Disk Partition
A disk partition is a logical section of a hard disk on which the computer may write data. Disk partition is the way to divide the single physical hard disk into multiple areas, each of which is treated as a different disk within Windows operating system. Some people create separate partitions for particular programs to organize their files. Microsoft Windows computers, it is common to store the OS and applications on one hard disk partition and user data on another hard disk partition. You can create disk partition by using Windows XP Setup utilities after you have started the installation or by running partitioning utility prior to starting the installation of Windows XP. Partition information is stored in the master boot record of a hard drive and is independent of any operating system installed on the computer. You can create the following types of disk partitions on a hard disk:

• Primary: You can configure up to four primary partitions on a computer running a Windows operating system but only one partition can be active at a time. If you are configuring a multiple boot computer, you should create primary partition for each operating system.
• Extended: An extended partition bypass the four primary partition limit. You can create many more logical partitions than four partitions in your hard disk. An extended partition stores information about other partitions.
• Logical: You can create any number of logical partitions inside an extended partition. Logical partitions are normally used for organizing files