Re: Partition confusion
On 16 Dec 1998, David S. Zelinsky wrote:
> However, Kent West <kent.west@infotech.acu.edu> writes:
>
> KW> Let me preface this by saying I don't know what I'm talking about, but I
> KW> think I choose "Primary" instead of "Logical" when partitioning a drive.
> KW> I'm not real sure what each of these means, but I'm under the impression
> KW> that Logical is somehow dependent on the primary partition.
>
> This is not an issue. In fact, the only difference between primary and
> logical partitions is where on the disk the partition information is stored.
> It has no affect on how you use the partition.
>
> Here's a more detailed description of the difference: The information for a
> PRIMARY partition is stored in the "partition table" at the beginning of the
> physical disk. But there is only enough room in the partition table to
> describe 4 partitions. To get more than 4 partitions on a disk, you have to
> make one (or more) of the 4 into an EXTENDED partition, which contains within
> it some LOGICAL partitions. The partition data for the logical partitions is
> stored in another partition table, which resides at the start of the extended
> partition.
>
> --
> David Zelinsky
> dsz@alumni.caltech.edu
>
Very good explanation. So I can have three primary partitions, and then
the fourth and final "slot" functions as a pointer to another table? (Or
two and two, or four primaries, or 1 and 3, etc?) Is the extended
partition table limited to 4 partitions as well, so that if I wanted 8
partitions I could have 3 primary, 1 extended pointing to 3 others
(3+3=6), and the fourth extended "slot" pointing to a third table (second
extended) holding the final ((3+3-6)+1=7)?
I love this list; I learn three or four new things everyday.
--
Kent West
kent.west@infotech.acu.edu
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