How to delete drive partition on Windows 11

To delete a partition on Windows 11:
- Open Settings > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Disks & volumes.
- Click the “Properties” button in the partition.
- Click the “Delete” button.
Another way to delete a partition is to open “Disk Management,” right-click the partition, and choose “Delete Volume.”
Alternatively, you can use the “Command Prompt” or “PowerShell” command to remove a partition from a drive.

On Windows 11, you have multiple ways to delete a partition, and in this guide, I’ll teach you how. A partition (also referred to as a volume) describes the beginning and end of space on the drive that is formatted and configured with a file system (such as NTFS or FAT32) and a drive letter to store files.

Typically, you can split a hard drive into multiple drives that the system will recognize as independent from each other. Also, each drive can have its own file system and drive letter.

If you have to create a new volume with a different file system, fix file corruption problems, or you have to extend a partition, you have multiple ways to delete one or multiple partitions on Windows 11 through the Settings app, Disk Management, Command Prompt, and even with PowerShell.

In this guide, I will teach you the steps to remove a drive partition on Windows 11.

Delete partition on Windows 11 from Settings
Delete partition on Windows 11 from Disk Management
Delete partition on Windows 11 from Command Prompt
Delete partition on Windows 11 from PowerShell

Important: These instructions will delete any data in the volume. It’s recommended to back up any files you want to keep to another storage as necessary before proceeding.

Delete partition on Windows 11 from Settings

To delete a partition on Windows 11 the easiest way, 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 partition and click the Properties button.
Under the “Format” section, click the Delete button to erase the partition on Windows 11.
Click the Delete volume button to confirm.

Once you complete the steps, the volume and data will be deleted from the drive on Windows 11.

Delete partition on Windows 11 from Disk Management

To delete a partition from Disk Management, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for Disk Management and click the top result to open the app.
Right-click the partition and click the Delete Volume option.
Click the Yes button to confirm.

After you complete the steps, you will end up with unallocated space that you can use to create another or increase the size of another partition.

Delete partition on Windows 11 from Command Prompt

To delete the partition with diskpart from Command Prompt on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to launch the diskpart tool and press Enter:
```
diskpart
```
Type the following command to list all the available volumes and press Enter:
```
list volume
```
Type the following command to select the volume (partition) and press Enter:
```
select volume 4
```
In the command, change “4” to the number representing the partition to delete.
Type the following command to delete the partition from the drive on Windows 11 and press Enter:
```
delete volume
```

Once you complete the steps, the diskpart tool will delete the partition from the drive.

Delete partition on Windows 11 from PowerShell

To delete a partition on Windows 11 from PowerShell, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to list all the available volumes and press Enter:
```
Get-Volume
```
Type the following command to delete the partition from the drive and press Enter:
```
Remove-Partition -DriveLetter E
```
In the command, change “E” for the drive letter of the partition to erase on Windows 11.
Press Y and press Enter to apply the changes.

After you complete the steps, the PowerShell command will remove the partition and data from Windows 11.

FAQs removing partitions

If you plan to remove a partition, you may have some questions. You can find some of the answers below. You can always ask questions in the comments section.

What happens when you delete a partition from Windows 11?

When deleting a partition, the file system information will be erased, and the space will be marked as unallocated. Technically, the data will continue to be available on the drive, but it won’t be accessible, and it’ll be overwritten when creating a new partition or extending another partition.

Does deleting a partition erase all data?

Technically, removing a partition doesn’t erase the data, but you won’t likely be able to recover it. When deleting a partition (or volume), the data will continue to be available until new data overwrites it.

Can I delete all partitions when installing Windows 11?

Yes, when using the USB bootable media, the wizard includes an option to delete all the partitions from the drive before proceeding with the installation of Windows 11. If you choose this option, the installation process will recreate the necessary partitions automatically.

Is it safe to delete Windows partitions?

If you plan to reinstall the operating system, then yes. Otherwise, it’s not recommended to delete any of the Windows partitions, as doing so will prevent the system from working properly.

Can I remove the recovery partition on Windows 11?

Yes, it’s possible to delete the recovery partition. However, if you do this, you won’t be able to access the recovery settings. If you plan to delete a recovery partition, you first want to create a recovery USB media to access the recovery settings. However, this is not recommended.

Update January 31, 2024: This guide has been revised to ensure accuracy and reflect some changes.