"A disk partition is used to define space used for storage on a hard drive. It helps in organizing data efficiently and effectively so it can be retrieved faster. This also maximizes the amount of data that can be stored on a drive. The typical strategy for this partitioning strategy is to place the applications and OS data in one disk partition and data in another. This enables the partition with OS to be reformatted and reinstalled if it becomes corrupted without any data loss. A disk may have up to four primary partitions, but only one can be active at any time. It can also have three primary partitions and one extended partition, which allows you to create a larger logical partition."