How to Combine Multiple Hard Drives into One Volume [2 Methods to Try]

Updated by

Linda 

Written by

Linda 

Last updated on April 22, 2024

Have you ever wasted time scrolling through your computer looking for an important file or document? You check folder after folder, drive after drive, and come up empty-handed. What if we told you there was a simple way to avoid this waste of time and keep track of where all your files are? You can combine all your hard drives into one big volume! If you're on a budget and don't want to buy a larger hard drive, need to store several terabytes of movies and TV shows on one drive, want to free up space on a specific drive, shift free space from one drive to another, or save all your games on one volume, then you may want to combine multiple hard drives into one volume.

Combining multiple hard drives is a straightforward process that can be accomplished in several ways. We've broken each method down into easy-to-follow steps, and with them, you'll have plenty of free storage space in no time. Read on to find out how to merge multiple hard drives into one volume.

Essential Tips for Successfully Merging Hard Drives in UTF-8 Format

Before we go through each of these in detail, there are a few tricks you should know.

• You can extend C drive across two disks, but not by converting both disks to dynamic.
• When combining HDDs/SSDs, you must convert them all to dynamic disks. (See How to Convert Basic Disk to Dynamic Disk)
• Regularly back up the new volume because failure of one drive will cause the entire volume to fail.

Method #1 - Combine Multiple Hard Drives into One with Partition Master Tool

tools Partition Master is a comprehensive partition manager that lets users create partitions as well as resize, merge, clone, and format partitions. It essentially helps you manage Windows partitions without losing any data. It can even create, format, and delete partitions on USB, SSD, HDD, and SD cards.

You can use this partition magic software to combine multiple hard drives into one volume. Just follow the steps below to reach your goal.

Step 1: Infuse the Basics with Energy

Click “Disk Converter,” and then select “Convert Basic to Dynamic.” Click “Convert” to proceed.

Confirm that the disk is converted from basic to dynamic.

5. On the same computer, select another disk that has at least 1 MB of free space at the end of the disk, and convert it to a dynamic disk in the same way.

After both disks have been converted to dynamic disks (as shown below), you can proceed to Step 2 to merge the free space from one disk to the other.

Step 2: Combine the Two Disks into One Disk

Note: The other dynamic disk must be unallocated space. If not, delete all partitions on it with Partition Master. Besides, you can't merge the system partition even if you have converted it to a dynamic disk.

Select the whole disk, right click on it and choose “Resize/Move”.

Select the disk and adjust its size

Resize the partition by dragging the panel with your mouse to the left or right to extend its size.

Sometimes, the unallocated space is located to the left of the partition you want to extend. If so, drag the left border of the partition to the left to the desired size.

Click Run 1 Task and then Apply.

As you can see, this tool is easy to use and versatile. Please share it on social media to help other users.

Method 2: How to Merge Two Hard Drives/SSDs with Disk Management

With Disk Management, you can create two types of volumes: spanned and striped. You'd use a spanned volume when you want to combine drives of different sizes, while striped volumes are only for combining identical-sized drives. Another difference is that a spanned volume uses drives sequentially, meaning it won't use the second drive until the first one is full, whereas striped volumes use both drives simultaneously, boosting read/write performance. Choose the appropriate volume type based on your needs. For instance, if you want to combine two differently-sized drives, create a new spanned volume. But if you need faster performance, opt for a new striped volume.

Here are the steps to merge two hard drives or two SSDs using Disk Management:

1. Open the Start menu. 2. Type **diskmgmt.msc** in the search box to launch the Disk Management tool. 3. Before proceeding, ensure that both disks are unformatted and have no partitions. Also, right-click on them and select "Convert to Dynamic Disk" to make sure they're dynamic disks. 4. Right-click on the disk you want to merge and select "New Spanned Volume" or "New Striped Volume" from the drop-down menu. 5. The New Spanned/Striped Volume Wizard will appear. Click "Next." 6. Add the second disk (you can add more) to the volume. 7. Assign a drive letter for the new disk, format the new volume, and finish the wizard. 8. Now, Windows Disk Management will display your newly created volume at the top. The two disks you merged will be highlighted in purple.

Conclusions

Merging hard drives is an effective way to save money. Plus, it's a relatively straightforward process that won't take up too much of your time, so there's no reason not to go for it. Just make sure to follow our tips and back up your data regularly for a hassle-free experience.

With AOMEI Partition Assistant, you can also copy partition to make a full and identical backup on the disk. Why not have a try?

Frequently Asked Questions about Combining Two or More Hard Drives into One

For more information about combining multiple or two hard drives into one, refer to the frequently asked questions and popular topics listed below to find your answer:

1. **Can two hard drives be merged?**

Certainly, you can combine two hard drives into one. You can do this by using Disk Management or a third-party disk partition software like a disk partition tool. With its disk conversion feature, Partition Master can help efficiently merge two disks into a dynamic disk in just a few simple steps.

2. How can I merge two disks together?

If you don't have two hard drives in your computer, you'll see something like this in Disk Management:

1. Install and add two hard drives to your computer.
2. Right-click an existing partition, and select “Delete.” Repeat this process to delete all partitions on both hard drives.
3. Right-click one of the disks and select “Convert to Dynamic Disk.”
4. Repeat this process to convert the other disk to a dynamic disk as well.
5. Right-click the Unallocated space and create a new volume across both hard drives.

If you have important data on both disks and do not want to delete the partitions, you can use the steps outlined in Method 1 above and use the Partition Master tool to do this.

3. How can I merge two hard drives without losing data?

• Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant and go to the "Disk Conversion" section. • Select the target disk and click "Convert." • Repeat the above steps to convert the other disk to a dynamic disk. • Right-click on the unallocated space on either of the two disks and choose "Create Volume." • Set the new volume to span across both disks. • Alternatively, right-click on a partition, select "Resize/Move," and then use the unallocated space on the second disk to extend the volume. • Click "Execute Tasks."

After that, you can merge the two disks into one, with all your data intact.