This is an outline of the methods to boot (start) the PC to open DISKPART so you can manipulate the Solid State Drive (SSD) or Hard Disk Drive (HDD) partitions before you start an installation or for any other reason.
Let's get started!
Method One
Windows 7 Full Installer
1) In the BIOS set the
boot order to boot first from the CD/DVD Drive, insert the Windows 7 instalation DVD and restart the PC, at the first black/screen hit the space bar for the "Press any key ... " prompt, then at the "Language" screen hold the "Shift" key and hit the F10 hot-key to open a command window.
click any image to enlarge
2) In the command window that opens type
diskpart <enter> to get started.
To close the command window when finished type
exit <enter> to leave diskpart, then
exit <enter> again to close the command window and get back to the installer.
Method Two
Windows Repair CD
In the BIOS set the
boot order to boot first from the CD/DVD Drive, insert the
created repair CD and restart the PC.
1) A
t the first black/screen hit the space bar for the "Press any key ... " prompt, after the "Loading Files" screen, select your language, then it'll do a search.
2) Select the desired OS and click next.
3) In the Choose a Recovery Tool dialog box click Command Prompt, in the command window that opens type
diskpart <enter> to get started.
When finished with diskpart type
exit <enter> to leave diskpart, then
exit <enter> again to close the command window.
Then click Restart in the Choose a Recovery Tool dialog box that's still open to finish up.
Method Three
Vista Full Installer
In the BIOS set the
boot order to boot first from the CD/DVD Drive, insert the Windows Vista full installer DVD and restart the PC, at the first black/screen hit the space bar for the "Press any key ... " prompt, then at the "Language" screen click next, at the "Install ... " screen click Repair Your Computer.
From there the steps are exactly the same as in Method Two above, starting at step #1 to get to the command window, also to close the command window and finish up.
Enjoy! :)