External hard disk partition under Windows 7, 8 and 10 - so it goes

To partition your external hard drive, you need to zoom out first the existing Partition.

1. Simultaneously press the keys "Windows" and "R", so the command "Run" will open.
2. Enter "compmgmt.msc" and confirm with "OK". Then the computer management starts.
3. Switch to the left side for disk management, all the available hard drives and their partitions show.
4. Click with the right mouse button on the hard drive that you want to shrink and select shrink Volume.
5. Now, you specify how far the Partition you want to shrink. You can shrink the Partition but only to the extent, such as free memory on the hard disk. That is, if you have a 300 GByte hard drive from the 200 GB are occupied, you can shrink the Partition by only a maximum of 100 GB. Windows gives you automatically the maximum value in megabytes.
6. Confirm with the "OK" Button. After the Partition is resized.

If the Partition is resized, you will see the remote area as a "Not assigned". In it, you will now create a new Partition.

1. Right click on the "Unallocated" area and select "New Volume".
2. Follow the instructions in the wizard and specify the new Partition and what file system you want to use.
3. Then the new Partition is created and is available under a new drive letter available.

Alternatively, you can also with the Aomei Partition assistant a hard disk partition.

So you can quickly copy data between your new partitions, back - and-forth, you need a fast hard drive. The currently best models with 3.5 inch and 2.5 inch for Laptops you will find in our best lists. Faster are you by the way with an SSD on the way.

In the next practical tip we show you how to create a disk in Windows format. Should you individual help for the partitioning, then contact the experts in the CHIP Forum.