diskpart – Guide for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10

This guide explains how to use the diskpart utility for the following Windows versions: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 or 10.

Contents

What is diskpart

The diskpart utility (available in Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10) can be used to create or delete partitions on your PC.

Command Prompt: list disk

The utility allows you to:

Partion
Remove partitions
Remove formatting
Assign and remove drive letters and mount points
Convert disks from basic to dynamic
Create and extend volumes

Most commands that you can perform in Disk Management (see Boot partitions) are available with diskpart. Because it’s a command line utility, you need to open Command Prompt and type diskpart.

On Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10 systems, you can type diskpart at Run, click OK or press Enter and Command Prompt will automatically open with diskpart loaded.

When the utility is loaded, you will notice the version installed on your computer:

Microsoft DiskPart version 6.1.7600
Copyright  1999-2008 Microsoft Corporation.
On Computer: MY_COMPUTER

Commands and parameters

The diskpart tool has the following commands and parameters available:

select can set the focus on a specific target
select disk – use this command to set the focus on a specific disk

Command Prompt: select disk
select partition – use the select partition command to set the focus on a specific partition
select volume – use this command to set the focus on a specific volume
detail disk will deliver information about the current disk
detail partition will deliver information about the current partition
detail volume will deliver information about the current volume
list disk – use list disk to get summary information about the available disks on your computer
list partition – use this command to get information about each partition available on a specific disk
list volume – use list volume to get information about each volume available on the computer
active – use the active command to set the focus on the current partition to be active
assign – use assign to assign a letter or a mount point to the current active partition
create partition primary size=SIZE_IN_MB – use this command to create a new primary partition. The SIZE_IN_MB is the size of the partition you want to create, in MB.
create partition extended size=SIZE_IN_MB – use this command to create a new extended partition. The SIZE_IN_MB is the size of the partition you want to create, in MB.
create partition logical size=SIZE_IN_MB – use this command to create a new logical partition. The SIZE_IN_MB is the size of the partition you want to create, in MB.
delete partition will delete the current active partition
extend will extend the current volume
remove will remove a letter or a mount point from the current active partition
active – use this to set the current volume as active
add disk – use this command to add a mirror to the current active volume
break disk – use this command to break the mirror added
create volume stripe – use this to create a stripe set volume on a specified disk
create volume raid – use this command to create a Raid-5 volume on a specified disk
delete disk – use this command to delete a missing dynamic disk
delete partition – use this command to delete the current active partition
extend disk – use this command to extend the current volume
import can be used to import disks from a foreigh disk group
online can be used to bring a disk or a volume online that was previously offline
remove can be used to remove a letter or a mount point from the current active volume
retain is used to prepare a volume to be used as a boot or system volume
convert mbr will set the partition style of the current disk to MBR
convert gpt will set the partition style to GPT
convert dynamic will change a basic disk into a dynamic one
convert basic will convert a dynamic disk (empty disk) into a basic disk
exit will exit the utility
clean will remove the partition or volume formatting from the current disk
rescan can rescann the I/O buses and can discover new disks added to the computer
help will display the list of all available commands

Error Codes

You can find a list error codes to debug various errors:

Code 0 means that no errors occurred
Code 1 means that a fatal exception occurred
Code 2 means that the parameters you specified for a command are incorrect
Code 3 means that diskpart is unable to open the specified file
Code 4 means that diskpart (one of the services used by the utility) returned a failure
Code 5 means a command syntax error

diskpart in Windows XP

Note that the fdisk utility found in pre-Windows XP systems is now known as diskpart on Windows XP systems.

If you can boot into Windows XP

If you can boot into your computer, you simply need to open Command Prompt to access diskpart:

Boot into Windows XP
Click Start
Click Run
Type cmd
Press Enter or click OK
At the Command Prompt window, type diskpart
Press Enter

If you can’t boot into Windows XP

If you can’t boot into Windows XP to access diskpart, you have 2 options:

Use the original CD to access Recovery Console
Use Easy Recovery Essentials to launch Command Line

If you have the original CD:

If you can’t boot into Windows XP, but you have the original CD, you can access the Recovery Console:

Insert the Windows XP CD
Reboot the computer
Press any key to boot from the CD
At the Microsoft Setup menu, press R
Select the operating system and enter the Administrator password, if requested
When Command Line appears, type diskpart
Press Enter

If you use Easy Recovery Essentials:

Download Easy Recovery Essentials
Burn the ISO Image. Follow our instructions on how to burn a bootable ISO image. If you’d like to have a recovery USB instead, follow our instructions on how to make a recovery USB.
Boot Easy Recovery Essentials from the CD, DVD or USB
Select Launch Command Line

diskpart in Windows Vista

You need to run these steps as an Administrator on Windows Vista systems.

If you can boot into Windows Vista with no errors, follow the If you can boot into Windows Vista set of instructions. Otherwise, follow If you can’t boot into Windows Vista.

If you can boot into Windows Vista

You simply need to open Command Prompt, if you can boot into Windows Vista:

Boot into Windows Vista
Click Start
Type cmd
Click Command Prompt from the search results list. You may need to right-click Command Prompt > Run as Administrator, if you are not logged in as Administrator already
Type diskpart
Press Enter

For the full list of diskpart commands and paremeters, go to Commands and Parameters.

If you can’t boot into Windows Vista

If you can’t boot into your system, you have the following options:

Use the installation disc to access System Recovery Options
Access System Recovery Options without the installation disc (if installed)
Use Easy Recovery Essentials and access Command Line

If you have the installation disc:

If you can’t boot into Windows Vista, but you have the Windows Vista disc, follow these steps to open diskpart:

Insert the original CD/DVD in the optical drive
Boot your computer
Press any key to boot from the CD/DVD
Select your language, time and keyboard
Click Next
Click Repair your computer
Select the operating system
Click Next
When the System Recovery Options screen appears, click Command Prompt
Type diskpart:
```
diskpart
```
Press Enter

For the full list of diskpart commands and paremeters, go to Commands and Parameters.

If you don’t have the installation disc:

If your Windows Vista has the System Recovery Options installed and is available at the Advanced Boot Options menu, you can run Command Prompt from there. Otherwise, see the “If you use Easy Recovery Essentials” set of instructions below.

Follow these steps below to access diskpart without the installation disc:

Reboot the computer
Press F8 as your computer starts to boot, but before the Windows Vista logo appears
Select Repair Your Computer, at the Advanced Boot Options menu

If a “Repair Your Computer” option isn’t listed, System Recovery Options is not installed on your computer. Use the original installation disc or go to the “If you use Easy Recovery Essentials”set of instructions below .

Repair Your Computer in Advanced Boot Options

Select Command Prompt at the System Recovery Options menu
Type diskpart
Press Enter

For the full list of diskpart commands and paremeters, go to Commands and Parameters.

If you use Easy Recovery Essentials:

If you don’t have the installation disc available, can’t boot into Windows Vista or you don’t have the “Repair Your Computer” option listed at the Advanced Boot Options menu, you can use Easy Recovery Essentials to access Command Prompt and load diskpart.

Follow these steps:

Download Easy Recovery Essentials
Burn the ISO Image. Follow our instructions on how to burn a bootable ISO image. If you’d like to have a recovery USB instead, follow our instructions on how to make a recovery USB.
Boot Easy Recovery Essentials from the CD, DVD or USB
Select Launch Command Line

diskpart in Windows 7

On Windows 7 systems, you can access diskpart just as you do Windows Vista systems.

Note that you need to run these steps as an Administrator on Windows 7 computers.

If you can boot into Windows 7

If you can boot into your Windows 7 system, simply open Command Prompt:

Boot into Windows 7
Click Start
Type cmd
Click Command Prompt from the search results list. Right-click on Command Prompt > Run as Administrator.
When Command Prompt loads, type diskpart
Press Enter

For the full list of diskpart commands and paremeters, go to Commands and Parameters.

If you can’t boot into Windows 7

Similar to Windows Vista, if you can’t boot into your system, you have the following options:

Use the installation disc
Boot into the Advanced Boot Options menu to access System Recovery Options
Use Easy Recovery Essentials and access Command Line

If you have the installation disc:

If you can’t boot into Windows 7, but you have the installation disc, you can run diskpart using the disc. To do so, follow these steps:

Insert the disc in the optical drive of your computer
Restart the computer
Press any key to boot from the disc
Select your preferred language, time and keyboard
Click Next
Click Repair your computer at the Install Windows screen
Select the operating system from the list
Click Next
Select Command Prompt
Type diskpart

diskpart

Press Enter

For the full list of diskpart commands and paremeters, go to Commands and Parameters.

If you don’t have the installation disc:

Usually, Windows 7 systems should have the System Recovery Options installed on the hard drive. If it’s not (follow steps below), go to the “If you use Easy Recovery Essentials” set of instructions below for an alternative to access diskpart.

Follow these steps to access diskpart without an installation disc on a Windows 7:

Restart the computer
Press F8 as the computer starts to boot. Press F8 before the Windows 7 logo appears.
Select Repair Your Computer at the Advanced Boot Options screen
If Repair Your Computer is not listed, System Recovery Options is not installed on your PC. Go to If you use Easy Recovery Essentials for an alternative.
Press Enter
Select Command Prompt
Type diskpart
Press Enter

For the full list of diskpart commands and paremeters, go to Commands and Parameters.

If you use Easy Recovery Essentials:

Easy Recovery Essentials can run from any CD, DVD or USB flash drives.

To access diskpart using Easy Recovery Essentials, follow these steps:

Download Easy Recovery Essentials
Burn the ISO Image. Follow our instructions on how to burn a bootable ISO image. If you’d like to have a recovery USB instead, follow our instructions on how to make a recovery USB.
Boot Easy Recovery Essentials from the CD, DVD or USB
Select Launch Command Line

diskpart in Windows 8

If you can boot into Windows 8

If you can boot into your Windows 8 system, you simply need to open Command Prompt to access diskpart. To do so, follow these steps:

Boot into Windows 8
Press the key and C to open the charm bar
Type cmd
Click Command Prompt
When Command Prompt opens, type diskpart
Press Enter

For the full list of diskpart commands and paremeters, go to Commands and Parameters.

If you can’t boot into Windows 8

If you can’t boot into your Windows 8, you have these options available:

Use the original DVD or USB with Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 to access the Repair your computer option
Boot into the System Recovery Options with Shift and F8
Use Easy Recovery Essentials to launch Command Line

If you have the installation disc:

If you can’t boot, but you have the installation disc, follow these steps:

Insert the Windows 8 DVD or 8.1 USB
Restart the computer
Press any key to boot from the media
Click Repair your computer or press R
Select Troubleshoot
Select Command Prompt
Type diskpart
Press Enter

For the full list of diskpart commands and paremeters, go to Commands and Parameters.

If you don’t have the installation disc:

If you don’t have the installation disc, you can boot into System Recovery Options or use Easy Recovery Essentials.

To access diskpart without an official Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 disc, follow these steps:

Reboot the system
Press Shift and F8 very quickly
At Choose an option, select Troubleshoot
Select Command Prompt
Type diskpart
Press Enter

For the full list of diskpart commands and paremeters, go to Commands and Parameters.

If you use Easy Recovery Essentials:

Easy Recovery Essentials can run from any CD, DVD or USB flash drives.

To access diskpart using Easy Recovery Essentials, follow these steps:

Download Easy Recovery Essentials
Burn the ISO Image. Follow our instructions on how to burn a bootable ISO image. If you’d like to have a recovery USB instead, follow our instructions on how to make a recovery USB.
Boot Easy Recovery Essentials from the CD, DVD or USB
Select Launch Command Line

diskpart in Windows 10

If you can boot into Windows 10

If you can boot into your Windows 10 system, you simply need to open Command Prompt to access diskpart. To do so, follow these steps:

Boot into Windows 10
Press the key and C to open the charm bar
Type cmd
Click Command Prompt
When Command Prompt opens, type diskpart
Press Enter

For the full list of diskpart commands and paremeters, go to Commands and Parameters.

If you can’t boot into Windows 10

If you can’t boot into your Windows 10, you have these options available:

Use the original DVD or USB with Windows 10 to access the Repair your computer option
Boot into the System Recovery Options with Shift and F8
Use Easy Recovery Essentials to launch Command Line

If you have the installation disc:

If you can’t boot, but you have the installation disc, follow these steps:

Insert the Windows 10 or USB
Restart the computer
Press any key to boot from the media
Click Repair your computer or press R
Select Troubleshoot
Select Command Prompt
Type diskpart
Press Enter

For the full list of diskpart commands and paremeters, go to Commands and Parameters.

If you don’t have the installation disc:

If you don’t have the installation disc, you can boot into System Recovery Options or use Easy Recovery Essentials.

To access diskpart without an official Windows 10 media, follow these steps:

Reboot the system
Press Shift and F8 very quickly
At Choose an option, select Troubleshoot
Select Command Prompt
Type diskpart
Press Enter

For the full list of diskpart commands and paremeters, go to Commands and Parameters.

If you use Easy Recovery Essentials:

Easy Recovery Essentials can run from any CD, DVD or USB flash drives.

To access diskpart using Easy Recovery Essentials, follow these steps:

Download Easy Recovery Essentials
Burn the ISO Image. Follow our instructions on how to burn a bootable ISO image. If you’d like to have a recovery USB instead, follow our instructions on how to make a recovery USB.
Boot Easy Recovery Essentials from the CD, DVD or USB
Select Launch Command Line

Troubleshooting

Download diskpart

You can not download diskpart utility. This utility is a command line utility part of Windows.

To access diskpart, you have the following options:

Use the original CD/DVD or USB of your Windows to access Recovery Console (for Windows XP) or System Recovery Options (for Windows Vista-8)
Boot into the recovery mode of your Windows
Use Easy Recovery Essentials, our recovery and repair disk, and open Command Line to access diskpart

Instructions on how to access diskpart if you use Easy Recovery Essentials:

Download Easy Recovery Essentials
Burn the ISO Image. Follow our instructions on how to burn a bootable ISO image. If you’d like to have a recovery USB instead, follow our instructions on how to make a recovery USB.
Boot Easy Recovery Essentials from the CD, DVD or USB
Select Launch Command Line

Instructions on how to access diskpart if you have the installation disc:

For Windows XP
For Windows Vista
For Windows 7
For Windows 8 or Windows 8.1
For Windows 10

Instructions on how to access diskpart if you don’t have the installation disc:

For Windows XP
For Windows Vista
For Windows 7
For Windows 8 or Windows 8.1
For Windows 10

Format USB with diskpart

To format a USB flash drive with diskpart, follow these steps:

Open the utility by typing diskpart in Command Prompt
Press Enter
Once loaded, type list disk:
```
list disk
```
Press Enter
Determine which of the disks listed is your USB flash drive, e.g. Disk 2.
Type select disk 2, if #2 is the USB flash drive presented by the list disk command
Press Enter
Type clean to clean the USB flash drive:
```
clean
```
Press Enter
Type this command:
```
create partition primary
```
Press Enter
Type active:
```
active
```
Press Enter
You should now receive this confirmation message:
```
DiskPart marked the current partition as active.
```
Type this command to format the USB flash drive:
```
format fs=ntfs label="MY USB DRIVE"
```
where ntfs is the NTFS file system (you can also use fs=fat32) and “MY USB DRIVE” is the label given to the USB drive.
Type assign:
```
assign
```
Press Enter
Quit diskpart by typing exit:
```
exit
```
Press Enter

Bootable USB with diskpart

To create a bootable USB using diskpart, follow the steps from Format USB with diskpart.

Once successfully formatted the drive, simply copy the files to the USB drive.

USB not showing in diskpart

diskpart will not list external media, e.g. USB flash drive, if you’re using Windows XP.

Windows Vista to Windows 8 systems will show the USB flash drives in diskpart.

More Information

Support Links

Easy Recovery Essentials for Windows – our repair and recovery disk.

It’s an easy-to-use and automated diagnostics disk. It’s available for Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista. It’s also available for Windows XP and Windows Server.

Read more at Windows Recovery Disks.
The NeoSmart Support Forums, member-to-member technical support and troubleshooting.
Get a discounted price on replacement setup and installation discs: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10.

Applicable Systems

This Windows-related knowledgebase article applies to the following operating systems:

Windows XP (all editions)
Windows Vista (all editions)
Windows 7 (all editions)
Windows 8 (all editions)
Windows 8.1 (all editions)
Windows 10 (all editions)
Windows Server 2003 (all editions)
Windows Server 2008 (all editions)
Windows Server 2012 (all editions)

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diskpart – Guide for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10