Windows XP protects
itself by preventing you from formatting the system and boot partition for the
operating system by using any of the built-in Windows utilities.
Formatting options, shown in Figure 10-5, include the following:
Volume Label The character name for a volume of up to 11 characters. This is the
name that is displayed in Disk Management and Windows Explorer. You should
choose a label that describes the type of information that is stored on the volume,
such as System for the volume that contains the operating system or Documents
for a volume that contains user documents.