How to Shrink C Drive without Losing Data [Complete Guide]

Updated by

Linda 

Written by

Cici 

Updated on April 19, 2024

How to shrink the C drive on Windows 10? If you're seeking a comprehensive solution to shrink your C drive, you've come to the right place. On this page, you'll find three free tools that can help you safely shrink the C drive without losing data.

View the Necessary Tools to Shrink C Drive:

Before we begin the step-by-step guide, let's clear up some confusion that people have about shrinking the C drive.

# Can I Shrink C Drive on Windows? ## Introduction The C drive, usually referred to as the system drive, is where Windows and its essential components are installed by default. Over time, the C drive can become cluttered with various files, programs, and system updates, causing it to run out of space. When this happens, you might wonder if it's possible to shrink the C drive to free up some space. In this article, we'll explore the answer to that question and provide a step-by-step guide on how to shrink the C drive in Windows. ## Is It Safe to Shrink the C Drive? Yes, shrinking the C drive is generally safe, as long as you have enough unallocated space and follow the proper steps. Shrinking a volume reduces its size, allowing you to create unallocated space that can be used to create a new partition or expand another drive. ## Why Shrink the C Drive? There are several reasons why you might want to shrink the C drive: 1. **Create Space for Another Partition:** You can create a new partition to store data, applications, or even install a different operating system. 2. **Optimize Performance:** Keeping the system files separate from user data can help maintain better overall performance. 3. **Backup and Recovery:** Having a separate partition for important files makes it easier to backup and recover data in case of system failures. 4. **Easier OS Reinstall:** If you need to reinstall Windows, having a separate partition for personal files ensures they're not lost during the process. ## How to Shrink the C Drive in Windows To shrink your C drive in Windows, follow these steps: ### Step 1: Check for Enough Free Space Before shrinking the C drive, make sure you have enough free space. Open File Explorer, right-click on the C drive, and select "Properties." Note the amount of free space available. ### Step 2: Defragment the C Drive Defragmentation helps ensure that the data on the drive is organized efficiently, making the shrinking process faster. To defragment the C drive: 1. Press `Win + X` and choose "Disk Defragmenter" or search for it in the Start menu. 2. Select the C drive and click "Analyze." 3. If defragmentation is recommended, click "Defragment." ### Step 3: Shrink the C Drive 1. Press `Win + X` and select "Disk Management" or search for it in the Start menu. 2. Right-click on the C drive (usually labeled "OS (C:)") and choose "Shrink Volume." 3. In the dialog box, enter the amount of space you want to shrink. Be cautious not to shrink it too much, leaving enough space for the system to function properly. 4. Click "Shrink" and wait for the process to complete. ### Step 4: Create a New Partition Once you have unallocated space, you can create a new partition: 1. Right-click on the unallocated space and choose "New Simple Volume." 2. Follow the prompts in the New Simple Volume Wizard, assigning a drive letter and file system format (NTFS is recommended). 3. Click "Finish" to create the new partition. ## Conclusion Shrinking the C drive in Windows is a practical way to free up space, optimize performance, and organize your data. Just remember to ensure there's enough free space, defragment the drive, and proceed with caution to avoid impacting your system's stability. With these steps, you can effectively manage your storage and enhance your Windows experience.

Of course, you can shrink the C drive on Windows. Shrinking the C drive refers to decreasing the size of the target partition and creating unallocated space that you can utilize. Typically, you would shrink the C drive in two scenarios to better protect and manage your hard drive: 1. **To create space for new partitions**: When you need to create additional partitions for organizing different types of files or installing another operating system, shrinking the C drive allows you to allocate space without affecting the existing data. 2. **To expand other partitions**: If another partition (e.g., D drive) is running low on space, you can shrink the C drive to free up space and then extend the smaller partition into the unallocated space. To shrink the C drive in Windows, you can follow these steps using the built-in Disk Management tool: 1. Press `Win + X` and select "Disk Management" from the menu. 2. Right-click on the C drive and choose "Shrink Volume." 3. The system will analyze the drive and show you the maximum amount of space you can shrink it by. Enter the desired size for the unallocated space or accept the default suggested value. 4. Click "Shrink" to proceed. This process may take some time, depending on the size of the partition and the speed of your hard drive. 5. Once the process is complete, you'll have unallocated space available to create a new partition or expand an existing one. Remember to back up important data before making any changes to your partitions, as errors during the process could lead to data loss.

• If the system drive is the only C drive, it's recommended to shrink the partition. This is because to enhance your computer's performance, you should prevent the C drive full error.
• Segregating data from the system can enhance data security. By shrinking the C drive, you can create a new partition to store your other applications.

It's safe to shrink the C drive, and you can easily reduce the size of your C drive without losing data. However, exercise caution and don't shrink it excessively. Ideally, the C drive should occupy at least one-third of the total disk space.

Next, we'll introduce three free tools to help you resize your C drive partition. Keep reading for detailed, step-by-step guides.

How to Shrink C Drive on Windows - 3 Free Tools 1. **Using Disk Management:** 1.1. Press `Win + X` and select "Disk Management" from the menu. 1.2. Right-click on the C drive (usually labeled as "OS" or "Primary") and choose "Shrink Volume." 1.3. Enter the amount of space you want to shrink in MB, then click "Shrink." Wait for the process to complete. 2. **Using Command Prompt:** 2.1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator by pressing `Win + X`, then selecting "Command Prompt (Admin)." 2.2. Type the following command and press Enter: ``` diskpart ``` 2.3. In the DiskPart prompt, type: ``` list disk ``` 2.4. Identify your C drive's disk number and type: ``` select disk ``` 2.5. Now, type: ``` list partition ``` 2.6. Identify the C drive's partition number and type: ``` select partition ``` 2.7. Finally, shrink the volume with: ``` shrink desired= ``` 3. **Using Third-Party Tools:** 3.1. Download a free partition manager like tools Partition Master Home Edition or MiniTool Partition Wizard. 3.2. Install and run the tool. 3.3. Locate the C drive in the program's interface and choose the "Shrink" or "Resize" option. 3.4. Follow the on-screen instructions to specify how much space you want to shrink and confirm the action. Remember to backup important data before making any changes to your partitions.

In this section, you can use two built-in tools provided by Windows and a good third-party tool – Partition Master Free – to shrink your C drive.

All three tools permit free usage. You can choose the most suitable one based on the following comparison:

According to the comparison table, Partition Master is the most versatile and compatible tool. Regardless of your system or format, it can assist you in effortlessly shrinking your C drive.

Before downsizing the C drive, you can first clear out unnecessary and junk files within the C drive to free up more essential space. Keep reading, and we'll provide detailed, step-by-step guides for all three methods. Choose the one that suits you best.

Solution 1. Shrink C Drive with Tools - Partition Master

tools Partition Master Free is a comprehensive, all-in-one utility. It provides a powerful feature to resize partitions:

• It can overcome limitations even with a corrupted file system on the C drive or unmovable files present.
• This utility can relocate files and resize partitions without compromising the safety of any data.
• A unique file migration algorithm allows for swift partition shrinking and movement.
• It is compatible with various editions, including Windows 7/10/11 and Windows Vista/XP.

Note: If you want to resize C drive on Windows Server 2012/2016/2019, please refer to tool Partition Master Server for editing.

This tool offers more robust performance than Windows' built-in utilities and streamlines the process. Here's a step-by-step guide to shrinking your C drive using this versatile tool:

< b > Step 1: Locate and select the target partition to shrink < / b >

Go to the Partition Manager section, right-click on the partition you wish to shrink, and select "Resize/Move."

Step 2: Adjust to shrink partition

Use your mouse to drag the end of the target partition to shrink partition space.

You can also adjust the partition size box to shrink the target partition. Once done, click "OK" to continue.

Step 3: Execute operation

Click the "Run Task" button and choose "Apply" to save all changes.

Aside from partition capacity management, the tool provides numerous other features to facilitate easy partition management, such as:

• Copy partitions
• Extend partitions
• Create partitions on unallocated space
• Delete, merge, and split partitions
Translation:
• Copy partitions
• Enlarge partitions
• Create partitions on unused space
• Delete, merge, and divide partitions

If you meet any partition errors, you can also resort to tools Partition Master!

Solution 2: Shrink C Drive via Disk Management

Starting with Windows 7, Disk Management has added the functions "Shrink Volume" and "Extend Volume." It can only extend and shrink NTFS partitions. However, it poses no problem for the C drive, as it is formatted in NTFS by default. Here are the steps to shrink the C drive using Disk Management:

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

Step 2. Right-click on the C drive and select "Shrink Volume." Disk Management will query the disk for available shrink space.

Resize the volume

Step 3. Enter the amount of space you want to shrink and click "Shrink." (Alternatively, you can adjust the size by clicking the up and down arrows after the input field, but do not shrink the space below 37,152 MB.)

Just give it a moment, and you'll see the unallocated space next to Drive C.

Solution 3: Shrink C Drive via Diskpart

Diskpart is one of the built-in tools provided by Windows that specializes in managing disks and partitions. It offers many features, such as formatting and resizing partitions. However, these functions are all used through the command prompt. If you're not familiar with the command line, please use this method cautiously. Incorrect command parameters may result in data loss.

If you have experience with Diskpart, please refer to the following steps to resize the C drive:

< strong > Step 1. < /strong > Hold down Windows+R to open the Run window and type < strong > cmd. < /strong >

Step 2. Open the Command Prompt and enter the following commands, pressing Enter after each one:

Next, you will see the unallocated space. Additionally, you can use it to access other management options, such as checking hard disk health using CMD. If you're not comfortable with commands, opt for a tool like Partition Master. It serves as the best alternative to CMD.

If you find this passage helpful to shrink C drive, you can also click the button below to share it with others who need it. We will continue to discuss more information on shrinking the C drive beyond its limits.

Bonus Tip: How to Shrink C Drive in Windows 10 Beyond the Limit

Many users might get confused when using Windows' built-in tools to shrink partitions. The system offers the maximum possible shrink size, but you can't reduce the volume beyond a certain limit. For instance, a user intends to shrink a partition with over 130GB of free space, yet Disk Management only allows 1GB for shrinking. Why does this issue occur?

This is because the virtual memory page file, hibernation file, and System Volume Information folder restrict the amount of available space that can be shrunk. If these files are located in the middle of the total space, you can only shrink the partition from one side.

Fortunately, with tools like Partition Master, you can shrink C drive on Windows 10 beyond the limit. It can relocate these files without damaging them and help you shrink C drive. If you encounter other limitations that prevent you from shrinking C drive, click this tutorial and fix it.

Fix Unable to Shrink C Drive on Windows

In this article, you can find the reasons why Disk Management is unable to shrink C drive and 4 effective solutions based on these reasons.

Conclusion

Downsizing a volume from the C drive maximizes the utilization of disks that aren't fully occupied, and it also helps protect your data while enhancing system performance. Regardless of why you need to shrink your C drive, this article will be of great assistance. This page offers three distinct methods to shrink your C drive in Windows.

Disk Management and Diskpart can meet basic needs. But a tool like Partition Master is a better choice, especially if you encounter immovable files or file system format errors.

Even if you're new to computers, you can still successfully shrink your C drive. Apart from reducing the C drive's size, it can also create and merge partitions. This tool also supports advanced features, such as converting MBR to GPT!

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Shrink C Drive

The above provides three solutions to shrink the C drive. When it comes to shrinking partitions, many people might also have concerns about data security. Here are some frequently asked questions and answers:

**1. How much should I shrink the C drive?**

This largely depends on the capacity of your hard drive. The C drive typically requires between 10% and 30% of your hard drive space. It's reasonable to set the C drive to 120-200GB. After determining the C drive size, you can shrink its space and create additional unallocated space for other partitions.

< strong > 2. Is it safe to shrink C drive? < /strong >

Yes, it is safe to shrink the C drive. Shrinking the C drive involves relocating unutilized space, a process that does not result in data loss on the C drive nor negatively affect it in any other way. Keeping data and the system separate also provides better protection for your data.

3. Why can't I shrink C drive?

Windows might sometimes prevent you from using the Shrink Volume feature. This usually happens due to the following reasons:

Here are the translations for the given languages into English: 1. Some unremovable system files are located at the end of the volume, such as page files and hibernation files. 2. The C drive has the incorrect file system format. It is not in the NTFS format. 3. There is significant fragmentation or insufficient space on the C drive.

If there is unallocated space behind the C drive, you can increase the C drive space on Windows 10 by extending the C partition. If the unallocated space is next to the C drive, you can use Disk Management to extend C drive:

Step 1. Type "diskmgmt.msc" in the Run window and open Disk Management.

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