3 Ways to Shrink Volume in Windows 8 or 8.1 to Extend Another Volume
- Why shrink volume in Windows 8 or 8.1?
- Part 1. Shrink a volume via Windows 8 Disk Management
- Part 2. Shrink volume via Windows 8 Command Prompt
- Part 3. Flexibly shrink volume in Windows 8 via freeware
- More info: how to extend another volume after shrinking volume Windows 8
- Summary
Why shrink volume in Windows 8 or 8.1?
To shrink a partition in Windows 8 or 8.1, you can use the built-in Disk Management tool. To access it, press the Windows key + X and select Disk Management. Select the partition you want to shrink and click on "Shrink" to create unallocated space. This space can then be used to create a new partition or extend another volume. This process allows you to free up space on your drive and make room for other files or programs. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
Part 1. Shrink a volume via Windows 8 Disk Management
Disk Management is a built-in tool in Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 7/10 that helps users manage disk partitions to optimize their computer's performance. It features a "Shrink Volume" option that allows users to reduce the size of an NTFS partition and generate unallocated space, making it easier to manage disk space and optimize computer performance.
Step1. Right-To shrink a volume in Windows 8, click on the "Computer" icon, select "Manage" from the context menu, and then click on "Disk Management" in the "Storage" folder to open the Disk Management utility. From there, right-click on the volume you want to shrink and choose "Shrink Volume" from the context menu.
Step 2. In the pop-up window, enter the amount of space to shrink.
You can preview an unallocated space behind D drive, but when you right-click on it, you can only see "New Simple Volume" that allows you to create a new partition.
The unallocated space cannot be used to extend another volume, such as the system C: drive, due to limitations in the Windows built-in Disk Management. When you right-click the Windows 8 C: partition, the "Extend Volume" option is disabled and not clickable, preventing you from using the unallocated space to extend the system drive.
1. The "Extend Volume" feature is only available when there is contiguous unallocated space on the right side of the partition that needs to be enlarged.
2. The "Shrink Volume" feature creates unallocated space on the right side of the partition being shrunk, and it cannot be moved to a different location. (Note: This response is a rewritten version of the original text in a concise and simplified manner, as requested.
In Windows 8 or 8.1, you may encounter an error message when trying to shrink a volume, stating that you cannot shrink a volume beyond the point where any unmovable files are located. This is often due to the presence of unmovable files such as Hibernation, Page files, and system protections. To resolve this, you need to disable these unmovable files before attempting to shrink the volume.
Part 2. Shrink volume via Windows 8 Command Prompt
To shrink a basic volume using the Command Prompt, you can use the "compact" command, which is similar to the "shrink" command in Disk Management. However, the "compact" command does not require the volume to be unmounted, making it a more convenient option. To use the "compact" command, open the Command Prompt as an administrator, navigate to the drive you want to shrink, and then type the command "compact /CompactOS:1" to start the process.
1. To run the Command Prompt as an administrator, type "cmd" in the search box, find the CMD program, right-click on it, and select "Run as Administrator".
2. In the Command Prompt, type following commands and press Enter after each command.
- diskpart
- list volume
- select volume n (n is the volume you want to shrink)
- shrink desired=10240 (you can replace 10240 with any other size you want)
- exit
The Command Prompt has the same limitations as Disk Management, and attempting to shrink a volume with unmovable files will result in an error message.
Part 3. Flexibly shrink volume in Windows 8 via freeware
If you can't shrink a partition due to unmovable files in the middle or at the end of the target partition, you can use the free partition manager Qiling Disk Master Standard. This software allows you to shrink volumes beyond half, resize or move partitions, including BitLocker partitions, making it a useful tool for managing your disk space. You can download the freeware and follow the steps to achieve your desired partition configuration.
Step 1. Install and run Qiling Disk Master Standard. Right-click the partition you want to shrink and select "Resize Partition".
Step 2. In the pop-up window, drag the slider bar to the left side and click "OK".
Step 3. Click on "Apply" to commit the pending operation.
More info: how to extend another volume after shrinking volume Windows 8
The new unallocated space generated by shrinking a partition is always located on the right side of the partition. However, the Disk Management and Command Prompt can only extend a partition that has an adjacent unallocated space behind it, and cannot move partitions. This means that unallocated space not adjacent to the C drive cannot be added to the system partition. Fortunately, the free Qiling Disk Master Standard software allows for the convenient merging of unallocated space, regardless of its location on the disk, into the target partition, requiring only 3 simple steps.
Before you do:
1. To ensure there is unallocated space on your disk, you can resize a partition to free up space if necessary. This will allow you to install a new operating system or make other changes to your disk without running out of space.
2. If there are other applications running on the partition you are going to perform, Qiling Disk Master will alert you to close those applications or to execute this operation in PreOS Mode.
This freeware also features a "Move Partition" feature, which allows users to move a partition to an adjacent unallocated space, making it possible to extend the volume by combining the unallocated space with the to-be-extended partition.
Summary
Windows 8's Disk Management and CMD have limitations, allowing you to shrink a partition to create a new volume, but not add unallocated space to another partition. However, with Qiling Disk Master, you can easily shrink a volume in Windows 8 and add the generated unallocated space to another volume.
This partition software offers a range of features, including migrating OS to SSD, making bootable CDs, wiping partitions, cloning partitions, and more. It also provides advanced features such as allocating free space between drives, aligning SSD partitions, securely erasing SSDs, and converting boot disks between MBR and GPT without deleting volumes. Additionally, it allows upgrading to a Professional Edition for even more capabilities.
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