A quick way to open the Disk Management utility in any version of Windows is from the
Command Prompt. Just type a short command and the Disk Management utility starts instantly.

Disk Management is buried several layers deep in most versions of Windows so having a faster way to access this super-tool for your hard drives and other storage devices can really come in very handy.

The Disk Management command is the same in all versions of Windows so these instructions apply equally to
Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Follow these easy steps to start Disk Management from the Command Prompt in Windows:

Tip: Not comfortable working with commands? You can also
Open Disk Management From the Computer Management Tool in Windows. (This is easy and fast, though, we promise!)

How To Open Disk Management From Command Prompt

Time Required: Opening Disk Management from the Command Prompt only takes several seconds and probably much less once you learn the command.

1. In Windows 10 and Windows 8, open Run from the Start menu or Apps screen (or see the A Quicker Method... section at the bottom of the page for an even faster way to get to Disk Management than using its command).
   
   In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, click on the Start button.
   
   In Windows XP and earlier, click on Start and then Run.
   
2. Type the following Disk Management command in the text box:
   

   
   diskmgmt.msc

   ...and then hit the Enter key or press the OK button, depending on where you ran the command from.
   
   
   Note: Technically, opening Disk Management from the Command Prompt would require that you actually open the Command Prompt program. However, running an executable program like diskmgmt.msc from the search or run box accomplishes the same thing.
   
   Note: Also, technically, diskmgmt.msc is not the "Disk Management command" any more than any non command-line tool's executable is a "command." In the strictest sense, diskmgmt.msc is just the run command for the Disk Management program.
   

1. Disk Management will open immediately.
   
   That's it! Now you can now use Disk Management to
   change drive letters, partition a drive, format a drive, and more.

A Quicker Method in Windows 10 & Windows 8

Are you using a keyboard or
mouse with Windows 10 or Windows 8? If so, opening Disk Management via the Power User Menu is even faster than via its run command.

Just press the WIN and X keys together to bring up the menu, then click on the Disk Management shortcut. In Windows 10 and Windows 8.1, right-clicking on the Start button works to bring up the Power User Menu too.

In Windows 10, you could also execute diskmgmt.msc directly from the Cortana interface, which is nice if you're used to using that to execute commands already.