You can use Disk Management to add space to an existing volume, extending it into empty space on the drive, but only if the empty space doesn’t have a volume on it (it’s unallocated) and comes immediately after the volume you want to extend, with no other volumes in-between, as shown in the following image. In this article, you will learn how to extend System Drive Partition on Windows. The volume to extend also must be formatted with the NTFS or ReFS file systems. Simply by adding a logical partition to increase the size of Drive C. I will be discussing how this is achieved in a later article. Please see how to fix the “Error when importing an OVA file to AWS: Client error – saved empty is empty“.
Extend System Drive Partition
Note: By default, C: cannot be extended but shrunk to create other volumes. Here are free tools that can help in merging C: with other drives. You may also want to see “How to convert a GPT disk into an MBR disk – Error: Windows cannot be installed on drive 0 Partition 1“, How to extend System Drive Partition, and Initialize and format a virtual disk: How to add and remove a new virtual disk from a VM on VMware Workstation.
1. EASEUS Partition Master (free)
Includes Partition Manager, Disk & Partition Copy Wizard, and Partition Recovery Wizard for Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit). It allows users to Resize/Move Partition, Extend System Drive.
Please see How to extend a VM Hard Disk on VMware Workstation, and how to fix Fix unable to Extend Volume on Windows protected by BitLocker.
2. Paragon Partition Manager (free)
A good program for making general changes to hard drive partitions while Windows is running. Create, delete, format, and resize partitions with this program.
3. Gparted Boot Disk(free)
If you can’t make the changes you want with Windows running using a Gparted boot disk to change the partitions is a good solution. If after altering the partitions Windows 7 data/files are still there but Windows won’t boot, the following may help.
Please see What are System Partition and Boot Partition in Windows? How to Restrict Access to USB Drives, how to fix “BitLocker System Partition: Detailed steps to troubleshoot and fix System Partition not available or large enough [Part 2]“, and how to restrict access to removable Storage Drives.
Note: The following sections below has been modified to resolve other versions of Windows and not just Windows 7Try Repairing The Windows Installation
1. Insert the Windows DVD and restart your computer
2. Boot from the DVD.
3. Choose your language and click Next.
4. Click Repair Your Computer and then select the operating system you want to repair.
5. Click on the Startup Repair link from the list of recovery tools in System Recovery Options.
If not fixed, use the following steps below
1. Insert the Windows DVD and restart your computer
2. Boot from the DVD. If prompted, press any key to start Windows from the installation disc.
3. Choose your language and click Next.
4. Click Repair Your Computer and then select the operating system you want to repair.
5. Select Command Prompt and try the following commands (a single command might work, or you may need to use multiple commands depending on the exact problem):
bootrec /fixMBR bootrec /fixBoot bootrec /rebuildBCD
I hope you found this blog post helpful on how to extend System Drive Partition on Windows. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session.