Acronis os selector 8.0 User Manual

8.2

Changing the Partition Type

Each record in any partition table contains a «partition type» field. This is a
certain number that tentatively defines what file system and what operating
system that this partition addresses. There are special type values:

• 0 (Unused) – This record of the table is empty;
• 5 (Extended) – This is a link to the next table in a chain (this type is used

to create chains of logical partitions);

• 15 (Extended LBA) – This is the beginning of a chain of logical partitions,

to access in which MS-DOS mode of Windows 95OSR2/98/ME operating
systems uses extended BIOS functions.

Disk Administrator manages these special partition types automatically – they
cannot be changed manually.

All other types can be assigned to ordinary partitions. Usually Disk
Administrator assigns the partition type itself based on the file system, but
sometimes it is necessary to select it manually. For example, if a partition
without a file system is created, Disk Administrator assigns it its own type; or
if the partition is supposed to be used by some operating system, it is
necessary to assign it a corresponding type.

The following steps are necessary to change the type of a partition:

1. Choose the partition from the list.
2. Choose the Change partition type function (from the menu or with the

Ctrl+T hotkey).

3. Select the desired partition type:

4. Confirm the operation by pressing Enter or clicking the OK button in the

lower part of the dialog box.

Changing the type of the partition table is necessary when changing a
partition table to the higher-level setting, between 5 (Extended) and 15
(Extended LBA). Only MS-DOS 7.1/8.0 and Windows 95OSR2/98/ME need
type 15 entries. Older operating systems do not recognize these parameters.