Partitioning hard drives will help protect important data by placing the data in a logical drive outside the operating system drive. Creating more than one partition on a hard drive is important to safeguard data. Windows has a tendency to slow down from drive fragmentation, registry problems, spyware, and viruses. Continued maintenance is needed to keep Windows functioning. Windows is also a target for viruses and by having your important data outside the operating system you can quickly replace the operating system and not destroy your data. I have a lab of 35 computers and perform a system restore daily using imaging software. My students keep their files and data in a backup partition so when I am restoring the operating system their files and data are safe in a separate partition. There are several partitioning utilities that can be used. Fdisk for DOS, Disk Management for Windows XP, and my favorite GParted which runs from a Linux LiveCD.
GParted
The GParted free Open Source partition utility is fast and easy to use for partitioning hard drives.
The Fdisk MBR website has some additional articles on this subject you might find useful.
I have several YouTube videos and additional resources that take you step by step that you might find helpful at ComputerRepairTrainingPlus.
