1. Seeing Your Drives

Method 1: This PC (Basic)

Press Win + E and click "This PC".

You see Logical Partitions (C:, D:), not physical disks.

Method 2: Disk Management (Pro)

This shows the Real Structure.

Right-click Start → Disk Management.

Or Run (Win+R) → diskmgmt.msc

2. Interpreting the Interface

Top Section: Volume List

Shows Drive Letters, File System (NTFS), and Health Status.

Bottom Section: Physical Map (Important)

Disk 0 (SSD) - 512GB

  • EFI System (Boot)
  • C: Drive (Windows)
  • Recovery Partition

Disk 1 (HDD) - 1TB

  • New Volume (D:)
  • Unallocated Space

Unallocated Space: Empty raw storage waiting to be used.

3. Is it SSD or HDD?

Don't guess. Check it instantly.

1

Open Task Manager

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.

2

Performance Tab

Click "Performance" -> "Disk".

It explicitly says SSD or HDD.

4. Managing Partitions

Create New

1. Find Unallocated Space (Black).

2. Right-click -> New Simple Volume.

3. Follow Wizard -> Finish.

Shrink Volume

1. Right-click existing drive (e.g., C:).

2. Click Shrink Volume.

3. Enter MB (e.g., 50000 = 50GB).

4. Result: New Unallocated Space.

Extend Volume

1. Right-click drive to grow.

2. Click Extend Volume.

3. Select Unallocated Space.

Note: Space must be right next to it!

5. Real-World Scenario

Goal: Split a 512GB C: Drive

1. Open Disk Management. 2. Right-click C: (475GB) -> Shrink. 3. Enter 102400 (100GB) -> Shrink. ----------------------------------- Result: [ C: Windows (375GB) ] [ Unallocated (100GB) ] ----------------------------------- 4. Right-click Unallocated -> New Simple Volume. 5. Assign letter D: -> Finish.

⚠️ Critical Safety Rules

DO NOT DELETE:

  • EFI System Partition
  • Recovery Partition
  • System Reserved

Deleting these will BREAK WINDOWS BOOT.

Pro Tip: CMD Mode

For advanced users, use Command Prompt:

diskpart list disk list volume select disk 0 detail disk