How to convert a logical partition to primary partition for free and do not touch the original data stored on the partition? On Windows computer, the first partition, namely C, is set as primary partition by default. Sometimes, you may want to convert a logical partition to primary because you want to prepare it for system or boot partition.
Logical Partition vs. Primary Partition
Primary partition – A primary partition usually contains Windows operating system and related data. A MBR disk must have one primary partition at least and 4 primary partitions at most.
Logical partition – In addition to primary partition, the rest space on a hard drive is extended partition. An extended partition must be divided to logical partition so that it can be used for data storage. An extended partition can be divided into several logical partitions.
You can see whether a partition is primary partition or logical partition in Windows Disk Management (show as image below):
It does not matter why you want to convert a logical drive to primary partition, you must pay attention to following point before converting logical drive to primary:
A hard disk cannot contain more than 4 primary partitions, and the total number of partitions on a hard disk including primary partition plus extended partition cannot more than 4.
You can create a primary partition by running Diskpart from Command Prompt. You need to reinstall system by using this method. Please follow the guide below:
Step1. Press Shift + F10 button at the same time to open Command Line on Windows setup interface during Windows installation.
Step2. Type diskpart and press Enter button
Step3. Type list disk > select disk > create partition primary [size=n]
For example, type list disk > select disk 0 > create partition primary size=30000 (30000 refers to the size of the created primary partition, you can set it as you wish).
If you still want to create another primary partition on the same hard disk, you can type create partition primary [size=n] again to create another primary partition.
Step4. You can type create partition extended [size=n] to set the reset space on the same hard disk as extended drive. (create-extended-partition)
Step5. Type create partition logical [size=n] to crate the first logical partition. Then, type create partition logical [size=n] to create the second logical partition.
Pay attention: If you have set a primary partition that does not contain Windows system as active partition, your computer might become unbootable. Therefore, you had better not set the partition as active partition after converting a logical volume to primary partition on which there is no Windows OS being installed.
Without needing to reinstall system or type any command line, you can easily convert a logical partition to primary partition by using software. IM-Magic Partition Resizer is able to change logical volume to primary partition by following the steps below:
Step1. Right click the primary partition and select "Convert to Logical Partition" option.
Step2. Confirm to convert the selected logical partition to primary.
If you use IM-Magic Partition Resizer to convert logical partition to primary on any Windows OS, it does not touch any data stored on the disk. If you convert logical drive to primary with Diskpart command, you had better backup data in advance. There is no other method to avoid data loss except making a backup in advance.
Today, Windows 10, 8, 7 and XP are Microsoft Windows operating systems that are widely used by many PC users. The methods mentioned above are available for all Windows users to convert logical drive to primary partition in Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10.
Question ->How do I change a logical volume to primary with bootable iso?
Answer -> Free bootable partition manager iso may do the job.
Last udpated on June 2, 2022
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