Partitions (or Volumes) allow you to split a computer disk so that the system sees several drives and not one. A computer disk can be divided into partitions for several reasons. For example, in some cases it may be useful to separate operating system files from personal files, so that you can reinstall Windows with confidence that those files remain intact. This is a fairly common way to configure your computer when using a very large disk.
In reality, however, in practically every PC the disk is divided into at least two or three partitions, because when you install Windows 10, with a clean installation or with an update from Windows 7 and 8, a reserved partition is always created for the system in which there are the files used to start the computer and those of the recovery console to be used for the emergency. In addition to this, if the PC supports the UEFI BIOS, an additional partition for UEFI is also created.
On Windows 10, in fact, when you press the Start menu with the right button to open the menu from which you can open the Disk Management tool, you will notice that Disk 0 which contains the C drive where Windows 10 is installed ( or even Windows 7 and 8), contains other partitions reserved for the system which are precisely those with the recovery console and UEFI files.
READ ALSO: Create a partition (volume) on Windows by dividing a hard disk into several parts
First of all, it is important to know that deleting a disk partition means deleting everything inside it. Also you have to be very careful not to delete boot partitions of the computer (hence installing the disk).
As seen in another article, it is not recommended to delete partitions reserved for the system, unless it is required (for example if you try to convert the disk from MBR to GPT to activate UEFI) and if you are sure that they are not needed. For example, when updating Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10, a partition is created for the recovery console without deleting the one of the system prior to the update, therefore having two partitions, one can be removed. If you then delete the recovery partition, you can still reinstall the recovery console (Windows RE) as seen in another article.
This process, however, can be prevented in the case of partitions reserved for the system, for security reasons, because there may be files inside that are indispensable for starting the computer. In addition there is also to consider that deleting a partition creates unallocated space, which will then be joined to the main partition. On a computer disk, however, you can add unallocated space only to the nearest partition and not to any one, so if you see other partitions between the main partition and the unallocated space, this space can no longer be used (if not creating a new partition). If instead the unallocated space is next to the partition to be expanded, then you can right click on this partition and press on Extend volume .
With this program, you can select the partition you want to delete from the main interface, right click on it and then use the Delete Partition option. You can then choose to delete the partition and delete the data or just delete the partition (in this way you can theoretically restore the data with a recovery software). After pressing OK, you will still have to confirm the execution of the operation by pressing the Apply button at the top left.
AOMEI Partition Assistant also allows you to create a Windows PE boot disk (from the wizard menu on the left), so you can boot your PC from a USB drive or CD and correct Windows operation if errors are made with the partitions.
Once a partition is deleted, unallocated disk space can be merged with any existing partition, without limitation.
Then open the command prompt by looking for CMD from the Start menu then starting it by pressing on it with the right button to run it as administrator.
The commands to use are the following:
list disk to get the list of disks.
select disk N by replacing N with the disk number containing the partition to be deleted.
list volume to see the list of partitions on the selected disk. (you can use the list partition command to see what kind of partitions they are).
select volume N to select the partition to be deleted
delete volume to delete the partition
READ ALSO: How to combine multiple disks into a single volume or partition
In reality, however, in practically every PC the disk is divided into at least two or three partitions, because when you install Windows 10, with a clean installation or with an update from Windows 7 and 8, a reserved partition is always created for the system in which there are the files used to start the computer and those of the recovery console to be used for the emergency. In addition to this, if the PC supports the UEFI BIOS, an additional partition for UEFI is also created.
On Windows 10, in fact, when you press the Start menu with the right button to open the menu from which you can open the Disk Management tool, you will notice that Disk 0 which contains the C drive where Windows 10 is installed ( or even Windows 7 and 8), contains other partitions reserved for the system which are precisely those with the recovery console and UEFI files.
READ ALSO: Create a partition (volume) on Windows by dividing a hard disk into several parts
Be careful to delete disk partitions
Deleting a partition in Windows can be useful for two reasons: to give all the space to the main partition or to delete those reserved partitions that were created automatically following the installation of a program or after a PC update from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10.First of all, it is important to know that deleting a disk partition means deleting everything inside it. Also you have to be very careful not to delete boot partitions of the computer (hence installing the disk).
As seen in another article, it is not recommended to delete partitions reserved for the system, unless it is required (for example if you try to convert the disk from MBR to GPT to activate UEFI) and if you are sure that they are not needed. For example, when updating Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10, a partition is created for the recovery console without deleting the one of the system prior to the update, therefore having two partitions, one can be removed. If you then delete the recovery partition, you can still reinstall the recovery console (Windows RE) as seen in another article.
Delete partitions using Disk Management
The first way to delete a partition in Windows is to use the disk management tool, select it and right-click on it and then click on Delete .This process, however, can be prevented in the case of partitions reserved for the system, for security reasons, because there may be files inside that are indispensable for starting the computer. In addition there is also to consider that deleting a partition creates unallocated space, which will then be joined to the main partition. On a computer disk, however, you can add unallocated space only to the nearest partition and not to any one, so if you see other partitions between the main partition and the unallocated space, this space can no longer be used (if not creating a new partition). If instead the unallocated space is next to the partition to be expanded, then you can right click on this partition and press on Extend volume .
Delete partitions with a program
Using an external program you can do all the operations you want on the disk partitions, without hindrance, also delete recovery partitions or UEFI partitions or those reserved for the system and also join non-contiguous (not nearby) partitions. Among the best programs to manage partitions we can use AOMEI Partition Assistant, which has a free version rather free and which has no limitations for this type of operation.With this program, you can select the partition you want to delete from the main interface, right click on it and then use the Delete Partition option. You can then choose to delete the partition and delete the data or just delete the partition (in this way you can theoretically restore the data with a recovery software). After pressing OK, you will still have to confirm the execution of the operation by pressing the Apply button at the top left.
AOMEI Partition Assistant also allows you to create a Windows PE boot disk (from the wizard menu on the left), so you can boot your PC from a USB drive or CD and correct Windows operation if errors are made with the partitions.
Once a partition is deleted, unallocated disk space can be merged with any existing partition, without limitation.
Delete partitions with the diskpart command
While a program like AOMEI's is easy to use and makes disk space and partition management faster, you can delete a partition using the diskpart command from the command prompt .Then open the command prompt by looking for CMD from the Start menu then starting it by pressing on it with the right button to run it as administrator.
The commands to use are the following:
list disk to get the list of disks.
select disk N by replacing N with the disk number containing the partition to be deleted.
list volume to see the list of partitions on the selected disk. (you can use the list partition command to see what kind of partitions they are).
select volume N to select the partition to be deleted
delete volume to delete the partition
READ ALSO: How to combine multiple disks into a single volume or partition
