How to Free Up Disk Space on Server 2008 R2 (Clean, Add, Redistribute)

Server 2008 C drive is in low disk space how to fix

The “low disk space” pop up on the windows server 2008 R2 indicates that there is not enough space available in the system drive C. As, the main reason why people prefer using Windows SBS series is because of its added features and updates, there must be a certain amount of space available in c-drive to handle these features. Nonetheless, low disk space can slow down the system, accumulate it with viruses, and crash any application or system programs including OS itself.

Free Up Disk Space Server 2008 r2

In such case, it is recommended to free up disk space on Server 2008 R2. You can free up the disk space on Server 2008 with the following methods

Disk Cleanup Utility

Disk Cleanup is a built-in function of Windows Server 2008 R2 that rearranges the data available on the disk and free up disk space to much extent. Follow these steps to free up disk space using disk cleanup

Open Windows Explorer > Right Click on the drive with low space > Click on Disk Cleanup.

Or simply press Windows+R and type “cleanmgr”

Complete the process to free up disk space

Empty Recycle Bin

Many people will delete a lot of files, programs, and cache from the computer every day but fail to empty the recycle bin. The programs in the recycle bin still consume c-drive space. Therefore, it is recommended to empty recycle bin every now and then to free up system drive.

Delete Unused Programs

Uninstalling the unused and unnecessary programs is another way to go. Your computer is already busy in undertaking useful operations so why accumulate the RAM with unnecessary programs.

Go to control panel

Open Add/Remove Programs utility

Remove the unnecessary programs

Some application programs may still contain their associated folders in c-drive. It is recommended to manually delete the files & folders manually from c-drive.

Manual Measurements

If you still fail to free up enough disk space on Windows Server 2008 R2, then you may have been utilizing your disk space wrongly all this time. Follow the below steps to effectively solve the low disk space problem

Separate the data from the system files by making separate drives. Make separate partitions for different types of data. This helps in effective yet quick backups.

Delete the cache and download folder regularly.

Utilize a small amount for Windows Backup and Restore Point.

Extend the system partition

Extend C-drive Windows Server 2008 R2

There are two ways of extending c-drive on Windows Server 2008 R2 i.e. disk management or using a third-party partition resizer software.

Disk Management

Extending c-drive is the best way to go if you cannot free up a considerate amount of space from the above steps. Follow these steps to extend c-drive using Disk Management

Open the disk management by Start > Administrative Tools > Disk Management

Right click on the partition with enough space to shrink and add space to c-drive

Enter the amount of space you want to shrink and separate from the data partition.

The separated space will be grayed out and is called unallocated space.

Now click on the c-drive and add the unallocated space to it.

Note that unallocated space can only be added to c-drive if it is present adjacent to the c-drive. If there is another partition between unallocated space and c-drive, disk management cannot help you there.

Resize Partition with Third-Party Software: IM-Magic Partition Resizer

On the other hand, IM-Magic Partition Resizer gives you more access to handing disk operations without any limitations. You can separate the unallocated space and move it past other partitions to add to c-drive. Follow these steps and see how it works.

Download, install and open the IM-Magic

Right click on the partition you want to shrink and click on “Resize/Move”

Drag the cursor on the storage-bar to the left to shrink the space

Steps to resize your partition when you can not extend volume

Press OK and this space will be marked as unallocated space

If there is any other partition between the system partition and unallocated space, keep moving the unallocated space to the left of each partition until it reaches adjacent to c-drive

Right click on c-drive and acquire the unallocated space

Steps to resize your partition when you can not extend volume

It’s done!

While IM-Magic Partition Resizer Server Edition allows you to shrink, extend, and resize the partitions, the IM-Magic Partition Resizer Unlimited Edition gives you more access to disk operations. Click here and learn more about different versions of IM-Magic.

Also read: how to increase c drive server 2025