How to Remove a Partition in Windows 11

To remove a partition on Windows 11:

  1. Open Settings by pressing Windows+i.
  2. Navigate to System> Storage> Advanced Storage Settings> Disks & Volumes.
  3. Click “Properties” next to your partition.
  4. Choose Delete> Delete Volume.

Want to get rid of a partition from your Windows 11 PC so you can reallocate the space to an existing partition or create a new partition? We’ll walk you through multiple ways you can remove Windows 11 partitions.

What Happens When You Delete a Partition on Windows?

When you delete a partition, Windows erases the contents of that partition and removes the partition from appearing anywhere on your PC. You lose all the content saved on that partition.

In case you don’t already know, a partition basically lets you split your hard disk drive or SSD drive into multiple, independent virtual drives. In this mechanism, each virtual drive is treated as if it’s an actual physical drive.

Since deleting the partition removes the partition’s contents, ensure you’ve backed up your important files from it before beginning to remove it.

How to Delete a Partition on Windows 11

To remove a partition on Windows 11 using graphical methods, use the Settings or Disk Management tools as described below. If you prefer command-line methods, use PowerShell or Command Prompt, which are also described below.

Each method achieves the same end result, so feel free to use the method you like.

Using Settings

To use Settings to remove your partition, open the Settings menu by pressing Windows+i. In Settings, navigate to System> Storage> Advanced Storage Settings> Disks & Volumes.

Find the partition to delete, and next to it, click “Properties.”

Click

On the following page, in the “Format” section, click “Delete.”

Choose

In the open prompt, choose “Delete Volume.”

Select

Windows will begin removing the selected partition from your PC.

Using Disk Management

To use Disk Management to remove your partition, open the tool by right-clicking your “Start” menu icon (or pressing Windows+X) and choosing “Disk Management.”

Select

On the tool’s window, find the partition to delete. Right-click this partition and choose “Delete Volume.”

Click

In the open prompt, select “Yes.”

Choose

Disk Management will begin removing your partition, and you’re all done.

Using PowerShell

To use a command to remove your partition, start by opening the “Start” menu, finding “PowerShell”, and clicking “Run as Administrator.” In the “User Account Control” prompt, choose “Yes.”

Select

On the PowerShell window, type the following command to retrieve a list of all your partitions:

Get-Volume
List partitions in PowerShell.

In the partition list, find the letter for the partition you want to remove. Then, run the following command replacing E with the letter of your partition.

Remove-Partition -DriveLetter E

When the prompt appears, type Y and press Enter.

Delete a partition using PowerShell.

PowerShell will start removing your partition.

Using Command Prompt

To use Command Prompt to delete your partition, open a CMD window by accessing your “Start” menu, locating “Command Prompt”, and clicking “Run as Administrator.” In the “User Account Control” prompt, choose “Yes.”

Select

In Command Prompt, type the following commands, pressing Enter after each line:

diskpartlist volume
View partition list using CMD.

From the “Volume ###” column, find and note the number for the partition to remove. Then, run the following command replacing X with your partition’s number:

select volume X
Select a partition in CMD.

Your partition is now selected. To delete it, run the following command:

delete volume

Let Command Prompt delete your partition, and you’ll be all set.

What Can You Do After Deleting a Partition?

After you’ve removed a partition on your Windows PC, you can keep the reclaimed storage space as is, allocate the space to an existing drive (partition) on your PC, or create a completely new partition.

Allocate the Reclaimed Storage Space to an Existing Partition

To extend an existing partition’s storage limit by giving it your deleted partition’s space, you’ll have to make sure that both your unallocated space and your existing partition are next to each other in Disk Management. If they aren’t, you can’t give your unallocated space to your partition.

Unallocated space in Disk Management.

Once you’ve confirmed both your unallocated space and your partition are next to each other, then on your existing partition, right-click and choose “Extend Volume.”

Select

In the wizard that opens, click “Next.” On the following page, in the “Selected” menu, select your unallocated space. Then, at the bottom, click “Next.”

Select space and choose

On the following page, choose “Finish” to begin allocating your unallocated storage space to your selected partition.

Click

And you’re all set.

Create a New Partition From Unallocated Space

To make a new partition out of your unallocated storage space, open Disk Management, right-click your unallocated space, and choose “New Simple Volume.”

Select

On the wizard’s first screen, click “Next.” On the following page, in the “Simple Volume Size in MB” field, enter the size for your new drive. Then, click “Next.”

Enter the partition size and choose

On the following screen, assign a drive letter to your new partition using the “Assign the Following Drive Letter” drop-down menu. Then, click “Next.”

Assign a letter to the drive and choose

The following screen asks how you’d like to format your drive. On Windows, you’ll normally format your drives in the NTFS format. To do that, enable the “Format This Volume With the Following Settings” option.

Then, click the “File System” drop-down menu and choose “NTFS.” Keep the “Allocation Unit Size” option as is. Click the “Volume Label” field and enter a name for your drive.

Then, at the bottom, choose “Next.”

Enter partition details and select

On the final screen, click “Finish” to begin making your new partition.

Select

Once this partition is ready, you’ll see it in your File Explorer utility.


And that’s how you delete a partition on your Windows 11 computer.