How to Partition 1TB Hard Disk in Windows 11/10/8/7

Updated by

Tracy King 

Written by

Jean 

Updated on Jan 23, 2025

To partition a 1TB hard disk, do as below, please.

1. 1. Use Windows+R to open "Run", type diskmgmt. 
2. 2. You can right-click a partition which has much free space and select "Shrink Volume".
3. 3. Adjust the partition size and click "Shrink" to confirm.
4. 4. Now, you will get an unallocated space...Read More>>

If you prefer a third-party tool, you can download EaseUS partition manager software.

How to Partition 1TB Hard Disk in Windows 11/10/8/7

It's necessary to know how to partition a 1TB hard drive, external HDD, or SSD in Windows 11/10 into several volumes. For many of us using Windows computers, we typically have two to four hard drive partitions, such as C, D, E & F drive. We use each of them for different purposes. C drive, also known as the system drive, is for Windows OS installation and system files. The rest partitions are usually data partitions, which we may use them to store a specified type of data. The number of partitions doesn't really matter. It just depends on how many you want on your computer. Running hard disk partition in Windows 10 can be done in two ways, either with third-party disk and partition software or Disk Management.

Method 1. Partition a 1TB Hard Disk with a Partition Tool

In consideration of the ease of use, efficiency, and popularity, we decided to recommend EaseUS Partition Master. The free partition manager comes with the best solution to partition a 1TB HDD/SSD in Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista. What's more, it has many excellent features:

• Accelerate the performance of SSD with optimized partition alignment
• Extend the C drive and run Windows OS faster
• Create a partition to store copies of data
• Clone an entire disk or partition to another without data loss

You're going to utilize two features of the recommended software to make hard drive partitioning happen.

• Resize/move partition
• Create a partition

You can also follow the step-by-step guide to partition a hard disk:

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master. To to Partition Manager, right-click on the unallocated space on your hard drive or external storage device and select "Create".

Step 2. Adjust the partition size, file system (Choose the file system based on your need), label, etc. for the new partition and click "OK" to continue.

Step 3. Click on the "Execute 1 Task(s)" button and create a new partition by clicking "Apply".

Watch the following video tutorial and learn how to create a partition in NTFS, FAT, or EXT file system.

Method 2. Partition a 1TB HDD/SSD with Disk Management

Partition a hard disk using disk management is a common method taken by computer users. This Windows built-in tool can satisfy the common demands of most users. In Windows 11/10/8/7, Vista, and Windows Server 2008, Disk Management can shrink a volume, extend a volume, create volume, delete the volume, format the volume, etc. Follow the steps to partition a 1TB HDD or SSD:

Step 1. Open Disk Management in Windows 11/10/8/7

Right-click on This PC > Click "Manage" > Enter Device Manager and click "Disk Management".

Step 2. Partition the 1TB HDD/SSD in Windows 11/10/8/7

To shrink a partition:

1. 1. Right-click on the partition that you want to shrink and select "Shrink Volume".
2. 2. Adjust the partition size and "Shrink" to confirm.

To create a partition:

Once you've shrunk a partition, you can use the unallocated space to create another partition. 

1. 1. Right-click the unallocated space and select "New Simple Volume".
2. 2. Click "Next" to continue, set the new partition size, drive letter, file system, click "Finish". Wait for the formatting completes.

In this way, you can partition your 1TB HDD/SSD into several partitions. You can also change your drive letter after the steps.

To change the drive letter:

1. 1. Right-click on the partition and select "Change Drive Letter and Paths".
2. 2. Click "Change" to set a new drive letter for your partition.

Click the buttons to share this article and let others know about the two ways.

Extra Tips - How Many Partitions Are Best for 1TB

Generally speaking, according to the file types and personal habits, a 1TB hard drive can be partitioned into 2-5 partitions. Here we recommend you to partition it into four partitions: Operating system (C drive), Program File(D drive), Personal Data (E drive), and Entertainment (F drive).

C Drive (100GB - 200GB) is the main disk that contains the operating system and the related system files. Therefore, sufficient capacity is essential for the C Drive. Usually, the operating system and related files take up 70GB space. Thus, allocate the hard drive to add about 100GB-200GB of space to C Drive.

D Drive (About 100GB) is the drive for applications. If you install too many programs on C drive, the efficiency and speed of system operation will be reduced. So it is a nice choice to create a separate partition from a 1TB hard drive to store the programs. Generally, 100GB of space for program disk is enough for most people to use.

E Drive (50GB-100GB) is mainly designed for personal files. You can save vital personal files, including office business files, study material, private videos, or photos separately. It is recommended to create a separate partition for those important individual files. Generally, 50GB-100GB of space is enough.

F Drive (600-700GB) is mainly used for entertainment, such as watching movies and listening to music. These files take up lots of space. You can allocate as much space as possible.

Conclusion

It is easy to shrink, create, or extend a partition with a third-party tool or Disk Management. Besides, we have given proper advice on partition number and size for 1TB hard disk. In addition to hard drive partitioning, you can also use the EaseUS disk management tool to merge partitions, migrate OS and convert MBR to GPT or GPT to MBR without losing data.

Partition 1TB Hard Drive Windows 11/10 FAQs

Is it safe to partition C drive? How long does it take to partition a 1TB hard drive? If you have these kinds of questions, you can read the following questions and answers.

How many partitions are best for 1TB?

1TB hard drive can be partitioned into 2-5 partitions. Here we recommend you to partition it into four partitions: Operating system (C Drive), Program File(D Drive), Personal Data (E Drive), and Entertainment (F Drive).

How long does it take to partition a 1TB hard drive?

About 10 minutes. If your computer is in good situation, you can run EaseUS Partition Master to create, shrink, and extend partitions in a few minutes.

What is the best way to partition a hard drive?

The best way to partition a hard drive:

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master

Step 2. Adjust the new partition size, file system, label, etc.

Step 3. Confirm to create a new partition

How long does it take to format a 1TB hard drive?

For your information, you can always format a hard drive within minutes or half an hour, depending on the hard drive capacity and used space on it. As estimated, to do a full format on a 1TB hard disk in Windows, it will take a long time, like 2- hours, and over a USB 2.0 connection, it may take a day!