How to Merge Adjacent and Non-Adjacent Partitions in Windows Server

Updated By

Linda 

Written By

Tracy King 

Last Updated on April 22, 2024

"How can I quickly and efficiently merge partitions in Windows Server? Will data from both drives be lost when merging two drives?"

When many files transfer to your server computer, you may find one partition is full while others are empty. Merging two partitions into one large partition is a popular trend to extend disk space and simplify partition management. Whatever your goal is, you might be wondering how to merge partitions in Windows Server without losing data. If you have the same problem, here are some useful methods to help you combine two volumes into one. You can learn how to merge adjacent or non-adjacent volumes via Disk Management and a tool called Partition Master.

Solution to securely merge adjacent and non-adjacent partitions in Windows Server with UTF-8 encoding:

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Merge Adjacent Disk Partitions in Windows Server 2012/2016

There are two ways to merge partitions – with the Windows Server Disk Management tool and with third-party software. Using specialized software is simpler than the built-in Windows programs, so Method 2 (merging directly) is recommended.

1 - Merge disk partitions using Disk Management utility
2 - Combine two partitions with the help of a Partition Master tool

1 - Merging Disk Partitions with Disk Management

Limitation: Disk Management can only merge NTFS partitions.

Windows Server Disk Management can merge partitions immediately, but you cannot find the “Merge Partitions” feature directly. The only way to merge partitions is to delete the adjacent volume first and then use the unallocated space next to the “Extend Volume” button.

Merge adjacent partitions without data loss using built-in tools:

Step 1: Right-click the Windows Start icon and click Disk Management.

Step 2: Right-click the almost empty partition and select "Delete Volume." Confirm (read the warning first!).

Step 3: Right-click on the entire disk and select “Extend Volume…” to merge the partitions.

2 - Merging Two Partitions with Partition Master Tool

It can merge NTFS or FAT32 partitions without data loss.

As mentioned above, you need to delete the volume if you merge partitions when running Disk Management. If you accidentally click “Yes” too quickly, the deletion operation will cause data loss. A third-party disk manager, such as tools Partition Master, can help you merge partitions in Windows Server.

This software is compatible with Windows Server 2003-2019 and Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, allowing you to easily merge two adjacent partitions without losing data. Additionally, this reliable tool can create, resize, clone, format, delete, and manage partitions with ease.

It takes several seconds to download the Partition Master tool:

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Run the software on Windows Server to merge partitions:

Step 1: Select the target partition

Right-click the partition you want to merge more space into and select “Merge.”

Step 2: Select adjacent partitions to merge

Merge the selected partition with the one adjacent to it.

Select the partitions to merge

Click "OK" to continue.

Step 3: Perform the operation to Merge Partitions

1. Click the "Perform Tasks" button at the top, then click "Apply".
2. The program will merge the drives and add the files from the second partition to the first one.

Merge Two Non-Adjacent Partitions in Windows Server 2012/2016

If you want to merge non-contiguous partitions, you can use Partition Master and the Disk Management utility. The steps are the same as in Method 1 with the built-in tool – first delete the target volume, then choose “Extend Volume” to merge the unallocated space into the source partition.

However, this method does not always work if there is no unallocated space between the partitions, as shown below:

If there is too much important data in the existing partitions, you definitely do not want to delete them. AOMEI Partition Assistant can combine non-contiguous partitions without losing data as Disk Management does. Trust us! The "Allocate Space" feature will not delete any data, but allocate free space of one partition to another. The data still remains in the original partition.

Start to manage disk space with Partition Master tool – Download Now:

Steps to extend the free space on an unallocated partition:

Step 1. Right-click on the D: partition that has enough space, and select "Extend Volume."

Step 2: Select the target partition - C drive, and then drag the partition panel to the right to add unallocated space from D drive to C drive. Then click “OK” to confirm.

Click on the “Perform Task” button and then on “Apply” to start moving free space from Drive D to Drive C.

In addition to merging partitions, the Partition Master tool can also merge spanned partitions on Windows Server – read the detailed guide on how to merge Disk 0 and Disk 1 in Windows 10.

Merge partitions on a Windows server using effective methods

In this article, we mentioned disk management and third-party software. Disk Management is a standard tool to manage volumes like extending volume, formatting, deleting volume, changing drive letter, etc. It requires you to delete the volume first. No matter you want to merge adjacent or non-adjacent partitions, the partition master tool will protect your data as usual.

In addition to “merge,” you can also use its resize, extend, and shrink features for free to increase disk space or improve disk performance. Most importantly, we support merging NTFS and FAT32 partitions.