What Happens If I Delete a Partition on Windows 10?

Oliver updated on Dec 21, 2023 to Disk Management Questions Answered | How-to Articles

Here's the thing: I want to delete a partition on my hard drive, but I'm unsure if it's a safe operation. What happens if I delete a partition on my Windows 10 computer? Will my data on it be erased, or will it cause anything worse? I need some answers here. Any help will be appreciated!

Deleting a partition will only erase all the data on it.

Besides erasing all your data on the partition, your Windows will also mark the spare space as unallocated space. However, the data on that partition could still be present and recoverable with reliable software since the system only recognizes the partition as free space after this action. In other words, Windows only hides the data on it.

Note: If you have any important data on that partition and you don't want to go through the complex recovery procedure, you'd better back them up or clone the partition before the task.

Generally speaking, deleting a partition won't cause data loss on other partitions, but if you operate incorrectly, there might be a chance you will lose your data on other drives or even cause worse issues. Thus, I recommend using partition manager software free to delete a partition safely and easily without any risks.

Way 1. Using EaseUS Partition Master

Step 1. Run EaseUS Partition Master, and click "Partition Manager".

Step 2. Select the unwanted partition and choose "Delete".

Step 3. Click "Yes" to confirm the operation.

Step 4. Click "Execute xx Task" and "Apply" to complete the process.

Way 2. Using Disk Management

If you have no interest in downloading a third-party tool, you can use the built-in Disk Management. However, you should be careful when using Disk Management since the interface may not be familiar to beginners. Here are the detailed steps for you.

Step 1. Press "Windows+R" and enter diskmgmt.msc.

Step 2. Right-click the partition and click "Delete Volume."

Step 3. Select "Yes" to confirm.