how to extend c drive

evadenzin · Mar 12, 2015

i need to extend my c drive (windows drive). can someone please guide me step by step?
i've attached two images to show the current configuration of my hard disk:

here are some details:

windows 7 64bit
single hard disk (it's a laptop)
three partitions C, D, E

*i have no unallocated space yet but i'll shrink D and E to get some space and i know how to shrink a volume. i already tried it once but the C drive didn't present the option to "Extend" it, so i moved the unallocated space back to D drive.

even if it involves a third party software it'll be ok. i have also used "Active Undelete" and "EaseUS" partition tools to recover deleted data in the past, so i am somewhat familiar with these softwares too.

if you need more info let me know.

Ryouichi Kiriyami · Mar 12, 2015

Well ive got bad news.

To extend a partition it needs the space to the RIGHT of it. and your D is full or almost. you would have to format and delete the D volume to extend C which would mix the both.

Solandri · Mar 12, 2015

First, make a backup of your data. Messing with partitions can cause complete data loss.

Grab the free version of Minitools Partition Wizard.

http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html

It's a lot more flexible than Windows' shrink and extend. In particular, it'll allow you to shrink the D: partition by moving its left side to the right, freeing up space adjacent to the C: partition. (Windows' shrink function always puts cleared space on the right side, where it would be adjacent to the E: partition and unusable by the C: partition.)

It will also move any data on the D: partition out of the area to be shrunk, into free space elsewhere on D:. So you don't have to delete the D: partition like the previous reply said. This operation has a higher chance of resulting in data loss though, so make sure you have a backup.

Afterwards, if you want to transfer some free space from E: to D:, you can do it the same way.

Is there some reason you partitioned the drive this way? Generally creating additional partitions is a bad idea. I used to do the C: for OS, D: for data thing long ago but it ended up biting me like it has you too often. I just put everything on C: now and use folders to organize my files.

The exception is if you're download torrents or storing a large database. The partial file writes from those types of activities can quickly fragment a partition. By putting those files onto their own separate partition, you restrict the fragmentation there. The OS partition is not affected.

shmu26 · Feb 16, 2018

I split my SSD into two partitions. After a Windows 10 feature update, a new recovery partition was placed squarely in between the two.
I used a 3rd party partition tool to delete this new recovery partition as well as the partition to the right of it. (I made a system image beforehand)
Then I used the native Windows disk manager to expand the C drive.
Result: unbootable system. I restored successfully from the system image, but what went wrong, and is there anything to do about it?

kenrivers · Feb 16, 2018

You have a better chance of getting an answer if you post the question in a new thread instead of asking it in a nearly three year old thread.

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