Do I need to leave 8MB of unallocated space on Vista hard drive

When you install Windows XP it always leaves at least 8MB of unallocated
space. I seem to remember that it had a possible functional use.

Do I need to do the same in Vista Home Premium?

Thank you

"nowthenms" <nowthenms@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news22409C1-9E61-4DF5-8DAE-CE6F22EB6D37@microsoft.com...
> When you install Windows XP it always leaves at least 8MB of unallocated
> space. I seem to remember that it had a possible functional use.
>
> Do I need to do the same in Vista Home Premium?

It will leave that space automatically. You can't get rid of it AFAIK.

Tom Lake

Thanks Tom

In article <D22409C1-9E61-4DF5-8DAE-CE6F22EB6D37@microsoft.com>,
nowthenms@discussions.microsoft.com says...
> When you install Windows XP it always leaves at least 8MB of unallocated
> space. I seem to remember that it had a possible functional use.
>
> Do I need to do the same in Vista Home Premium?
>
> Thank you
>
>
I suppose it could be due to the fact
a partition cannot start just behind MBR sector
It must be aligned to beginning of the track.
Some utilities are able to use these place for special purpose, e.g.
backing up MBR.

On Sun, 11 May 2008 16:32:51 +0200, Poutnik <me@privacy.net> wrote:

>In article <D22409C1-9E61-4DF5-8DAE-CE6F22EB6D37@microsoft.com>,
>nowthenms@discussions.microsoft.com says...
>> When you install Windows XP it always leaves at least 8MB of unallocated
>> space. I seem to remember that it had a possible functional use.

It certainly does: It allows for proper System Partition alignment, as
Poutnik says.

I always leave it alone. After all, on a disk of the sizes now used,
it's a rather infinitesimal amount, and you will NOT miss it at all.

>>
>> Do I need to do the same in Vista Home Premium?

Yes. Leave it alone.
The OS left it free, so I would also.

>> Thank you
>>
>>
>I suppose it could be due to the fact
>a partition cannot start just behind MBR sector
>It must be aligned to beginning of the track.
>Some utilities are able to use these place for special purpose, e.g.
>backing up MBR.


Donald L McDaniel
Please reply to the correct thread and article.
================================================

"Poutnik" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:MPG.22911b652d62c489989680@127.0.0.1...
> In article <D22409C1-9E61-4DF5-8DAE-CE6F22EB6D37@microsoft.com>,
> nowthenms@discussions.microsoft.com says...
>> When you install Windows XP it always leaves at least 8MB of unallocated
>> space. I seem to remember that it had a possible functional use.
>>
>> Do I need to do the same in Vista Home Premium?
>>
>> Thank you
>>
>>
> I suppose it could be due to the fact
> a partition cannot start just behind MBR sector
> It must be aligned to beginning of the track.
> Some utilities are able to use these place for special purpose, e.g.
> backing up MBR.


The 8MB of unallocated space on a hard drive with a single partition is reserved
in case you want to convert the drive from a basic disk to a dynamic disk.

How To Convert to Basic and Dynamic Disks in Windows XP Professional
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309044

Quoting from the article.

"You must have at least 1 megabyte (MB) of free space on any master boot record
(MBR) disk that you want to convert. This space is automatically reserved when
the partition or volume is created in Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP
Professional. However, it may not be available on partitions or volumes that are
created in other operating systems."

While this article was written for Windows 2000, it applies to XP as well.

Setup Reserves Disk Space for Upgrading to Dynamic Disk
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/225822

Good luck

Nepatsfan