How to Use and Allocate Unallocated Space in Windows 11/10 [6 Ways]

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Linda 

Authored by

Linda 

Last updated on April 22, 2024

What is Unallocated Space?

Unallocated space, as the name implies, refers to the disk space that has not been assigned to any partition. The computer describes the physical space on the hard drive that does not belong to any partition as unallocated. This means that no program can write data to this space or save any information unless it becomes part of a real disk partition.

You won't see the unallocated space in File Explorer, but you may notice that your hard drive shows less capacity than it should, for example, a 1TB drive showing up as 700GB. Thankfully, you can view the allocation of the entire disk space, including the unallocated space, in Disk Management on your Windows 11/10/8/7 PC.

On this page, we will guide you on how to utilize unallocated space on your hard drive, external hard drive, or other storage devices in Windows 11/10.

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How to handle unallocated space

Before you can use the unallocated space, you need to know how you want to use or can use the unallocated space. Essentially, you can do either of the following two things:

• [1]. Create a new partition
• [2]. Extend an existing partition

If you need a new location to save certain files or data, you can create a new partition on the unallocated space. If you run out of disk space on your C drive or other data partitions, you can extend the existing one.

How to Use and Allocate Unallocated Space in Windows 11/10

Applies To: Select the right tool to allocate unallocated space on Windows 11/10/8/7 disk.

Whether you want to create a new partition or extend an existing one using unallocated space, you'll need a reliable tool to help you. In this section, we provide you with three tools and detailed step-by-step tutorials on how to use them.

Here are the steps for a tutorial on how to utilize unallocated space on your hard drive or external hard drive:

Create a new partition using unallocated space

Applies to: Creating multiple partitions on a hard drive and creating partitions on external storage devices to store data.

Here are three tools you can use to utilize unallocated space on your Windows 11/10/8/7, or even older Windows computers:

• #1. Partition Master Tool - Easiest, suitable for beginners
• #2. Disk Management - Moderate difficulty, suitable for experienced users
• #3. Diskpart Command Prompt - Difficult, suitable for professionals

Here's a step-by-step tutorial to help you easily create a partition on unallocated space on your hard drive or external HDD. The methods listed progress in order of simplicity:

#1. Use a Partition Manager Tool - The Easiest

AOMEI Partition Assistant can satisfy all demands for unallocated space usage in Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista. You can use the unallocated space to create partitions, extend volume, and more.

Here's how to create one on your own:

Step 1. Launch Partition Master. On the main interface, right-click unallocated space on the hard drive or external storage device and select "Create".

Step 2. Adjust the size of the new partition, choose a file system (if necessary), label, etc., and then click “OK” to continue.

Step 3. Click the Run 1 Task button and create a new partition by clicking Apply.

Watch the following video tutorial to learn how to create partitions on an NTFS, FAT, or EXT file system.

#2. Using Disk Management - Moderate

This is the best way to manage unallocated space using the built-in Disk Management tool in Windows 10. Here's how to create a new partition:

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

Step 2: Right-click on the “Unallocated” space in Disk Management and select “New Simple Volume”.

Step 3: Choose the partition size, then click "Next" to continue.

Step 4: Assign a drive letter, file system (NTFS), and other settings to the new partition. Click “Finish” to create the new partition.

Finish creating the new partition.

#3. Using the DiskPart CMD Command - Hard Drive Utility

Step 1: Open the DiskPart command prompt:

Type cmd into the search, right-click “Command Prompt,” and select “Run as administrator.” Type diskpart and press Enter.

Step 2: Type each of the following commands and press Enter after each one:

• list disk
• select disk 0 (Replace 0 with your disk number)
• create partition primary size=x or create partition logical size=x (Replace x with the desired MB size for the partition)
• assign letter=H (Replace H with the new drive letter for the partition)
• format fs=ntfs quick

Step 3: Type exit to close Disk Management.

To create additional partitions using unallocated space, repeat these steps with the tool of your choice.

Extend an existing partition with unallocated space

You can also use any of the following three tools to extend unallocated space on a disk into a partition:

• #1. Use a Partition Master Tool
• #2. Utilize Disk Management
• #3. Employ the DiskPart Command-Line Utility

Applies to: Adding unallocated space to an existing partition is an ideal way to make the most of your free space while addressing low disk space warnings on the target partition, i.e., not enough disk space.

#1. Use Tool Partition Master - Best for Beginners

With Partition Assistant, the user can drag unallocated space to wherever they like. Let's look at how to extend a partition flexibly, even when the unallocated space is not adjacent:

Step 1. Select the partition that is next to the unallocated space and choose "Resize/Move".

Step 2: Place the mouse pointer on the partition, and then drag it left or right to move the unallocated space.

You can repeat Steps 1 and 2 to move unallocated space to where you want it.

Click “Apply” and “Proceed” to finally add the unallocated space to the target partition.

#2. Use Disk Management - For advanced users

Step 1: Open Disk Management by right-clicking the Windows icon and selecting “Disk Management.”

Step 2: Right-click the partition you want to extend and select "Extend Volume."

Step 3: Click “Next” to proceed and adjust the amount of unallocated space you want to add to the selected partition.

Step 4: Click “Next” and then “Finish” to complete the process.

#3. Use the DiskPart Command – For the Pros

Step 1: Open the DiskPart command prompt:

Type CMD in the search box > Right-click “Command Prompt” > Select “Run as administrator” > Type diskpart and hit Enter.

Step 2: Type the following commands, pressing Enter after each one:

• List Disks
• Select Disk 0 (replace 0 with your disk number)
• List Volumes
• Select Volume x (replace x with the number of the partition you want to extend)
• Extend Size=number (adjust and add unallocated space in MB to the selected volume)

Step 3: Type exit to close Disk Management.

Have you learned how to use unallocated space in Windows 11/10? If this article was helpful, please share it with those who might need it.

Additional Tip: Resolving the Error 'Windows 11/10 Can't Use Unallocated Space'

Applies to: Resolving issues where unallocated space cannot be used on a Windows 11/10 or Windows 8/7 computer.

If you can't create or extend a partition with the unallocated space, don't worry. Follow this guide to make the best use of the unallocated space on your disk:

1. Check Disk Capacity - Greater Than or Less Than 2TB

Step 1: Open the Windows Disk Management tool.

Step 2: Check the total disk capacity:

If the disk is larger than 2 TB, continue to Step 3.

Step 3: Right-click the drive and select "Properties."

If your disk is in MBR format, follow the instructions in the second tutorial to convert it to GPT.

If your disk is less than 2TB but cannot use the unallocated space in Disk Management (the Extend Volume or New Simple Volume option is grayed out), let Partition Master tool help you. You can directly refer to the above tutorial to create a partition or extend a partition with the tool's Partition Manager.

Step 2: Convert the MBR to GPT

If your disk is larger than 2 TB and is formatted as MBR, you can use the Partition Master tool to convert it to GPT:

Run the tool "Disk Master" > Right-click on the target disk > Select "Convert to GPT" > Perform the operation.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Convert MBR to GPT

After that, you can proceed with the above steps to reallocate the unallocated space.

Conclusions

On this page, we introduce 6 methods to help Windows users allocate unallocated disk space on Windows 10/8/7 with Partition Master, Disk Management, and DiskPart tool.

You can create a new partition or extend an existing one to take advantage of unallocated space on your disk. Disk Partition Master, as opposed to disk management tools and diskpart, is designed especially for Windows OS and Windows server users to manage their hard disks and partitions.

It's easier to use and, most importantly, smarter than any native Windows disk management and DiskPart.

People also ask about unallocated space.

For more questions and answers regarding unallocated space on Windows 11/10 or even older versions, check out the responses below. You might find the solution you're looking for:

Where does unallocated space come from?

Where does unallocated space come from? Usually, unallocated space is generated by manufacturers as the default status of storage devices, especially on hard drives and SSDs. You can also get unallocated space when deleting partitions or shrinking partitions.

2. What if the Disk Management options on unallocated space are grayed out?

There is no need to worry when you can't allocate unallocated space in Windows through Disk Management, as its “Extend Volume” and “New Simple Volume” options might be grayed out.

There are two ways to help you with this:

• [1] Use the Partition Master tool to continue allocating unallocated space;
• [2] Convert the hard drive with unallocated space to GPT format and try again.

3. How to extend C drive without unallocated space?

If you don't have unallocated space on your hard drive, you won't be able to extend C: with Disk Management. You'll need to delete or shrink the partition next to C: to free up room.

Aside from Disk Management, Partition Master also offers you another option. You can use its “Allocate Space” feature to allocate free space from other partitions to C drive. Or you can use its “Resize/Move” feature to move free space flexibly to C drive.

Check: Move space from D drive to C drive, or Transfer disk space from one partition to another in Windows 10.