On 16 Dec 1998, David S. Zelinsky wrote: > However, Kent West <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 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 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] >
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 [EMAIL PROTECTED] KC5ENO - Amateur Radio: When all else fails. Linux - Finally! A real OS for the Intel PC! "Life is an ongoing classroom." - Capt. James T. Kirk, "Dreadnought"