Windows 10: Deleting or Formatting a Partition

Hi all

I have just reinstalled Win10 on our PC but installed it to the wrong partition.

Now it won't let me delete or format the d drive because it holds system files/folders.

Any suggestions as to how to get rid of it ?

Many thanks

:)

 

My 256gb sd card isn't being recognized as 256gb when formatting

If the partition on the SD card is 8GB formatting cannot change its size.

Go to Disk Management, as Eeshwar Kumar said, delete the 8GB partition and create and format a new partition.

 

Access denied to hard disk partition

Hello,

when i try to open the disk E folder (which is a partition created)

i have tried formatting the partition through disk management.

when i hit delete volume, it says for force deletion click yes

and when i hit yes, it says access is denied . any help how to format and delete the partition

 

Welcome to the forum. If you did delete it then windows wouldnt work does it have the boot files on the drive if so you could move them onto c: we really need to see a screenshot from disk managment

 

What is the status of the files on the drive?
Have you backed up all of the files?
Had you made a backup image using Macrium, Acronis or similar software?
If you needed to delete partitions, format the drive, make an unallocated drive, would you be able to perform a clean install?

 

Thanks guys - I'll take a screenshot when I get home

 

1) When using disk management please widen volume and status columns so that the contents of each row are completely viewable and nothing is cutoff.

2) Download and install Minitool partition wizard:
Best Free Partition Manager for Windows | MiniTool Partition Free

3) Post an image into the thread from minitool partition wizard

4) please follow up with answers to post #3

 

zbook:

What is the status of the files on the drive? No personal files on there - clean install
Have you backed up all of the files? See above
Had you made a backup image using Macrium, Acronis or similar software? No need - clean install of Win10
If you needed to delete partitions, format the drive, make an unallocated drive, would you be able to perform a clean install? Tried to format the d drive/partition but it wouldn't let me even though I was doing it as Administrator

 

You can't format a drive with system files on it as Windows will lock it you can boot an install DVD format the drives and do a clean install. It's best practice to only have the c drive in when doing an install as then all files will be in the correct drive

 

If you boot to a windows 10 iso then click install there are options to delete partitions. Then if you delete all partitions you will make an unallocated drive. Then you can install windows 10.
Clean Install Windows 10 Installation Upgrade Tutorials

 

Hi Samuria

Yes I would normally just install to the C drive but when I was going thru the install process I had 2 drives come up with the SAME partition number AND the same volume amount, which is why I accidentally picked the wrong one.

Realised this when I booted up the PC and it turned out to be a dual boot.

I now want to wipe the D partition and get rid of the system files/folders in there but not sure how to go about it.

Really doesn't bother me about doing yet another clean install as there's nothing on there anyway.

 

zbook

I tried that but didn't get the options to delete the partition

 

The drive can be cleaned using diskpart.

In case the drive is not GPT and you want GPT:

diskpart
List disk
select disk 0 (make sure disk 0 is where you want to install Windows, check twice)
clean
Convert gpt (if required for UEFI)
exit
exit


Proceed with install and let Windows create partitions it needs.

 

tried the "clean" option last night but wouldn't let me do it - can't remember the wording that came back on cmd prompt

 

Another options if the drive is easily removed is to place it in a hard drive bay of another computer or into a hard drive enclosure.
Then you can run the clean option using diskpart.