How to Run Fdisk in Windows 10/11: A Beginner's Guide

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Linda 

Written by

Tracy King 

Last updated on April 19, 2024

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Are you looking to learn how to run fdisk on Windows 10/11? If so, you've come to the right place. Today, we'll delve into the details about fdisk, its purpose, and other relevant information. Before diving deep into the guide, it's essential to understand why fdisk is crucial for Windows users. The answer is simple! Fdisk is a utility that is particularly useful for formatting or preparing hard disk drives for storing data. It aids in partitioning disks, allowing you to install an operating system separately on one drive while installing necessary items on others.

What is Fdisk?

FDISK is a simple command-line utility that offers disk partitioning capabilities for Windows. This tool has been around since the early days of Windows and is used to manage partitions via the command line, primarily by IT administrators. Users can create partitions, add or remove space, organize storage on new drives, format, and reorganize older drives with this utility.

However, one significant drawback of the tool is its inability to manage storage space exceeding 64 GB. This poses a substantial issue, especially when managing and backing up servers. It forces users to split backup files into smaller segments or opt for smaller partition sizes.

Chances are that most people's PCs have a terabyte of storage these days. That's where the DISKPART tool comes in.

Diskpart is the perfect successor that has replaced fdisk, serving Windows 10 and even the latest Windows 11 users in partitioning hard drives and utilizing disk space. It not only handles larger disk sizes but also offers more features and stability.

Fdisk is outdated and unavailable on modern platforms like Windows 10 and Windows 11. Instead, you can use the diskpart utility to perform the same tasks and more.

In this article, we will share with you several ways to run Fdisk in Windows 10/11. Please feel free to share this article with others who might need it if you find it helpful.

How to Run Fdisk in Windows 10/11?

Since fdisk has some limitations and isn't available in Windows 10/11, we'll have to use the diskpart tool instead. If you're not familiar with it, our step-by-step guide is here to help.

If you're looking to learn how to open fdisk on Windows 10/11, you can do so through either the Command Prompt or the Run prompt. Follow the steps below to open fdisk on Windows 10/11 using these two alternative methods.

#1. Launch Fdisk through the Command Prompt

Step 1: Type “Command Prompt” in the search bar next to the Start button in Windows, and run it as an administrator. This will open the Command Prompt window.

Step 2: Now, type diskpart in the Command Prompt window, and press Enter. This will open the Disk Management window.

#2. Access Fdisk through the boot prompt

Step 1: In the search bar next to the Windows Start button, type Run and press the Enter key. You can also open the Run prompt using the Windows + R keys.

Step 2: Type diskpart, then press Enter. You'll see a User Account Control prompt. Click the Yes button to launch Diskpart directly in Command Prompt.

Open Disk Management from the Command Prompt Type diskpart at the command prompt:

How to Use Fdisk to Format a Disk on Windows 10/11?

When managing hard drives with the diskpart command in Windows 10/11, we'll provide you with four optimal methods, so follow all the steps perfectly.

Let's take a closer look at each of these four ways.

## 1. Create Primary Partitions

To create a primary partition using Diskpart, follow these steps:

Step 1: Press Windows + R simultaneously, then type cmd. Launch it with Shift + Enter to run it as an administrator.

Step 2: Type diskpart and press Enter. This will open the Disk Management console, where you should type list disk to view all the disks on your system.

Step 3: Now type select disk (number) to choose the disk you want to work with. If you have existing partitions, you can use the command clean to erase all partition information and data from the disk. If the disk is brand new, you can skip this step. This is useful if you need to reformat an older drive.

Step 4: Now type create partition primary size=* and press Enter. Next, type format override fs=NTFS and hit Enter.

Notice:

• Replace * with the size of the primary partition you plan on making.
• The format override helps to eliminate any permission errors that may arise. You can also just use `format`.
• The `label` option allows you to add a name to your primary partition, this is optional.

Step 4: Type list volume, which will show all volumes available on the storage device. Then type select volume (number) to choose the newly labeled volume.

Replace (number) with the digit displayed in the list.

Step 5: Now type assign letter=X to assign the new letter to the disk, for example, assign letter=D. Type list volume again, and you should see the new partition that was assigned or created.

#2. Format the hard drive partition to NTFS/FAT32

To format a hard drive partition to NTFS/FAT32 using Diskpart on a US English system, follow these steps: 1. First, press the `Win + X` keys and choose "Command Prompt (Admin)" or "Windows PowerShell (Admin)" to open the terminal with administrator privileges. 2. In the terminal, type the following command and hit Enter to launch the `diskpart` tool: ``` diskpart ``` 3. You'll see the `DISKPART>` prompt. Enter the following command and press Enter to list all disks: ``` list disk ``` 4. Identify the hard drive you want to format. Note its number (usually 0, 1, 2, etc.). For instance, if it's Disk 0, type this command and hit Enter to select that disk: ``` select disk 0 ``` 5. Next, enter this command and press Enter to list all partitions on that disk: ``` list partition ``` 6. Locate the partition you want to format and jot down its number. If Partition 1 is the one, type this command and hit Enter to choose that partition: ``` select partition 1 ``` 7. Now, choose the file system you need. To format to NTFS, type: ``` format fs=ntfs quick ``` For FAT32, enter: ``` format fs=fat32 quick ``` Adding `quick` speeds up the process but remember to back up your data since it will delete everything on the partition. 8. Wait for the formatting to finish. Once done, you'll be returned to the `DISKPART>` prompt. To exit `diskpart`, type: ``` exit ``` 9. Finally, close the terminal window. Your hard drive partition is now formatted to the chosen file system.

Step 1: Press Windows + R simultaneously, type cmd, right-click on "Command Prompt," and select Run as administrator. Now type diskpart and press Enter. Allow Diskpart to run with administrative permissions by clicking Yes. This will open the Diskpart window.

Step 2: Type the following commands, pressing Enter after each line.

• diskpart
• list disk
• select disk (number): 'number' represents the disk's number
• list partition: Get the number of partitions on the selected disk
• select partition (number): 'number' represents the partition's number
• format fs=ntfs quick

Step 3: Once you're done, type exit to close the "Disk Management" window.

#3. Extended Partition

To extend a partition using Diskpart, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the Windows icon, and select "Search." Type in cmd, then press Enter. Type in diskpart and press Enter again. Click "Yes" to open Diskpart.

Step 2: Follow the instructions below, and press Enter after each one.

• List Volumes
• Select Volume 1 (replace with your system disk number)
• Extend

#4. Run Windows 10/11 Fdisk to Delete All Volumes

You can delete or reset the hard drive from your system by diskpart delete all partitions, follow the steps below.

Step 1: Press Windows + R simultaneously, type cmd, right-click on "Command Prompt," and select "Run as administrator." Now type diskpart and hit the Enter key. Allow diskpart to run with administrative privileges in the Windows environment by clicking Yes. This will open the diskpart window.

Step 2: In the Disk Management window, type list disk and press the Enter key. This will display a number for each disk.

<Step 3>: Highlight each drive and press the Enter key. This will show a number next to the drive, indicating that it has been selected. Type clean all and press Enter.

4. When you're done, type exit to close the diskpart window.

Beginner's Choice: Use Fdisk Alternative Tools for Disk Partitioning in Windows 11/10

If you're a beginner without any computer tech knowledge, we recommend using Partition Master as the perfect alternative to fdisk. This tool can quickly and safely replace fdisk and diskpart for disk partition management. Let's learn more about its features and functions.

Step 1: Run AOMEI Partition Assistant, and check the free space of the disk in "Partition Management".

• If you have unallocated space on your hard drive, skip to Step 3 to create the partition. • If you do not have any unallocated space, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2. Shrink the partition to create unallocated space.

Right-click on the target partition with lots of free space, and choose “Resize/Move.”

Then, you can shrink the partition by dragging the sliders on either side of it to free up enough unallocated space. You can see how much space you've reduced it by in the “Size in MB” field. Click “OK.”

Click “Perform XX Task,” and then click “Apply” to save all changes.

Back in the “Disk Management” tool, you should see the unallocated space on the same disk. You can now proceed to create a new partition on your hard drive.

Step 3. Create a new partition on the target drive using the unallocated space.

Right-click the unallocated space and choose New.

Create Partition Step 1

Customize the partition size, drive letter, volume label, file system (NTFS, FAT32, EXT2/3/4, exFAT), etc. in the "Advanced Settings." Click "OK."

Create Partition Step 2

Finally, click “Execute * Tasks” and “Apply” to create the partition with the unallocated space on the disk. Repeat these steps to partition hard drive and create more partitions.

Create Partition Step 3

"Partition Master is one of the highly rated professional partitioning tools, equipped with unique features such as"

• Migrate Windows 10/11 to a new SSD with just one click.
• Conveniently expand or manage partitions in Windows 10/11.
• Combine two SSDs into one without losing any data.

Some advanced features of Partition Master tools

• Migrate/Resize/Move Partition
• Clone/Create/Format/Delete Partition
• Copy Disk/Partition
• Migrate OS to SSD
• Dynamic Volume Management
• Partition Recovery

Fdisk is no longer the way to partition disks | Here are better options

If you've stuck with us until now, you surely have a deep understanding of fdisk/diskpart and what it's for. Diskpart is the ultimate replacement for fdisk for every Windows user on Windows 10/11. However, it's not the safest nor the best disk partitioning method for newbies without technical knowledge. We recommend using the most reliable third-party tool, none other than Partition Master, because it's safer, simpler to manage, and almost never results in data loss.