How to Partition C Drive [Step-by-Step Guide]

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Tracy King 

Last updated on April 22, 2024

This guide will show you how to split the C drive into multiple drives on your Windows 11/10/8/7 PC. These two simple steps will help you <a href="/partition-manager-software/shrink-c-drive.html">shrink C drive and create more partitions to organize your files.

If you've recently purchased a new desktop or laptop computer, you'll want to partition your C drive to separate the operating system from programs and personal files. Or, maybe your C drive is too large or small, and you'd like to partition the disk for better management. However, this can be a challenge if you're not experienced.

Please check the following sample from Microsoft to see if you have the same issue.

"How to partition the C drive in Windows?"

As mentioned above, partitioning a hard drive is a great way to separate different types of files and manage them better. Partitioning C drive allows you to arrange all your files in an orderly manner so that they can be identified easily. You can organize and save your music, pictures, videos, and other important data effortlessly.

It's worth noting that, while you can save data to different partitions, because they're all on the same physical disk, they can still be lost easily if something happens to that disk. If the hard drive fails, your partitions could become corrupted. It's always advisable to back up your personal files to guard against data loss.

Read on to learn about two ways to accomplish this.

Method 1: Using Partitioning Software

The easiest way to partition a hard drive is by using third-party partition software. This is because such tools allow you to quickly resize partitions and easily create more of them. If you haven't found a reliable tool yet, you can try out the AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional.

With Partition Master, you can easily shrink, expand, and split the C drive, and create more partitions from unallocated space. No formatting is needed in the process, so you don't have to worry about data loss. However, when you attempt to shrink the C drive to free up more space for other low-space partitions, it's best to set aside at least 1/3 of the total storage space on the C drive. Now, check out the steps below.

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant and check the available space on the disk in "Partition Management".

If you have unallocated space on your hard drive, skip to Step 3 to create the partition. If you do not have any unallocated space, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2. Shrink the partition to create unallocated space.

Right-click on the target partition with enough free space, and select “Resize/Move”.

Slide the partition to the right or left to shrink it and free up enough unallocated space. You can see how much you've reduced the size by in the "Size" field. Click "OK".

Next up, we just need the American English translation:

Click “Perform XX Task” and then “Apply” to save all changes.

Back in the “Disk Management” tool, you should see the unallocated space on the same disk, and you can proceed to create a new partition on the hard drive.

Step 3: Create a new partition on the target drive using the unallocated space.

Right-click the unallocated space and select “New”.

Create Partition Step 1

Customize partition size, drive letter, volume label, file system (NTFS, FAT32, EXT2/3/4, exFAT), and more in the "Advanced Settings." Click "OK."

Create partition step 2

Finally, click "Execute Task" and "Apply" to finish creating a partition using the unallocated space on the disk. Repeat the steps to partition the hard drive and create more partitions as needed.

Create partition step 3

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Now that you've learned how to shrink C drive and create a partition from the unallocated space, you may also want to know how to extend C drive with the partition tool. Read on for more details.

Please provide the English content you want to translate, and I'll promptly translate it into Chinese for you.

How to Extend C Drive in Windows 10 Without Formatting

How to extend C drive in Windows 10? Read this tutorial to learn how to expand the system partition C drive without deleting or formatting with Partition Master tool. Read More >>

Method 2: Use Disk Management

Another way is to use the built-in Disk Management tool in Windows. This is a Microsoft Windows program that allows you to partition and manage your disk freely. If your new hard drive only has one C partition to begin with, Disk Management can help you shrink the C drive and create a new simple volume from the unallocated space.

Follow the instructions for partitioning the disk.

Step 1: Press the "Windows key" + "R" to open the "Run" command. Type diskmgmt.msc in the dialog box.

Step 2. Right-click on the C: drive in Disk Management and select “Compress volume”.

Step 3. Type the amount of space you want to free up in the “Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB” box and click “Shrink” to create unallocated space.

Step 4. Right-click on the "Unallocated" space and select "New Simple Volume."

Step 5: Enter the amount of space you want to allocate to this new volume, and format it to create a new partition.

Note: Unallocated space can only be used to extend a partition that is adjacent to it on the left. When you try to use unallocated space on the left to extend a volume, the Extend Volume option will be grayed out and unavailable.

Apart from that, disk management always requires formatting, which is a headache for users. Hence, you need a professional and powerful partition tool like Partition Master. It allows you to partition drives without formatting and extend volumes from unallocated space anywhere.

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Why do we need to partition the C drive?

You may have noticed that most computers come with only one partition on the hard drive, usually labeled as Drive C. In this case, you can partition the Drive C and create a new volume using the unallocated space. You might also encounter an error message that says your C drive is out of disk space. This means that the C drive is full and requires more space to store data. In this situation, you would need to extend Drive C using unallocated space from another drive with a large amount of unused space.

Moreover, partitioning your C drive has many benefits for your computer.

Conclusion

Partitioning the C drive is essential for new computers or laptops. It allows you to manage your files better and provides a safer storage space for personal files. Now that you have learned how to partition and how to create more volumes using unallocated space, download the Partition Master tool to experience its excellent features. This software also has the ability to convert file systems, clone systems or hard drives, create a WinPE bootable disk, and merge two partitions, among others.

Frequently Asked Questions About Partitioning the C Drive in UTF-8 Encoding 1. 什么是C盘分区？ What is partitioning the C drive? 2. 为什么需要对C盘进行分区？ Why is it necessary to partition the C drive? 3. 如何在Windows中创建C盘分区？ How do I create a partition on the C drive in Windows? 4. 分区时会丢失数据吗？ Will I lose data during partitioning? 5. 如何调整C盘分区大小？ How do I resize the C drive partition? 6. 如果C盘空间不足，增加分区有用吗？ Is it helpful to increase the partition if the C drive runs out of space? 7. 如何将其他分区合并到C盘？ How can I merge another partition into the C drive? 8. 不同的文件系统（如NTFS、FAT32）对C盘分区有何影响？ What impact do different file systems (like NTFS, FAT32) have on partitioning the C drive? 9. C盘分区对系统性能有影响吗？ Does partitioning the C drive affect system performance? 10. 在不同版本的Windows（如Windows 10、Windows 7）中，C盘分区的方法有何不同？ Are there any differences in partitioning the C drive between different versions of Windows (like Windows 10, Windows 7)? 11. 可以使用第三方工具来管理C盘分区吗？ Can third-party tools be used to manage the C drive partition? 12. 分区错误可能导致哪些问题？如何解决？ What problems can partition errors cause, and how can they be resolved? 13. C盘分区大小的最佳实践是什么？ What are the best practices for determining the size of the C drive partition? 14. 如何备份C盘分区以防止数据丢失？ How do I back up the C drive partition to prevent data loss? 15. C盘分区后如何恢复原有布局？ How do I restore the original partition layout after partitioning the C drive?

If you have more questions about partitioning the C drive, here are three common ones and their answers.

1. Can I partition the C drive?

Drive C is a partition. If you have a good reason (such as reducing unnecessary partitions), and you have free space at the end, or you can wait for data migration, then you can resize it (and other partitions). Just go into Disk Management and explore your options. In theory, these operations are safe, provided there's no corruption of data.

How can I increase the space on my C drive?

Before you can increase the size of drive C:, you'll need to make sure there's unallocated space next to it. Open Disk Management, then right-click on C:. Select “Extend Volume” and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

How can I shrink D drive to expand C drive space?

1. Right-click on "My Computer," select "Manage," and enter the "Disk Management" module. 2. Choose the D drive next to C, right-click on it, and select "Shrink Volume." Enter the amount of capacity you want to shrink in the input box. 3. After shrinking D, unallocated space will be created. You can use this space to extend the C drive.