How to shrink or extend a partition in Windows

Updated: 05/01/2023 by Computer Hope
Windows 10

Creating partitions can be useful for many reasons. For instance, they help section off specific areas on your storage devices for safekeeping. For example, a partition can hold a backup copy of Windows in case you need to reformat your computer. One aspect of partitions you can edit after being created is their size. The following sections show you how to shrink or extend a volume in Microsoft Windows using the Disk Management tool.

How to open Disk Management

Before changing the size of a partition or volume, you need to open the Disk Management utility.

Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7

Method One

From the Windows desktop, press the Windows key, type Create and format hard disk partitions, and then press Enter.

Method two

Right-click the Start menu icon to open the Power User Tasks Menu or press Windows key+X (hold down the Windows key and press X). Then, select Disk Management from the list.

Power User Tasks Menu, Disk Management option.

Windows XP and 2000

  1. Click the Start button.
  2. Click Run.
  3. In the Run text field, type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter.

How to shrink a partition in Windows

This section shows you how to make a partition or volume smaller. Before you proceed, make sure you open Disk Management first.

  1. In the Disk Management window, a list of available storage drives is displayed. For this example, we are working with Secondary Disk (D:).

Disk Management window

  1. Right-click the partition and select Shrink Volume in the drop-down menu.

Shrink Volume selector in Windows 10.

  1. Enter how much you want to shrink the volume (A), and then click the Shrink button (B).

Shrinking a partition using Windows Disk Management.

  1. After the partition is shrunk, there is an Unallocated section of roughly the same size.

Unallocated volume after partition shrink.

  1. When you're finished, close the Disk Management window by clicking Close window icon in Windows 10 in the upper-right corner.

How to extend a partition in Windows

This section shows you how to expand a partition or volume, making it larger. Before you proceed, make sure you open Disk Management first.

  1. Locate the existing partition you want to extend and right-click it. In this example, we are extending Example Volume (D:).

Partition in Windows 10.

  1. Select Extend Volume in the drop-down menu.

Extend Volume selector in Windows 10.

  1. The Extend Volume Wizard launches. Click the Next Next button in Windows. button.
  2. Select how much of the unallocated space you want to extend the partition by (A), and then click the Next button (B).

Extend Volume Wizard in Windows 10.

  1. Click the Finish Finish button in Windows. button.
  2. Your partition is extended and displayed in the Disk Management window with its new size.

Windows Disk Management

  1. When you're finished, close the Disk Management window by clicking Close window icon in Windows 10. in the upper-right corner.