Updated by

Tracy King

Updated on April 22, 2024

Are you facing low disk space issues on your System C drive in Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7, or even Windows 10 PC? On this page, we'll use Windows 8 as an example to demonstrate how to increase C drive space in Windows 8 without formatting or losing any data.

Windows 8 low disk space

How Can I Extend C Drive in Windows 8 without Formatting?

"Does anyone know how to extend my C drive without formatting a partition? I'm running Windows 8, but there's no unallocated space on my disk. What options do I have?"

Some Windows beginners may have the same doubt. There are many ways that can help you extend C drive. But all these methods all require to add unallocated space to your target partition.

Select one of the following Windows 8 disk managers and follow the tutorial guidelines to enlarge your C drive for free now:

  1. #1. Free Partition Manager Tools - Beginner's Choice
  2. #2. Disk Management - Experienced Users' Favorite
  3. #3. DiskPart - Administrator's Preferred Tool

Method 1: Extend C Drive in Windows 8 with Partition Master Tool

Applies to: All levels of Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7, and Windows 10 users, ideal for beginners.

As a magic Windows 8 disk manager, Partition Master Free Edition can extend Windows 8 32-bit and 64-bit system partition safely with simple operations by its "Resize/Move partition" feature.

With this free partition software, you can also perform some advanced operations on your disk that are not supported by Disk Management or DiskPart, such as:

< strong > Video Guide: How to Increase C Drive Space in Windows 8

Once Partition Master finishes these operations, you will see that the Windows 8/8.1 system partition has been extended successfully in both Disk Management and File Explorer.

Method 2: Increase C Drive Space in Windows 8 Using Disk Management

Applies to: Experienced users of Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 7/10.

As a free Windows built-in disk manager, Disk Management is indeed powerful in basic disk management. See the list below to find out what else it can do for you aside from expanding volume size:

    • Create, delete, and format partitions
    • Add or change drive letters
    • Enlarge or shrink partitions
    • Convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk
    • Explore and open partitions
    • Convert an MBR disk to GPT or a GPT disk to MBR
    • Convert a dynamic disk back to a basic disk by deleting all dynamic volumes beforehand
    • Mark a partition as active

You can perform the following operations on Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, 32-bit or 64-bit, using Disk Management to extend the C drive now. Proceed with caution while executing the following steps.

< strong >Step-by-Step Guide: Increase C Drive Space Using Disk Management< /strong >

Step 1. Right-click on "My Computer", select Manage > Storage > Disk Management, to open the built-in Disk Management tool in Windows.

Step 2. Check if there is an unallocated space next to your C drive.

If yes, proceed to Step 6. If not, proceed to Step 3.

Step 3. Right-click on the partition adjacent to your system C drive and choose "Shrink Volume."

Step 4. Input the volume size you wish to shrink and add to C drive, then click "OK" to confirm.

There, the unallocated space is now next to your C drive:

Free up unallocated space next to C drive

Step 5: Right-click on the C drive and choose "Extend Volume."

Increase C drive

Step 6. Assign the unallocated space to the C drive and click "OK" to confirm.

Following this, you'll notice that the C drive has now been extended without any problems.

Although there are some improvements in Disk Management in Windows 8, it still has many limitations in partition management.

If you need to perform advanced partition management tasks in Windows 8, such as merging two partitions or migrating the OS to an SSD, it is recommended to use the tools mentioned in Part 1 for assistance.

Method 3: Extend C Drive in Windows 8 using DiskPart

Applies to: Advanced users such as administrators in Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10/7, etc.

Another solution is to use DiskPart to extend the system C drive space in Windows. It's free but might be tricky for beginners.

Thus, if you prefer to give it a try, ensure that you follow the steps below meticulously:

Step 1. Type cmd in the Search bar, then right-click on Command Prompt and choose "Run as Administrator".

Step 2. Type diskpart and press Enter to open the DiskPart command window.

Step 3. Enter the following command lines one by one and press Enter after each:

    Translate the following text into English: 1. `list disk` 2. `select disk 0` (Replace 0 with the number of your system disk) 3. `list volume` 4. `select volume 2` (Replace 2 with the volume number corresponding to your C drive) 5. `shrink desired size MB` (This command will shrink the volume, creating unallocated space next to the C drive.)

Step 4. Type the following commands one by one, and press Enter after each to extend the C drive:

    1. list volume
    2. list volume 1 (Replace 1 with the C drive number)
    3. extend
    4. %3

Copyright © 2004 - 2024. All rights reserved.