What is the Difference Between Primary Partition and Extended Partition?

The main difference between a primary partition and an extended partition lies in their purpose and the number of partitions they can contain. Here are the key differences:

• Quantity: A hard disk can contain up to four primary partitions or one extended partition. If you have an extended partition, you can only have three other primary partitions.
• Bootability: Primary partitions are bootable, meaning they can contain the operating system of the computer. Extended partitions, on the other hand, are not bootable.
• Logical Partitions: Extended partitions do not store files directly but create logical partitions to store general data, audio, pictures, and files. You cannot format an extended partition with any file system; instead, you create one or more logical drives within the extended partition.
• Naming: Primary partitions are assigned the first letters in the alphabet as drive letters (such as C, D). Logical drives in the extended partition get the other letters (such as E, F, G).

In summary, primary partitions are used for booting the operating system and installing multiple operating systems without interfering with each other, while extended partitions are used for storing user data and creating additional logical partitions for file storage.

Comparative Table: Primary Partition vs Extended Partition

The difference between primary and extended partitions lies in their bootability and storage capabilities. Here is a comparison table highlighting the key differences:

Primary partitions are bootable and can contain the operating system(s) of the computer. An MBR hard disk can have a maximum of 4 primary partitions. On the other hand, extended partitions are not bootable and act as a container for multiple logical partitions. They help bypass the 4 primary partition limit, allowing you to create more partitions for storing data.