Extend Volume (C Drive) with Nonadjacent Unallocated Space on Windows 11/10/7/Server

Unallocated space is only visible under Disk Management. With existing unallocated space on Windows, you can create a new volume or add it to another partition to increase its size.

You may notice that you can extend a partition with contiguous unallocated space on its right in Windows Disk Management. However, this article will introduce a solution for C drive expansion when the unallocated space is not adjacent to the target partition, such as the C partition in Disk Management on Windows computers.

Quick Navigation

• #1 How to move unallocated space right-side adjacent to the volume (Windows built-in tools won't work, 3rd party software can help)
  1. Creating Unallocated Space
  2. Moving Unallocated Space or Partition without Losing Data
  3. Adding Unallocated Space to Partition
  4. Moving Unallocated Space from Another Disk
• #2 How to move unallocated space next to C drive without software (Deleting is the only option)
• #3 Extend a drive with adjacent unallocated space (Easy, with/without software)

Function Comparisons

	Disk Management	Diskpart (No UI)	Partition Resizer (Easy UI)
Move partition/unallocated space	NO	NO
Delete Recovery Partition	NO
Extend fat32 partition	YES when unallocated space at right side
Extend fat32 C drive	NO	NO
Backup disk/partition	NO	NO
Migrate OS	NO	NO
Extend ntfs drive
Price	FREE	Free	FREE
			Download Windows 11-7 (Free) Download Windows Server (Trial)

#1 Add Nonadjacent Space to Extend Partition with Free Tool

a. Pre-Steps of Creating Some Unallocated Spaces

How to produce unallocated space:

• Shrink a large volume on the same disk
• Add a new disk to RAID and initialize the disk

The most common method to get unallocated space on Windows is to shrink a partition that has enough free space. Usually, you just need to right-click the partition that has a lot of free space and then click the Shrink Volume option to get some unallocated space.

Shrink a volume using the following methods:

• Shrink a volume with Disk Management (works with NTFS file system drives, FAT32 drives not supported)
• Shrink a volume with diskpart (NTFS file system drives only, FAT32 drives not supported)
• Shrink a volume with Partition Resizer Free (supports NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT)

	Disk Management	IM-Magic Partition Resizer*
Shrink Partition and Unallocated Space	Unallocated space will be created on the right side of the partition you shrink	Unallocated space can be created on the left or right side of the partition depending on the border you shrink
Eg. Shrink C and D	C | D | Unallocated	C | D | Unallocated or C | Unallocated | D
Move Unallocated Space	NO
Move Partition	NO
Move System Reserved/Recovery Partition	NO
Download		Download for Windows 11-7 (100% Free) Download for Windows Server (Free Demo)

Creating Unallocated Space with Free Tool

Step 1: Download, install, and open Partition Resizer. Right-click a large drive in Partition Resizer and select the RESIZE/MOVE PARTITION option.

Step 2: Move the border of the large volume to the right to create unallocated space.

Note: If you move its left border, unallocated space will be created on the left side of the D drive. Conversely, moving its right-side border will create unallocated space on the right side of D.

Step 3: Click APPLY CHANGES in the software to apply the above steps.

How to move unallocated space after shrinking? => Only PARTITION RESIZER CAN DO THE JOB. This will be illustrated in the following section.

b. How to move unallocated space close to the target drive without losing data?

Note: Windows built-in tools cannot move partitions or unallocated spaces. This is where you should try a free third-party tool. It's easy to move unallocated space anywhere on the same disk with the help of the free tool Partition Resizer.

Here are the steps to get started when there is already unallocated space on the disk:

The truth: Moving unallocated space requires moving the in-between partitions.

For example: C, D, Unallocated Space

Target: C, Unallocated Space, D

Method: Right-click D, select Resize/Move partitions in Partition Resizer, and move the entire D drive to the right when the mouse cursor shows cross arrows. The location of D and the unallocated space will be swapped.

Step 1: Right-click the D drive, and select the RESIZE/MOVE PARTITION option.

Step 2: Move the entire D volume to the right when the mouse shows cross arrows, and then the unallocated space will be moved to the right side of the C drive.

If you do not want to add the unallocated space to a drive yet, you can click APPLY CHANGES in Partition Resizer to complete the steps.

c. Adding Unallocated Space to Extend Partition

The following steps build on section b, proceeding with the goal of expanding the C drive.

Step 3: Right-click the C drive, select RESIZE/MOVE PARTITION, and extend the C drive by dragging its border to incorporate the unallocated space.

Step 4: Click Apply Changes in the software

Step 5: Check the expanded C drive.

Note: This method works for any drive that you want to expand, not limited to the C drive.

Video: How to extend a volume with or without unallocated space

d. How to Add Unallocated Space from Another Disk

Moving or adding unallocated space from another disk requires building a RAID.

Once the disk has been added to the storage array, you can use IM-Magic Partition Resizer to redistribute the disk space without losing data.

Also read: How to Add a Disk to RAID

#2 Move Unallocated Space to C Drive Without Software

If the unallocated space is not contiguous to the target drive (like the C drive, for example), the only option to proceed without a third-party tool is to delete all volumes that stand in the way.

Note: Please back up all data on the volumes to another drive before any deletion. The free tool IM-Magic Partition Resizer can help clone partitions for backup.

Example: C, D, Unallocated Space (Target is to extend the C drive)

Step 1: Open Disk Management.

Step 2: Right-click the D partition that stands in the way, choose the option "Delete Volume," and confirm the deletion.

Please note there is a chance that the "Delete Volume" option may be grayed out, and Disk Management cannot delete the recovery partition. Fix: How to enable 'Delete Volume', and How to delete the recovery partition.

Extend C Drive with Contiguous Unallocated Space in Windows

Windows Disk Management allows users to extend a volume with contiguous unallocated space. To add the unallocated space to the C drive, follow these steps:
Step 1: Right-click the C drive in Disk Management and then click the Extend Volume option.
Step 2: Enter the amount of size that you want to add to the C partition and then add the unallocated space to it.

Hot Questions

#1 How do I add an unallocated partition to a different partition?

Answer: Third-party software, Partition Resizer Free, can help move unallocated space close to a different partition on the same disk without losing data. Then you can use this free tool to add the space to a partition. Disk Management and Diskpart cannot add unallocated space to another partition.

On the same disk: The third-party free tool Partition Resizer can help add the unallocated space to any partition without losing data.

On another disk: You need to add the disk with a RAID array first, and then you can use the third-party free tool Partition Resizer to redistribute the unallocated space. No program can help move or add unallocated space from disk to disk (RAID is required).

#2 How do you merge non-adjacent partitions with unallocated space?

Answer: If you want to merge a non-adjacent partition with unallocated space, you can use the free tool Partition Resizer, which can help move any partition and any unallocated space without losing data.

Details: How to move unallocated spaces

#3 How can I make the unallocated space adjacent to the target partition? How do I make unallocated space contiguous to extend a partition?

Answer: The free tool Partition Resizer can help you move unallocated spaces to any drive by moving the in-between partitions without losing data on the same disk. Then the unallocated space can be moved to be contiguous to extend a partition for free with Partition Resizer.

#4 How to extend a partition in Windows 10 when it’s non-contiguous? How can I extend the C drive with non-adjacent unallocated space?

Answer: You can use the free tool Partition Resizer to make the unallocated space contiguous to the drive you want to extend. For example, the C drive can be extended when you move the location of the other partitions forward, and then the unallocated space will be adjacent to the C drive for extension.

#5 How to merge non-adjacent partitions in Windows 10? Is there a free software to merge non-adjacent partitions?

Answer: Merging two non-adjacent partitions can be done in the following way:

• Delete the in-between partitions, extend one partition with the unallocated space, and then merge the two partitions.

Question: Can I merge two non-adjacent partitions without deleting a partition?

Answer: It's not possible to merge non-adjacent partitions so far.

Also read: How to merge non-contiguous partitions

Last updated on 2024/10/3