Splitting a hard drive into partitions or having multiple disks mounted inside the computer has several advantages. With two partitions you can install different operating systems on the same computer or you can dedicate one of the partitions to backup, so that if there were any unsolvable Windows errors, you can always restore the backup without losing data. If then the backup was made to another hard disk, there is also a risk of losing everything in case the main disk breaks.
Be that as it may, if you have multiple partitions (see how to create disk partitions), they can be managed on Windows 10 and Windows 7 in order to hide or unmount them so that Windows can no longer view and write to them.
Disassembling a hard disk or partition does not mean physically detaching it but only deactivating it.
This technical guide shows how to hide or unmount a partition without using external programs, both from Computer Management and from the command prompt and, of course, also how to remount or show hidden partitions .
What reason can hide a partition "> How to hide private partitions or recovery drives
Hiding a partition can be useful, for example, to tidy up or for privacy reasons if other people use the computer so that they cannot read or open the files inside it. When you hide (unmount) a partition or secondary hard drive in Windows (any version), the setting remains until you manually proceed to show or remount that partition or disk. The partition therefore remains invisible to all other users who can log in to the Windows 10 and Windows 7 computer but its content remains intact and intact .
If you use multiple operating systems on the same pc, they will be able to use the partition. Never ever hide or unmount the partition where Windows is installed, otherwise restoring the computer will be problematic.
To unmount a hard disk or partition you have to go to the control panel, open the administration tools and then enter Computer Management . In the Disk Management section you can see all the existing volumes. (In Windows 10 you can open Disk Management by simply pressing the right button on the Start menu)
Right click on the partition to be deactivated and select the " Change drive letter and path " item.
In the window that opens, click the Remove button and confirm your choice. If there are open applications that use files from the partition, you are warned that the drive is in use and cannot be disabled. As with removable drives, memory cards or USB sticks, make sure to close all applications that could use the files on that partition before proceeding with the disassembly. The partition is now hidden (i.e. unmounted) and is no longer accessible from the operating system you are using. It will never be available to computer users again, unless they choose to show it again.
You can achieve the same result and unmount a partition by disabling it by running a command from the dos prompt .
From the Start menu, then run a command prompt instance as administrator (right-click on it), and type the command:
mountvol D: \ / D
To make the partition or disk appear again and then reassemble it, just right-click on the partition always removed from Disk Management, select " Change letter and path of " again and click the Add button, assigning any letter or mounting it on an existing folder, if possible. The partition is now visible again.
To mount a partition via the dos prompt, instead, type the command mountvol /? see all the parameters looking for the one relating to the previously hidden volume (indicated in the line where " NO ASSEMBLY POINT " is written).
These items represent the hidden units and, to remount them, you have to type mountvol letter_da: assign: value copied from the line above that begins with \\? \
For example the command is something like: mountvol t: \\? \ Volume {a7a94be1-3b93-11e0-9ad6-806e6f6e6963} \
As you can see, hiding and showing partitions is simpler than you'd expect, especially from the disk management utility which is also more secure and avoids making mistakes.
