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There are tons of third-party partition managers for Windows, only did you know that Windows includes its own? Microsoft did a good job of hiding the Disk Management tool, but it's there.

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You can use the Deejay Management tool to resize, create, delete and format partitions and volumes, likewise every bit alter their drive letters—all without downloading or paying for any other software.

Accessing Deejay Direction

The quickest way to launch the Deejay Direction tool is by striking Start, typing "partition" into the search box, and and so clicking the "Create and format hard disk drive partitions" option that comes up.

The "Disk Direction" window is divided into ii panes. The tiptop pane shows y'all a list of your volumes. The bottom pane shows a graphical representation of your disks and the volumes that exist on each disk. If you select a volume in the elevation pane, the bottom pane jumps to show the deejay that contains that book. And if you select a disk or book in the bottom pane, the summit pane jumps to show the respective book at that place, too.

Note: Technically speaking, volumes and partitions are a little unlike. A partition is space that'south gear up aside on a disk separate from the other space on that disk. A book is a partition that's been formatted with a file system. For the most part, we're going to exist talking virtually volumes in this commodity, though nosotros may mention partitions or unallocated space where those terms are appropriate.

How to Resize a Volume

Occasionally, yous may demand to resize a book. For case, you lot may need have a disk with one big volume and so decide you want to make it into ii separate volumes. Yous can do that past shrinking the existing volume and and so using the freed-up space to create a new volume. Or possibly your disk used to be divided into ii volumes, just you deleted one of them. You could then extend the existing volume into that newly freed-upward space to make one big volume.

Shrink a Volume

Right-click a book in either pane and select the "Shrink Book" pick.

You can only shrink a volume if it has plenty complimentary infinite. For example, say yous have a ane TB disk that contains a single volume, but you don't take annihilation stored on information technology yet. You could compress the book past up to nearly the total 1 TB.

In the example below, nosotros're shrinking an empty (no data stored on it) i TB volume by about 500 GB. Observe that the window shows the total size of the current volume, and the available space you have for shrinking (which in the instance of our empty book is close the total size). The only choice you have is how much y'all desire to shrink the volume by—in other words the amount of unallocated infinite that will be left over afterwards the shrinking. The window also shows the total new size of the current volume after you shrink information technology by even so much y'all select.

And at present that we've shrunk the volume, you lot can see that the disk contains our shrunken volume on the left and the new unallocated space we freed up on the right.

Extend a Volume

Y'all tin just extend a volume if information technology has unallocated space to the right of it on the same disk. Windows tin can't extend a basic partition to its left—yous'll demand third-party software for that.

To extend a volume, right-click the existing volume (which has unallocated space to its right), so click "Extend Book."

In the "Extend Book Wizard" window, click "Next."

The "Select Disks" screen will already take the appropriate disk selected. It likewise shows the full volume size and the maximum available space you lot have to extend the volume. Just select the space you want to apply and so click the "Next" button. Here, we're extending our volume to use all of the available unallocated space.

And finally, click the "Finish" button to have Windows extend the book.

Create a New Book

If you've shrunk a partition—or have unallocated infinite on a disk for whatever reason—y'all can use the free space to create an additional book. Simply right-click inside the unallocated infinite and select the "New Simple Volume" option.

In the "New Simple Book Wizard" window, click "Adjacent" to become started.

Specify the size of the volume you want to create and then click the "Next" push button. Hither, we're creating a new volume that uses all the available unallocated space on the deejay.

Assign a drive letter (or accept the default assignation) and and so click the "Next" push.

Y'all tin can choose whether or not to go ahead and format the partition, just yous will need to format it at some point earlier you can utilize. The only existent reason y'all might want to not format it correct away is if you need to let another tool do the formatting.

An instance of this would be if you were planning to install a new operating system in the new volume and so that you could dual-boot your PC into unlike operating systems. In that case, y'all might want to permit the new operating organization format the bulldoze during its installation.

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Otherwise, go ahead and format the disk, pick a file system to use, and assign a book label. Click "Next" when y'all're ready.

And then click the "Cease" button to have Windows get started creating the volume and—if you chose to—formatting it.

When it's done, you'll see your new partition listed in the Disk Management tool and you should see information technology if yous pop open File Explorer, as well.

How to Delete a Volume

Sometimes, you might demand to delete an existing volume. I expert reason for this is if you no longer use the volume. By deleting it, yous return that infinite to the unallocated pool and and then you could use it to extend an existing volume. Fair alert: deleting a book too deletes all of the data on that volume, then brand sure information technology's empty or backed up before you proceed.

Correct-click the volume in either pane of the "Disk Management" window, and so select the "Delete Volume" choice.

In the warning window that pops up, click the "Yes" button.

The volume you deleted becomes unallocated space, which yous can and so use even so you similar.

How to Modify a Volume'due south Drive Letter

If y'all've ever wanted to rearrange the drive letters for your various volumes, the Deejay Direction tool is the place to become. Perhaps you just want all your main hard drives grouped together or maybe you desire to use a specific letter for a sure drive.

Right-click whatsoever volume and select the "Change Bulldoze Alphabetic character and Paths" pick.

In the "Change Drive Alphabetic character and Paths" window, click the "Change" button.

In the dropdown to the right of the "Assign the post-obit bulldoze letter of the alphabet" pick, select a new drive letter. Note that only letters not already assigned to volumes are available on the dropdown. If you're rearranging several drive messages, you lot may have to change some others commencement to brand their letters available. When you've selected a letter of the alphabet, click the "OK" button.

A warning message lets you lot know that some apps might rely on bulldoze messages and won't run correctly if you alter the letter. Typically, this applies simply to much older apps, then you should be condom going ahead and clicking the "Yep" push button. If you practice run into problem, yous tin change the bulldoze letter back.

You can besides use this same basic process to assign a permanent drive letter to a removable drive or remove a book'southward drive letter and hibernate it.

RELATED: How to Assign a Persistent Drive Letter to a USB Drive in Windows

How to Erase or Format a Volume

You tin as well use Disk Management to format a volume. Using Disk Direction to do this provides even so options as the regular format tool you access through File Explorer, so whichever yous want to use is upwardly to you. Y'all can format a volume whether the volume has already been formatted or non. Just be enlightened that you'll lose all the data when you format a volume.

Correct-click a volume and choose the "Format" option.

RELATED: What is the Difference Between a Quick and Full Format?

In the "Format" window, type a volume label, specify a file organisation, and choose whether you want to perform a quick format or not. When you're ready, click the "OK" push.

You're warned that formatting will erase all the information on the book, so if you're certain, get ahead and click the "OK" push.

Formatting tin take anywhere from a few seconds to a infinitesimal or and then, depending on the size of the volume. When it's done, you'll exist ready to put the volume to use.

The Disk Management tool isn't as flashy equally some third-party tools—in fact, it still looks like something from Windows 2000—but information technology gets the task done. Tertiary-party partition managers do sometimes include more advanced features—like creating bootable disks, recovering information from damaged volumes, and the ability to extend volumes into unallocated space to the left of the volume. So, if you lot demand any of those features, it might be worth taking a look around. Pop choices include EaseUS and GParted.