Updated on May 10, 2024

Here, you'll learn how to delete partitions on an internal/external hard drive, removable USB flash drive, or SD card using either the Windows 11/10/8/7 built-in partition delete tool or the third-party software Partition Master, which is the best free partition manager (link) for deleting and removing disk partitions or erasing all partitions simultaneously.

Windows Partition Delete Tool versus Free Partition Manager

When would you need to delete a partition? What are the advantages of deleting a partition in Windows? Generally, deleting a partition creates unallocated space, which can be merged into another partition to expand disk storage. It can also help address the issue of low disk space. Additionally, some OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) computers may have unnecessary partitions occupying space. In such cases, it's advisable to delete OEM partitions to reclaim valuable disk space.

As long as the partition is not currently in use, you can easily remove this partition from the hard disk by using proper partition delete software, which can be native Windows Disk Management & Diskpart utility, or third-party partition manager software that is featured with deleting partition(s).

Native tools and Partition Master are both available for free to remove partitions in Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista and Windows Server. However, it's worth noting that third-party software often offers a more user-friendly interface, simplicity, and improved functionality to compensate for any limitations of built-in utilities. For instance,

  • Delete a data partition on an HDD, SSD, or USB flash drive: All
  • Delete all partitions: Partition Master Tools
  • Delete a primary partition: Partition Master Tools
  • Delete (Windows installation partition) C drive: Partition Master Tools
  • Delete EFI system partition: Partition Master Tools

If you're looking for a plug-and-play portable partition manager, you can refer to the following article:

?Read More: Tools Partition Master Portable | No Download Required

How to Delete a Partition Using Windows Disk Management

Windows Disk Management is the built-in Windows program that enables users to manage typical hard drive tasks, such as extending or shrinking a partition, deleting a partition, or formatting a partition. If someday your hard drive or connected removable disk does not appear in File Explorer, you will need to check it using Windows Disk Management.

There are three steps to use the Windows partition delete tool to delete a hard drive partition:

Step 1. Press Windows + R keys on Windows 11/10/8/7 to open the Run box, type "diskmgmt.msc" and hit Enter. The Windows Disk Management window will appear.

Open Windows Disk Management

Step 2. Right-click the drive partition and select "Delete Volume".

delete partition with windows disk management

Step 3. Select "Yes" to allow the system to finish the partition removal process.

How to Delete a Partition Using the Diskpart Command

Diskpart is a command-line interpreter in the Windows operating system. It's a higher-level Windows Disk Management tool that is favored by experienced Windows users. You can employ various Diskpart commands to address common disk issues, such as creating, deleting, and resizing hard drive partitions, as well as assigning or reassigned drive letters. Let's now explore how to use Diskpart commands to delete a partition.

Step 1. Press Windows + R keys to open the Run box, type cmd, and press Enter. The Windows Command Prompt window will appear.

Step 2. Type diskpart and press Enter.

Step 3. Type list disk and press Enter. All the hard drives will display here with a number 0, 1, 2, ...

Step 4. Type select disk + number and press Enter. This disk represents the target disk from which you want to remove one of its partitions.

Step 5. Type list partition. All the partitions on the selected disk will display with a number.

Step 6. Type select partition [number] and press Enter. This is the partition you want to delete.

Step 7. Finally, type delete partition and press Enter. This command will execute the deletion order and remove the selected partition from the hard drive.

Delete partition with Diskpart command

How to Delete Partition with a Free Partition Manager

The Diskpart command can be helpful at times. However, there are also several limitations when attempting to delete a partition, as mentioned below.

    Here are the translations for the provided language segments in English: 1. The partition that contains the operating system cannot be deleted. 2. The drive that contains the "pagefile.sys" folder, which represents the virtual memory, cannot be deleted. 3. The commands will be entirely different if you want to delete a USB drive, an SD card, or all partitions at once.

It does not matter because the best is yet to come. Besides replacing the Windows Disk Management to delete a data partition, tools Partition Master can also maximize the simplification of deleting a partition with Diskpart. Moreover, it features standalone deletion options to delete all partitions at one go, erase system partitions by booting into its bootable partition manager (create a WinPE bootable disk), and most importantly, it's incredibly user-friendly.

How to delete a partition or all partitions from an internal/external hard drive/USB drive in Windows:

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, and click "Partition Manager".

在删除磁盘上的任何分区之前,请确保已备份重要的数据。

Step 2. Select to delete partition or delete all partitions on the hard drive.

    Translate the following into English:
  • Delete single partition: Right-click on the partition you want to delete and choose "Delete".
  • Delete all partitions: Right-click the hard drive from which you want to delete all partitions, and select "Delete All".

Step 3. Click "Yes" to confirm the deletion.

< strong > Step 4. Click "< strong > Execute xx Task " and then click "< strong > Apply " to save the change.

0:00 - 0:26 Remove individual volumes; 0:27 - 0:53 Erase all partitions.

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If you accidentally delete one or multiple files from a local partition on your computer, those files will be sent to the Recycle Bin. You can attempt to restore them from there yourself. Here's how to recover your deleted partition files on your own:

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How to Recover Deleted Files from Recycle Bin?

Are you searching for a method to perform Recycle Bin recovery? Follow this guide to learn how to recover deleted files from the Recycle Bin promptly.

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What Else Can Free Partition Manager Do?

By contrast, it's much easier for us to figure out that free partition manager is the simplest yet most effective way to delete one partition or delete all partitions from a hard drive and a removable disk.

Aside from that essential disk management function, there are more fantastic and practical partition manager attributes that will greatly benefit you in your daily life. For instance:

    Here are the translations for the given languages into English:
  • Be able to create, format, explore, convert, and merge partitions.
  • It also helps to move, resize, hide or unhide existing partitions without damaging any data.
  • The "Copy Wizard" allows you to upgrade smaller hard drive partitions to larger sizes.
  • Manage Windows NTFS, FAT 16/32 file systems, as well as Linux EXT 2/EXT 3/EXT4 partitions.
  • Wipe hard drive or partition.
  • Transfer OS to SSD.

Here is the translation of the provided text into English:

Overall, Partition Master is considered a top-tier free partition manager for Windows OS and Windows servers. It allows you to remove any type of partition effortlessly and in a straightforward manner.