does extended partition works after formatting the primary partition?

[Phiberoptix]

I have a primary partition with the OS (WinXP) and Program Files, while the rest (games & mp3 & etc) are stored on a extended partition on the same hard disk.

is it okay for me to simply wipe out the primary partition and start again from zero ? Does the extended partition have some dependancy on the MBR of the primary?

if so, is there a way to convert an extended partition into another primary partition?

Thanks

 

[cleverhandle]

A short vocabulary lesson first... since partition terms are used rather carelessly around here. There are 3 kinds of partitions - primary, extended, and logical. You can have up to 4 primary partitions. If you need more than 4 partitions, you use an extended one instead of a 4th primary. An extended partition doesn't contain data on its own - it's just a "container" for any number (?) of logical partitions, which is what I think you're referring to.

Second, make sure you actually have an extended/logical partition setup. You can have multiple primaries (up to 4) - just having more than one partition does not mean you have a logical one. XP's disk management will tell you.

Yes, you can wipe one or more primary partitions without destroying any logical ones within an extension. The partition boot record for a primary partition (which is not the same as the MBR, which exists before any partitions) is separate from other partitions on the drive.

I'm 99% sure there is no way to convert an extended or logical partition to a primary one. There's also not any real reason to, since they work the same way for almost all practical purposes.

edit: clarifications

 

[Phiberoptix]

I wasn't aware my extended partition contained a logical drive inside it. At least now I can format my OS partition without having to backup nearly 30Gb of data to cds now (I had to do it once )

Thanks a lot