How to Extend Partition in Windows 11/10 - 3 Ways

In this post, you can learn:

• How to extend partition on Windows 10/11
• Why extend volume greyed out in Disk Management
• A full guide on Diskpart extend partition using allocated space (Support adjacent and non-adjacent)
• How to extend the system partition on Windows 11/10

EaseUS Software collected many similar user cases from Microsoft, Reddit, and other forums:

Can I extend a partition in Windows 11/10? Yes, sure. This page provides three tools (Disk Management, Diskpart, and EaseUS Partition Master) to help you address the low disk space issue on your Windows 11/10/8/7/XP PCs. Check the provided solutions here and follow the respective guide for extending a partition (including Windows extend system partition) on your own.

• Check the table carefully. Disk Management and Diskpart are quick methods when the unallocated space is right behind the target partition (NTFS or ReFS) and there are no other partitions between them. Diskpart requires some basic computing knowledge and is more difficult to use than Disk Management.
• On the other hand, EaseUS Partition Master can help more if there is a recovery partition between the system partition and unallocated space, or if there is no unallocated space.

Now, open Disk Management and check which tool you need: Type "create and format hard disk partitions" in the search box > Select Create and format hard disk partitions > Check if the unallocated partition is right behind the target partition:

For Case 1, Disk Management and Diskpart can extend the partition efficiently.

For Case 2, you will meet the Extend Volume greyed out error, and the only solution is to use third-party software.

How to Extend Partition in Windows 10/11

This part covers detailed guides on how to extend a partition using Diskpart, Disk Management, and EaseUS Partition Master. Check and follow the guidelines, starting with the Windows system partition expansion.

#1. Using EaseUS Partition Master

Don't worry when the unallocated space is not behind your C drive, or your disk doesn't even have unallocated space. EaseUS Partition Master is a comprehensive hard disk partition management software that supports extending system partitions on Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP 32-bit and 64-bit Operating Systems. Your data is completely protected during the whole process. 

You may follow the respective guide here to extend your system drive in Windows 10 successfully and efficiently.

1️⃣Tutorial 1. Extend Partition with Unallocated Space

If the partition to extend is on the same disk with the unallocated space, whether they are adjacent or nonadjacent, EaseUS Partition Master can help you extend the partition with this unallocated space.

🛡️Premise: The target partition and the unallocated space are on the same disk.

👍Pros:

• This can extend the partition with the adjacent unallocated space or non-adjacent unallocated space.
• Easy to use without typing any command lines.
• No file system limit - breaks the limit of Disk Management and Diskpart

👎Cons:

• Need to reinstall third-party software.

Here is how:

Step 1. Locate the Target Partition.

Go to Partition Manager, locate the target partition, and select "Resize/Move". Here, I use the "E" drive as an example.

Drag the partition panel rightward or leftward to add the unallocated space into your current partition, or you can click "fill in all unallocated" to allocate all space to the target partition. Then, click "OK" to confirm.

If this method works, share this tutorial to help more of your friends online:

Tutorial 2. Extend Windows 11/10 System Drive without Unallocated Space

When there is no unallocated space on your system disk, what will you do? If you have free and unused space in other partitions on your system disk, you may apply EaseUS Partition Master with its Allocate Space feature to extend your system drive directly.

The Allocate Space feature enables you to allocate free space from other large volumes and add to the C drive without hurting your data. We'll take allocating D drive space to C drive as an example to show you the procedure. Here is how to do so:

Step 1. Right-click on the D: partition with enough free space and select "Allocate Space".

Step 2. Select the target partition - C: drive and drag the partition panel rightward to add the free space from D: drive to C: drive. Then click "OK" to confirm.

Step 3. Click the "Execute Task" button and click "Apply" to start the process of moving free space from D: drive to C: drive.

If your friends are with the same issue here, share this guide to help them immediately:

#2. Using Disk Management

To extend a partition in Windows, you'll generally use the "Extend Volume" feature within Disk Management. This allows you to increase the size of an existing partition by adding contiguous unallocated space from another partition on the same disk. 

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Steps to Extend a Partition:

1. Open Disk Management:

You can access Disk Management by typing "diskmgmt.msc" in the Windows search bar and pressing Enter. 

2. Locate the Partition:

Identify the partition you want to extend. This will likely be your C: drive, but it could be another partition. 

3. Shrink a Neighboring Partition (If Necessary):

If the target partition doesn't have enough contiguous unallocated space, you'll need to shrink a neighboring partition to create the needed space. 

4. Right-Click and Extend:

Right-click on the partition you want to extend and select "Extend Volume". 

5. Follow the Extend Wizard:

The Extend Volume Wizard will guide you through the process. You'll typically select the unallocated space to be added to the partition and specify the amount of space to add. 

6. Finish:

Click "Finish" to complete the process. 

🚩Important Considerations: Contiguous Space: The unallocated space you want to add must be contiguous with (behind) the partition you're extending.  Unallocated Space: If you don't have enough unallocated space, you may need to shrink other partitions or delete them to create the necessary space.  Extended Partitions: If you're working with an extended partition, you can divide it into multiple logical drives.

#3. Using DiskPart

Apart from Disk Management, another Windows built-in tool, DiskPart, also provides a powerful partition management feature to help you extend the system C drive in Windows 11/10.

🛡️Premise:

• The target partition and the unallocated space are on the same disk.
• The unallocated space must be right behind the partition.
• The partition to extend must use the NTFS or ReFS file system.

👍Pros:

• Efficient for advanced users

👎Cons:

• Difficult for beginners
• Easily cause data loss

Note that DiskPart only works when the unallocated space is behind the system C drive on your PC. Here are the detailed steps:

Step 1. Right-click on the Windows icon and select "Search", type: cmd and hit Enter.

Step 2. Type: diskpart and hit Enter. Click "Yes" to open DiskPart.

Step 3. Type the following command and hit Enter each time:

• list volume
• select volume 1 (Replace 1 with the volume number of your system C drive.)
• extend

or the following command:

• list disk
• select disk N (Replace N with the disk number of your system disk.)
• list partition
• select partition 2 (Replace 2 with the number of your system partition.)
• extend size=X disk=N (Replace X with the specific size of the unallocated space, and X is in MB units. Replace N with the disk number of your system disk.)

Step 4. Type: exit to close the DiskPart window when you finish extending the C drive.

Are these solutions to extend the system partition helpful to you? If so, you can share them with your friends who are facing the same problem!

Conclusion

This page includes three partition management tools - EaseUS Partition Master, Disk Management, and DiskPart, to help you effectively extend C drive on Windows 11/10, 8, or even older systems with or without unallocated space. For the easiest and beginner's choice, EaseUS Partition Master is the one you shouldn't miss. 

Here are some tips on how to make full use of your disk space and avoid frequent low disk space errors.

🗝️Bonus Tips on Disk Space Usage: 💡1. Save new files to another drive: Instead of saving all new files to your main drive (usually C:), configure your system to save certain types of files (documents, music, videos) to a different drive with more free space. 💡2. Use cloud storage with Files On-Demand: Services like OneDrive offer a Files On-Demand feature that keeps placeholder files on your computer and stores full files in the cloud.  💡Perform Disk Cleanup: Use built-in tools like Windows Disk Cleanup to delete temporary files, system cache, old update files, and other junk that accumulates over time. 💡Move large files to external storage: Transfer large files such as videos, photos, and backups to external hard drives or USB drives to free up internal disk space. 💡Regularly uninstall unnecessary programs: Remove apps and software you no longer use, especially large ones, to free up significant space.

If you have more questions about extending the partition, you may check the top FAQs below to find direct answers:

1. Can I extend my C drive partition in Windows 11/10?

The answer to "Can I extend my C drive partition in Windows 11/10?"  is yes. EaseUS Partition Master, with Windows Disk Management and DiskPart, will increase your system volume in 4 ways. Check the detailed steps on this page to extend your system partition with ease.

2. How do I extend my Windows partition?

• Open Disk Management and right-click a partition next to your target drive, select Shrink Volume.
• Then, adjust the size you would like to shrink and add to the target partition, click Next, and Finish.
• Then, right-click on the target drive and select Extend Volume.
• Select to add all the unallocated space, and click Next to confirm.
• Click Next and Finish to complete the process.

3. Why is Extend Volume disabled in Windows 11/10?

Three reasons may cause the Extend Volume option greyed out:

1. 1. There is no unallocated space on your hard drive.
2. 2. The target partition is FAT or other file systems, not NTFS. Only NTFS is a configured file system supported on Windows partitions.
3. 3. There is no contiguous unallocated space next to or behind the target partition.

To resolve this issue, you will need to free up unallocated space and leave it next to your target partition. And convert the FAT partition to NTFS.

For more concerned questions, you may use the search option on the top right corner of EaseUS software home page to search and find solutions.