Can You Move C Drive to New Disk?

Oliver updated on Dec 28, 2023 to Disk Management Questions Answered | How-to Articles

My C drive is running out of space, and I have tried deleting the cache of my applications and some useless files. But it's still insufficient. So I bought a new HDD. Can I move the C drive to a new disk and keep everything else on the old disk? Thanks in advance!

Sure, you can move the C drive to a new disk and keep other partitions stay on the old disk with the assistance of a professional disk partition management tool.

To be able to move the C drive to a new disk without reinstalling the Windows operating system, you'll have to download reliable third-party partition copy software.

One of the most reputable and free partition cloning tools is EaseUS Partition Master, which offers a Disk Clone feature for you to clone the entire C drive, including the Windows system and additional programs, to another disk.

After downloading the tool, you can check the steps here:

Step 1. Select "Disk Clone" > "Clone Partition" and hit "Next."

Step 2. Select your C drive and then click "Next."

Step 3. Choose a destination partition to store the data of the C drive.

Step 4. Confirm the warning and hit "Yes" to start the cloning process.

Note: If the destination partition contains data, you should back up or transfer them before cloning to avoid data loss caused by overwriting.

After cloning successfully, you should change the boot drive to complete the procedure.

Step 1. Press specific hotkey "F8"/"Del"/"F2" during the initial boot to access BIOS. 

Step 2. In the Boot tab, locate the "Change boot order" function and select the target drive as the priority.

Step 3. Save the changes and exit.

Finally, you can use this tool to wipe or format the C drive on the old disk for other uses.