How To Partition an External Hard Drive on Windows 11/10/8/7

Typically, a single large partition is available on newly purchased external hard drives. You can easily store your data on this single partition. However, there are chances when you want to partition one. The article provides all information you need to know about partitioning an external hard drive.

Part 1. Partition an External Hard Drive: What Does It Mean?

Partitioning an external hard drive means dividing the hard drive storage space into multiple sections for better data management or other special needs. When you partition an external hard disk, you are essentially slicing up the storage medium into distinct sections of its whole. Most hard drives, even those that are external, are pre-formatted with a single partition.

Imagine a single partition as a large bucket in which all files are stored. Most Windows OS and macOS installs store the OS, together with any additional apps and personal data, in a single partition. However, there is a method that can divide that one large bucket into several smaller buckets.

Some gadgets, for instance, come outfitted with a second, more compact partition. This is intended to be used for data recovery in case any component of the hard drive or device fails. However, there are numerous additional scenarios in which you could find it beneficial to partition your external hard disk.

Part 2. Benefits Of Creating Partition on External Hard Drive

Not only will partitioning external hard drives improve speed, but it will also make it easier to retrieve lost data if the drive becomes corrupted. The following are some benefits that come with using a partitioned external hard drive:

Part 3. Things to Consider Before Partitioning an External Hard Drive

Here are some points you need to consider before partitioning an external hard drive:

File System

During the partitioning process, you will be prompted to choose the file system. The three Windows file systems with the most widespread adoption are NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT. Here in this article, we list some pros and cons of each one, but for a better understanding of which one to choose, you can read these three articles:

FAT32 vs NTFS

FAT32 vs exFAT

NTFS vs exFAT

Recovery

Always perform a backup after making any changes to your hard disk. Although partitioning does not usually result in data loss, it is still a good idea to back up your data just in case the partitioning procedure is unsuccessful.

Part 4. How To Partition an External Hard Drive on Windows 11/10/8/7

Here are two different ways to partition an external hard drive on Windows 11/10/8/7:

Way 1. Partition an External Hard Drive in Disk Management

Utilizing the built-in Disk Management tool with Windows is the quickest and easiest method for creating partitions on your new or old external hard drive. The default utility that comes with Windows can create new partitions, despite some third-party software having somewhat enlarged feature sets.

When you start your computer, ensure your external hard disk is connected. Then, follow the instructions below to partition an external hard drive while using Windows.

Step 1. On the keyboard, press Windows + R. Then, launch the Windows Disk Management tool by inputting the diskmgmt.msc command and pressing Enter.

Step 2. Choose the external hard drive or solid-state drive (SSD), right-click the unallocated space or free space, and then choose New Simple Volume from the menu that appears. If there is no free space left on the external hard drive, you will need to click the Shrink Volume button first.

Step 3. Fill in megabytes volume size that falls between the maximum and the smallest allowed sizes. In addition, click the Next button.

Step 4. Choose a drive letter and then click the Next button. Before you can save data to this partition, you will need to format it in the window you are now seeing. You can select a file system and give the disk a label. After that, check the box that says Perform a quick format, and click Finish.

Limits of creating a partition on an external hard drive with Disk Management:

Way 2. Partition an External Hard Drive Using DiskPart Commands

You can take control of your hard disks with the help of the command-line program known as DiskPart. It allows you to create, remove, and format partitions, depending on how you utilize them. It also allows you to designate drive letters and mount points to specific locations. Because it is such a powerful tool, DiskPart carries the potential risk of being misused.

This article will teach you how to partition an external hard disk on Windows using the DiskPart command line for free.

Step 1: Search the command prompt on your computer. Then, right-click and choose Run as Administrator.

Step 2: After the command line has been opened, enter diskpart in the command prompt and press the Enter key.

Step 3: Then, a new window for DiskPart opens. In this box, enter the command list disk and hit the Enter key to proceed. It will list all of the available drives.

Step 4: Input select disk (disk number) to choose the external hard drive you want to partition. Indicate the number of the drive that has to be formatted in the appropriate field.

Step 5: Next, Enter the command clean. The drive will be successfully cleaned up after using this command, which will erase all files and directories irreversibly. So, make sure you have backed up all critical files on this external hard drive.

Step 6: To re-enable access to the disk, enter create partition primary size=1024 (Replace 1024 with the partition size in MB that you want to set. 1024 means you will create a 1GB primary partition).

Step 7: Type format fs=ntfs (You can replace NTFS with the file system you want). The created hard disk partition should now be formatted using the NTFS file system.

Step 8: If you want to designate a drive letter, you may type assign letter=H (Replace H with a new letter for your external hard drive.) in the space provided.

Step 9. Finally, type exit to close the external hard drive partitioning process in DiskPart.

Limits of creating a partition on external hard drive with DiskPart:

Part 5. How To Recover Lost Data if You Encounter Data Loss After the Partitioning

When you use Disk Management or DiskPart to create a partition on an external hard drive, you must first format or delete the existing partition, which erases all the data on the drive. So what to do if you discover that you have lost some critical data after reorganizing your partitions without creating a backup? Using Wondershare Recoverit, you can get rid of this situation.

Wondershare Recoverit – Leader in Data Recovery

Try It Free Try It Free

5,481,435 people have downloaded it.

Restores data from 500+ loss scenarios, such as deleting, disk formatting, lost partition, computer crash, virus attack, etc.

Recovers 1000+ file types, including documents, photos, Ultra HD videos, audio files, and emails.

Recovers data from 2000+ storage media like internal and external hard drives, NASes, USB flash drives, SD memory cards, CF cards, etc.

Offers preview before recovery. No data, no charge.

Follow the steps below to recover any lost data after partitioning your external hard drive:

Step 1: Select the External Hard Drive

Connect your hard drive to the computer and launch Wondershare Recoverit after downloading and installing. Then, select the external hard disk where you lost data under the Hard Drives and Locations section.

Step 2: Start Scan

After that, Recoverit will search for the missing files on your external hard drive. It takes some time, depending on the file size. However, you can use the filters to find your desired files quickly.

Step 3: Recover Data From the Disk

You can preview any file by clicking on it to make sure you will restore the correct one. Finally, choose the files you need and click Recover to retrieve them to a safe location.

Summing Up

This article focused on partitioning an external hard drive on Windows 11/10/8/7. Examples of such drives include HDDs, SSDs, USB drives, and removable disks. It was also an attempt to provide an introduction to two useful disk partitioning applications.