How to Merge Unallocated Space in Windows 11/10/7

Updated By

Linda 

Written By

Linda 

Last Updated on April 22, 2024

You can use the traditional Windows Disk Management utility or an optimized third-party partition magic software like Partition Master to merge unallocated space into Windows 11/10/7. This method directly adds unallocated space to the C drive or other disk volumes without affecting your data.

Please provide the English content you want translated, and I'll do my best to translate it into Chinese.

"Unallocated Space" refers to the space on a computer's hard disk that has not been assigned or used. It is not formatted with any file system, so it cannot directly store data. In disk management, this unallocated space can be used to extend other partitions or to create new ones.

Unallocated space is interpreted as free space that Windows has not assigned a drive letter to yet. If unallocated, the operating system will not recognize it and prevent you from writing files to it. To make good use of the unallocated space on your hard disk, you can create a new partition on it or merge unallocated space into an existing partition.

In Windows, you can see unallocated space using the “Disk Management” tool, which looks like this:

In addition, third-party alternatives come with a disk map that shows unallocated space. In tools like Partition Master, unallocated space is represented as:

How to Merge Unallocated Disk Space in Windows 11/10?

Since unallocated space is considered part of the missing chunk of used space on your hard drive in Windows, why not put it to use right away? If you're interested in merging the unallocated space instead of creating a new partition, there are two ways to safely shift that unallocated space over.

< li > 1. Add unallocated space to drive C < /li >< li > 2. Merge unallocated space into a data partition < /li >

Both Windows Disk Management and Partition Master allow merging unallocated space into the partition you need, but they differ in whether the two spaces are contiguous.

Can I merge two unallocated spaces?

It's okay if you have more than two unallocated spaces on your hard drive. You can manage as many unallocated partitions as you want with the right partitioning tool. While both of these tools can technically handle unallocated space, they work in very different ways. The more unallocated space you have, the more complicated it will be to solve with Disk Management. Partition Master can do it quickly and without affecting your other partitions or existing data!

How to merge unallocated space to C drive in Windows 11/10/7 with Partition Master?

As you know in advance, partition manager software is capable of dealing with unallocated space on C drive (or other disk volume you intend to borrow free space from) whether it's contiguous or not. More importantly, it helps solve the problem of low disk space even if there is no unallocated space for system partition to extend into.

#1. Merge Non-Adjacent Unallocated Space in Windows 11/10

Step 1: Locate the target partition

Enter the Partition Manager and find the target partition, then choose “Resize/Move Partition”.

Select the partition to extend

Step 2: Extend the Target Partition

Drag the partition panel right or left to add unallocated space into the current partition, and then click “OK” to confirm.

Get space from another drive

Additional option: Get space from another disk

If there isn't enough unallocated space, right-click a large partition with enough room and select “Allocate Space.”

In the Allocate space to column, select the partition you want to extend.

Select another drive to allocate space from

Step 3: Perform the operation - Extend the logical partition

Drag the partition you want to resize to the unallocated space, and then click OK.

Click the Run Task button, and then click Apply to save all changes.

#2. Merge unallocated space on Windows 11/10 disks larger than 2 TB

If your hard drive is larger than 2TB and you initialized it as MBR, you will find two unallocated spaces in Disk Management. It's well known that MBR only supports disks up to 2TB. Therefore, before merging unallocated space over 2TB, you need to convert MBR to GPT.

You can try to convert it via Disk Management, but it might be grayed out. That's because the built-in tool can only convert the file system on a blank disk. Don't worry; there's a better solution that can change the partition style without deleting any data – Partition Master.

Step 1: Download and run AOMEI Partition Assistant.

< strong > Step 2. < /strong> Go to "Disk Converter" and choose "Convert MBR to GPT", then click "Next" to proceed.

Step 3. Select the MBR disk that you want to convert to GPT, and click "Convert" to start the conversion.

Now you can see the two unallocated spaces have become one. Then you can use Disk Management to combine it with the other disk or use a partition master tool to merge unallocated space in Windows 11/10.

Do you like these two methods to merge unallocated space to C drive? If you like this page, please share it with more people via the links below.

How do I add unallocated space to Drive C in American English?

To combine unallocated space to the C drive in Windows Disk Management, you need to use the "Extend Volume" feature. It's crucial that the unallocated space is contiguous to the system partition, such as C: + Unallocated + D:. Then, you can right-click on the C drive and select "Extend Volume..." to start merging the unallocated space into the C drive. Follow these steps to open Disk Management: 1. Press `Win + X` on your keyboard and choose "Disk Management" from the menu. 2. Wait for the Disk Management window to load, displaying all the disks connected to your system. 3. Locate the C drive (usually labeled "OS (C:)") and identify any unallocated space. This will appear as a black bar without a drive letter. 4. Ensure that the unallocated space is immediately following the C drive (no other partitions or drives in between). 5. Right-click on the C drive and select "Extend Volume." 6. A wizard will guide you through the process. Follow the on-screen instructions to allocate the entire unallocated space to the C drive. 7. Click "Finish" when prompted to complete the extension. Please note that if the unallocated space is not adjacent to the C drive, you'll need to move or delete the partition that is in between, which might result in data loss. Always make sure to back up your important files before making any changes to disk partitions.

Step 1: Install and run Disk Management. Right-click on the partition to which you want to add unallocated space, and then select “Extend Volume” to merge the partitions (e.g., drive C).

Step 2: Follow the instructions in the Extend Volume Wizard, and then click Finish.

Step 3: In the window that pops up, you'll see that the partition's size has increased.

Anyway, the unallocated space is not on the right side of C drive, so you can't add unallocated space to C drive as the Extend Volume is greyed out in Disk Management.

In comparison, using a tool like Partition Master is more flexible when dealing with unallocated space, whether adjacent or non-adjacent, in Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista. What convincing features does it have that make it stand out when it comes to easily and safely adding space to the C drive without losing any data?

1. Resize/Move partitions

Where is the unallocated space? Must it be right next to C drive? What if there are other partitions, like D, E, or F, in between? Don't worry – you can still merge the unallocated space with your system drive using a simple “drag and move” method.

2. Allocating Space

This functionality was added in a recent software update. Most impressive is that you don't even need unallocated space to be adjacent, eliminating the important step of having to shrink a volume first to create unallocated space before you can expand C:. Don't hold your breath waiting for this capability in Windows Disk Management.