How to Partition and Format Hard drives in Windows

A hard disk partition defines the storage space on your hard drive. This process allows you to make smaller, yet more logical, hard disks. Formatting the hard drive defines the kind of file system you will need to access your hard drives and partitions.

Creating and formatting a partition in Windows

Before you can create a partition on your hard drive in Windows, you will need to install an unused hard disk or must have ample unpartitioned space available on your existing hard drive. You can also opt to delete an existing partition to create a new one. In this tutorial, I will partition and format the unused space from one of my hard drives. The steps here will also work with hard disks with partitions which have been previously deleted; as well as with brand new hard drives.

Follow the steps to open the Disk Management Administrative Tool to access hard disk tasks:
1. Click on the START button and select the CONTROL PANEL. If you do not have this shortcut on the START menu, open MY COMPUTER and click on the CONTROL PANEL.
2. Double-click on the ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS icon and open COMPUTER MANAGEMENT.
3. If the CONTROL PANEL is in Category view, click on PERFORMANCE AND MAINTENANCE, then click on ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS, and lastly double-click on the COMPUTER MANAGEMENT icon.
4. Once the COMPUTER MANAGEMENT screen opens, just click on the DISK MANAGEMENT option; it is under the STORAGE category. A screen similar to the one below will appear.


In the disk management tool, you will see a listing of all your hard drives and how they are partitioned. The image above shows that I have two hard disks installed. The first disk, or DISC 0, has two partitions. Drive letter C has 24 GB NTFS, while Drive letter E has 87 GB NTFS. These drive letters were assigned during a previous partition. In the second drive, there is only one partition, which is the D: partition. There is 26 GB of unallocated and therefore useable space that can be used to make other partitions.

From the unused space, you can make a partition by following the steps below.
1. Right click on the unallocated space.
2. A new menu will come up, click on the NEW PARTITION option.
3. A wizard on how you would like the partition to be created will open. On the first screen, press NEXT.
4. On the second screen, you will be made to choose between a primary or extended partition. Detailed information about these kinds of partitions can be read at the tutorial listed above. Select Primary Partition, which is fine for most people, and press NEXT.
5. The third screen will help you determine how much of the unallocated space you would like to use for the new partition. You can choose to use of all of space or you can stick with the default size. After you enter a size in the Partition size in MB: field, press NEXT.
6. In the next screen, select a drive letter you want to assign your new partition, or you can also use the default letter given. The drive letter you chose will be how you access the partition later. Press NEXT when you are done.
7. The next step will ask you how you would like the new partition to be formatted. The NTFS file system is advisable for most people. However, if you need a file system that is readable by older operating systems, such as DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows ME, you should choose the FAT32 file system.
8. You can type in a name for the Volume Label field, or you can leave it blank. This name will be associated with the new partition.
9. After you press the NEXT button, a summary screen will appear. If you are satisfied with the partition you created, press FINISH to complete the creation and formatting of the new hard disk partition.
When the computer is done formatting and partitioning your hard drive, you will be prompted back to the Disk Management screen. Here you will see the new partition you have made and the drive letter on the computer. You can now begin using this drive.

Deleting a Partition in Windows

If you have an existing partition in your hard drive, and you wish to delete this for purposes only known to you, it is important for you to know that you will lose all the data in your partition.

Follow the steps below:
1.Click on the START button and select the CONTROL PANEL. If you do not have this shortcut on the START menu, open MY COMPUTER and click on the CONTROL PANEL.
2.Double-click on the ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS icon and open COMPUTER MANAGEMENT.
3.If the CONTROL PANEL is in Category view, click on PERFORMANCE AND MAINTENANCE, then click on ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS, and lastly double-click on the COMPUTER MANAGEMENT icon.
4.Once the COMPUTER MANAGEMENT screen opens, just click on the DISK MANAGEMENT option; it is under the STORAGE category.
5.Click on the partition you wish to delete and then choose the DELETE PARTITION option.
6.A confirmation box will appear, and ask you if you are sure you wish to continue. Press YES if you are only sure that you want to delete the partition. Remember, if you press yes, all the data in the partition will be deleted.
7.After you press YES, the partition will be deleted. You can choose to exit the program or create a new partition.

How to use Disk Management

To start Disk Management:
Log on as administrator or as a member of the Administrators group.
Click Start, click Run, type compmgmt.msc, and then click OK.
In the console tree, click Disk Management. The Disk Management window appears. Your disks and volumes appear in a graphical view and list view. To customize how you view your disks and volumes in the upper and lower panes of the window, point to Top or Bottom on the View menu, and then click the view that you want to use.
How to create a new partition or a new logical drive
To create a new partition or logical drive on a basic disk:
In the Disk Management window, complete one of the following procedures, and then continue to step 2:
To create a new partition, right-click unallocated space on the basic disk where you want to create the partition, and then click New Partition.
To create a new logical drive in an extended partition, right-click free space on an extended partition where you want to create the logical drive, and then click New Logical Drive.
In the New Partition Wizard, click Next.
Click the type of partition that you want to create (either Primary partition, Extended partition, or Logical drive), and then click Next.
Specify the size of the partition in the Partition size in MB box, and then click Next.
Decide whether to manually assign a drive letter, let the system automatically enumerate the drive, or do not assign a drive letter to the new partition or logical drive, and then click Next.
Specify the formatting options you want to use by using one of the following procedures:
If you do not want to format the partition, click Do not format this partition, and then click Next.
If you want to format the partition, click Format this partition with the following settings, and then complete the following procedure in the Format dialog box:
Type a name for the volume in the Volume label box. This is an optional step.
Click the file system that you want to use in the File system box. You can change the disk allocation unit size, and then specify whether to perform a quick format, or enable file and folder compression on NTFS volumes.Click Next.
Confirm that the options that selected are correct, and then click Finish.The new partition or logical drive is created and appears in the appropriate basic disk in the Disk Management window. If you chose to format the volume in step 6, the format process now starts.
How to format a basic volume
To format a partition, logical drive or basic volume:
In the Disk Management window, right-click the partition or logical drive that you want to format (or reformat), and then click Format.
In the Format dialog box, type a name for the volume in the Volume label box. This is an optional step.
Click the file system that you want to use in the File system box. If you want, you can also change the disk allocation unit size, specify whether you want to perform a quick format, or enable file and folder compression on NTFS volumes.
Click OK.
Click OK when you are prompted to format the volume. The format process starts.
How to view the properties of a basic volume
To view the properties of a partition or logical drive:
In the Disk Management window, right-click the partition or logical drive that you want, and then click Properties.
Click the appropriate tab to view the appropriate property.
How to delete a partition or a logical drive
To delete a partition or logical drive:
In the Disk Management window, right-click the partition or logical drive that you want to delete, and then click Delete Partition or Delete Logical Drive.
Click Yes when you are prompted to delete the partition or logical drive. The partition or logical drive is deleted.Important
When you delete a partition or a logical drive, all the data on that partition or logical drive, and the partition or the logical drive, are deleted.
You cannot delete the system partition, boot partition, or a partition that contains the active paging (swap) file.
You cannot delete an extended partition unless the extended partition is empty. All logical drives in the extended partition must be deleted before you can delete the extended partition.
Troubleshooting
Disk Management displays status descriptions in graphical view and under the Status column of list view to inform you of the current status of the disk or volume. Use these status descriptions to help you detect and troubleshoot disk and volume failures. The following is a partial list of disk and volume status descriptions:
OnlineThis is the normal disk status when the disk is accessible and functioning correctly.
HealthyThis is the normal volume status when the volume is accessible and functioning correctly.
UnreadableThe disk is inaccessible because of possible hardware failure, corruption, or I/O errors. To troubleshoot this issue, restart the computer or rescan the disk to try and return the disk to Online status. To rescan the disk, open Computer Management, and then click Disk Management. On the Action menu, click Rescan Disks. For a complete list of disk and volume status descriptions and troubleshooting procedures, see Disk Management Help. In the Disk Management snap-in or Computer Management window, click Help on the Action menu.

How to partition and format your hard disk by using the Windows XP Setup program

Partioning the Harddisk

If you follow these steps on a hard disk that is not empty, all the data on that hard disk is permanently deleted. We recommend that you back up your hard disk before you follow these steps.

To partition and format your hard disk by using the Windows XP Setup program:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, or insert the first Windows XP Setup disk into the floppy disk drive, and then restart the computer.Note To start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM (or from the startup disk), your computer must be configured to start from the CD-ROM drive, the DVD-ROM drive, or the floppy disk drive. In some cases, you may have to modify your computer's BIOS settings to set this configuration. For information about how to configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM drive, the DVD-ROM drive, or the floppy disk drive, see the documentation that is included with your computer, or contact the computer manufacturer.

2. If you are starting the computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM, select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do this.Note If your hard disk controller requires a third-party original equipment manufacturer (OEM) driver, press F6 to specify the driver.For additional information about how to use F6 to supply a third-party OEM device driver while the Windows Setup program is running, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:314859 Limited OEM driver support is available with F6 during Windows XP Setup If you are starting from the Windows XP Setup disks, insert each of the additional disks when you are prompted, and then press ENTER to continue after you insert each disk.3. At the Welcome to Setup page, press ENTER.

4. Press F8 to accept the Windows XP Licensing Agreement.

5. If an existing Windows XP installation is detected, you are prompted to repair it. To bypass the repair, press ESC.

6. All the existing partitions and the unpartitioned spaces are listed for each physical hard disk. Use the ARROW keys to select the partition or the unpartitioned space where you want to create a new partition. Press D to delete an existing partition, or press C to create a new partition by using unpartitioned space. If you press D to delete an existing partition, you must then press L (or press ENTER, and then press L if it is the System partition) to confirm that you want to delete the partition. Repeat this step for each of the existing partitions that you want to use for the new partition. When all the partitions are deleted, select the remaining unpartitioned space, and then press C to create the new partition.Note If you want to create a partition where one or more partitions already exist, you must first delete the existing partition or partitions, and then create the new partition.

7. Type the size in megabytes (MB) that you want to use for the new partition, and then press ENTER, or just press ENTER to create the partition with the maximum size.

8. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 to create additional partitions if you want them.

9. If you want to install Windows XP, use the ARROW keys to select the partition where you want to install Windows XP, and then press ENTER. If you do not want to format the partition and install Windows XP, press F3 two times to quit the Windows Setup program, and then do not follow the remaining steps. In this case, you must use a different utility to format the partition.

10. Select the format option that you want to use for the partition, and then press ENTER. You have the following options:
Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (Quick)
Format the partition by using the FAT file system (Quick)
Format the partition by using the NTFS file system
Format the partition by using the FAT file system
Leave the current file system intact (no changes) The option to leave the current file system intact is not available if the selected partition is a new partition. The FAT file system option is not available if the selected partition is more than 32 gigabytes (GB). If the partition is larger than 2 GB, the Windows Setup program uses the FAT32 file system (you must press ENTER to confirm). If the partition is smaller than 2 GB, the Windows Setup program uses the FAT16 file system.Note If you deleted and created a new System partition, but you are installing Windows XP on a different partition, you will be prompted to select a file system for both the System and startup partitions. 11. After the Windows Setup program formats the partition, follow the instructions that appear on the screen to continue. After the Windows Setup program is completed, you can use the Disk Management tools in Windows XP to create or format more partitions.