Windows allows you to divide your storage into different partitions for better file and folder management. Also, you should keep things like work files and personal files separate. That way, you can effectively manage your important files and keep them separate, especially if you often share your computer with others.
It is useful when you add a Hard Drive or Solid State Drive as a memory extension to supplement the memory running Windows 11. That means creating partitions on your hard drive is complicated. To help you through that, we’ll explain everything you need to know about creating or modifying hard drive partitions on your Windows 11 PC.
How to create a hard drive partition on Windows 11
Windows provides a Disk Management utility to perform any storage-related task on your Windows PC. It’s a solid option when you have to format a storage drive or create a new partition.
Here are the steps to create a disk partition using the Disk Management utility on your Windows 11 PC:
Step 1: Press Windows + X key combination to access Power User Menu and click Disk Management.
Step 2: Right click on the disk on which you want to create the partition. Then click Shrink Volume.
Step 3: Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB to determine the partition size. You will need to take note of the number you enter. Next, click Zoom Out.
Step 4: Right click on the newly created Unallocated partition (partition with gray lines) and select ‘New Simple Volume’.
Step 5: When the New Simple Volume Wizard window appears on the screen, click Next.
Step 6: If you are going to create more partitions, specify the size of the partition you want to create. Then click Next.
Step 7: Click the ‘Assign the following drive letter’ drop-down list to choose a drive letter for your partition. Then click Next.
Step 8: Select an applicable File System (by default, select NTFS) and enter a name in the box next to the Volume Label option. Then click Next.
Then a File Explorer window will open to show you the newly created drive partitions. In our case, they are New Volume (D:) and New Volume (E:). Repeat the process to create more partitions.
How to merge hard drive partitions on Windows 11
Although this is very convenient, partitions sometimes remain unused or unused. In such cases, you may need to merge your existing hard drive partitions to create more space to store more files in one partition.
Before proceeding, back up your necessary files. Merge disk partitions using Disk Management utility will delete all data present on the existing partition that you want to merge with another partition.
Here’s how you can easily merge hard drive partitions on your Windows 11 PC:
Step 1: Press Windows + X key combination to access Power User Menu and click Disk Management.
Step 2: Right click on the secondary partition (New Volume D: in our case) and select Delete Volume.
Step 3: If you have backed up the data present on the selected partition, click Yes.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t backed up the files present on the secondary partition, click No and repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 after creating the backup.
When you select Yes to delete a partition, the utility will delete the partition and label it as Unallocated with a black bar above it.
Step 4: After deleting that partition, right click on the primary partition that you want to extend and click Extend Volume.
Step 5: When the Extend Volume Wizard appears on the screen, click Next.
Step 6: if you want to merge the whole partition, click Next directly.
However, if you only want to merge part of it, enter a specific size in the ‘Select the amount of space in MB’ text box before clicking Next.
Step 7: Click Finish.
After you click finish, the Disk Management utility will merge the Unallocated partition with the existing partition.
Easier file management on Windows 11
It’s quite a lot. Now that you know how to create and modify hard drive partitions on your Windows 11 PC, you can start making changes on your computer. This simplifies file management and keeps your files safe if you ever need to reinstall Windows on your computer.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
