Diskpart Commands Windows 11/10: Full Guide to Manage Partitions

Most Windows newbies are probably unaware of Diskpart, a free CMD disk software that aids in managing disk partitions on the computer. However, knowing which diskpart command in windows you should use to perform specific tasks and how to prevent your data from being lost during the execution of these Diskpart commands is necessary. In this article, you will discover how Diskpart operates to monitor disk drives and even how to resolve Diskpart issues like a pro using diskpart commands in Windows 10/11/8/7.

Part 1. What Is Diskpart?

Diskpart is the latest command-line utility for managing disk partitions and has replaced the older fdisk tool. It is supported by all the latest Windows versions and can manage partitions on desktops, laptops, and external storage devices. However, you must know all the basic commands to manage partitions.

Part 2. Get Most Common Diskpart Commands Examples in Windows

Diskpart offers a vast array of commands to manage your disk partitions. However, which command should be used to format a volume and which should be used to create a new partition? Check the Windows Diskpart commands mentioned in the table below to understand better which task each one performs.

Part 3. Using Diskpart Commands Examples to Manage Partitions in Windows

You can carry out multiple tasks using Diskpart; therefore, commands are carried out one at a time. The outcomes of the previous operation are displayed in the subsequent procedure, and you must press the "Enter" key after each command you input.

Discover how to use the Diskpart commands to manage disk partitions by performing different disk operations, which are mentioned below:

Active Partition Command

To make a selected drive/volume/partition active.

1. Launch Diskpart, type the command list disk, and press Enter.
2. Type the command select disk* and hit Enter.
3. Type list partition and press Enter.
4. Type the command select partition* and hit Enter. Replace * with the number of the desired partition you want to set as active.
5. Type active and press the Enter key.

Assign Drive Letter Command

To assign a specific drive letter to the selected drive/volume/partition.

1. Launch Diskpart in Command Prompt. To list all the volumes on your system, type "list volume" and hit "Enter."

   

2. After entering the "select volume*" command, press "Enter" and replace * with the number of your partition or drive.

   

3. Enter "assign letter=f" and hit the Enter key.

   

Create Primary Partition Command

To create a new primary partition, simple volume, or logical partition.

1. Launch Diskpart.
2. Enter the command list disk.
3. Type select disk* and press the Enter key; replace * with the disk's number on which you want to create a partition.
4. To create a partition on the specified disk, enter the relevant command:
   
   create partition primary size=* or create partition logical size=*
assign drive letter=*
format fs=ntfs quick(you can replace NTFS with other desired formats like FAT32, exFAT, etc.)

Delete Partition Command

To delete volumes/partitions, wipe or erase partitions, clean disk/volume/partition, or erase HDD/SSD.

1. Launch Diskpart.
2. Enter the command list disk.
3. Press Enter after typing the command list partition.
4. Type the command select partition* and press Enter.
5. Type delete partition and hit Enter.

Format Partition Command

To format hard drive or partition, quick format volumes, USB, or external disks.

1. Launch Diskpart.
2. Input the following commands in sequence, and press Enter each time:list disk
select disk*(Replace * with the target disk number.)
   list volume
select volume*(Replace * with the volume on your drive to be formatted.)format fs=ntfs quick, or format fs=exFAT quick, or format fs=fat32 quick

Note: if you want to format multiple partitions, repeat the procedure.

Shrink Partition Command

To reduce the size of the specified partition.

1. Launch Diskpart.
2. Type the command list volume and press Enter.
3. Input the command select volume* and press Enter. Replace * with the number of volumes/partitions you want to shrink.
4. Type shrink desired=* and hit Enter. Replace * with the size you want to shrink from the specified partition.

Clean-up or Erase Disk Command

To erase or clean up the entire disk, volume, or partition.

Launch Diskpart, input the following commands in sequence, and press Enter every time.

• list disk
• select disk* (replace * with drive number)
• clean all

MBR to GPT/GPT to MBR Command

To transform disk type, change MBR to GPT or GPT to MBR.

1. Launch Diskpart, type the command list disk, and press Enter.
2. Input the command select disk* and hit Enter.
3. Type clean and press Enter.
4. Enter the command convert mbr or convert gpt and hit Enter.

Part 4. How To Open Diskpart in Windows 10/11/8/7?

Different Windows versions have different interfaces; therefore, if you don't know how to open Diskpart on your Windows edition, don't worry. Depending on your operating system, you can choose from the following four routes to launch Diskpart:

Run Diskpart in Windows 10

1. Press Win+R to launch the Run Application.
2. Type CMD in the Run dialogue box to open Command Prompt and hit Enter to launch the Command Prompt application.
3. In the Command Prompt window, enter the command Diskpart and hit Enter.

Run Diskpart in Windows 11

1. Hit the Win+S keys to launch the Windows Search Application and type Diskpart in the search bar.
2. Right-click on Diskpart and choose Run as Administrator from the dropdown menu options.

Run Diskpart in Windows 8

1. Click the Start menu, go to the Search bar, and type CMD in the search box.
2. Right-click on the Command Prompt application and select Run as Administrator.
3. Input Diskpart in the Command Prompt window and press Enter to launch Diskpart.

Run Diskpart in Windows 7

1. Choose Search from the Start menu, then type CMD.
2. From the results list, select Command Prompt and choose "Run as an Administrator" from the context menu.
3. In the Command Prompt, type diskpart and press Enter.

Part 5. Recover Partition Easily If Data Loss

It is challenging to remember all the Diskpart commands with accurate syntax parameters; therefore, there are greater chances of partition formatting, deletion, or erasure. However, if you have entered the wrong Diskpart commands and accidentally deleted the partition or your data is deleted through unintentional formatting.

There's no need to worry. Using powerful and reliable recovery software, you can recover the deleted partition or lost data; Recoverit is the industry leader in recovering your deleted files in seconds.

1. Download and launch the Recoverit Data Recovery application and choose the respective deleted partition.

   

2. Recoverit will Scan all the lost or deleted partitions to recover them.

   

3. Preview the recoverable partition files to identify which files you want back.

   

4. Click the Recover option to recover the partition after the preview.

Conclusion

We have provided an in-depth explanation of what Diskpart is, what it can perform, why you should use it, and examples of typical Diskpart commands. Diskpart is a more effective Windows utility than disk management for managing your computer's hard disk partitions and external storage devices. However, remembering syntax commands is the only complexity that some beginner users may experience.