How to partition a hard drive

The ability to divide your hard drive into partitions allows you to use directories much more conveniently, since you can separate OS files from common documents. In Windows 10, you can create separate partitions using the system functionality or using special software.

HDD partitioning methods

The article will consider both standard system tools and third-party applications. Some methods can be used immediately while working in Windows, for others you will have to reinstall the system.

Method 1: Using utilities

Today, there are many applications that allow you to perform the disk division procedure. Typically, such programs are used when there is no desire to demolish the system.

MiniTool Partition Wizard utility

This software is absolutely free, and most importantly, it provides the ability to burn an image to a disk or flash drive for further use.

1. Launch the application and right-click on the desired drive.
   
   
2. In the menu that appears, select split.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Specify the size of each volume. It is advisable to leave at least a small reserve of free space on each disk.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Return to the program work field.
   
   
5. Click on the icon "Apply".
   

Sometimes, after the conversion procedure is completed, the computer may automatically restart. This usually happens when working with the system partition.

Acronis Disk Director

The advantage of this utility is its Russian-language interface, but it is paid. The huge availability of tools allows you to perform not only disk partitioning, but dozens of other different functions.

1. Activate the program and specify the disk you want to share.
   
   
2. In the left block of the main window, select "Split Volume".
   
   
   
   
   
3. Set the size for each disk.
   
   
   
   
   
4. In the main window, click on the inscription "Apply pending operations".
   
   
   
   
   
5. Reboot your PC to make these changes.
   

EaseUS Partition Master Application

This program is practically no different from the analogues listed above, and is capable of performing similar functions. It was created in English, but you can download and install the crack on the official website.

1. Run the utility and specify the volume to work with.
   
   
2. In the left block of the main window, click on the item "Resize/Move partition".
   
   
   
   
   
3. Set how much space to leave on each volume.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Click the button "Apply" and in the pop-up window click "Yes".
   
   
   
   

Method 2: Using system capabilities

In order to split the disk into partitions, you need to use the function "Management disk".

1. Open the main tool window. You can do this through the menu Start or by entering the command diskmgmt.msc in the tab "Run".
   
   
   
   
   
2. Right-click on the desired drive with a lot of free space and select from the menu that appears "Shrink Volume".
   
   
   
   
   
3. Specify how much you want to compress the disk. It is better not to use all the space, but to leave some free space.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Press PKM to free space in the main window and select "Create Simple Volume".
   
   
   
   
   
5. The setup program will start - "Simple Volume Wizard".
   
   
6. Select how much memory you would like to leave for the new partition and assign a letter to it.
   
   
   
   
   
7. Be sure to follow the formatting procedure. The file system should be selected NTFS, and the cluster – By default.
   
   
8. In the "Volume Label" you can specify a name for the directory.
   
   
9. Check the box next to it "Quick Format".
   
   
   
   

Method 3: Create volumes during OS installation

If you know in advance how many disks you will need for your work, the procedure can be performed during the installation of Windows.

1. Connect the installation drive and at the stage "Select Installation Type" click on option "Selective...".
   
   
2. Select the volume and click on the inscription "Disk Setup".
   
   
   
   
   
3. If necessary, you can delete an unnecessary directory.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Click on "Unallocated disk space" and click on the icon "Create".
   
   
   
   
   
5. Be sure to format the new partition.
   
   
   
   
   
6. After completing the procedure, click on the button "Further" to continue the system installation process.
   

This article looked at how to partition a disk in various ways. Some methods require the installation of additional programs, while others can be used at any time. First of all, special utilities are used when it is necessary to make some additional volume settings, in addition to space distribution.