In recent years, Microsoft has started the pump: the Control Panel is gradually giving way to the Parameters module, more “modern” (as the editor of Redmond likes to recall) and perhaps more intuitive. One by one, all the tools in the Panel are therefore integrated into the Settings application, so much so that we wonder what will remain in the ancestral Control Panel. In the latest build of Windows 10, which bears the number 20175, the Disk Manager is getting a facelift and is now integrated into the Settings module.
A new, more intuitive disk manager, but still in the making
The new storage manager is quite simple for now. By clicking on a disc, two options are now available. You can sometimes open Windows 10 File Explorer, sometimes access the properties of the disk in question. It is therefore possible to carry out the following operations:
- change the letter of a unit (C :, D :, E :, etc.)
- change the size of a partition
How to access the new Windows 10 Disk Manager
This new option is currently intended for users of the Windows Insider program. Remember that the latter allows you to preview all the new features of Windows 10. As it is a beta-test program, and because of its unstable nature, we recommend that you install this type of version of Windows 10 in a virtual environment or on the second partition of your configuration.
To access the new Disk Manager, do the following:
- Click on the Start button, then go to the Settings option symbolized by a small cogwheel
- Head over to System
- In the left column, click Storage
- You should now have access to the new Disk Manager.
Note that this new option is being deployed. Even if you have already installed Build 20175, it may not appear right away. Wait a few hours and days, you should see it appear. At worst, remember that Microsoft releases a new Build every week or so. If the new Disk Manager is not yet accessible from your configuration, it should be available during the next update.
It’s a fact, Windows 10’s Control Panel is really giving way to the Settings tool. This does not mean that the Panel will disappear entirely, but that almost all of its functionality is now accessible from the Settings module. Ultimately, it is possible that Microsoft will reserve the Control Panel for the most seasoned OS users, and that it will be hidden from the general public. In any case, this is what the recent “eviction” of the System function from the Control Panel suggests, in favor of its equivalent within the Parameters module. Unless the Panel disappears completely from the home version of Windows 10 and is intended for the professional edition, who knows?