What is PortableBaseLayer Drive or Partition in Windows 10 Disk Management?

If you are using Windows 10 operating system and you noticed a weird and strange partition labelled as “PortableBaseLayer” in Disk Management tool and now you are worrying about this suspicious partition, this article will help you.

Many times Windows 10 users find this partition displaying in Disk Manager tool. You can launch Disk Management tool using Diskmgmt.msc command in RUN dialog box.

Following screenshot shows PortableBaseLayer partition present in Disk Management tool in Windows 10:

You can see in above screenshot, the file system of PortableBaseLayer partition is NTFS and it’s a primary partition. The size of PortableBaseLayer partition is 8.00 GB and the free space remaining on this partition is 7.60 GB.

If you try to right-click on PortableBaseLayer partition, all options in the context menu are grayed out i.e. disabled. Only Properties and Help options are available to select as shown in following screenshot:

So you can’t open, change drive letter, format or delete the partition using context menu. All options are restricted by Windows 10.

Now the question comes what is PortableBaseLayer partition in Windows 10 and why is it showing in Disk Management tool?

Don’t worry! PortableBaseLayer partition is not suspicious. It’s a mounted virtual drive (.vhdx) created by Windows 10. This partition is a part of Windows Sandbox feature present in Windows 10. Windows Sandbox is a new feature present in newer versions of Windows 10 which allows users to run and test programs in a secure environment. Windows Sandbox is a lightweight and virtual desktop environment similar to a virtual machine which helps users in running software programs safely in isolation.

You can learn more about Windows Sandbox feature in following tutorial:

[Tip] How to Enable and Use “Windows Sandbox” in Windows 10

When a user installs and enables Windows Sandbox feature in Windows 10, PortableBaseLayer partition is automatically created in user’s computer.

Since it’s a system partition and required by Windows Sandbox feature, Windows 10 locks and prevents users from deleting or modifying this partition. That’s why all operations are restricted and you can’t select any option from right-click menu.

Should I delete PortableBaseLayer partition in Windows 10?

No and you can’t. PortableBaseLayer partition is required by Windows 10 and you should not delete or modify this partition. In fact, Windows 10 doesn’t allow users to modify or delete this partition. We’ll also advise you to not delete this partition using any 3rd party disk partition management tool.

Does PortableBaseLayer drive appear in File Explorer in Windows 10?

No. PortableBaseLayer partition only appears in Disk Management tool. It should not display in File Explorer but sometimes users claim that PortableBaseLayer drive is showing inside File Explorer. It might be a bug in Windows 10.

If you see PortableBaseLayer drive in File Explorer, you can remove it from File Explorer by using following command in Command Prompt:

Replace X with the drive letter of PortableBaseLayer partition showing in File Explorer. It’ll immediately delete the PortableBaseLayer drive from File Explorer.

How to remove PortableBaseLayer partition from Disk Management in Windows 10?

If you want to get rid of PortableBaseLayer partition and want to delete it permanently from your Windows 10 device, you’ll need to uninstall and remove Windows Sandbox feature from your Windows 10 device. Once you uninstall Windows Sandbox feature, the PortableBaseLayer partition will automatically disappear from your hard disk drive.

You can uninstall Windows Sandbox feature using “Turn Windows features on or off” window. You can direct open it using optionalfeatures.exe command in RUN dialog box or search box. Alternatively, you can open it from Control Panel -> Programs and Features. Scroll down in “Turn Windows features on or off” window and you’ll see “Windows Sandbox” option.

Uncheck the option and click on OK button. It’ll take a few seconds in uninstalling the feature and will require a reboot.

After restart, the PortableBaseLayer partition will disappear from Disk Management tool.

BONUS TIP:

If you search for *.vhdx in File Explorer, you’ll find several .vhdx files in search results. You’ll notice a few .vhdx files such as BaseLayer.vhdx, Sandbox.vhdx and SnapshotSandbox.vhdx present in following folders:

• C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Containers\BaseImages\062b72cb-1797-4fcc-8ec0-28b9053fbbf3
• C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Containers\Sandboxes\2534e1cf-2736-441c-867e-4cdc0be0a67a
• C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Containers\BaseImages\062b72cb-1797-4fcc-8ec0-28b9053fbbf3\Snapshot

Also Check:

[Review] Reserved Storage in Windows 10, How to Check, Manage or Disable Guide