How to create partition on Windows 11

To create a partition on Windows 11 from unpartitioned space, open Settings > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Disks & volumes, select the drive, click “Create volume,” choose a label, letter, file system, and size for the new partition, and click “Format.”
You can also open Disk Management, right-click the unallocated space and select “New Simple Volume.” Then follow the wizard to create a partition on Windows 11.

On Windows 11, you can create a new partition on a hard drive using different tools, and in this guide, you will learn the steps using the Settings app, Disk Management, and the installation setup. A partition (also referred to as a volume) describes the logical section on the drive that is formatted and configured with a file system (such as NTFS or FAT32) and drive letter to store files. Usually, you can have multiple partitions on the hard drive that will appear on File Explorer as different drives.

You can create as many partitions as you need, but there are limitations depending on the partition style. For example, if the device uses the Master Boot Record (MBR) partition style, you can only have up to four “primary” partitions. Only one of them can be set as “active,” usually, this is the partition where the operating system is installed.

Also, partition number four will be converted automatically into an “extended” partition. An extended partition can’t store data but allows you to have additional “logical” partitions. This workaround enables the system to have more than four partitions. Technically, inside an extended partition, you don’t have a limit on the number of partitions that you can create.

If the hard drive is initialized as GUID Partition Table (GPT), you can create as many primary partitions as needed since the limitation is 128 partitions. (With these instructions, you can also convert a drive from MBR to GPT.)

This guide will teach you the different ways to create a new partition on a hard drive on Windows 11. If you have to delete a partition, use these instructions.

Create partition on Windows 11 from Settings app
Create partition on Windows 11 from Disk Management
Create partition on Windows 11 from Setup

Create partition on Windows 11 from Settings app

To create a partition from unpartitioned space on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Settings on Windows 11.
Click on Storage.
Under the “Storage Management” section, click on Advanced storage settings.
Click the Disks & volumes setting.
Select the SSD or HDD storage to create a new partition.
Select the “Unallocated” space and click the Create volume button.

Quick note: If the drive already has a partition, select and open the properties page, and click the “Delete” button in the “Format” section. However, this process will delete the data currently on the drive. As a result, it’s recommended to back up the files of the partition before proceeding.
Confirm a label for the drive in the “Label” setting.
Select the drive letter to make it available on File Explorer in the “Drive Letter” setting.
Select the NTFS option in the “File System” setting.
Confirm the size of the partition in the “Size” setting.
Click the Advanced setting.
Check the “Perform a quick format” option.
Click the Format option.

Once you complete the steps, the partition will be created, formatted, and ready to store files.

If you want to create another partition on a drive that already has a partition taking the entire storage space, you first need to shrink the partition to create unallocated space to set up another partition.

Create partition on Windows 11 from Disk Management

To create a hard drive partition from the Disk Management tool, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for Create and format hard disk partitions and click the top result to open the Disk Management app.
Right-click the drive with the “Unallocated” and select the “New Simple Volume” option.

Quick note: If the drive already has a partition, right-click it and select the “Delete Volume” option. However, this process will delete the data currently on the drive. As a result, it’s recommended to back up the files of the partition before proceeding.
Click the Next button.
Confirm the size of the partition in the “Size” setting.
Click the Next button.
Select the “Assign the following driver” option and choose the letter for the new partition.
Click the Next button.
Select the “Format this volume with the following settings” option.
Select the NTFS option in the “File System” setting.
Confirm the drive’s name in the “Volume label” setting.
Check the “Perform a quick format” option.
Click the Next button.
Click the Finish button.

After you complete the steps, Disk Management will create and format the partition on the SSD or HDD storage on Windows 11.

Create partition on Windows 11 from Setup

To create a partition during the Windows 11 installation, use these steps:

Start your PC with a Windows 11 USB install media.

Important: To boot your computer using a USB flash drive, you may need to modify the UEFI firmware settings. This typically involves pressing one of the function keys (F1, F2, F3, F10, or F12), the “ESC,” or the “Delete” key. For precise instructions, refer to your manufacturer’s support website. It’s crucial to note that this process will erase all data on the hard drive. Therefore, it’s highly recommended to create a backup of your files before proceeding.
Press any key to begin.
Click the Next button.
Click the Install now button.
Type the product key to activate Windows 11, or click the Skip button if this is a reinstallation.
Check the “I accept the license terms” option.
Click the Next button.
Choose the edition of Windows 11 to install if you skipped the product key.
Click the Next button.
Select the “Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)” option.
Select each partition on the drive and click the Delete button.
Select the “Drive 0 Unallocated Space” item.
Click the New button.
Choose the amount of space (in megabytes) for the partition that will hold Windows 11 and apps.
Click the Apply button.
Click the OK button. (Alongside the custom partition, Windows 11 will also create the additional partitions automatically required to install and run the system.)
(Optional) Select the “Drive 0 Unallocated Space” item.
Click the New button to create additional partitions with the remaining space (as necessary).
Select the “Drive 0 Partition 4 (Primary)” item from the list.
Click the Next button.

Once you complete the steps, the setup process will initiate a fresh installation of Windows 11 on the newly created partition. After the installation is complete, you will be required to go through the out-of-box experience (OOBE) in order to create an account and finalize the setup process.