How to create custom partition to install Windows 10

<!–

–>

Although you can resize a partition at any time on Windows 10, if you plan to create a dual boot system, or you want to keep your files separate from the main installation, you can create a custom partition for Windows 10 and apps during the installation process.

In this guide, you will learn the steps to create and install a clean copy of Windows 10 on a custom partition.

How to partition a drive during installation of Windows 10

To install Windows 10 on a custom partition, use these steps:

1. Start your PC with USB flash media.

   Important: To start your device with a bootable media, you need to change the BIOS settings. This process usually requires pressing one of the function keys (F1, F2, F3, F10, or F12), the ESC, or the Delete key. For more accurate instructions, visit your PC manufacturer’s support website. Also, this process will delete everything on the hard drive. As a result, it’s recommended to backup any files before proceeding.

2. Press any key to begin.

3. Click the Next button.

4. Click the Install now button.

   

   Windows 10 Install now button

5. Type the product key, or click the Skip button if you’re reinstalling Windows 10.

   

   Windows 10 setup, product key settings

6. Check the I accept the license terms option.

7. Click the Next button.

8. If you skipped the product key, select the edition of Windows 10 that you’re about to install.

   

   Windows 10 setup, select edition to install

9. Click the Next button.

10. Select the Custom: Install Windows only (advanced) option.

    

    Windows 10 setup, custom install option

11. Select each partition in the hard drive to install Windows 10 and click the Delete button. (Usually, the “Drive 0” is the drive that contains all the installation files.)

    Warning: Deleting a partition also deletes all data within.

12. Select the Drive 0 Unallocated Space.

13. Click the New button.

    

    Windows 10 setup, create a custom partition

14. Specify the amount of space (in megabytes) to allocate for the installation of Windows 10 and apps. (The operating system requires at least 20GB of space, but to prevent problems with future updates and to run out of pace to install applications, you should be creating a partition between 60GB to 100GB in size.)

    

    Windows 10 setup, specify the partition size

15. Click the Apply button.

16. Click the OK button. (Alongside the custom partition, Windows 10 will also additional partitions automatically required to install and run the operating system.)

17. (Optional) Select the Drive 0 Unallocated Space.

    .Windows_Software_Technology-Big-343 { display:inline-block; width: 300px; height: 600px; } @media(min-width: 500px) { .Windows_Software_Technology-Big-343 { width: 300px; height: 600px;} }

18. Click the New button to create additional partitions with the remaining space. (You can always perform after the installation.)

19. Select the Drive 0 Partition 4 (Primary) from the list.

20. Click the Next button.

    

    Select a partition to install Windows 10

Once you complete the steps, the setup will install Windows 10 on the custom partition you created.

After the installation, you’ll need to go through the out-of-box experience (OOBE) to create an account and finish configuring the installation.

Creating partition with remaining unallocated space

If you didn’t use the remaining space, you could use these steps to create an additional partition to store files and other items.

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Disk Management, click the top result to open the app.

3. Right-click the unallocated space on the drive and select the New Simple Volume option.

   

   Disk Management, New Simple Volume option

4. Click the Next button.

5. Specify the amount of space (in megabytes) for the partition in megabytes.

   

   Specify partition size for a new drive

6. Click the Next button.

7. Use the “Assign the following driver letter” drop-down menu and select a letter to make the drive available in File Explorer.

   

   Assign a drive letter to the new partition on Windows 10

8. Click the Next button.

9. Select the Format this volume with the following settings option.

10. Use the “File system” drop-down menu, and select the NTFS option.

11. In the “Allocation unit size” setting, leave the Default option.

12. In the “Volume label” field, type a name for the drive—for example, Data.

13. Check the Perform a quick format option.

    

    New partition format settings on Windows 10

14. Clear the Enable file and folder compression option.

15. Click the Next button.

16. Click the Finish button.

After you complete the steps, the partition should format with the settings you specified, and it should now be available for use in File Explorer.