To create or delete a partition on a hard disk without the use of a Windows operating system, you must use a bootable disk or USB drive with Fdisk installed. Fdisk is a DOS utility that allows users to configure the partitions on a hard disk. A bootable drive installed with this utility is particularly useful if you are unable to boot to your hard drive, such as due to a logical disk failure.

To make a bootable USB disk with Fdisk included, you must format the USB drive and install to it the contents of a Windows boot disk.

Step

Go to AllBootDisks.com. Locate your version in the list of Windows operating systems, then click the "Download Boot Disks" link.

Step

Click the arrow next to "Automatic Boot Disk" and download all of the files to an empty folder on your PC.

Step

Right-click "Start." Click "Explore." Open the folder containing the file or files you downloaded from the site. Double-click the file or files to extract the contents to a new folder. Click "OK."

Step

Click "Cancel" when the "Insert floppy to write" box appears.

Step

Download and install the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool to your computer. Insert your USB drive into a free USB slot, then run the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool.

Step

Select your USB device from the drop-down, then change the file system to "FAT32."

Step

Check "Quick Format," and "Create a DOS startup disk." Click the "..." button and browse through your files until you find the folder containing the extracted files.

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Select the folder, then click "OK." Click "Start" to format the drive. Click "Yes" when the warning message appears.