When you install a disk in a computer that is running Windows 7, you can choose to select one of two partitioning schemes 1. Master Boot Record (MBR)-based partitioning scheme 2. Globally unique identifier (GUID) partition table (GPT)-based partitioning scheme.
The following are common reasons to partition a disk:
1. Separate operating system files from data and user files
2. Place applications and data files in the same location
3. Put cache, log, and paging files in a location separate from other files
4. Create multiboot setup environments
You can use Disk Management to perform disk-related tasks such as creating and formatting partitions and volumes, and assigning drive letters. In addition, you can use the diskpart command, along with other command-line utilities, to perform disk management tasks such as partitioning disks or converting disks from one partition scheme to the other.
What is an MBR Disk ?
The Master Boot Record (MBR) contains the partition table for the disk and a small amount of executable code called the master boot code. A bootable hard disk that contains an MBR is an MBR disk. The MBR is created when the disk is partitioned, is on the first sector of the hard disk, and contains a four-partition entry table describing the size and location of a partition on a disk using 32-bit Logical Block Address (LBA) fields. The size of the partition cannot exceed 2 TB. Most Windows 7 platforms, such as 32-bit and 64-bit SKUs running on motherboards with Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) firmware, require an MBR partitioned system disk and are not bootable with a larger capacity disk.
How MBR-based disks work ?
The MBR is stored at a consistent location on a physical disk, enabling the computer BIOS to reference it. During the startup process, the computer examines the MBR to determine which partition on the installed disks is marked as active. The active partition contains the operating system startup files.
Note: You can install the rest of the operating system on another partition or disk. In Windows 7, the active partition must contain the boot sector, boot manager, and related files.
Features of MBR-based disks
The MBR partition scheme has been around for a long time and supports both current and early desktop operating systems, such as the MS-DOS and the Microsoft® Windows NT® Server 4.0 operating system. Consequently, the MBR partition scheme is widely supported. However, the MBR partition scheme imposes certain restrictions. These include:
1. Four partitions on each disk: MBR-based disks are limited to four partitions. All of these can be primary partitions, or one can be an extended partition with logical volumes inside. You can configure the extended partition to contain multiple volumes.
2. A 2 Terabyte (TB) maximum partition size: A partition cannot be larger than 2 TB.
3. No redundancy provided: The MBR is a single point of failure, and if corrupted or damaged, it can render the operating system non-bootable.
Question: What are three restrictions of an MBR partitioned disk? Have you encountered these limitations in your organization, and if so, what did you do to work around them?
Answer : The restrictions are that MBR partitioned disks are limited to four partitions, a 2 TB maximum partition size, and there is no data redundancy provided.
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