Use the Format and Partition Disk task sequence step to format and partition a specified disk on a target computer.

Important
Every setting you specify for this task sequence step applies to a single specified disk. If you want to format and partition another disk on the target computer, you must add an additional Format and Partition Disk task sequence step to the task sequence.

The Format and Partition Disk task sequence action runs only in the Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) and will not run in a standard operating system. For information about task sequence variables for this task sequence action, see Format and Partition Disk Task Sequence Action Variables.

You can configure the following settings:

Name

A short user-defined name that describes the action taken in this step.
Description

More detailed information about the action taken in this step.
Disk Number

The physical disk number of the disk that will be formatted. The number is based on Windows disk enumeration ordering.
Disk Type

The type of disk that will be formatted. There are two options to select from the drop-down list:
  • Standard(MBR) – Master Boot Record.

  • GPT – GUID Partition Table

Note
If you change the disk type from Standard (MBR) to GPT, and the partition layout contains an extended partition, all extended and logical partitions will be removed from the layout. You will be prompted to confirm this action before changing the disk type.
Volume

Specific information about the partition or volume that will be created, including the following:
  • Name

  • Remaining disk space

To create a new partition, click the new button to launch the Partition Properties dialog box. You can specify the partition type and size, and specify if this will be a boot partition. To modify an existing partition, click the partition to be modified and then click the properties button. To delete a partition, select the partition to be deleted and then click the delete button.

See Also