Hard Drive Structures

Partition
A partition is an area of hard disk reserved for use via an entry in the partition table of that hard disk. Each operating system may recognize and use partitions of various types; the 'partition' concept is system-wide, not limited to a particular operating system.

Partition (definition 2)
A partition is a structure on a hard drive that divides the media into separate storage units. Partitions are a universal format recognized by all operating systems, although different OSes may not be able to recognize the volumes that exist on those partitions. Most manufacturers ship their drives with a single prepared partition, but if you need to change this structure, you can do so through Windows 7’s Control Panel. Select System and Security, and you will find the option to alter partitions under the Administrative Tools heading. You can also alter a drive’s partition structure as part of the Windows installation procedure.

Partition Types
There are two types of partitions: primary and extended. Most operating systems require a primary partition for proper function, and each primary partition may house one volume. An extended partition is a special type of partition that can contain as many volumes as you like, up to the total space available on the device. You can have up to four partitions on one physical drive, one of which may be an extended partition.

Volume
The term "volume" is synonymous with "drive," representing a coherent data storage area with a file system. A logical volume is a section of storage which may exist on a hard disk or may span more than one physical disk yet behaves as one drive.