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

  • Open Start.
  • Search for Computer Management and click the result.
  • Click on Storage and select Disk Management.
  • Right-click the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume.
  • Click Next.
  • Select the amount of space you want to use for the new partition and click Next.
  • Assign a drive letter and click Next.
  • 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.
  • Click Finish to complete the task.

How to create a partition with command prompt

  • Open Start.
  • Search for Command Prompt, right-click the result, and click Run as an administrator.
  • Type the following command and press Enter:
  • diskpart
  • Type the following command to list all the disks in your computer and press Enter:
  • list disk
  • 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.
  • 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
  • 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
  • Type the following command to format the partition with NTFS file system and press Enter:
  • format fs=ntfs quick
  • 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.

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

Open Start.

Search for Computer Management and click the result.

Click on Storage and select Disk Management.

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

Click Next.

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

Assign a drive letter and click Next.

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.

Click Finish to complete the task.

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

Type the following command and press Enter:

diskpart

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

list disk

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.

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

create primary partition

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

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

format fs=ntfs quick

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