How to Safely Resize Partitions in Windows 11 Without Losing Data

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Last updated on April 22, 2024

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Adjusting or moving partitions in Windows 11 allows you to free up space for more data and organize your storage better. Hard drive disk space always seems insufficient because there's not enough room for storage. So, what can you do? You need to resize or move partitions to create more storage space on your computer's hard drive.

Resizing partitions is a common task, but it's also easy to mess up. Depending on the size of your partition, this can take hours to complete. If you don't know what you're doing, you could even brick your computer.

When you run out of disk space, your system will give you the terrifying “not enough disk space” error. Just like any other operating system in similar conditions, Windows allows you to move partitions around to free up more room for data storage. This process is known as moving a disk partition. Hard drive partitions can be moved within the same computer or from one computer to another.

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to use a Partition Master tool to adjust partition size: 1. **下载并安装Partition Master工具**: 首先，你需要从可靠的源下载并安装一个分区管理工具，如tools Partition Master、MiniTool Partition Wizard或AOMEI Partition Assistant。访问官方网站并按照指示进行安装。 2. **启动Partition Master**: 安装完成后，运行该程序。通常，它会显示你的硬盘和当前的分区布局。 3. **选择目标分区**: 在程序界面中，找到你想要调整大小的分区。它可能被标记为C盘、D盘等，或者根据其在硬盘上的位置显示为分区号。 4. **调整分区大小**: 有两种主要方法来调整大小： - **扩展分区**: 如果你想要增加某个分区的大小，确保你有未分配的空间相邻。然后，右键点击该分区，选择“扩展分区”选项。在弹出的窗口中，移动滑块或输入新的大小值，然后点击“确定”。 - **压缩分区**: 如果你想要减小某个分区的大小以创建新的未分配空间，右键点击该分区，选择“压缩分区”。输入你想释放的空间量，然后点击“确定”。这将创建一个新的未分配区域。 5. **确认更改**: 在进行任何更改之前，程序通常会显示一个预览，让你查看即将发生的改变。检查无误后，点击“应用”或“执行”按钮。 6. **等待操作完成**: 程序将开始调整分区大小，这可能需要一些时间，尤其是处理大型分区时。在此过程中，不要关闭电脑或断开硬盘连接。 7. **重启电脑**: 操作完成后，电脑可能会提示你重启以使更改生效。按照提示重启你的系统。 请注意，虽然大多数分区工具都设计得相当用户友好，但在进行此类操作时总是存在数据丢失的风险。因此，建议在开始之前备份重要文件。

The Partition Master tool enables users to safely and efficiently avoid low disk space issues in Windows 11. It lets users resize or move system partitions without losing data, and it features an easy-to-use wizard and user-friendly interface. It supports various types of hard disk partitions, such as primary partitions, extended partitions, and logical drives, among others.

AOMEI Partition Assistant is a reliable software that helps users expand, merge, and resize/move partitions. This tool also enables you to efficiently manage partitions and recover lost ones with simple operations. You can use this program to address insufficient disk space issues on your hard drive, making it easier for you to make the most out of your HDD.

If you're a PC user who needs to resize partitions and fix low disk space problems, this is one tool you shouldn't ignore. Read on to learn how to use a partition manager to extend or shrink your partitions.

Step 1: Locate and select the target drive/partition

Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, and enter "Partition Management" interface. Right-click the hard disk/partition you want to resize and select "Resize/Move".

Step 2: Resize or move the partition

1. To shrink it, simply drag one of the endpoints into the Unallocated space to free up room. Click “OK” when you're done.

2. To extend the partition, you must have unallocated space next to it (if not, create some by following the steps above). Click and drag the mouse over the unallocated space. Click “OK.”

3. To move a partition, you need unallocated space next to it. If there isn't any, you'll need to free some up first.

Right-click the partition you want to move and select “Resize/Move.” Drag the entire partition to the left or right to reposition it. Click “OK” to confirm.

Step 3: Review the results and apply the changes

Here, you will see the new disk partition information and图表.

Resized disk partition details:

To save the changes, click the Run Task button, and then click Apply.

In short, Partition Master is an all-rounded partition solution for your computer. It allows you to resize/partition, merge partitions, copy partitions, and extend C drive space in Windows 11, etc. Don't forget to share this page online to help your friends adjust and move their partitions more flexibly:

How do I move a partition in Disk Management?

Disk Management provides a graphical user interface for managing disk drives, partitions, and volumes. For example, it can shrink a fragmented partition or volume and extend an unallocated space region. It can also convert a disk volume from FAT32 to NTFS for improved file sharing capabilities, and change the file system format from one type of FAT to another.

[[2-1] Shrinking a Partition in Windows 11](#2-1) The steps to shrink a partition in the Windows 11 operating system are as follows: 1. **Open Disk Management**: Right-click the Start button on the taskbar and select "Disk Management." 2. **Locate the Partition to Shrink**: In the Disk Management window, you will see all hard disks and their corresponding partitions. Find the partition where you want to shrink the space. 3. **Check Available Space**: Below the target partition, it will display "Unallocated Space" or "Free Space." Ensure you have enough unallocated space to shrink the partition. 4. **Shrink the Partition**: Right-click the partition you wish to shrink and select "Shrink Volume." The system will automatically search for available space to release. 5. **Wait for the Process to Complete**: The system will scan and move data that can be freed, which may take some time depending on the amount of data you have. 6. **Create a New Partition or Move Unallocated Space**: Once the space has been successfully shrunk, an unallocated space will appear. You can choose to create a new partition or use this space to extend another partition (right-click the adjacent partition and select "Extend Volume"). 7. **Confirm Changes**: After making any changes, remember to save and confirm the operations. This completes your partition shrinking process. Please note that shrinking a partition might result in data loss, so it's essential to back up important files before proceeding.

Shrinking a partition reduces its size by removing unnecessary disk space. This can be useful in a variety of situations. For example, you might find that you have much less available disk space on a volume than you expected. In this case, you can shrink the current partition to free up more space on the same volume. Alternatively, due to storage system errors or growth of employee files, you may need more disk space than has been allocated to a drive. In either case, shrinking can provide you with some extra room without adding any unwanted data.

When shrinking a partition, you can only reduce it to the size of its used space. Note that shrinking a volume does not delete all data on the partition. Instead, it frees up the unused space within the partition for use by another volume or drive.

Resizing a partition is a straightforward process that only takes a few minutes. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to shrink a partition using Disk Management in Windows 11: 1. **Launch Disk Management**: - Press the `Win + X` key combination, then choose "Disk Management." 2. **Identify the Partition to Shrink**: - In the Disk Management window, locate the partition you want to shrink. This is typically the C drive, which is your main operating system drive. 3. **Check Available Space**: - Make sure there is enough unallocated space next to the partition you want to shrink. If not, you'll need to move or delete other partitions to free up space. 4. **Begin Shrinking**: - Right-click on the partition you want to shrink and select "Shrink Volume." 5. **Enter New Size**: - The system will ask how much space you want to shrink. Enter a number in MB. Ensure this amount won't compromise your data safety, meaning don't try to shrink more than you actually need. 6. **Confirm the Action**: - The system will warn you that this might result in data loss. If you've backed up all important files, click "OK" to proceed. 7. **Wait for Completion**: - The system will now start shrinking the partition, which may take a few minutes depending on the size of the partition. 8. **Create a New Partition**: - Once the shrinking is complete, you'll see an unallocated space. Right-click on it and choose "New Simple Volume," then follow the prompts to create the new partition. 9. **Format the New Partition**: - Lastly, you'll need to format the newly created partition. Choose an appropriate file system (like NTFS), allocation unit size, and give the partition a name. After completing these steps, you've successfully shrunk a partition and created a new one in Windows 11. Always ensure you back up important data before making any changes, just in case.

Step 1: Press Win+R to open the Command Prompt on Windows 11.

<Step 2> Type diskmgmt.msc, and then press Enter.

Step 3: In Disk Management in Windows 11, select the partition you want to resize, right-click it, and choose “Shrink Volume.”

Step 4: A new Shrink dialog will appear, as shown below. You can specify the minimum amount of space you want to shrink the partition by (in MB or GB, where 1GB = 1024MB), or let it use up as much space as possible.

If you have unallocated space adjacent to your partition, you can type the amount of space you want to shrink it by (in MB) and click Shrink.

Then, “Disk Management” will shrink the partition, effectively freeing up that space for other use. Once there's unallocated space on the hard drive, you can assign it to another partition of your choosing.

Note You can shrink a partition on a basic disk, dynamic disk, or mirrored volume. However, shrinking is not supported on a dynamic disk or mirrored volume that contains BitLocker-protected data or data that is encrypted by using Encrypting File System (EFS).

Expand a hard drive partition in Windows 11:

Using Disk Management, extending a volume is just as easy as shrinking it. You'll need to ensure you have enough free space available to extend into, and that space must be marked as “Unallocated.”

Step 1. Press Win+R to open the Command Prompt, then type in diskmgmt.msc. Hit Enter to run the command.

Step 2. Navigate to the "Unallocated" partition or any disk partition that you want to extend, and right-click on it. Next, click on the "Extend Volume" option.

Step 3. Click on the "Next" button. In the "Select a disk" window, choose the disk that you want to extend and keep the default value in "Select MB space amount".

Click Next > Finish to extend the disk partition.

Conclusions

Imagine that your job is to manage hard disks on other people's computers. Wouldn't you want a program that lets you resize, move, and change the attributes of partitions with just a few clicks? With a simple interface, even less experienced users can optimize their setup in no time.

AOMEI Partition Assistant makes disk management easier than ever! As one of the most popular disk management solutions on the market today, it has helped thousands of users resize their hard drive space without compromising data by converting unallocated space into additional partitions.

If you've been struggling with resizing partitions on your computer for years, you really should try using a user-friendly partitioning software tool. This is a comprehensive and easy-to-use professional partition manager. With it, you can manage disk space without losing data. In addition, it lets you resize existing partitions, migrate your operating system to an SSD, convert MBR disks to GPT disks, and vice versa. It's powerful for advanced users but simple enough for beginners.

Other partition tools, such as Windows Disk Management, are only good for simple tasks like creating new partitions or resizing existing ones. Native Windows 11 disk management utilities aren't as user-friendly as Partition Master, either.

In short, if you're a beginner, Partition Master is your best bet. While there are other partitioning tools available, including the Disk Management tool that Microsoft provides in Windows 11, most novices might find it outdated and, thus, quite challenging to use. With Partition Master, on the other hand, you can manage your disk partitions without having to deal with a steep learning curve.