How to Convert Primary to Logical or Logical to Primary?
Quick Navigation:
- Overview of primary and logical partition
- How to convert between primary and logical partition
- Before you do
- How to convert primary partition to logical with Partition Assistant
- Conclusion
Overview of primary and logical partition
Primary partition: A partition type that can be created on a basic disk. It is a part of a physical disk and works like a physically dependent disk. As for MBR (Main Boot Record) disk, 4 primary partitions or 3 primary partitions plus 1 extended partition which contains more than one logical partitions can be created. For GPT (Globally Unique Identifier Partition Table) disk, up to 128 primary partitions can be created.
Logical partition: It is also a partition type which is different from the primary partition. Each primary partition has its own boot block while logical partition has not; each primary partition can be set as start area using fdisk while logical partition cannot.
Primary partition also called primary disk partition. In a primary partition, any other partition type cannot exist. Therefore, every primary can be viewed as a logical disk. On this point, the primary partition is very similar to logical partition. However, the primary is divided directly from hard disk while logical partition must be created on an extended partition. The files and data needed to start a computer are included in the primary partition on its hard disk. On the other hand, if you want to install OS (Operating System) on a certain hard disk, it must have at least one primary partition on it. As for logical partition, they are used for saving data.
If one MBR disk has four primary partitions, you will not be allowed to create other new partitions on that disk. A basic MBR disk can have either up to four primary partitions, or up to three primary partitions plus one extended partition which contains unlimited number of logical partitions. You need to change primary to extended partition (change primary partition to logical partition) if you want to create a fifth partition on a MBR disk which already has four primary partitions. Qiling Disk Master supports conversion between logical partition and primary partition.
How to convert between primary and logical partition
Before you do
- Download and install Qiling Disk Master on a Windows computer.
- If there are other applications running on the partition which you are going to perform, Qiling Disk Master will notice you to close those applications or to execute this operation in PreOS Mode.
- Though convert primary to logical won't influence your data on the disk, it would be advisable to make reliable backup for your valuable data to the external media such as networks, CD/DVD or external hard disk drive. The professional backup software – Qiling Disk Master may help you out. It is always better to be cautious than sorry.
This tool is very useful for you to convert a partition between primary and logical. If you would like to use this feature, please upgrade to a paid version of Qiling Disk Master Professional, Server, or above versions.
How to convert primary partition to logical with Partition Assistant
2. Wait for the operation to finish and then the primary partition will be converted to logical successfully.
How to convert logical partition to primary with Partition Assistant
1. Load Partition Assistant, right-click the logical partition you want to convert and then choose "Advanced" and "Convert to Primary Partition".
2. Wait for the operation to finish and then the logical partition will be converted to primary successfully.
Conclusion
Following the above steps, you can use Qiling Disk Master to easily and safely convert a primary partition to logical or from a logical partition to primary. After you convert the partition, you can create more partitions on the drive to make full use of the drive space.
The feature to convert between primary and logical partition is mainly used on a basic MBR disk, especially on a MBR disk already with 4 primary partitions. In this case, it is unable to create new partition on the drive. After you convert one primary partition to logical, you will be allowed to create more partitions on the drive. This feature is very useful to achieve your goals.
Notes:
- Convert primary to logical partition is mainly used on basic MBR disk.
- You’re not allowed to convert a boot partition to logical. Otherwise, your computer will likely to stop working.
- The location and the size of the primary partition will be slightly different after converting due to the fact that the logical partition is 63 sectors bigger than primary partition.
Q: I want to convert a partition from primary to logical, but the option is greyed out. Why and how could I solve it?
A: The partition cannot be converted to logical in some cases, please click here for more information.
Q: Will the operation cause data loss after a primary partition is converted to logical partition?
A: Normally, it will not cause data loss after conversion. However, for data security, it is still recommended to make a backup of important data in advance.
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