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I got a 2nd disk (Samsung QVO 860 1TB) for extra space to complement my primary Windows 10 OS disk (Samsung EVO 850 256GB).

After initializing it in Windows Disk Management, should I create just a single Volume/Partition, or are there benefits of multiple ones even on a non-OS disk?

Edit: My question is about partition strategy for the second drive, not the Windows drive. I don't believe it relates to the linked possible duplicate that deals with the main Windows drive.

Hennes
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Josh D
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  • Possible duplicate of [Is there a reason to keep Windows' primary partition / drive C: small?](https://superuser.com/questions/1341088/is-there-a-reason-to-keep-windows-primary-partition-drive-c-small) – Ramhound Apr 01 '19 at 23:21
  • No it's not the same question. That question deals with the primary Windows drive, I'm asking about a secondary totally different drive. – Josh D Apr 01 '19 at 23:24
  • Do you have any reasons to go one way or another or are you just soliciting opinions? If the former, please edit your question to clarify what precisely you are asking. If the latter, this is entirely a matter of opinion. There may be reasons to partition, but as you haven't given us any details and we can therefore just assume you're running a normal setup, we cannot say. – music2myear Apr 01 '19 at 23:33
  • Good point. I would by default just do one partition, because don't see a need for multiple, but am asking is there something I am missing that is a reason to do multiple partitions. – Josh D Apr 01 '19 at 23:58
  • @JoshD - "What am I missing" is exactly the reason I thought this was a duplicate. The detailed answers to the duplicate, explain in great detail, the answer to that very question. But what do I know, I only have nearly 900 answers, specifically about Windows itself. – Ramhound Apr 02 '19 at 00:22

2 Answers2

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In general, a single partition will be the easiest to manage and provide the least wastage.

There are some corner cases where multiple partitions could be useful. The following spring to mind, but are probably not exhaustive -

  • Where you need to share information between OS's and the preferred partition formats for the OS are not compatible.
  • Where you want to use a block device for a specific purpose, eg encryption.
  • If your backup strategy calls for backing up the block device for any reason, and you are constrained by the size of backps.
  • If your primary partition is small and you want to mirror/raid it to the second drive.
  • If you plan on using virtualization and want to carve out disk space rather then a file for the VM.
  • If you think you may want to put an alternative OS on the second disk.
davidgo
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In addition to the reasons listed by davidgo, having multiple partitions will let you use up all the space in a filesystem without using all the space in the device.  In effect, it lets you set a quota on a process.  If you partition your device into filesystems G: and H:, then you can run a background process with output to a file on G: without worrying that it might cause you to run out of free space on H:.

G-Man Says 'Reinstate Monica'
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