[Free Tutorial]: Disk Management Combine Partitions in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7
Why use Disk Management to combine partition?
Disk management is a free and easy-to-use tool in Windows that allows users to create, delete, format, and shrink volumes, making it a reliable option for timely disk management.
To combine two hard disk partitions, you can use the built-in Disk Management tool in Windows. This tool allows you to merge two partitions into one, or merge one partition with unallocated space, helping to resolve low disk space issues. By using Disk Management, you can manage your disk space more effectively and free up space on your hard drive.
This article will guide you through the detailed steps to combine two partitions using Disk Management, as well as provide an alternative solution when Disk Management fails. To combine two partitions with Disk Management, the process involves using the built-in tool to resize and merge the partitions, which will be explained in the following steps. Alternatively, when Disk Management is unable to complete the task, an effective alternative method can be used to achieve the desired result.
How to merge partitions with Disk Management on Windows PC
To merge two adjacent partitions in Disk Management, you cannot directly merge them. Instead, you can delete an adjacent partition to create unallocated space, which can then be merged with the target partition. To do this, follow these steps:
Step 1. To open Disk Management, press Windows + R, type in diskmgmt.msc, and then hit Enter.
Step 2. Now, right-click the drive behind the target drive and choose Dlete Volumee. Please note that, this drive will be deleted forever. For backup it, you can clone it to the external hard drive in advance.
Step 3. Right-click the target partition you want to combine and select Extend Volume.
Step 4: To extend the volume, select Extend Volume in the Disk Management console, and follow the Extend Volume Wizard to combine the two partitions by accepting the default options.
Warning: In Disk Management, the "Extend Volume" option will only be available if there is unallocated space directly to the right of the target drive. If there is no unallocated space next to the target drive, the "Extend Volume" option will be greyed out, preventing you from extending the volume. This means the unallocated space must be adjacent and to the right of the target drive for the extension to be possible.
Alternative to use Disk Management combine partitions
To combine partitions without losing data, use free partition management software, especially if the target partition has adjacent unallocated space. Otherwise, delete adjacent partitions to create unallocated space, then use Disk Management to merge partitions.
Qiling Disk Master Standard is a popular disk/partition management software that helps users solve complex disk problems with ease, allowing them to merge adjacent or non-adjacent partitions or unallocated space without deleting a partition.
This software has more functions than others, including Resize Partition, Create Partition, and more, making it a popular choice among users. It can be downloaded to see how to combine partitions in Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP.
Notes:
✍ This function can merge two partitions at a time, but can also merge multiple unallocated spaces simultaneously, regardless of their adjacency.
✍ Merging data partition into system drive is allowed, but not the other way around.
✍ If you want to complete these operations in Windows Server, please upgrade to Qiling Disk Master Server.
Step 1. To back up files, first install and run the software, then click on the drive and navigate to the right pane. From there, select "Backup and recovery" followed by "File Backup".
Step 2. Select the adjacent partition on the disk, then click Proceed.
Step 3. Right-click the merge partition that and selec Delete.
Step 4. Right-click the partition you want to merge with the selected partition and choose the "Move/Resize" option.
Step 5. To move the right disk to unused space, drag it to the desired area and click the Proceed button.
Step 6. Please select a backup image file and restore it to the specified expand path.
Summary
If you need to combine partitions in Windows, you can use Disk Management if there's an adjacent unallocated space behind the target partition. However, if there's no unallocated space and you don't want to lose data, a better option is Qiling Disk Master Standard.
In addition to merging partitions, you can also allocate excess capacity from D drive to C drive without merging partitions, move installed programs to another drive, and convert the system drive from MBR to GPT.
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