Discpart Command-Line Utility

The Discpart command-line utility is a text-mode command interpreter that you can use for managing disk, partitions, and volumes on both local and remote computers. To start Discpart, type diskpart at the command prompt.

Overview

Discpart provides a powerful and flexible way to perform disk management tasks directly from the command line. This is particularly useful for scripting, automation, and troubleshooting scenarios where a graphical interface might not be available or practical.

Common Discpart Commands

Here are some of the most frequently used Discpart commands:

Disk Management

list disk: Displays a list of all disks available on the system.
select disk <disk_number>: Selects the disk to perform operations on.
detail disk: Displays detailed information about the selected disk.
clean: Removes all partitions or formatting from the selected disk. Use with extreme caution!
online disk: Brings a disk that is offline online.
offline disk: Takes a disk offline.

Partition Management

list partition: Displays a list of partitions on the selected disk.
select partition <partition_number>: Selects the partition to perform operations on.
create partition primary [size=<size_in_mb>]: Creates a primary partition.
create partition extended [size=<size_in_mb>]: Creates an extended partition.
create partition logical [size=<size_in_mb>]: Creates a logical partition within an extended partition.
delete partition override: Deletes the selected partition. Use with caution!
assign letter=<letter>: Assigns a drive letter to the selected partition.
remove letter=<letter>: Removes a drive letter from the selected partition.

Volume Management

list volume: Displays a list of all volumes on the system.
select volume <volume_number>: Selects the volume to perform operations on.
detail volume: Displays detailed information about the selected volume.
format fs=<filesystem> quick: Formats the selected volume with the specified file system (e.g., NTFS, FAT32).
extend [size=<size_in_mb>]: Extends the selected volume to the specified size.
shrink desired=<size_in_mb> [minimum=<size_in_mb>]: Shrinks the selected volume.
remove quickformat: Disables quick formatting for the selected volume.
add-redundancy [ref=<volume_name>]: Creates a mirrored volume (RAID-1).
remove-redundancy: Breaks a mirrored volume.

Example Usage: Creating and Formatting a New Partition

Here's a step-by-step example of how to create a new primary partition and format it with NTFS:

Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
Type diskpart and press Enter.
Type list disk to see available disks.
Type select disk 1 (replace 1 with the actual disk number).
Type create partition primary size=50000 to create a 50GB primary partition.
Type format fs=ntfs quick to format the partition.
Type assign letter=E to assign the drive letter E.
Type exit to leave Discpart.

Important Considerations

Caution: Commands like clean and delete partition permanently erase data. Always ensure you have backed up any important data before executing these commands. Double-check the disk and partition numbers before proceeding.

For a complete list of Discpart commands and their detailed syntax, please refer to the official Microsoft documentation.

Last updated: October 26, 2023