On Windows 11, you can partition a drive using different tools, and in this guide, you will learn the steps using the Settings app and Disk Management tool. A partition (also refers to as a volume) describes the logical section on the drive that is formatted and configured with a file system (such as NTFS or FAT32) and drive letter to store files. Usually, you can have multiple partitions on the hard drive that will appear on File Explorer as different drives.
You can create as many partitions as you need, but there are limitations, depending on the partition style. For example, if the device uses the Master Boot Record (MBR) partition style, you can only have up to four “primary” partitions. Only, one of them can be set as “active,” usually, this is the partition where the operating system is installed.
Also, partition number four will be converted automatically into an “extended” partition. An extended partition can’t store data, but it allows you to have additional “logical” partitions. Basically, this is the workaround to allow the system to have more than four partitions. Technically, inside an extended partition, you don’t have a limit on the number of partitions that you can create.
If the hard drive is initialized as GUID Partition Table (GPT), you can create as many primary partitions as needed since the limitation is 128 partitions. (You can also convert a drive from MBR to GPT with these instructions.)
This guide will teach you the different ways to create a new partition on a hard drive on Windows 11.
- Create drive partition on Windows 11 from Settings
- Create drive partition on Windows 11 from Disk Management
Create drive partition on Windows 11 from Settings
To create a new partition on a drive on Windows 11, use these steps:
Open Settings on Windows 11.
Click on Storage.
Under the “Storage Management” section, click on Advanced storage settings.
Click the Disks & volumes setting.
Select the drive to create a new partition.
Select the “Unallocated” space and click the Create volume button.
Quick note: If the drive already has a partition, select and open the properties page, and click the “Delete” button in the “Format” section. However, this process will delete the data currently on the drive. As a result, it’s recommended to backup the files of the partition before proceeding.
Confirm a label for the drive in the “Label” setting.
Select the drive letter to make it available on File Explorer in the “Drive Letter” setting.
Select the NTFS option in the “File System” setting.
Confirm the size of the partition in the “Size” setting.
Click the Advanced setting.
Check the “Perform a quick format” option.
Click the Format option.
Once you complete the steps, the partition will be created and formatted and ready to store files.
If you want to create another partition on a drive that already has a partition taking the entire storage space, you first need to shrink the partition to create unallocated space to set up another partition.
Create drive partition on Windows 11 from Disk Management
To create a partition on a drive from the Disk Management tool, use these steps:
Open Start.
Search for Create and format hard disk partitions and click the top result to open the Disk Management app.
Right-click the drive with the “Unallocated” and select the “New Simple Volume” option.
Quick note: If the drive already has a partition, right-click it and select the “Delete Volume” option. However, this process will delete the data currently on the drive. As a result, it’s recommended to back up the files of the partition before proceeding.
Click the Next button.
Confirm the size of the partition in the “Size” setting.
Click the Next button.
Select the “Assign the following driver” option and choose the letter for the new partition.
Click the Next button.
Select the “Format this volume with the following settings” option.
Select the NTFS option in the “File System” setting.
Confirm the drive’s name in the “Volume label” setting.
Check the “Perform a quick format” option.
Click the Next button.
Click the Finish button.
After you complete the steps, Disk Management will create and format the partition on Windows 11.
Source: Pureinfotech