Windows · Storage & Backup
View and manage drive partitions
Provides a modern interface to view all connected physical disks and their volumes, letting you create, resize, format, or delete partitions without opening the legacy Disk Management console.
How to open Manage Disks and Volumes
- Open Settings → System → Storage
- Click 'Advanced storage settings' → 'Disks & volumes'
- Select a disk or volume to view details
- Choose an action such as Properties, Format, Shrink volume, or Delete volume
What you should know
- View all physical disks with capacity and health status
- Create, shrink, extend, or delete volumes
- Format a volume with a chosen file system and drive letter
- Set a drive offline or initialize a new uninitialized disk
Deleting or reformatting a volume permanently erases its data, so back up important files before making partition changes.
Why it matters
Partition management directly affects how storage is organized on a PC, whether you're carving out space for a dual-boot setup, resizing a partition after upgrading a drive, or troubleshooting a disk that Windows isn't recognizing correctly. Having this available directly in Settings, rather than only in the older Disk Management console, makes routine tasks like extending a volume into unallocated space more approachable for everyday users. Mistakes here can be destructive, so understanding the tool before making changes is important.
Best practices
- Back up important data before resizing, deleting, or reformatting any volume
- Leave a small amount of unallocated space when shrinking a volume for future flexibility
- Use the correct file system for your use case, such as NTFS for internal drives or exFAT for cross-platform external drives
- Double-check drive letters and disk numbers before deleting a volume to avoid removing the wrong one
Common problems and fixes
- New drive shows as 'Not Initialized'
- Select the disk and choose 'Initialize' before you can create volumes on it.
- Can't extend a volume even with unallocated space available
- The unallocated space must be immediately adjacent to the volume you're trying to extend; use the legacy Disk Management console for advanced repositioning if needed.
- Volume shows as healthy but data is missing
- Check whether the correct drive letter is assigned, or if the volume was accidentally reformatted.
Tips and tricks
- Use exFAT for large external drives shared between Windows and macOS
- Check disk health status here periodically to catch early signs of a failing drive
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as the classic Disk Management tool?
It covers most of the same core functionality with a modernized interface, though some advanced tasks still require the classic console.
Can I resize the Windows system partition?
Yes, though shrinking it requires enough contiguous free space and extending it requires adjacent unallocated space.
What file systems are supported?
NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT are commonly available depending on drive size and intended use.
Related settings
- Storage SettingsStorage Settings let you view how much disk space is being used by apps, system files, temporary files, and media. You can free up space automatically using Storage Sense or manually remove unwanted files.
- Storage SpacesLets you combine multiple physical drives into a single resilient storage pool, protecting against individual drive failure or expanding usable capacity across devices.
- Default Save LocationsLets you set the default drive for new apps, documents, music, pictures, and videos, which is especially useful when a PC has both a small system drive and a larger secondary drive.
More Storage & Backup guides for Windows
- BackupWindows Backup uses OneDrive to continuously back up your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders, along with your list of installed apps, saved Wi-Fi network passwords, and select personalization settings like your theme and wallpaper. It's designed to make restoring your setup on a new PC, or after a reset, far less painful than starting from scratch.
- Storage SenseStorage Sense automatically frees up disk space by deleting temporary files, emptying the Recycle Bin after a set number of days, and clearing out old files from your Downloads folder on a schedule you configure. Once set up, it runs quietly in the background so you don't have to remember to manually clean up disk clutter yourself.
- File HistoryFile History is a legacy Control Panel backup tool that continuously copies versions of files in your libraries, desktop, contacts, and favorites to an external drive or network location. Unlike a single backup snapshot, it keeps multiple versions over time, letting you restore not just a deleted file but an earlier version of one you've since changed.
- OneDrive Sync SettingsConfigures how OneDrive syncs files between this PC and the cloud, including which folders sync, Files On-Demand behavior, and bandwidth limits for uploads and downloads.
- Disk CleanupScans your drive for temporary files, system caches, old Windows update files, and other reclaimable data, then lets you safely delete them to free up disk space.
- Removable Storage AccessManages how Windows handles removable storage devices like USB drives and SD cards, including connection notifications, battery usage behavior, and transfer settings.