How to delete a drive partition on Windows 10
You can delete any partition on Windows 10, and you will learn how in this guide.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
On Windows 10, a partition (or volume) is a logical division of the space on a physical storage drive with a specific file system and settings the system shows to the user as a separate drive.
Since a drive can hold many partitions, and sometimes, you may need to organize them,Windows 10includes multiple tools to ease the process of removing those partitions you no longer need to make more space available to increase the size of another partition. Or you can also use the tools to clean the storage to prepare it with a different partition scheme and file system.
Thisguidewill walk you through the steps to delete a partition on an internal or external drive using Disk Management, PowerShell, and Command Prompt.
Warning:These instructions will erase all the data stored inside the partition. If you have any important files you want to preserve, creating a backup of that data is recommended before proceeding.
How to delete a partition from Disk Management
To delete a partition (or volume) with Disk Management on Windows 10, use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, the partition and its contents will no longer be available on the drive making space available to expand another partition or format the drive with a new scheme.
How to delete a partition from PowerShell
On PowerShell, you have at least two different methods to remove a partition, including using the drive letter or partition number with different commands.
Get the Windows Central Newsletter
All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards.
Delete partition with an assigned drive letter
To delete a partition that has an assigned letter, use these steps:
In the command, make sure to replace"PARTITION-LETTER"with the letter of the partition you want to delete. For example, this command deletes theZpartition:Remove-Partition -DriveLetter Z
After you complete the steps, the partition will be removed, and the space on the drive will show as unallocated.
Delete partition without an assigned drive letter
To delete a partition without a drive letter on Windows 10, use these steps:
In the command, make sure to replace"DRIVE-NUMBER"for the number of the drive with the partition you want to erase (seestep 3). For example, this command lists the partitions of drive5:Get-Partition -DiskNumber 5
In the command, make sure to replace"DRIVE-NUMBER"and"PARTITION-NUMBER"with the number of the drive and partition you want to delete. For example, this command deletes partition number1in drive2:Remove-Partition -DiskNumber 1 -PartitionNumber 2
Once you complete the steps, the command will erase the partition from the hard drive you specified in the command.
How to delete a partition from Command Prompt
Alternatively, you can use the DiskPart command line with Command Prompt to delete a storage partition in at least two different ways.
Delete partition with volume command
To quickly delete a partition with the volume command, use these steps:
In the command, make sure to replace"VOLUME-LETTER"for the letter of the volume you want to delete. For example, this command deletes the volume number 6:select volume 6
After you complete the steps, the volume and its data will no longer be available on the drive.
Delete partition with partition command
To delete a specific storage partition with a variant of the DiskPart command, use these steps:
In the command, make sure to replace"DRIVE-NUMBER"for the number of the drive with the partition you want to delete (see step 4). For example, this command selects disk number 5:select disk 5
In the command, make sure to replace"PARTITION-LETTER"with the letter of the partition you want to delete. For example, this command deletes partition number 1:select partition 2
Once you complete the steps, the partition will be erased from the drive, making available the space to create a new partition with a different file system or extend another volume.
More resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, visit the following resources:
Cutting-edge operating system
A refreshed design in Windows 11 enables you to do what you want effortlessly and safely, with biometric logins for encrypted authentication and advanced antivirus defenses.
Mauro Huculak has been a Windows How-To Expert contributor for WindowsCentral.com for nearly a decade and has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides. He also has an IT background and has achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and CompTIA. He has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years.
