Edit hard drive partitions. How to change disk size: instructions with a free program for any Windows. Disk management programs

Existing primary partitions and logical drives can be reduced in size by using adjacent free space on the same drive. For example, if there is a need for an additional partition but no additional disks are available, you can shrink the existing partition from the end of the volume to create unallocated space that can be used for the new partition. The compression operation may be blocked by the presence of certain file types (see "What to Consider Also" for more information).

When you shrink a partition, all simple files are automatically moved to another area of the disk to free up additional space. There is no need to format the disk to shrink the partition.

Note: If the partition is an unformatted partition (that is, without any file system) containing data (such as a database file), then shrinking the partition may destroy the data

Start- right-click Computer- choose Control. Select an item Shrink Volume

Follow the instructions. It is advisable to leave the size of the main partition at least 40 GB. After compression, a new unallocated partition will appear that will need to be formatted.

Note: Only basic volumes that do not have any file system or have a file system can be compressed NTFS

What should also be considered

When you shrink a partition, some files (such as the page file or shadow copy storage area) cannot be moved automatically, limiting the partition shrinkage to the point where the non-movable files are located. If the compact operation fails, check the Application log for event 259, which indicates an unmovable file. If you know the clusters or cluster associated with the file that is interfering with the compression operation, you can also enter the command at the command prompt fsutil(enter fsutil volume querycluster /? to view the syntax). When setting the parameter querycluster the result of the command points to an unmovable file that is preventing the compression operation from being performed.
In some cases, you may be able to temporarily move this file. For example, if the file you're moving is a page file, you can use Control Panel to move it to another drive, shrink the volume, and then move the page file back.
It is not possible to shrink a partition if too many bad clusters are detected during dynamic reassignment of bad clusters. If this happens, you should move the data and replace the drive. Do not use block-level copying to migrate data. This will cause the bad sector table to be copied and the new drive will treat the sectors as bad even though they are healthy.
You can shrink primary partitions and logical drives on partitions that do not have any file system or on partitions that do have a file system NTFS.

Enlarging the main partition

A logical disk is expanded by contiguous free space on the same secondary partition that contains it. If there is not enough free space on a partition to expand the logical drive, the partition is increased in size to accommodate the logical drive.

For logical disks, boot volumes, or system volumes, you can only expand a volume into contiguous disk space and only if the disk can be converted to dynamic. For other volumes, it is possible to expand into non-contiguous disk space, but with the condition that the disk will be converted to dynamic.

Open Disk Management Environment: Start- right-click Computer- choose Control. Select the item, right-click on the main section and Extend Volume. Follow the instructions.

Creating, deleting and formatting computer disk partitions is only part of the possibilities hard drive management applications. Today, they make it possible to securely perform operations that previously required data deletion or other mind-boggling combinations.

Many of the tasks performed through the Partition Manager can, in theory, be accomplished using Windows' built-in Disk Management tool. However, it is not as intuitive as the programs discussed here.

A good disk management application consists of several modules. They are used to create, delete and format partitions. Apart from these features, they also have features for copying and moving partitions, creating images and creating backups.

Additional modules support system migration, merging and splitting partitions. Supports various partition schemes, dynamic disks, RAID configurations, various file systems and boot records.

Attention! Whenever you work with hard drive partitions, you need to plan everything carefully, back up your data, and make sure you select the correct hard drive or partition before pressing Enter.

Attention! All operations carried out on partitions are fraught with risks. The editors recommend extreme caution and are not responsible for possible loss of data or other damage incurred by readers.

EaseUS Partition Master Disk Management

One of the most popular programs for managing hard drive partitions in Windows. Ensures the allocation of new partitions without data loss.

Benefits of EaseUS Partition Master

Easy conversion of partition type, primary to logical and vice versa
Recovers deleted or non-existent partitions
Supported hard drive capacity up to 8 TB

Flaws

Inability to transfer data from HDD to SSD in the free version

License: freeware
Price: free

AOMEI Partition Assistant Disk Management

Also popular. Creates, divides, connects, copies hard drive partitions, changing their size, while saving files. System transfer is possible.

Benefits of AOMEI Partition Assistant

Convenient wizards for every operation
Supports all the most popular file systems
Displays accurate information about supported media
Allows you to create a bootable CD with the application

License: freeware
Price: free

Disk Management in GParted

A tool for managing computer hard drive partitions. Distributed as an ISO file. Install it on a flash drive or burn it to a CD and start your computer from it.

Benefits of GParted

Does not require installation and does not take up disk space
Attractive free offer for companies
Wide range of partition management capabilities for almost any file system

Flaws

Mastery takes time
Only available via Live CD

License: freeware
Price: free

MiniTool Partition Wizard

Performs all operations with hard disk partitions and also hides it. Copying the contents of the disk and changing the file system.

Advantages of MiniTool Partition Wizard

Lots of tools, including disk cleaning and checking
Convenient visual wizard for each operation
Allows you to convert NTFS to FAT32 without formatting, change the disk type from MBR to GPT

License: freeware
Price: free

Active@ Partition Manager

Performs operations on disk partitions. Formats the flash drive in FAT32 and NTFS. Fixes MBR disks. Converts MBR to GPT and vice versa.

Benefits of Active@ Partition Manager

Disk Imaging Tool
Convenient wizard for creating and changing partitions
Built-in boot sector editor, allows you to manually make changes
Shows data for hard drives

Flaws

English only

License: freeware
Price: free

In this article I will tell you how to change the disk size on your computer. To implement this method, I will use one simple and free program, which can be downloaded here, and I will show you how to use it and what capabilities it has.

The method we will discuss is suitable for all versions of Windows and all types of hard drives. Immediately, I'll get to the point.

How to change disk size

First of all, download AOMEI Partition Assistant from the link below. It is in Russian and free.

Install the program and open. You will see an interface in which you can perform various operations with the hard drive.

On the left side of the program are the hard drives that are detected on your computer, as well as their graphical representation. On the right are the operations that can be done with them. At the top are the control buttons.

AOMEI Partition Assistant works simply: select the disk, select the operation, and click "Apply" at the top of the program.

The program has the following features:

Can change the size of the disk - increase or decrease, and also move content from one part of the hard disk to another. This is perhaps the most important function of this tool.
Copying the contents of the hard drive. Useful for backup archiving.
Can rename local disk.
Change drive letter.
Hide hard drive partition.
Checking the hard drive for errors and fixing them. Occurs by means

To make it clearer how to use this, I will show you an example. Let's say you need to change the disk size.

Select with your mouse the disk whose size you want to resize.

Click on the "Resize" option.

A window will appear with a scale on which you can change the disk size with the mouse or write the desired value in the appropriate field. Select the size you need and click "OK".

Please note that if you want to increase the size of the disk rather than decrease it, then on the right side of the scale there should be free space that is not occupied by another adjacent partition. If this space does not exist, then you first need to perform a procedure to reduce the size of the adjacent partition.

When all operations have been created, click the Apply button.

For normal and stable operation of the operating system of any personal computer or laptop, it is necessary to correctly partition the space on the hard drive (partition the HDD). Often, when buying a computer in a store, you may encounter the fact that the entire hard drive space is allocated to only one system drive (usually the system drive “C”). This setting for HDD memory allocation is not entirely correct. In addition, this can negatively affect the operation of the computer, because important documents and system files may be at risk of disappearing (it is recommended to use a separate partition on the hard drive for such data).

Therefore, in order to avoid any troubles associated with improper use of the computer’s HDD memory, it is customary to split it into several additional partitions (disks), one of which is usually allocated for the needs of the operating system. Nevertheless, it should be remembered that the process of partitioning a hard drive itself is a very responsible and scrupulous procedure. Before starting it, it is recommended to back up all important documents to a USB flash drive or other storage medium, and then proceed directly to changing the size of the disk space.

So, in order to partition your hard drive, you have to go through several step-by-step procedures. First of all, you should select the disk partition that needs to be divided into subpartitions. After this, you must specify the size of the new partition that you want to create, indicating the file system type. Having gone through all these points, you can start the HDD partitioning procedure itself. As a result of successful completion of this operation, the program will display a list of changes made. It is also worth noting that most modern programs for working with hard drives will help you not only partition the HDD, but also merge them, perform deep formatting and other complex procedures.

The hard drive in your computer and the drive icon in the My Computer window are different concepts. For example, a computer may have one hard drive installed, while there may be several of them in “My Computer”. The reason for this strange discrepancy is that the hard drive can be divided into so-called partitions. This is called logical disk layout.

I will talk about why such markup is needed, how to do it correctly (and whether it should be done at all), and also tell you about free programs for such a delicate procedure.

Why do you need to partition your hard drive?

There are several reasons to partition a hard drive:

Partitions on a hard drive are primarily needed for proper storage of information. For example, some users prefer the following division: operating system and programs on one disk (usually C), documents - on the second ( D), photo archive on the third ( E) and so on. In this case, there may well be only one hard drive.
If you have one hard drive, but want to have two or more operating systems, you will have to divide the hard drive into partitions, since Windows and other operating systems can only be installed on different partitions or hard drives.
Manufacturers of laptops (and some computers from famous manufacturers such as Acer) have their own reason for dividing hard drive partitions: on a section that is visible as a disk C, Windows installed, second ( D) is completely empty, and the third (which is not visible in any way in the “My Computer” window) stores a compressed copy of the partition C. This hidden partition of the hard drive is called recovery partition. If something happened to the operating system (“Windows crashed” - as some users like to say), then when you turn on the laptop, just press a key combination (see which one - see the instructions for the laptop) and a special program will clean the disk C, then unpacks the contents of the hidden partition there. As a result, the user will receive a laptop with the programs that were originally on it at the time of purchase in the store. Disk D however, it will not be changed. The conclusion suggests itself: if you store all documents on a laptop with such a recovery system not on drive C, A only on D, you can restore damaged Windows with a new one at any time, without losing your important data. By the way, any advanced user can make such a recovery system for themselves, but I’ll tell you about it some other time.
The Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems, when installed on a blank, “unpartitioned” hard drive, create a hidden partition of 100-350 megabytes in size. This small partition stores a bootloader designed, oddly enough, to boot Windows. This partition will not exist or its contents will be damaged - and the computer will not start the operating system, displaying the message “Boot fail”, “Cannot find boot device”, “Boot error” or similar on a black screen, the meaning of which is the same - the boot disk with operating system. Actually, the bootloader can be stored on disk C:, and/or in hidden sectors of the hard drive (outside partitions), but the developers decided in Windows 7/8 to use a separate hidden partition in order to somehow protect the boot loader from damage by other programs, viruses or the user.
There are other reasons for partitioning a hard drive. For example, for the GNU/Linux operating systems to work correctly, several sections must be created, but this is the topic of a separate article; we will not consider them here.

So, The main reasons for partitioning a hard drive are: for the convenience of storing information, for installing several operating systems, for operating a recovery system, for storing the Windows 7/8 bootloader.

A little theory: file systems, partition types

Information about partitions (i.e. logical drives) is stored in a "partition table". Each logical drive can have its own file system. You can read more about all this in the Wikipedia articles: Disk partition, Logical disk, File system. A novice user only needs to know the bare minimum:

If you divide your hard drive into logical drives (partitions), Disk capacity will not increase- there’s simply nowhere to find free space! You can make partitions of any size, but in total they cannot be larger than the capacity of the real hard drive. Less please. Then you will have unallocated free space, not visible in My Computer, from which you can get one or more new partitions. This is a question I often get from newbies, so I put it first.
Exist primary (main) And extended (additional) sections. One hard drive cannot have more than four main partitions (see the links above for why this is so), so they came up with an extended partition - this is a primary partition that can include any number of partitions. As a result, thanks to the extended partition, the hard drive can have any number of partitions - tens, hundreds.
Each partition can have its own file system. At the moment, only NTFS can be used to install Windows Vista, 7 and 8, and the outdated Windows XP can be installed on disks with the FAT32 file system. However, I do not recommend doing this, as it imposes too many restrictions. Make all partitions in NTFS - everything will work as it should.
Any hard drive must be partitioned one way or another. In one or more logical drives - it's up to you. When purchased, the hard drive is usually already partitioned into one partition - this is what the manufacturer decided. If you are satisfied with this way of organizing information, leave it alone.
It is very undesirable to partition the disk in laptops - most of them have hidden recovery partitions that can be damaged (see point 3 of the previous chapter).
If you bought a 2 terabyte hard drive, but in “My Computer” it is “only” 1.86 terabytes (1860 gigabytes), then do not rush back to the store. It's all about how manufacturers and Windows calculate the volume. Read more about this in the Wikipedia article Hard Drive. The larger the size of the hard drive, the more clearly it is clear that there are fewer real gigabytes.
Sections can be delete, create, move(change their physical position on the disk), resize them, format them, convert them file systems on partitions from one to another. Moreover, many programs can do this while saving all the data. There are other operations, but novice users most often need the above.
If there is an error during the process of changing partitions (see point 7), information is almost always lost. Yes, it can be restored (or part of it) with special programs with the participation of specialists, but it is best to save all important information in advance on other drives (not logical drives, but real drives) or flash drives, so as not to pay money for data recovery.

Disk Management in Windows

Windows has a standard partition changer - " Disk management". Depending on the version of Windows, the capabilities of this program change slightly, but in general over the past years (if we talk about Windows Vista, 7, 8) there have been no major changes. Windows XP looks more modest in this regard - apart from formatting and changing the drive letter, there is little that can be done there.

As an example I’ll take “ Disk management» Windows 7. You can open this program in several ways:

The simplest one is to right-click on the line Computer on the menu Start- select an item Control- in a new window select Disk management.
Opening Control Panel - Administration - Computer management - Disk management.
Click Start - Execute(or the Win+R key combination) - enter in the window that opens diskmgmt.msc- press OK.

Disk management looks like that:

Here you can see both physical disks (including DVD drives, flash drives and other devices for storing information) and logical ones, i.e. virtual - hidden partition of the Windows 7 boot loader, disks C And D. The number of disks on your computer may vary.

Basic actions are available by right-clicking on the desired section:

The list of actions is quite meager:

Items Open, Conductor allow you to view the contents of disks
Make the section active- indicate on which disk (partition) the bootloader is located. In Windows 7 and 8, this is a system-reserved partition. You cannot make another partition active - the operating system will stop loading.
Change drive letter or drive path- you can change the drive letter displayed in the Computer window or display it as a folder. Yes, partitions can be displayed not only as disks, but also as folders on any disk.
Format- you can read about this in the Wikipedia Formatting article. The item opens a window with which you can start high-level formatting.
Extend Volume- if there is space on the hard drive that is not marked as a partition, then you can expand the partition size using this free space.
Shrink Volume- this item allows you to reduce the size of the partition. The result will be the formation of unallocated space, which can be used to expand the volume of another section (see the previous paragraph).
Delete volume- delete the section. Don't click on an item without thoroughly considering the consequences. If you delete a partition, the information on it can only be saved with the help of special programs, and even then not always.
Properties- a properties window will open with information about the selected disk (partition).

Of course, this is not a complete list of possibilities. Disk Management. You can create dynamic disks, for example. However, this is of no use to novice users; this article is intended specifically for them.

So, to create, delete, resize partitions via Disk management, you only need three menu items: Expand Volume, Shrink Volume, Delete Volume.

All operations take place in real time, i.e. after clicking the desired item and answering the question in the affirmative - do we want to do this - the actual action occurs.

Do not forget that there is a risk of failure, due to which we could lose either one partition or all of them. This applies primarily to computers with a large number of unnecessary programs - each of them may be the culprit in deleting all data. Moreover, the scenario is when you need to change the partition from which Windows is launched (usually this is the disk C), is the worst - most often users experience problems when they try to change the system partition.

To minimize the risk of failure, There are three methods:

Insert the hard drive into another computer and change partitions from it by running Disk management or any other program for changing partitions. Due to the fact that Windows will be launched from another drive, no programs will go onto the foreign drive, interfering with a critical operation.
Boot from a Live CD - the operating system and programs will be launched not from the hard drive, but from a CD or DVD, flash drive - again, nothing will interfere with changing partitions.
To change partitions, use a program that can work in Native mode. For example, disk check C always works in this mode - a black window with white text before loading the Desktop. In this mode, a minimum number of programs are launched and the risk of failure is minimal.

The third option is the simplest, because the user essentially does not need to do anything - just restart the computer and wait a few minutes. The following two review programs can do this.

A free hard drive partitioning program for home use.

By clicking on a section (it doesn’t matter - in the list at the top, on the picture below), you can see a menu (both a pop-up and in the left panel) with all the required actions:

Resize/Move partition- resize the partition and/or move its physical position on the disk. By the way, the official website says that EaseUS Partition Master version Home (free) does not support changing partitions. This is not true - everything works great.

Copy partition- copy the partition to another disk with all the information on it.

Merge partitions- merging two or more sections. Convenient if you need to save information on your hard drive, but reduce the number of partitions. Convert to logical/primary- conversion to logical (extended)/main (primary) partition.

Change label- change the disc label.

Change drive letter- change the drive letter.

Defragment- launch a standard Windows program to defragment the disk.

Check partition- checking the disk for errors using, again, a standard Windows program.

Hide partition- make sure that the partition is not visible in the “Computer” window.

Delete partition- deleting a section.

Format partition- partition formatting.

Wipe partition- clearing the contents of the section. All folders and files will be deleted, the partition will remain. Information deleted in this way cannot be restored.

Explore partition- view the contents of the section.

View properties- see how much space is occupied on the partition, what file system it has, and find out other technical information.

The list of actions changes depending on where you click. In the screenshot above, I clicked on the non-system section. By clicking on the system partition (where Windows is running), there will be no delete, hide, or cleanup options. If you click on the physical disk icon, the list of actions will be completely different:

I will list the points:

Copy disk- the contents of the entire disk are copied: partitions, information in them. To do this, you need a second disk of the same or larger capacity.

Upgrade disk- the function is primarily needed to transfer Windows to a new, larger hard drive. The partition is copied and increased in size in proportion to the size of the new hard drive.

Delete all partitions- delete all sections.

Wipe disk- the same as the previous paragraph, only with special deletion algorithms, making it impossible to restore the information.

Surface test- checking the disk surface (physical). Allows you to detect bad sectors (so-called “bads”, “bad blocks”).

View properties- display information about the disk.

Yes, knowledge of English is clearly required here, especially considering that almost every item opens a window with settings for the action being performed. After you have made the necessary manipulations, you need to apply the changes by pressing a button Apply(Apply):

Only then will the partition changes begin. This process may take some time - from a couple of minutes to several hours.

Depending on whether the system partition is affected or not, operations are carried out either immediately in the window, or you will need to restart the computer and start changing the partition in Native mode:

The program has so many functions that it is impossible to list them all. I recommend that you read the help for EaseUS Partition Master. It is in English, unfortunately, but you can use Google Translator. The translation is quite understandable.

Pros of EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition:

Lots of functions.
All actions are “virtual” until you click the Apply button. This means that you can cancel operations before this “point of no return” and try to do something else with the partitions. Or don’t do it at all if you change your mind.
Works stably and predictably. For example, during testing, while changing partitions, I started copying files to the partition that was to be changed. Result - a window appeared stating that it was not possible to lock the partition, all operations were interrupted, the data did not disappear anywhere.
The program is free for home use.

Cons of EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition:

The interface is in English only.
There are, perhaps, too many possibilities - this can confuse beginners.
A serious failure during the operation will lead to serious consequences.
For example, if you turn off the computer while changing a partition, the data on the partition will disappear. However, this is a minus of absolutely all programs for changing partitions.

Conclusion: the program is good. You can and should use it; there is no alternative among free programs.

Paragon Partition Manager 11 Free

Free program for changing partitions from a company based in Russia. Unfortunately, the program is in English. What made the developers take such a step is unclear. Moreover, the paid version of the program is Russian.

The main window of the program is no different from the window of the hero of the previous review, except that the buttons have changed their order:

Deserves special mention Express Mode(Simplified mode). By clicking on this button, we will get a window with a list of the most common actions:

One could say that this is an ideal mode for beginners, if not for one “but”: everything here is in English. Moreover, I had a suspicion that the English here was somehow incorrect, as if it was not a person who was translating, but a machine.

Pros of Paragon Partition Manager 11 Free:

Many windows are clear enough to understand the functions.
Some operations are carried out immediately in the program window, some (if required) in Native mode. That is, the program does everything to reduce the chance of data loss.
The program is free to use at home.

Cons of Paragon Partition Manager 11 Free:

English-language, and due to the strange construction of phrases it is quite difficult to perceive.
The simplified Express Mode works exactly the opposite: firstly, the descriptions of operations and the operations themselves have more technical subtleties than is required; secondly, this mode is very capricious and does not really work, producing meaningless errors.
The program is too slow. For example, deleting a 38 GB hard drive partition took me about 5 minutes - quite long for such a simple operation.

Conclusion: The program works, but somehow it is unpredictable. I do not recommend using this program, fortunately there is an alternative in the form of EaseUS Partition Master Home.

Changing partitions during installation of Windows 7, 8, 10

This tool also deserves a mention.

Take any installation disk with Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8 or 10, start installing the disk, go to the partition selection and click Disk setup:

It seems that everything is simple: you need to click on a section in the list, then the action button. Unfortunately, there is little action here: deletion, formatting, partitioning and expansion.

You can, for example, delete a partition and, using the freed up space, increase the size of another partition or partitions (when selecting the desired partitions, you must press the Delete and Expand buttons in turn).

Alas, a very popular operation - reducing the size of partitions - is not here. You can delete the partition, then re-create a new one with a smaller partition, but, unfortunately, we will lose the data.

All operations take place in real time, i.e. after pressing the button, the action occurs.

Result: editing partitions during Windows installation is an extremely primitive tool. It works, but performs only a limited list of actions, among which the only one that saves data is increasing (expanding) the size of the partition. If you need to install Windows and do not need to save data on partitions, then the tool will come in handy.

If you suddenly accidentally deleted a partition during Windows installation or through some program, do not despair - the partition recovery function is included in EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition.

In order to recover a deleted hard drive partition, don't touch the partitions, immediately boot into Windows (or insert the hard drive into another computer if you deleted the system partition and booting Windows is impossible), then run the above-mentioned program, click on the line with the word in the list Unallocated("Unallocated"), then click the button Partition recovery.

The rest, as they say, is a matter of technique - the action wizard will tell you where to click, where to check the boxes, and then restore your deleted disk.

Tip #2: Installing two or more Windows operating systems on one hard drive

All you need for this is several sections. If your hard drive already has a second partition that is visible in the " Computer" - make sure that there is at least 20 GB of free space (more is better), then during Windows installation simply specify this second (third, fourth, etc.) disk. Once installed, you will be able to select Windows using a menu that appears when you turn on your computer.

If you have one disk ( C), I suggest the simplest option: Through Disk management give it to the section first WITH team Compress, reducing it by at least 20 gigabytes (or better yet, more, because in addition to Windows you will also be installing programs):

Right click on drive C...

After pressing the button Compress disk size C decreases, unallocated (free) space appears in the partition map:

We indicate unallocated space. The installer will create the partition itself.

After installation, you will have two operating systems. You can create unallocated spaces or empty disks and indicate them for installation.

Thanks to reader Vladimir for raising this topic.

You may have noticed that in the screenshots of the Disk Management window, all partitions are marked with a blue stripe. You may have sections with green stripes. What is the difference between blue and green sections?

A green bar in Disk Management is a sign of an extended (additional) partition. As I wrote above, there may be “nested” sections inside, which from the user’s point of view are no different from the main (primary) ones. Nested partitions have one peculiarity - if you reduce their size, then due to the free space that appears, you will not be able to simply expand the main partition. You must first shrink the extended partition itself (which stores free space and the reduced partition) so that free space is created outside of any partitions, only then can you expand the disks.

Standard Disk Management does not work well with extended disks, so if you see green marks instead of blue ones, it is better to use the free programs above - they will reduce the extended partitions, move the free space where necessary and expand the main disk.