Jean / 2018-01-12
Tracy King / 2018-01-23- EaseUS Freeware
- Free Data Recovery Software
- Free Backup Software
- Free Partition Manager
PAGE CONTENT:
- How to partition a hard drive using Disk Management
- How to allocate a hard drive with a free partition manager
"Hey guys, I've bought a new Asus laptop with Windows 10. But it comes with one single partition on the hard drive, yes, it's C drive. I want to shrink C drive and create new partitions on the hard disk drive. Can you show me how to partition a hard drive on Windows 10 without formatting? I don't want to see any data loss."
Partitioning or managing a hard drive or disk is an unavoidable operation for all Windows users, especially those who have a new computer or a new disk. And this is a challenge for inexperienced users. Here we'll introduce you two methods to partition hard drive in Windows 10 by using the Disk Management tool in Windows 10/8/7 or applying professional free partition software.
How to Partition Hard Drive in Windows 10 Using Disk Management
The simplest way to partition your new or existing hard drive is to use Windows' built-in Disk Management tool. Disk Management is a Microsoft Windows utility first introduced in Windows XP as a replacement for the fdisk command.
If your hard drive has only one C partition as described by the user at the beginning of this article, you can use Disk Management to shrink the C drive and create new simple volumes on the unallocated space with the following guides. Although the following operations are based on Windows 10, they still apply to Windows 8 and Windows 7.
1. Enter into the Windows 10 Disk Management interface.
Use the Windows search box to search for "Disk management" and select "Create and format hard disk partitions" from the results box. Alternatively, use the Windows "power user" menu (Win key + X) and click "Disk management".
2. Right-click the hard drive and select "Shrink Volume". Then, there will be unallocated space.
3. Right-click on the unallocated space and select "New Simple Volume". Enter the New Simple Volume Wizard interface by clicking "Next" and specify volume size.
4. Assign Drive Letter or Path, then format the partition into default file system NTFS. Click "Finish" to complete creating a new partition in Windows 10.
If your PC is well-partitioned, but the C drive is out of space, you can use Disk Management to delete partitions and extend the C drive.
- Tip
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- Deleting partition will cause data loss. You should back up data in the first place.
- It works only if there is unallocated space right behind C drive. Otherwise, you will see "Extend Volume" is grayed out.
If you happen to need to expand the C partition, but don't want to lose data by formatting; or if you need more complicated hard drive managements, like merging partitions, resizing partitions, converting FAT to NTFS, dynamic to basic, or MBR to GPT, you can turn to the professional software - EaseUS Partition Master.
How to Partition Hard Drive on Windows 10 with a Free Partition Manager
EaseUS Partition Master enables you to partition a new hard drive or one you are using by creating, resizing, moving, and merging without formatting.
If there is unallocated space on your disk, you can directly create new partitions as you like. While if your computer has only one C partition, as mentioned above, you can adjust your C drive and then create a new partition on the free space.
How to Create New Simple Volume
Step 1: Launch EaseUS Partition Master
On the main window, right-click on the unallocated space on your hard drive or external storage device and select "Create".
Step 2: Adjust the new partition size, file system, label, etc.
Set the size, partition label, drive letter, file system, etc. for the new partition and click "OK" to continue.
Step 3: Confirm to create a new partition
Click on the "Execute Operation" button and confirm to create a new partition by clicking "Apply".
How to Partition C Drive Without Formatting - Extend C Drive
Step 1: Launch EaseUS Partition Master
Step 2: Increase C drive space
1. Shrink partition to free up unallocated space:
Right-click on a partition next to the C: drive and select "Resize/Move".
Drag either end of the partition to shrink and leave unallocated space behind the system C: drive and click "OK".
2. Right-click on C: drive and select "Resize/Move".
3. Drag the system partition end into unallocated space so to add space to C: drive.
Step 3: Keep all changes to extend C: drive
Click the "Execute Operation" and click "Apply" to keep all changes so to extend the system C: drive.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Why Choose EaseUS Partition Master?
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"I've used Partition Master Professional many times to create, delete, format, move, rename, and resize partitions." —PCWorld
"Partitioning tools have come a very long since the days of complicated command line utilities and EASEUS Partition Master is one of the most advanced programs available." —TECH ADVISOR
"I love that the changes you make with EaseUS Partition Master Free aren't immediately applied to the disks. It makes it way easier to play out what will happen after you've made all the changes." —Lifewire
- Will the "Migrate OS" feature transfer the Windows system files only or the whole C drive?
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To ensure that the migrated system will boot normally, the Migrate OS feature will transfer all the files in the system and the boot partitions. Generally, the boot partition is the C drive so the transfer will include all the files in C.
- Does EaseUS Partition Master license apply to multiple computers?
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The license of Partition Master Professional and Server editions can be used on 1 computer only, while that for for the Technician and Unlimited editions can be used on multiple machines.
- What is the difference between EaseUS Partition Master Trial version and the Free version?
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Free is for home users only, with most basic functions available such as partition resize and clone. While trial can help you understand how this product works and test what a full license can do on a business or server OS machine.
- Will it cause any data loss after resizing the partition in EaseUS Partition Master?
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Generally, it will not cause any data loss or boot issue by resizing a partition. However, in order to protect your data, we suggest that you backup the partition before resizing, in case of any unexpected situations such as power outages, computer hardware failures, etc. You can use EaseUS Todo Backup to backup the partition and its trial version is fully functioned for 30 days.
- What should I prepare before resizing the partition?
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On the partition that is going to be operated, there might be some files being occupied by other programs. To ensure a successful operation, we suggest that you close all the unnecessary software before resizing that partition. Otherwise, EaseUS Partition Master will detect the partition being locked by the other software and require a reboot to resize the partition under boot mode.
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About EaseUS Partition Master
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