Bigger isn't always better. Today's gargantuan hard drives come from the factory formatted with a single partition and drive letter--the ubiquitous 'C:'. If you split your hard drive into several partitions, each with its own drive letter, you gain speed and free wasted disk space, making file management much easier.

Windows' partitioning tools work well with new or blank hard drives but are impractical for drives that already hold your apps and other data. If you can transfer the files off the drive and back onto it after the repartitioning, these utilities may be worth using. In Windows 9 x and Me, run fdisk, either from a DOS prompt or by clicking Start, Run and typing fdisk in the Open text box. In Windows XP and 2000, use the Disk Management tool instead: Right-click My Computer, select Manage, and click Disk Management. Misusing these tools can be disastrous, so consult Microsoft's Knowledge Base first for more on fdisk, and to learn about Disk Management.

PowerQuest's $70 PartitionMagic 8 lets you easily add, delete, and resize disk partitions without losing data. You can adjust cluster sizes and convert partitions from and to FAT32, the file system that Windows 98 and Me use, and the NT File System, which Windows 2000 uses (XP uses either system). Another good partitioner is V Communications' $30 Partition Commander. Download a trial version.

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