How to create a partition on Windows 7

Windows 7 default desktop

We already learned how to shrink a volume or partition in Windows, visit the page if you need reclaim some space. In this article I am going to show you, how you can use the unallocated space in a disk and create a partition with Disk Management and command prompt.

How to create a partition with Disk Management

  1. Open Start.

  2. Search for Computer Management and click the result.

  3. Click on Storage and select Disk Management.

    Windows 7 - Computer Management

  4. Right-click the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume.

    Disk Management New simple volume

  5. Click Next.

    New simple volume wizard

  6. Select the amount of space you want to use for the new partition and click Next.

    Specify volume size

  7. Assign a drive letter and click Next.

    Assign drive letter

  8. Select the format options, including file system (NTFS), allocation unit size (Default), and volume label. Check the “Perform a quick format” and use “Enable file and folder compression” as necessary. Click Next to continue.

    Format partition options for New simple volume

  9. Click Finish to complete the task.

    Review new simple volume wizard

How to create a partition with command prompt

  1. Open Start.

  2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the result, and click Run as an administrator

  3. Type the following command and press Enter:

    diskpart
  4. Type the following command to list all the disks in your computer and press Enter: 

    list disk

    Diskpart list disk

  5. Type the following command to select a disk and press Enter:

    select disk 1

    Remember to change 1 for the number of the disk you want to partition.

    Diskpart select disk

  6. Type the following command to create a primary partition and press Enter:

    create primary partition
    Quick Tip: You can specify the amount of space for the new partition, you just need to add size=x (where x is the amount of space in Megabytes) to the command I showed you above. The command would look something like this: create partition primary size=1000

    Diskpart create partition primary

  7. Type the following command to list the volumes on your computer (RAW means that the volume doesn’t have a file system) and press Enter:

    list volume

    Diskpart list volume

  8. Type the following command to format the partition with NTFS file system and press Enter:

    format fs=ntfs quick

    Diskpart format NTFS

  9. Once you formatted the new partition, you’ll need to assign a letter to the drive. Type the following commands and press enter on each line:

    select volume 2 assign letter=f
    Quick Tip: If you use the assign command the drive will get a letter automatically, but if you use assign letter=x, you need to specify a letter that is not currently in use. In the command also remember to change 2 for the number of the volume you want to assign a letter.

    Diskpart assign drive letter

While we’re focusing this guide on Windows 7, you can also use these steps on Windows Vista.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.