Do I need to partition the disk on windows 10. The best programs for partitioning (partitioning) a hard disk. Use the Disk Management utility

As in previous versions Windows, in the top ten there is an opportunity dividing a physical hard disk into virtual partitions, for example, C and D. This article will focus on how you can create additional volumes on HDD in Windows 10 operating system.

First, let's talk about why this might be needed. Partitioning a hard disk is a familiar way to separate system information from personal files. Let's say on the C drive we will have the Windows 10 operating system itself and that's it installed programs, but on volume D there will be their own documents, images, audio and video recordings. It is also recommended to split the HDD into partitions if you need to reinstall the top ten cleanly and at the same time keep your personal files.

Before you start partitioning a hard drive in Windows 10 into partitions, we recommend to delete extra information from the currently existing volume that you plan to use as a donor of space for the new partition. After that, you need to defragment it.

It should be borne in mind that the number of partitions in Windows 10 cannot be more than four. If, along with the system volumes on the hard disk, 4 parts already exist, then, most likely, it will not be possible to separate one more by the built-in means of the "dozens". You will need to use third-party software. We will also talk about it, but below.

Do you need additional partitions on your hard drive?

The question is is it worth partitioning your hard drive in Windows 10 to additional sections, still does not have a definite answer. However, over time, an increasing number of specialists tend to use the minimum number of volumes. If in Windows times XP and 7, it was traditionally believed that for system and personal files it is better to use two different disk partitions (for example, C and D), then in recent times in a professional environment, you can increasingly hear the voices of those who do not see the point in such a division. Since the physical HDD remains all in the same singular, its division into volumes does not give any acceleration in work (on the contrary) and only creates psychological convenience for the user, allowing the storage to be divided into two volumes. Today, instead of creating additional partitions of the hard drive, it is possible to recommend buying an additional HDD for the system and programs, or even better solid state drive SSD, providing information exchange rate several times faster than that of a traditional disk. Using two physical hard drives is likely to give a performance boost, while two volumes on one HDD will slow down your computer rather than speed it up. Perhaps all these reflections will convince someone to give up dividing their hard drive into additional partitions unnecessarily. For those who are adamant in their desire to create additional volumes, below - step-by-step instruction with pictures.

Sharing a hard drive with built-in Windows 10 tools

To split hard drive into two or more volumes in Windows 10 no need to look for third-party programs. Already in the operating system itself for these purposes there is special tool... To run it, you need:

Click with the RIGHT mouse button on the menu Start.
And select the item " Disk management».

In this utility, unlike Windows Explorer, not only all storage media connected to the computer (SSD, HDD, CD / DVD, USB), but also all partitions (or volumes) of each of them are always visible.

To split an existing large partition into several volumes, you need to:

Select the item " Shrink Volume ...».
After a few seconds, a new window will appear, in which in the item " Compressible space size (MB)"You can specify in megabytes the amount of space we need to create a new volume or volumes. This number of MB will be subtracted from the existing hard disk partition that we are currently working with. 1024 MB = 1 GB, that is, to create a new 100 GB partition, we need to specify a size of 102400 MB.
After that, you need to click " Shrink". Here we mean reducing the space of an already existing partition. It will not work to shrink the volume more than the maximum value suggested by the system. If you need to move more space to a new partition than the Disk Management utility allows, then you should use third-party programs. Let's talk about one of them below.

After shrinking the existing volume, there were changes in the disk structure - there was unallocated space highlighted with a black stripe. In our case, this is 100.00 GB. Now one or more additional hard disk partitions can be created in this space. For this you need:

Click on it with the RIGHT mouse button.
Select the item " Create Simple Volume ...»
In the "Simple Volume Wizard" that opens, just go further.

Now we need to specify the size of the created hard disk partition in megabytes. For example, we will take half of the unallocated space - 51200 MB.
Click "Next".
If necessary, change the drive letter.
Again "Next".
And again we go forward.

At the final stage, in the Simple Volume Wizard window, click Finish.
In the Disk Management utility, we see that we have a new hard disk volume under the letter D with a size of 50 GB.

From the remaining unallocated space, we can create another section or add it to an existing one. To do this, on volume D, click the RIGHT mouse button and select the item “ Expand volume ...». note that the built-in means of Winodws 10 can only expand the section that is directly adjacent to the space labeled "Not allocated." That is, in a situation as in the image above, expanding the C drive at the expense of free 50 gigabytes will not work. Of these, you can only create a new volume or increase the size D. To solve such atypical issues, below we consider the use of a third-party program to partition the hard disk and work with these partitions.

Working with hard disk partitions in Windows 10 using the AOMEI program

In some cases, the functionality built into Windows 10 may not be enough to partition the hard drive and manage volumes. It is better to use third-party software only when there are no other options. This program, unlike many of the analogues recommended on the Internet, is completely trustworthy. There is a separate article about her on Wikipedia. This is where you can find a link to official site the AOMEI Partition Assistant tool. In favor of this program is at least the fact that it was developed primarily for sale. However, for our needs it is quite suitable and free version a tool called AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Freeware... Download setup file can be on the download page (Download) of the above site. By the way, we recommend checking all downloaded programs for safety on the VirusTotal.com website. It allows you to scan any file in dozens of anti-virus programs.

Free software AOMEI Partition Assistant Standart can help when the built-in Windows program 10 fails. Let's say, in the case like in the image below, standard utility"Disk Management" does not allow adding unallocated space to drive C, since this partition is located from free space through another volume (D).

But with the help of the AOMEI Partition Assistant Standart program, it is possible to solve this problem. For example, we will describe in more detail the algorithm of its operation on a given specific example... So, we need to add 50 GB of free space to volume C. To do this, in the AOMEI program:

Click with the RIGHT mouse button on volume C.
We select the item "Merge Sections".
We put a check mark on those parts of the hard disk that we need to combine into one.
Click OK.
And most importantly, we click on the green checkmark “ Apply»(In English Apply) for the changes to be applied.

After that, you will need to confirm the action with the button " Go to"(In fact, it should be called" Continue "- but there are apparently shortcomings of the Russian-language translation).

Similar to merging the C partition with unallocated space, AOMEI splits one volume into several, merges them, and all sorts of other operations. Please note that in order to perform some actions, the tool will need to restart the computer and execute them in PreOS mode (before loading operating system Windows 10). It is this mode that allows you to perform those tasks for which the standard Disk Management tool is not designed.

If you have any questions about how AOMEI works or how to use the standard Disk Management tool, feel free to ask them in the comments below.

Windows 10 offers a lot of possibilities for working with memory drives. Compared to the past Windows versions, the current disk management tool has more features and is capable of completely replacing the command line. However, it can still be used if desired.

How to open Disk Management in Windows 10

To open Disk Management, do the following:

There are also several other options for how to get to the Disk Management menu. For example:

Drive the command diskmgt.msc into the "execute" line. The "Run" line is called by the keyboard shortcut Win + R (or create executable file with this command).
In the task manager, select the "File" section and go to the "Disk Management" item.
And there is also the option to open a command line utility for disk management. To do this, execute the window in the ‘DiskPart.exe’ command.

If one of the methods doesn't work, just try another. If, when you try to open Disk Management, the system gives an error connecting to the service, then you need to make sure that the antivirus program has not deleted the dmdskmgr.dll file

If this file is not found, you need to restore it to its original location. You can return it or take it from boot disk Windows, or by using the system file check command. This is done like this:

Open the Run menu (Win + R) and enter the cmd command there.
In the command line that opens, you need to drive in the sfc command and then scannow.
To verify the data, the program will need to specify the path to installation disk with your Windows 10. Do this and the file scan will be done.

Checking for errors

The check can be done through the command line, but it is much easier to do it through the "Disk Management" program. It is enough to do the following:

How to create a local drive

If you want to create a local disk in addition to where you have Windows installed, you can do this through the same Disk Management program. After opening it, we take the following actions:

Select the unallocated area of the disk. The area available for staking will be shown in black at the bottom.
Click on this place right click mouse to open the context window and select "Create Simple Volume ..."
Following the instructions of the program, we reach the section "Specifying the size of the volume". Here you can set either the full amount of memory available on the disk, or incomplete if you want to split one disk into several local ones.
Next, we set a letter designation for the local disk.
Then, all that remains is to specify the file system (NTFS is worth installing these days, as it has no file size limit). The rest of the values can be left as default.
In the next window, all that remains is to confirm the specified data and the local disk will be created.

Shrink and expand a volume in Windows 10

Expanding a volume is increasing the size of a local disk using its unallocated area. The unallocated area is the area of new hard drives, and can also be obtained by compressing local drives.

How to shrink a volume in Windows 10

To shrink a volume in Windows 10, follow these steps:

Possible compression problems

If you are unable to shrink the volume, then you should do the following:

Defragment your disk - this can increase the maximum available compression value.
Disable antivirus software before trying to compress. For example, Norton antivirus might block the ability to shrink a disk.
And also, to increase the available space for compression, you can disable the paging file.

How to expand a volume in Windows 10

If you already have an unallocated disk area, then expanding the volume is easy. This is done like this:

Possible expansion problems

If you are having problems expanding the volume. Check the following:

Make sure you have a fairly large unallocated area on disk.
For expansion, only an area from adjacent departments can be used. That is, if you have an unallocated area that is not adjacent to the expandable volume, then it will not work to expand it. In such cases, third-party programs can help.
Make sure that the number of created sections is no more than four. There is a limit to the number of main sections created.

Resizing hard drive (video)

Defragmentation

Disk defragmentation is needed to increase the response speed to files by placing them more densely on the hard disk. It's very simple to make it:

Right-click on the disk and go to "Properties"
We open the section "Service"
Press the button to optimize.
Select the disk which we want to fragment and click "Optimize".
We are waiting for the end of disk fragmentation.

Cleaning

Disk Cleanup can also help you free up the space you need. This can be done using the utility of the same name. For this:

Aggregating discs

To merge your disk partitions into one local partition, you need to use third-party programs. However, using Windows tools you can achieve the same result simply by transferring all files from one disk to another, then deleting the local disk we do not need and expanding the second one to the space available after deleting.
But if you just want to combine two disks, you can, for example, use the EaseUS Partition Master program. We do the following:

Now you know how to manage disks on your computer and can easily create the required local disks. I am very glad that in Windows 10 disk management has become even more accessible for all users and now everyone can perform any manipulations with disks.

We are used to using conditional separation on our computer. hard disk into two sections: C and D, respectively. The first one installs the system, and the second stores user data. This is done so that at the next Windows installation we could do a clean install and format the partition without losing user data. The article will consider the question: how to partition a disk on Windows 10 and all the nuances associated with it.

Very often there is a need not only to divide a physical disk into logical ones, but to change the size of existing parts - this will also be discussed below. It should be noted that a positive result can be achieved by the forces of the system itself, however, this will not be as easy as, for example, when using a third-party software... For the sake of completeness, we will describe both methods.

The first option, which we will talk about today, is an already working system, in which it became necessary to partition the disk into 2 partitions. You can complete the task without using third-party software. Let's get started.

Right-click on the "Start" button and select "Disk Management".

You can run the same tool in another way: simultaneously press two keys Win + R and enter the command diskmgmt.msc in the window that opens, and then click the "OK" button.

The top part of the window displays a list of all disks installed in the PC or laptop and their partitions. Here you can see the file system type, size and state. In this case, physical disks are designated by numbers, and logical ones - by the letters we are used to.

The partition map is displayed at the bottom of the disk management utility. Thanks to the rectangles, we can roughly estimate the ratio of the sizes of the sections. In our case, you can see that the system partition is 500 MB in size, the C drive is about 68 GB, and the user D partition takes up the rest of the space.

You cannot make any changes to drives that do not have letters. Most often these are system-reserved areas that contain system or boot files. If you edit such a section, the system can be damaged up to permanent failure.

We continue our instructions. In order to partition a disk, you initially need to determine free place... To do this, we shrink the disk that needs to be divided. In our case, this is the user section D. Click on it with the right mouse button and select the "Compress" item.

A small window will open in which we need to indicate how much to compress the partition. The space here is measured in megabytes, so we write 10,000 MB, which corresponds to 10 GB, and click "Compress".

The volume is being compressed. There is no progress bar here - we do not see how much is left until the completion of the operation. The fact that the process is underway is evidenced only by a circle of expectation. On our computer, the compression took about 3 minutes.

Now you can create a new section. Divide system Windows disk 10 regular means is not allowed, so we will create an additional section. How to increase the system volume will be discussed below. So, right-click on the unallocated space and select "Create Simple Volume".

In the appeared volume creation wizard, click "Next".

We indicate the size that the new section will receive, and click "Next". We will use the entire space.

The system will offer us a letter for the future volume - we agree and click "Next".

In the next step, you need to select the file system of the partition (we will use NTFS) and specify the volume name (it will be displayed in the explorer). When desired settings will be entered, click on "Next".

This completes the volume setup. We just have to press the button labeled "Finish".

You don't need to shrink the shrink disk to the limit. If you do not leave space on it, the section will not be able to fully function. You will not be able to do defragmentation, and the speed of the volume will drop critically, which will affect the performance of the entire system.

How to partition a disk during system installation

You can partition a physical disk into partitions using clean installation Windows 10. But here you have to lose all data. This option is suitable for those who bought new computer or a laptop and wants to install an OS on it, or those who have safely saved their files elsewhere. One way or another, let's proceed to the instructions for partitioning disks when installing the system.

The process of installing Windows 10 itself is discussed in detail on our website. We are specifically interested in the moment of working with disks. Once the installation reaches the desired stage, you will see the following window.

Let's say we need to increase the size of the first partition and shrink the second. Our discs are called "2" and "3", you may have other names. All of them are located on physical device"0". Let's start partitioning the disk. First, you need to delete both sections. To do this, select each of them in turn and click on "Delete".

As a result, we should have unallocated space. Select it and click on the "Create" button.

We indicate the size of the new logical disk and click "Apply". We set 40,000 MB, which equals 40 GB. You have the right to choose the volume you need - the figure given is only an example. For normal Windows work 10 needs to be allocated from 80 GB and above.

The system will warn us that an additional section must be created for correct operation. It will store drivers and other important Windows components... We agree and click "OK".

As a result, we got one system partition with a size of 500 MB, a disk for the system with the size that we indicated (we have 40 GB), and unallocated space. This is what we will use to create a section for user data. Select free space and click on the "Create" item.

We press the "Apply" button thereby taking away all the remaining space for disk D.

All that remains is to format the disks. We'll show you how to do this using the first section as an example, and you will do the same with the rest. Select the volume and click on the "Format" item.

Windows will warn us that all data from the partition will be permanently deleted. Click "OK" to start the formatting process.

After a few seconds, the process will complete and the disks will be formatted. Now you can proceed to installing the system. To do this, simply select the system drive (on which you planned to install the OS) and click the "Next" button.

We use third-party software

In addition to the standard system tools for partitioning the disk, there are many third-party utilities that are distinguished by the best functionality and ease of use. We have chosen 3 leading programs and will describe in detail the sequence of actions with each of them.

Minitool Partition Wizard Free

This is a handy application for working with hard disk partitions. All standard operations are also supported here: expansion, division, creation and deletion. There is a step-by-step wizard that will not let beginners get confused in the process.

You can download the utility. After the file has been downloaded, proceed to the instructions for using it.

Installing the utility is pretty straightforward - you first need to accept the license.

Select the directory where our application will be installed and click "Next".

The program is being installed. When it is completed, we will only have to click the "Finish" button.

After the utility is installed, you can proceed to using it. We launch the program and follow the instructions.

In the window that opens, click on the rectangle, which we circled with a red frame.

Click on the desired disk with the right mouse button and select the item that we marked in the screenshot with the number "2".

Using the slider, change the size of the disk to the value by which it will be reduced. The rest will be cut from the disk and will serve as a place to create the second partition.

Click on the resulting free space with the right mouse button and select the "Create" item.

Since we are going to create a new volume with the size of all the free space, in the next window we do not change anything and just click "OK".

Apply the changes with the button indicated in the screenshot.

Since we are working with drive D, there is no need to reboot. If actions were carried out on the system partition, Windows would reboot.

As a result, the changes were applied and our disk was split into pieces of the size that we specified during the setup process. Likewise, you can merge discs.

Acronic Disk Director

it professional tool, which can be downloaded from the official website of the program. The application is paid, but there is also a demo version. Consider the process of working with Acronic Disk Director:

Let's install the program first. There is nothing difficult here. When the file is downloaded, run it. Click on the entry indicated in the screenshot.

We accept the license agreement by checking the box in the desired position, and click "Next".

We select the directory in which the installation will be carried out.

We are waiting for all the files to be copied.

After the application starts, click on the name desired disk right-click and select the "Divide Volume" item.

Using the slider, we change the size of the two new sections, when finished, click "OK".

Now we need to apply the changes. For this press the button, which we have highlighted in the figure with a red frame.

As a result, our changes will be applied and the section will be cut into two parts in accordance with the parameters we specified. If the work is carried out with system volume, a reboot is required.

Aomei Partition Assistant

A simple program for working with hard disk partitions. A number of functions are supported, such as: deleting disks, formatting them, shrinking and enlarging, moving, hiding and creating. This is not a complete list of the application's features.

Aomei Partition Assistant is very easy to use. All procedures that you will carry out with it are of the type step by step wizard, in addition, we will describe in detail the process using the example of partitioning a disk in Windows 10. You can download the program from the official website.

Instructions for working with Aomei Partition Assistant:

After the installation distribution has been downloaded (the program is free) launch it and first of all select the language in which the interface will be displayed. Russian is present and this greatly facilitates the work with the application.

Choose the path for the installation (the "Browse" button) and press the button marked in the screenshot with the number "2".

We are waiting for the completion of the installation of the program. It took us about 1 minute.

Now you can proceed to use. We press the button marked in the picture.

In the program window, select the disk you want to partition, right-click on it, and then "Resize Partition".

Using the slider or entering a value, set a new size, then click on "OK".

Right-click on the unallocated space that appears and select in context menu section "Create a section".

We confirm the size, the letter of the future disk and its file system. When finished, click "OK".

In order for the changes to take effect, click the "Apply" button.

The operation will go in the so-called PreOS mode. Simply put, at a time when Windows 10 has not yet fully loaded, our program will begin its work on partitioning the disk.

It remains only to confirm the procedure - click "Yes".

After the computer has restarted, we see in the disk editor a new partition with the size that we specified. The system drive C has shrunk. The procedure completed correctly.

Instead of an afterword

In the article, we looked at the question: how to partition a Windows 10 disk. We did this in several ways, using the tools of the operating system itself and third party utilities... If after reading the material you still have questions, read or ask them in the comments, and we, in turn, will try to give an intelligible answer as soon as possible.

Many computer users find it convenient to use multiple partitions on a single hard drive, but not everyone knows how to partition a disk in Windows 10. Splitting a hard disk into logical volumes has several advantages over using a single volume. The most obvious is the safety of personal information in the event that you need to reinstall the OS. It is enough to transfer the data to a non-system local disk, and when the system partition is formatted, it will not be affected. More pluses - the ability to install multiple operating systems and increased productivity current system... After all, the smaller the volume of the system partition, the faster Windows works.

So how do you break HDD to partitions in Windows 10? Let's see how to do this, first with an example standard tools Windows, and then third-party utilities.

From the operating environment

Windows 10 can partition the hard drive with built-in applications. If the system is already installed and functioning normally, it is advisable to defragment it before the division operation. Fragments of files can be located in different parts of the hard drive, and this will not allow using the entire disk space. Defragmentation brings everything together in one place, thereby freeing up space. To partition a disk in Windows 10, right-click on the Start icon and go to Disk Management. The same result can be achieved by pressing the keyboard shortcuts "Win + R" and entering the command "diskmgmt.msc".

All volumes are displayed in the upper center of the window. Below - the connected drives are listed. When one hard drive is connected, most likely, it will be signed as "Disk 0". As a rule, it will already contain several sections. You cannot perform any actions on volumes without a letter. These are parts specially created by the system that contain information for the OS loader. Divide only the main volume, in most cases it has the letter "C".

To start partitioning, right-click on the primary disk and select the "Shrink Volume" menu item. In a new window, you will be asked to determine how much volume you want to allocate for the new section. It is highly undesirable to allot all the empty space for these purposes. For normal operation of the system, you need to leave a dozen gigabytes.

Better yet, 30-60 GB of free space.

Click "Shrink" and an unallocated area of the disk will appear. Right click on it and click "Create Simple Volume". The "Simple Volume Wizard" will open. You will be prompted to determine the amount of space that you want to allocate for the new section. If this is the only volume, select all free space. If you plan to create another one, allocate as much space for the current one as you need. Next, assign a letter, format the section in file system NTFS and click Finish. The breakdown takes place in automatic mode, so you just need to wait for the operation to complete.

Using the Expand Volume function, you can expand the size of an existing partition by taking advantage of the free space on another logical disk. If you have several hard drives, Windows 10 can expand the volume of a partition by using a volume on another drive.

Be sure to defragment your disks before redistributing.

First you need to free up the area for the expansion. This can be done either by shrinking one of the partitions or by deleting the existing volume. For the second option, you need to right-click on the required section and select "Delete volume". Then click on the unallocated area and click Expand Volume. In the window that appears, the expandable section will be on the right side. Click "Next" and check if everything was specified correctly. To subdivide the area, click on "Finish".

Partitioning a disk when installing an OS

How to partition a disk when installing Windows 10? First of all, it should be understood that in this case you will have to delete all information from the system partition. When installing Windows, after requesting an activation key, a window will appear in which you must select "Custom installation".

Next, delete unnecessary volumes. After that, select the unallocated space and create a new partition based on it. You need to first determine the volume system disk... Everything else will be under the second logical volume. You must also select it and click on the "Create" button. To avoid problems with recognition, format it. This will create the desired number of volumes.

Helper utilities

You can also partition a disk in Windows 10 using third-party programs... Consider utilities such as:

Aomei Partition Assistant Free;
Partition Magic;
Acronis Disk Director.

As the name suggests, Aomei Partition Assistant Free is free. You need to download and install the program. Installing an app on Windows 10 is easy.

The main thing is to run as administrator.

With this program you can:

partition the hard drive into partitions;
resize the logical volume;
remove or add a section.

To allocate disk space, open the previously installed Partition Assistant and select the drive in the main window. At the bottom left, click on the "Divide disk" item. Then allocate space between the existing and the new partition. Click "Ok" and wait for the end of the process.

Finally, let's take a look at how to partition a hard drive using the command line. Press "Win + R" or "Start" - "All programs" - "Standard" - " Command line". You need to run as administrator and enter the commands:

list disk - displays a list of available media;
list volume - shows logical partitions on all hard drives;
for choice hard disk enter "select disk N", where N is the number of the desired disk;
create partition - create partition, primary - primary, logical - logical.

To divide the hard drive into logical volumes Windows environment 10 is just more convenient than the above method. However, the choice is yours.

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