How do I partition an external hard drive on Windows 11?

A disk partition divides a physical hard drive into separate sections, each acting as an independent volume with its own file system. This allows you to organize data more efficiently. For example, keeping system files on one partition and personal files on another. Partitioning also makes it easier to manage backups, improve security, and install multiple operating systems on the same disk.

On Windows 11, the built-in Disk Management tool is a reliable option for partition an external hard drive. It allows you to:

• Create new partitions from unallocated space
• Delete existing partitions you no longer need
• Shrink or extend partitions to adjust their size (when supported)
• Format partitions with file systems like NTFS or exFAT
• Change drive letters or mark partitions as active

How to partition external hard drive on Windows 11

1. Plug your external hard drive into a USB port and wait for Windows to recognize it.
2. Right-click the Start button and select Disk Management from the menu.
3. Find your external hard drive in the lower section. It will usually appear as Disk 1, Disk 2, etc., and may show unallocated space.
4. Right-click the Unallocated space and choose New Simple Volume.
5. Follow the wizard to set the volume size, assign a drive letter. and choose a file system (usually NTFS or exFAT for external drives).
6. Click Finish, and Windows will format and mount the new partition.

After this, your external drive will show the new partition in File Explorer, ready for use. If Disk Management can't handle your specific needs (like creating multiple partitions on a USB flash drive), consider using a third-party tool like Dr.Partition for more flexibility.