If you have multiple operating systems installed on your computer or want to create a separate partition for data backup, you may need to make a partition bootable. In Windows 10, you can easily make a partition bootable using the built-in Disk Management tool. Here’s how:
Step 1: Open Disk Management
To open Disk Management, right-click the Start button and select “Disk Management” from the menu. Alternatively, you can search for “Create and format hard disk partitions” in the Start menu search bar and click on the result.
Step 2: Select the Partition to Make Bootable
In the Disk Management window, locate the partition you want to make bootable. Right-click on the partition and select “Mark Partition as Active” from the context menu.
If the “Mark Partition as Active” option is grayed out, it means the partition is already set as the active partition. In this case, you can skip this step.
Step 3: Confirm the Action
A confirmation dialog box will appear, asking if you want to make the selected partition active. Click “Yes” to confirm the action.
Making a partition active will automatically make it bootable, allowing your computer to boot from that partition.
Step 4: Restart Your Computer
After marking the partition as active, restart your computer. During the boot process, you may need to select the bootable partition from the boot menu or change the boot order in your computer’s BIOS settings.
If you have multiple bootable partitions, you can set the default boot partition in your computer’s BIOS settings.
Additional Tips
Here are a few additional tips to keep in mind when making a partition bootable:
- Make sure the partition you want to make bootable is formatted with a supported file system, such as NTFS or FAT32.
- If you have a GPT (GUID Partition Table) disk, you may need to create an EFI system partition to make it bootable.
- Be cautious when making a partition active, as it will overwrite the previous active partition and may cause issues with your computer’s boot process.
By following these steps, you can easily make a partition bootable in Windows 10 using the Disk Management tool. This can be useful for managing multiple operating systems, creating a separate backup partition, or troubleshooting boot issues.