How to Extend C Drive in Windows 10 Without Formatting

Updated by

Linda 

Written by

Linda 

Updated on April 19, 2024

Have you ever received a low disk space warning when you boot your computer or use a hard drive? When this error message pops out, your hard drive is running out of space.

Insufficient disk space will affect the normal operation of a computer, and a lack of space on the system disk is particularly problematic. When your C drive is full and has no available space, it will lead to decreased work efficiency, an unstable system performance, and you might not be able to download or install new software, or even use the already installed programs.

If you're in this situation, don't worry. One solution to this problem is to extend the system partition to enhance computer performance. How to extend the C drive in Windows 10/8/7? A partition manager tool provides the easiest way to increase the C drive space.

How to Extend C Drive with Partition Master Tool

tools Partition Master Professional is an all-in-one partition tool that is fully compatible with Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP. With this program, you can effortlessly expand the C drive with or without unallocated space.

When there is unallocated space on your system disk, you can simply resize C drive to get more space. When there is no unallocated space on your hard disk, you can apply tools partition manager to increase C drive with free space on other partitions.

You can perform the following hard drive management without data loss and minimal effort using disk management tools.

Windows 11 users can follow the methods provided on this page for assistance. You can also refer to this link to explore additional ways to extend the C drive in Windows 11.

1. Automatically Extend C Drive with One-Click using Intelligent Space Allocation Feature

tools Partition Master has the "Resize with 1-Click" feature to automatically extend a drive running out of space. When your C drive is full, a low disk space warning will appear on the software interface. Then, with just a few clicks, you can resize and expand your C drive without any data loss.

Step 1. Click "Adjust with 1-Click" to extend C drive.

When your C drive is out of space, hover your mouse over the C drive, and you'll see the Low Disk Space alert in the Partition Master tool. Click "Adjust with 1-Click" to extend it.

Step 2. Click "OK" to extend C drive automatically.

By clicking “OK”, Partition Master will automatically allocate space to your C drive to solve the low space issue.

Additional Option: You can also click "Manual Adjustment" to extend the C drive manually.

When switching to Manual Adjustment, select the C drive and drag the dots to the right to add more space to the C drive. Click “OK” to confirm.

Step 3. Confirm to fix low disk space on the C drive

Click the "Execute Task" button in the top corner and start all pending operations by clicking "Apply".

If you wish to expand your C drive manually, you can utilize the "Allocate Space" feature in tools Partition Master to move space from D drive to C drive or transfer free space from any other available drive to the system drive. Don't forget to share this tutorial if you find it helpful.

2. Extend C Drive Without Formatting Using the Resize/Move Partition Option

When there is no unallocated space on your disk, and you don't want to delete or format the hard drive, you can use a partition management tool with its "Resize/Move partition" feature to extend the C drive.

Option 1. Extend the System C drive with unallocated space

Translate the following text into English:
1. Right-click on the System C: drive and select "Resize/Move".
2. Drag the system partition end into the unallocated space to add it to the C: drive, then click "OK".
3. Click "Execute Task" and "Apply" to execute the operations and expand the C drive.

Option 2. Extend System C drive without unallocated space This option refers to expanding the System C drive (typically the primary partition where the operating system is installed) even when there is no contiguous unallocated space available on the hard disk. In such a scenario, the operating system would need to move and combine existing partitions to free up space for the C drive expansion. This process usually requires specialized software or tools provided by the operating system itself, like the Disk Management utility in Windows.

1. Right-click on a large partition with sufficient free space on the system disk, and select "Allocate Space." 2. At the "Allocate Space From (*) To" section, select the system drive, and drag the end of the System C drive into the unallocated space. Click "OK" to confirm. 3. Click "Execute Task." It will display the pending operations. Click "Apply" to save the changes and extend the C drive.

0:00-0:26 Extend the System Drive with Unallocated Space; 0:27-0:58 Extend the System Drive without Unallocated Space.

Here's the translation of the provided text into English:

The tools Partition Master also enables you to shrink the C drive. Click the link for more detailed information:

How to Shrink C Drive without Losing Data [2023 Full Guide]

How to shrink the C drive on Windows 10? If you're searching for a comprehensive guide on shrinking your C drive, you've come to the right place. On this page, you'll find three free tools to safely shrink your C drive without data loss.

How to Extend C Drive with Adjacent Unallocated Space

As mentioned, you can use tools like Partition Master to add space to the C drive in complicated scenarios. For instance, when there is no unallocated space on your disk or the unallocated space is not next to the C drive.

But, if you are in this simple situation that there is contiguous unallocated space next to C drive, you can resize C drive in two ways.

1. Extend C Drive with Disk Management

Windows 10 Disk Management can handle basic disk management tasks, such as deleting, formatting, creating, or shrinking a partition. Here are the detailed steps to extend the C drive.

Step 1. Right-click the Windows button and select "Disk Management".

Resize partition in Disk Management

Step 2. Right-click on the C drive and select "Extend Volume...".

Step 3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the extension of Drive C.

"Expand the C drive"

Disk Management and the subsequent Diskpart are both dependable disk utilities. Click the buttons below to inform more users about them.

2. Increase C Drive using Diskpart Utility

When there's contiguous unallocated space behind Drive C, you can also expand Drive C using the Diskpart utility in CMD.

Step 1. Press the Win+R keys to open the Run dialog box. Then, type diskpart and press Enter.

Step 2. Type the following command lines in order, and press Enter after each one.

Translate the following commands into English: list disk
select disk x (where x is the number of the system disk)
list partition
select partition x (where x is the number of the C drive)
extend size=x disk=N (where x is the size in MB you want to add to the system partition, and N is the number of your system disk)

Don't forget to share this article with others who might need it!

Tools Partition Master - A Simple C Drive Partition Extender

We believe that after reading this guide, you've learned how to extend the C drive in every possible way. If there is unallocated space directly following the C drive, you can utilize the built-in Windows tools - Disk Management and Diskpart - to easily expand the C drive.

If things get a little more complicated, then tools Partition Master is your best choice. It can easily extend C drive with different solutions, such as:

• Automatically extend the C drive using the "Adjust with 1-Click" feature when it has low disk space.
• Allocate space from other partitions to the C drive without deletion.
• Swiftly expand the C drive even if the unallocated space is not adjacent to the system drive.