A quick way to open the Disk Management utility in Windows is from the Command Prompt. Disk Management is buried several layers deep, so having a faster way to access this super-tool for your hard drives and other storage devices can come in handy. Follow these easy steps to start Disk Management from the Command Prompt in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP.

What to Know

  • Open Run from the Start menu or Apps screen. Type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter. Disk Management will open.Alternatively, press WIN+X and select Disk Management.Or, open Task Manager via Ctrl+Shift+Esc and go to File > Run new task. Enter diskmgmt.msc and select OK.

How to Open Disk Management With a Command

Using the Disk Management command only takes a few seconds once you learn how it’s done.

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!)

  • In Windows 11/10/8, 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 method for opening this tool).
  • In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, select Start.
  • In Windows XP and earlier, go to Start and then Run.
  • What Version of Windows Do I Have?
  • All you’re doing in this step is accessing a part of Windows that will let you use the command for Disk Management to search for and open the tool, as you’ll see in the next step. It might seem odd that there are multiple ways to do this, but every version of Windows works a bit differently.
  • Type the following Disk Management command in the text box:
  • diskmgmt.msc
  • Then, press the Enter key or press OK, depending on where you ran the command from.
  • Technically, opening Disk Management from the Command Prompt would require that you actually open the Command Prompt program (which you can do if you want; it works the same way). However, running an executable program like diskmgmt.msc from the search or Run box accomplishes the same thing.
  • Technically, diskmgmt.msc isn’t 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 program.
  • Wait while Disk Management opens. It should be immediate but it might take a few moments for the whole program to load.

Now that it’s open, you can use it to change drive letters, partition a drive, format a drive, and more.

In Windows 11/10/8, 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 method for opening this tool).

In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, select Start.

In Windows XP and earlier, go to Start and then Run.

All you’re doing in this step is accessing a part of Windows that will let you use the command for Disk Management to search for and open the tool, as you’ll see in the next step. It might seem odd that there are multiple ways to do this, but every version of Windows works a bit differently.

Type the following Disk Management command in the text box:

diskmgmt.msc

Then, press the Enter key or press OK, depending on where you ran the command from.

Technically, opening Disk Management from the Command Prompt would require that you actually open the Command Prompt program (which you can do if you want; it works the same way). However, running an executable program like diskmgmt.msc from the search or Run box accomplishes the same thing.

Technically, diskmgmt.msc isn’t 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 program.

Wait while Disk Management opens. It should be immediate but it might take a few moments for the whole program to load.

A Quicker Method in Windows 11, 10 & 8

Are you using a keyboard or mouse with Windows 11, 10, or 8? If so, opening Disk Management via the Power User Menu is even faster than via its Run command.

The method you use to open Disk Management doesn’t change what you can do with it. In other words, all the same functions exist no matter which shortcut method you use, whether it be with Command Prompt, the Run dialog box, Computer Management, or even Windows Explorer.

Just press WIN+X to bring up the menu, then click Disk Management. In Windows 8.1 and newer, right-clicking the Start button works, 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.

Another way to use the Disk Management command is from Task Manager. This definitely isn’t a quicker method than the procedure described above, but it might be your only option if you’re having trouble displaying the desktop or opening menus.

To do this, open Task Manager via Ctrl+Shift+Esc, and go to Run new task (Windows 11) or File > Run new task. Enter diskmgmt.msc and select OK.

The Task Manager method is the exact same as using the Run dialog box. If you compare the two boxes, you’ll notice that they look nearly the same because you’re accessing the same function in Windows: the command line.

  • How do I open the Command Prompt from File Explorer?
  • To open the Command Prompt from File Explorer, select the address bar, type cmd > Enter.
  • How do I open Settings from the Command Prompt?
  • In the Command Prompt, type start ms-settings: and press Enter to immediately launch the Settings app.

To open the Command Prompt from File Explorer, select the address bar, type cmd > Enter.

In the Command Prompt, type start ms-settings: and press Enter to immediately launch the Settings app.

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