Disk Manager


Pocah

Pocah

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OS
Win 11
I was trying to reuse a disk drive today and hit an issue with Disk Manager. The disk was an old boot disk, which I wanted to reuse as a data disk.
I tried to delete the recovery partitions using Disk Manager, but it wouldn't allow me to do that, even though the disk no longer contained Windows. Typical Windows, treating us like idiots. Anyway, I had to download a partition manager to do it. This brought me here, wondering, IS there a way to do it in Windows without using a new app? And if I have to use a new app, what would you recommend. I don't want to buy something because I only use it every few years or so!!!
 
Windows Build/Version
Win 11

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    12700
    Memory
    32gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    3070ti
    Sound Card
    -
    Screen Resolution
    3840x1600, 2560x1080
The easiest way would be to do this command line utility called diskpart. First, use Disk Management to determine what disk number this is (you could do that in diskpart as well, this is just easier).

Image1.jpg

Then run diskpart.

Within diskpart run these commands (use the disk number you determined above in place of the "x").

select disk x
clean
exit

Now you can go back into Disk Management (refresh if you need to) and that disk should show up as all RAW space with no partitions. You can now continue to set it up however you want in Disk Management. Note that anything you can do in Disk Management you can do in Diskpart (and more), but switching back to Disk Management once the disk is "cleaned" might be easier if you are already familiar with it.

Apologies for the back and forth. As noted, we could have done everything in Diskpart, but since you are already familair with Disk Management, I thought it easier to have you do only the absolute necessary parts in Diskpart, especially since you indicated that this is something you need to do so rarely.

If you are interested in learning a bit more about Diskpart, here's a good article on the topic:

www.easeus.com

What Is Diskpart? Everything About Diskpart Commands

Diskpart is a Windows built-in disk partitioning utility that helps Windows administrators partition hard drives, create, delete, format, wipe, and even convert disks for free using respective syntax command lines. Follow this page, and you'll know all the information on Diskpart commands
www.easeus.com www.easeus.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-built
    CPU
    Intel i7 11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A MB
    Memory
    64GB (Waiting for warranty replacement of another 64GB for 128GB total)
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 4TB NVMe SSD
    3 x 512GB 2.5" SSD
    1 x 4TB 2.5" SSD
    5 x 8TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCUE RGB 5000X mid tower case
    Cooling
    Noctua NF-S12A chromax.black.swap case fans (Qty. 7) & Home Computer Specifications, Configuration, and Usage Notes General Specifications ASUS Prime Z590-A motherboard, serial number M1M0KC222467ARP Intel Core i7-11700K CPU (11th Gen Rocket Lake / LGA 1200 Socket) 128GB Crucial Ballistix RGB DDR4 3200 MHz DRAM (4 x 32GB) Corsair iCUE RGB 5000X mid tower case Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black CPU cooler Noctua NF-S12A chromax.black.swap case fans (Qty. 7) & Corsair LL-120 RGB Fans (Qty. 3)
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 Max RGB Magnetic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    The five 8TB drives and three 512GB SSDs are part of a DrivePool using StableBit DrivePool software. The three SSDs are devoted purely to caching for the 8TB drives. All of the important data is stored in triplicate so that I can withstand simultaneous failure of 2 disks.

    Networking: 2.5Gbps Ethernet and WiFi 6e
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
Anyone, and everyone, who's going to futz around with PC's, and hard drives, should have a "Partition Manager" program, preferably on either a bootable CD or Flash Drive.
I like EaseUS Partition Master (Free) to run in Windows, but you have to buy the program to get it to make a Bootable Disk.
When I want to do something that EaseUS PM Free either can't or won't do, I resort to "MiniTool Partition Manager", that I have on a bootable CD and Flash Drive.
Using that, I can do whatever I want with any hard drive, regardless of what OS is on it, or whether it's even an OS drive.

Good Luck Mate!
TM :cool:
 

My Computer

System One

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