How to Use DiskPart Utility in Windows

Format, resize, extend and manage your drives

The Disk Management Tool is a useful, effective tool for managing your Windows disks and partitions, but it isn’t as powerful to use as Diskpart. This command-line tool lets you delete, create and modify partitions on any hard drives or USB storage your PC can detect.

We’d recommend using the Disk Management Tool for most situations, but if Windows isn’t starting up properly, or if you prefer touse the PowerShell terminal, Diskpart is the perfect alternative. Here are some of the more common Diskpart commands to help you learn how to use Diskpart effectively.

How To Use Diskpart

If you want to use Diskpart, you need to open up a Windows command line or PowerShell terminal. Diskpart is a destructive tool, so you’ll need to open a terminal window with the right administrative privileges.

We’ll explore some of the most common Diskpart commands in this article, but if you want to quickly see the full list of available Diskpart commands, typehelpat the“DISKPART>”prompt and hit enter.

Listing Existing Hard Drives, Volumes & Partitions

Once Diskpart is open, the first thing you should do is check the current layout of your hard drives and attached storage.

Deleting a Hard Drive Partition Or Volume Using Diskpart

A hard drive (disk) is separated into partitions, which are often the same as listed volumes. If your hard drive is separated into several partitions or volumes, and you wish to delete one, you can do that using Diskpart commands.

Wiping a Hard Drive Completely Using Diskpart Clean

Rather than removing individual volumes or partitions on a drive, you can wipe a hard drive completely using the Diskpartcleancommand. You can also use this command if you’re looking to wipe a USB flash drive, ready for formatting.

You won’t be able to do this on your system drive (nor would you want to!) unless you’re using Diskpart on a Windows installation

Creating & Formatting New Hard Drive Partitions

With a “clean” drive, you’re ready to create a partition in the free space using the Diskpartcreatepartitioncommand. You can then format that new partition with a Windows-friendly file system like NTFS or FAT32 using the Diskpartformatcommand.

Extend a Hard Drive Volume

If you have an existing hard drive volume that doesn’t take up all of the free space on a drive, and you wish to enlarge it, Diskpart commands allow you to do that.

Diskpart has other options available, as thehelpcommand briefly explains. If you need further information on how to use Diskpart, Microsoft has furtherDiskpart support informationavailable.

Ben Stockton is a freelance technology writer based in the United Kingdom. In a past life, Ben was a college lecturer in the UK, training teens and adults. Since leaving the classroom, Ben has taken his teaching experience and applied it to writing tech how-to guides and tutorials, specialising in Linux, Windows, and Android. He has a degree in History and a postgraduate qualification in Computing.Read Ben’s Full Bio

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How to Use DiskPart Utility in Windows#

How To Use Diskpart#

Listing Existing Hard Drives, Volumes & Partitions#

Deleting a Hard Drive Partition Or Volume Using Diskpart#

Wiping a Hard Drive Completely Using Diskpart Clean#

Creating & Formatting New Hard Drive Partitions#

Extend a Hard Drive Volume#