Quite often you can meet situations when, for some reason, users of Windows systems have to solve the problem of how to delete a partition. Disk Management (a built-in system tool) allows you to do this without any problems. You can use specialized programs. But in any case, this issue must be approached very seriously, after weighing all the pros and cons. Basically, these actions are used to merge partitions when you need to fix some system crashes, to prepare for reinstallation, or to convert GPT partitions.
How to delete a partition (disk management)?
Windows systems themselves have a built-in tool for working with any type of partition. This is a utility called Disk Management. Deleting a section or performing any other manipulations using it is quite simple.
This tool can be accessed in several ways: through RMB on the computer icon, through the Control Panel (disk management is called through administration), or through the Run menu by entering the diskmgmt.msc command.
Here it is enough to select the desired partition and use the volume delete line through the PCM menu. The system will issue a warning that the data in this section will be destroyed. If you agree, confirm the action, after which a so-called unallocated area will appear in which you can create a new partition or expand another section at its expense. But that is another topic.
Disk Management in Windows 10 through the Shell
One of the universal tools for such operations is the command line, which uses the DiskPart tool (a tool for managing partitioning disks). The actions here are quite simple, but you should be especially careful when choosing the right sections.
So, disk management in Windows 10 or in any other version of the system through the command console begins with its invocation with administrator rights (cmd) and the introduction of the primary diskpart command with the enter key after it.
After that, executing the list volume line makes it possible to view all disks and partitions that are available in the system. Only they will be marked not with letters, but with numbers (the necessary section can be determined at least by its size).
Next, select the section to be deleted using the list volume N line, where N is the number of the desired section.
Finally, we enter the delete volume command, after which, in fact, the deletion follows. If the selected volume is not deleted for some reason, you can register an extended version of the delete command - delete volume override. Upon completion of all procedures, the exit line is exited, after which the console can be closed and the system rebooted.
The best applications for working with disks and partitions
If the user for some reason does not want or cannot use the tools built into the system, any disk management program used to create logical partitions is suitable as a removal tool.
Among the simplest and most popular utilities are the following:
- AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard;
- MiniTool Partition Wizard;
- Acronis Disk Director
- EaseUS Partition Master;
- GParted
- Active @ Partition Manager, etc.
An example of using the program from AOMEI
Let us consider as an example the first utility presented in the list (although almost all of them work according to the same principles and do not differ in particularly abstruse interfaces).
Here you just need to select the section of interest to the user, and then select the delete line in the menu at the bottom left. Everything seems to be simple. But the advantage of this application is that it immediately offers two options for removal: quick and complete. In the first case, it will be deleted in such a way that after that, if there are appropriate programs for recovering information, anyone can access the files and folders previously stored in the section.
In the second case, it is alleged that the information will be completely erased, and it will not be possible to restore it even if the most advanced software is activated (the sectors in which the information was stored earlier will have zero values). However, for many, the inability to recover data in this case raises legitimate doubts.
Next, select the preferred method and click the OK button, after which a pending task will be created. In the panel on the top, click the Apply button, and then after checking the correctness of the data in the confirmation window, click the Go button. After that, the selected section will be deleted (the estimated time of the operation is displayed at the bottom of the window).
Finally
That's all for third-party programs, the command line, and the Windows Disk Management tool. Deleting a partition in all three cases is quite simple. The main question is only the advisability of carrying out such actions, because to install the system you will have to create a boot partition, make its markup by formatting, etc. And you should think about the safety of information in advance by copying it to another place or creating a backup copy.