How to Partition A Hard Drive in Windows 11/10 [2025 New]

How to make a partition on Windows 11 or Windows 11? Follow this guide, and you'll learn how to partition a hard drive in Windows 11/10 for free via Windows partitioning tool - Disk Management, DiskPart, and third-party partition manager software - EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition

To partition a hard disk, you can use the OS's built-in tools like Disk Management in Windows and Disk Utility in macOS to shrink an existing volume and create a new partition with the created "unallocated space".

So, is there a seamless and secure method to create a partition without losing data? Follow this guide, and we'll show you how to partition a hard drive or make a partition on Windows computers with or without unallocated space for free.

Applies to: Run disk partitioning for free in Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista and even Windows Server computers.

Supported Disk Drives: partitioning HDDs

What Is "Partitioning a Hard Drive"?

Partitioning a hard drive means to divide or split a physical hard drive into multiple primary or logical partitions, making each partition show up in Windows File Explorer with a respective drive letter (such as C:, D:, E:, etc.). Partitioning a hard drive sometimes also means creating one or more partitions for different purposes, such as separating the operating system from personal data or creating a dual-boot system.

Preparation Tips for Partitioning Hard Drive

1. 1. Back up your data on the target hard drive before partitioning
2. 2. Leave or make sure your target drive has enough free space for creating a new drive
3. 3. Select a suitable file system - NTFS for Windows, exFAT/FAT32 for cross-platform
4. 4. Make sure you select the correct disk drive for partitioning

Remember to share this guide online to help more people master the skill in making new partitions on their disk drives for free in Windows 11, 10, and even older computers:

How to Partition a Hard Drive in Windows 11/10 - Disk Partition Tutorials

Are you looking for a reliable solution to perform disk partitioning or make a partition in Windows 11/10/8/7? On this page, we have collected three practical solutions to help you partition a hard drive in Windows 11/10 for free. 

Method 1. Partition Hard Drive via Free Partition Manager Software

To some beginners, partitioning hard drives in Windows 11/10 can be a challenge. A more intelligent and easier solution is to turn to third-party free partition manager software like EaseUS Partition Master Free for help. This disk partitioning utility enables all Windows users to make a partition from several different cases, for example:

• Creating volume with unallocated space
• Shrink to create unallocated space and make a new partition
• 1-click to create a specified number of volumes when the target disk is entirely unallocated.

Download the EaseUS partition manager and apply it to create partitions in Windows 11/10 now:

Steps to Partition Hard Drive in Windows 11/10: 

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master to check for free space at the Partition Manager section.

• If your hard drive has unallocated space, jump to Step 3 to create partition.
• If the hard drive has no unallocated space, continue with Step 2.

Step 2. Shrink a disk partition to create unallocated space.

Right-click on the target drive partition with a lot free space and select "Resize/Move".

Drag either end of the partition rightwards or leftwards to shrink the partition size so as to get ample unallocated space. You can visually know how much space you've decreased in the "Size of partition" area. Click "OK".

Click "Execute xx Task" and then "Apply" to save all the changes.

Go back to Partition Manager, there should be unallocated space appearing on the same disk and you can continue with the next step to create new partition on your hard drive.

Step 3. Create a new partition with unallocated space on the target hard drive.

 Right-click on the unallocated space and choose "Create".

Customize the partition size, partition drive letter, partition label, file system (NTFS, FAT32, EXT2/3/4, exFAT) and more in the Advanced Settings. Click "OK".

Finally, click "Execute * Task" and "Apply" to complete creating partition with the unallocated space on your disk. Repeat the steps to partition a hard drive and get many more partitions.

Video Tutorial to Partition a Hard Drive in Windows 11/10:

For more disk partition tips, follow this video tutorial and use EaseUS Partition Master to partition a hard drive in Windows 11/10, including extending, shrinking, creating, and deleting partitions.

Method 2. Make a Partition on Hard Drive with Disk Management

Disk Management is a basic disk partitioning tool designed by Microsoft for all Windows users to take control of the space of their storage devices. For example, they can apply it to partition the C drive in Windows 11/10 without formatting. 

When it comes to making a partition in a hard drive or SSD, you can just replace the target drive in the example with the C drive and partition your hard drive via Disk Management: 

Steps to Make a New Partition without Unallocated Space in Disk Management

Note: Please check if you have unallocated space on your computer disk. If you don't, follow our guide step-by-step. If you do, you can directly skip Steps 2 and 3 and move to Step 4 and continue.

Step 1. Right-click the Windows icon, then click Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click the hard disk partition that you want to shrink, and select "Shrink Volume".

Step 3. Enter the amount of space you want to shrink in MB, then click on the "Shrink" button.

Wait for the process to complete; you'll get an unallocated volume. 

Step 4. Right-click on the unallocated space on your hard disk, and then select "New Simple Volume".

Step 5. In the New Simple Volume Wizard interface, click "Next."

Step 6. Enter the size of the volume you want to create in MB or accept the default size, and then select "Next."

Step 7. Accept the default drive letter or choose a different letter for the partition, and then select "Next".

Step 8. Set the default file system to NTFS or another format, then click "Next" to format the volume.

Step 9. Click "Finish" to complete creating a new partition in Windows 11/10.

Now, you've got a new partition on your drive to store and save data. If you want to create multiple partitions on your hard drive, repeat the above steps. 

Bonus Guide: Create a Partition with Unallocated Space in Disk Management

Briefly speaking, you can create a partition from unpartitioned space with these steps:

1. Right-click This PC and select Manage.
2. Then, open Disk Management.
3. Select the disk where you want to make a partition.
4. Right-click the Unallocated space in the bottom pane and select New Simple Volume.
5. Enter the volume size and click next, and you are done.

Last, don't forget to share this step-by-step guide online to help more Windows beginners create partitions on their computers directly.

Method 3. Create Partition Using DiskPart

Aside from using third-party partition manager software and Disk Management, the other tool you can apply to create partitions on a Windows computer is DiskPart. 

Here is a brief guide on how to create a partition using DiskPart, and make sure you follow each step very carefully:

Step 1. Right-click the Windows icon on the taskbar and click "Search".

Step 2. Type "cmd" and right-click on Command Prompt, select "Run as an Administrator".

Step 3. Type the following command lines one by one and hit Enter each time:

✅Commands to create a new partition with unallocated space:

✅Commands to create a new partition without unallocated space:

Step 4. Type exit to close the DiskPart window.

Bonus: Microsoft Support also suggests users format the partition to get more free space. If you need to format an existing partition or change the volume format to a new file system, try this tutorial guide.

Why Partition Hard Drive on Windows 11/10 - Advantages You Can't Miss

To most Windows users, only very few of them know the necessity and advantages of making disk partitions in Windows 11/10/8/7. Check out the advantages of partitioning a hard drive on your computer. 

Advantages of Partitioning a Hard Drive vs. Disadvantages of Not Partitioning a Hard Drive

How Many Partitions Can You Make On a Hard Drive: 

• On an MBR disk, you can create a maximumly of 4 partitions in total - 3 primary partitions + 1 extended partition, or 4 primary partitions.
• On a GPT disk, you can create as many partitions as possible with no limitation on the number of partitions.
• For MBR users who wish to make five partitions or more, you need to convert MBR to GPT.

Conclusion

On this page, we discussed how to partition a hard drive in Windows 11/10. Based on the needs, we introduced three commonly used disk partitioning tools for Windows 11/10 users, including EaseUS Partition Master Free, Windows Disk Management and DiskPart.

As for beginners, free partition manager software - EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition, is more flexible and advisable for partitioning hard drives in Windows 11/10/8/7.

In the end, we also talked about the necessity of disk partitions. We suggest that all of you Windows users take steps to make partitions on your computer so as to manage your OS data, personal documents, and other programs in a safe and sound manner. 

FAQs of Disk Partition Windows 10/11

In this part, you'll find answers to some related questions of disk partitioning on Windows and Mac. If you have similar questions, refer to the answers below.

1. How do I split my hard drive into partitions?

Here are two easy ways to split a hard drive in Windows:

• Using Disk Management: Open Disk Management > Right-click the target volume you want to split and select "Shrink" > Enter the volume size and follow the on-screen instructions to finish the step. 
• Using EaseUS Partition Master: Launch EaseUS Partition Master > Right-click the target volume you want to split and select "Split" > Enter volume number and file system you tend to set > Click "Execute Task".

2. How to divide the C drive into D and E？

Here is a quick guide to divide your C drive into D and E drives:

• Open Disk Management and right-click the C drive, select "Shrink Volume".
• Enter the volume size you tend to shrink from the C drive for creating the D and E drives.
• Click "OK" to confirm.
• Right-click on the unallocated space and select "New Simple Volume".
• Enter volume size - half of the unallocated space or a specified size, and click "OK". (Remember, you should leave enough unallocated space for creating the E drive later.)
• Set the drive number as D and specify NTFS as the file system. 
• Click "OK" and "Finish".
• Repeat the above steps to recreate a new simple volume and set it as the "E" drive.

3. What are the risks of partitioning a hard drive?

Here is a list of risks in partitioning a hard drive you may come across:

• Data loss
• Failing to allocate proper space to the target volume, causing space waste
• Reduced disk performance due to data scattered across partitions or insufficient free space left
• Setting an improper file system to a target volume, for example, setting FAT32 to a 64GB or larger external disk drive

4. How to partition a hard drive on Mac?

• Open Disk Utility on Mac
• Select the target drive and click "Partition".
• Click the Plus (+) button to set the partition's name, size, format, etc.
• Click "Apply" and "Partition" to confirm.