How to increase the size of your hard drive in Windows 7. Methods for expanding the memory on the drive with. Using the MiniTool Partition Wizard Free program
Probably, every user has encountered such a paradox that no matter how huge the volume of the C drive is, the day comes when there is a catastrophic lack of space on it.
And then the question arises: is it possible to increase the volume of drive C painlessly for the system and for all stored data and how to do it correctly?
How to increase the size of drive C is a pressing problem for many users
This article is intended to answer this question. But first, let’s look at why space on drive C is starting to run out.
Why is there not enough space on drive C?
The fact is that the operating room Windows system has such an unpleasant feature as an increase in the volume of its logical volume occupied after a certain time.
In this case, all files, both temporary and system, are subject to growth. And this happens with all versions of the OS - Windows 7, 8 and 10.
Of course, at first we try to free up space by deleting unnecessary files or cleaning the disk, but still there comes a moment when there is nothing left to delete, and the volume continues to be sorely lacking.
Disk C is completely full - an unpleasant but fixable situation
This situation has a very negative impact on our computer.
There is little disk space left - urgent action needs to be taken
– it often begins to crash and glitch, bringing us a lot of inconvenience, such as a decrease in PC performance and a slowdown in its speed.
The fullness of the disk also affects the security of the system; the risk increases that at the most inopportune moment during hard work at the computer, the program we need will crash.
3 ways to increase the capacity of drive C
Method 1. Free up space on drive C using a system utility
Windows 7, 8 or 10 operating systems have a standard Disk Management utility that allows you to view and change partitions hard drive at our discretion.
Finding it is quite simple by following the instructions below:
- Click right click mouse on the “Computer” icon and in the dialog box that opens, select “Management”.
On the "Computer" icon, right-click and select "Manage"
In the menu that appears, find the “Disk Management” utility and click on it.
Find and launch the Disk Management utility
This program provides us with the opportunity, at our discretion, to manage all devices designed to save data - logical drives, flash memory, CD-ROM.
Using this utility, we can easily transfer the amount of free space from local disk D to drive C, that is, increase the size of the system disk on which we have installed the Windows 7 operating system (8 or 10).
Before transferring free space, let's determine how much free space we have on drive D, how much we need for our local drive C, and how much we can transfer.
Now, in order to transfer this freed space to the system volume, right-click on it and select the “Extend volume” function in the menu that opens.
To transfer the freed space to our disk, select "Extend volume"
Now we press the “Compress” command, after which the system provides us with information about the freed up free space, which we redirect to drive C.
We now have information about the freed up space, which we can now transfer to the system drive C
In the field that opens, indicate the size in MB of the space that we intend to transfer. After this action, the system will poll the volume and provide you with the result in the following form:
We determine the amount of space required for compression and indicate this value in the appropriate field
In order to free up the volume of our disk, right-click on it and click on the “Shrink volume” option.
Right-click on drive D and select the “Shrink volume” function
So we launch special program"Volume Expansion Wizard" Click “Next” and in the proposed window we determine the amount of space that we are going to add.
Launch the "Volume Expansion Wizard" and decide on the size that we are going to add
After all the manipulations done, we reboot our computer.
Method 2. Increase the capacity of the system disk using the Aomei Partition Assistant program
One of the most universal and well-proven programs for reliable and simple controls partitions of our disks is free program Aomei Partition Assistant.
Aomei Partition Assistant - a universal program for working with hard drive partitions
This application allows the user to do the following:
Aomei Partition Assistant program is a universal and useful program for each user
- Create and delete hard disk partitions.
- Change the amount of free space.
- Format hard disk partitions.
- Merge, split and move or copy partitions, including to another hard drive or SSD.
Step 2: Install Aomei Partition Assistant
After launching the installation file, select the language (Russian) and follow the prompts of the installation wizard.
We install the Aomei Partition Assistant program, following the Wizard’s prompts
It should be noted that the program is distributed free of charge for private and commercial use.
Step 3. Launch Aomei Partition Assistant
After the installation is complete, a very convenient interface opens in Russian, where all the disks of our computer with all partitions are displayed.
The simple and convenient interface of the Aomei Partition Assistant program allows you to effectively work with all computer disks
Step 4. Increase the size of drive C at the expense of drive D
Let's take a closer look at how you can increase the space of volume C at the expense of volume D without losing data.
So, we carry out actions according to the instructions:
Right-click on drive D and select the “Resize partition” function;
Right-click on partition D and click the "Resize partition" option
In the console that opens, we can easily change the disk volume just using the mouse by hovering the cursor over the control points, as shown in the photo;
Partition size can be easily changed using breakpoints
Click “Ok” and open system volume C in the same way and increase its volume using free space;
By analogy with D, we work with drive C, changing its volume at our discretion
After completing all manipulations with the disks, in the top panel of the main menu, click the “Apply” option;
After all the actions have been completed, click on the “Apply” function in the top toolbar.
- Next, you may need to perform, as a rule, two reboots, after which we get the desired result - an increased size system C-drive by reducing drive D without losing any data.
Method 3. Resizing the disk with MiniTool Partition Wizard Free
Partition Wizard is a convenient and easy-to-use application
The program, like the previous application, is shareware and does not require any additional knowledge other than the skills of an ordinary PC user.
However, it has one small drawback - the lack of a Russian-language interface. Which, however, is compensated by its simplicity and accessibility. In addition, work in MiniTool Partition Wizard Free
is very similar to working with the Aomei Partition Assistant program discussed above.
After installing Partition Wizard, we see the same simple interface, which makes using programs easy even without Russian-language settings.
A simple interface makes it easy to work in the program even without a Russian interface
Resizing disks also occurs in a similar way to the program described above. In the same way, using checkpoints we can easily change the size of the volume, due to the available free space.
Regulation of added disk space occurs in the same way in a simple way
After we have completed all the operations to increase the volume of system drive C at the expense of volume D, the result will be immediately available to us in Explorer.
I hope these simple methods will help you easily and quickly solve the problem of increasing the size of one disk at the expense of another without losing data.
Video on the topic
Question from a user
Hello. Not long ago I ran out of space on my Windows disk - and the error “Insufficient space on the system partition of the disk, this may be the reason” began to appear in the tray next to the clock. The fact is that the C:\ drive actually has little space - only 30 GB, but the other D:\ drive has 420 GB (about 200 GB free). Is it possible to increase the size of drive C at the expense of drive D without losing data?
PS Laptop Acer Aspire 5550, Windows 8 system, 500 GB hard drive (Seagate, if I'm not confused).
Hello.
Most often, you have to change the disk size when, when installing Windows OS, you incorrectly calculated the required size of the system disk (also when buying a PC - often the disk is not very conveniently divided: either there is only one partition with Windows, or the size of the system partition is very small).
In general, a similar operation to resize partitions can be done even without installing additional programs, if you have Windows 7, 8, 10 installed (if XP, use the link to special software for formatting and partitioning hard drives, link below).
I’ll show you with a specific example where and how to press ☺.
Programs for working with hard drives (partitioning, formatting, defragmentation, etc.) -
Increasing the capacity of the C:\ drive
(Relevant for Windows 7,8, 10. Without loss of data and additional programs)
Important: to increase the size of the C:\ drive - you must have free space
on some other partition of the disk (part of which we will take)
♣
1) Disk management
Modern Windows operating systems have a built-in utility program for formatting and partitioning disks. It's called - disk management . Of course, the first thing you need to do is open it.
To do this, press the button combination Win+R.
Then the required utility should start...
Disk Management
♣
2) Separate part of the free space
Now we need to select a disk partition that has free space and “take away” it to subsequently attach the taken space to the “C:\” drive.
To do this, right-click on the selected partition and select the option (in my example below, I decided to shrink volume H:).
Now you need to specify how much free space you want to take on the disk. In my example below, I took the figure to be 5000 MB (i.e. 5 GB).
After the partition is compressed, you should see unallocated disk space appear (a rectangle with a black stripe on top, see screenshot below). This is the place that can now be attached to another disk partition.
Unallocated area
♣
3) Attach unallocated space to the “C:\” drive
We right-click on the disk to which we want to attach unallocated disk space (in current example- attach to the drive "C:\"), and select the option in the menu "Expand volume" .
Note! If the “Extend volume” option is not active and is grayed out (you cannot click it), read a couple of suggested solutions at the bottom of the article.
Basically, the last step is to agree to the operation by clicking on the “Done” button.
All! Your system disk is now 5000 MB larger. This is Good!
♣
4) What if the expand volume tab on the “C:\” drive is not active?
In some cases, when trying to expand a volume, this option in disk management may not be active (it is simply grayed out and cannot be clicked, example below).
There are two solutions:
- Try removing unnecessary partitions used for recovery. As a rule, this is observed more often on laptops where there are special sections from the manufacturer. In my example below, I'll show you how to remove them so that the Extend Volume feature becomes active. Important! In this case, you will disable the recovery option on your laptop (however, this function is not all that effective and reliable, and rarely helps, but still...).
- Another option is to use special. programs for resizing HDD partitions from this article:
So, let me consider the first case...
You must first run command line from the administrator: to do this, open the task manager (button combination Ctrl+Shift+Esc), then click File/new task , enter CMD and press Enter (example below).
- enter the command and press Enter ;
- next command list disk(all disks in the system will appear, in the example below there is one disk in the system with the identifier "0");
- select disk 0- indicate which disk you need to select. In your case, perhaps instead of “0” you need to indicate the disk identifier that you need (screen with an example below).
Next steps:
- - look at all the partitions that are on this disk;
- select partition 6- select a specific partition on the disk. Please note that instead of “6” you need to indicate your number (make sure that the message “Section X is selected” appears).
List partition (in my case, it was necessary to delete partitions 6 and 8 (used for recovery) in order for the "Extend volume" tab to become active).
And the last command to delete the selected partition is delete partition override. Important! Be careful, this command will delete the selected section, all information from it will be lost!
To delete the next partition, you need to select it again (for example, select partition 8 and then use the command again to remove delete partition overrid ).
Actually, that's all - the problem is solved.
When resizing hard section computer disk, the user may encounter such a problem that the item "Extend volume" in the Disk Space Management tool window will not be active. Let's figure out what factors may cause the specified option to be unavailable, and also identify ways to eliminate them on a PC running Windows 7.
The problem studied in this article can be caused by two main factors:
- The file system is of a type other than NTFS;
- There is no unallocated space on the disk.
Method 1: Changing the file system type
If type file system The partition of the disk you want to expand is not NTFS (for example, FAT), it must be formatted accordingly.
Attention! Before performing the formatting procedure, be sure to move all files and folders from the partition on which you will perform the operation to external media or to another volume of the PC hard drive. Otherwise, all data after formatting will be irretrievably lost.
Method 2: Create Unallocated Disk Space
The method described above will not help you solve the problem with the availability of the volume expansion item if its cause lies in the lack of unallocated space on the disk. It is also important that this area be in the snap window "Disk Management" to the right of the volume being expanded, rather than to the left of it. If there is no unallocated space, it must be created by deleting or shrinking an existing volume.
Attention! It should be understood that unallocated space is not just free space on the disk, but an area not assigned to any specific volume.
You can also create unallocated disk space by shrinking the volume you plan to expand. In this case, it is important that the partition being compressed has the NTFS file system type, since otherwise this manipulation will not work. Otherwise, before performing the compression procedure, follow the steps indicated in Method 1.
In most cases, when the user is faced with a situation, the option "Extend volume" not active in snap-in "Disk Management", the problem can be solved either by hard formatting disk to file NTFS system, or by creating unallocated space. Naturally, the method of solving a problem must be chosen only in accordance with the factor that caused its occurrence.
How to expand a Windows 7 drivewithout using paid programs? When installing operating system, the drive (C:) turned out to be a very small 30GB, and the drive (D:) is much larger, it’s impossible to work like that, I reviewed a lot of information on this topic on the Internet, everyone says there is only one way out - paid hard drive partition managers.
Best regards, Alexander.
How to expand a Windows 7 drive
I am writing this article as a continuation Friends, the article was written a year ago and the ANSWERS to all your technical questions, after reading it, are in our other article - There is a correct opinion that forWindows 7 disk extensions, where the operating system is located, and not only that, you will definitely need unallocated space in front of the volume itself, in which case expansion is very easy to do. But howexpand disk windows 7if there is no space in front of the volume, what should I do?
- Note: Friends, in this article, to expand one disk at the expense of another, we will have to use the Disk Management utility built into the operating system, but it may not be everything and to achieve the goal we will have to first remove one disk, to avoid this, use our new article.
- If things don't work out for you, you can try to expand the space of the partition you need using free manager hard drives. On working with paid programs, we also have an article with using Acronis Disk Director.
Let's try this free solution with you: copy all the data from the partition (D:) to a safe place and delete the partition, then attach as much space as you need to the disk (C:) and re-create the volume (D:), now it will be smaller in size, and section (C:) larger. Launch the program Disk Management on my computer, although my drive letters are different, but we won’t get confused: Start->Computer->Management-> Disk Management. I have three hard drives: Disk 0, Disk 1, Disk 2. Please note Disc 2 , we will work with it, it has a capacity of 232.88 GB, it is divided into two volumes:(D:) with a volume of 47.00 GB and a new volume (F:) with a volume of 185.88 GB. Windows 7 is installed on (D:) , the situation turns out to be similar, there is also little space here.
On the section (F:) there is a lot of space and the files we need are located, copy them, for example, to a portable one hard drive, copied, now (F:) We have a free one.
Delete it, right-click on the section (F:) and choose Delete volume,
If all important data has been copied, click Yes
Appears unallocated space.
Expanding the system disk (D:), don't worry with mine Windows 7 nothing will happen, and neither will yours, right-click on the volume (D:) and select from the drop-down menu Extend Volume.
Appears Volume Expansion Wizard, click next
Now we need to indicate the size we need, I suggest equalizing two volumes, so let’s add to the disk (D:) 90365MB and onwards
Now our system volume (D:) became 135.25GB, which is already good, although they added a little extra.
If, when working with Windows, you are faced with the need to increase the size of drive C at the expense of drive D (or a partition under a different letter), in this manual you will find two free programs for these purposes and detailed guide on how to do this. This can be useful if you receive messages that Windows does not have enough memory or the computer has started to slow down due to the small free space of the system disk.
I note that we are talking specifically about increasing the size of partition C at the expense of partition D, that is, they must be on the same physical hard drive or SSD. And, of course, the space on drive D that you want to attach to C must be free. The instructions are suitable for Windows 8.1, Windows 7 and Windows 10. Also at the end of the instructions you will find a video with ways to expand the system disk.
Another simple, clean and free program to resize hard drive partitions is MiniTool Partition Wizard Free, however, unlike the previous one, it does not support the Russian language.
After launching the program, you will see almost the same interface as in the previous utility, and the necessary steps to expand the system drive C using free space on drive D will be the same.
Right-click on drive D and select context menu“Move/Resize Partition” and resize it so that the unallocated space is “to the left” of the occupied space.
After that, using the same item for drive C, increase its size using the free space that appears. Click OK and then Apply in the main Partition Wizard window.
After all operations on the partitions are completed, you will immediately be able to see the changed sizes in Windows Explorer.
You can download MiniTool Partition Wizard Free from the official website http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html
How to enlarge drive C at the expense of D without programs
There is also a way to increase free space on drive C using the available space on D without using any programs, just using Windows 10, 8.1 or 7. However, this method also has a serious drawback - the data from drive D will have to be deleted (you can first transfer it somewhere if it is valuable). If this option suits you, then start by pressing the Windows + R keys on your keyboard and enter diskmgmt.msc, then press OK or Enter.
The Windows Disk Management utility window will open, in which you can see all the drives connected to the computer, as well as the partitions on these drives. Pay attention to the partitions corresponding to drives C and D (perform any actions with hidden sections, located on the same physical disk, I do not recommend).
Right-click on the partition corresponding to drive D and select “Delete Volume” (I remind you, this will delete all data from the partition). After deletion, unoccupied unallocated space is created to the right of the C drive, which can be used to expand the system partition.
In order to enlarge drive C, right-click on it and select “Expand Volume”. After this, in the Volume Expansion Wizard, specify how much disk space it should be expanded by (by default, everything available is displayed, however, I suspect you will decide to leave some gigabytes for the future D drive). In the screenshot I'm increasing the size by 5000 MB or just under 5 GB. When the wizard completes, the disk will be expanded.
Now the last task remains - to convert the remaining unallocated space to drive D. To do this, right-click on the unallocated space - “create simple volume” and use the volume creation wizard (by default, it will use all the unallocated space for drive D). The disk will be automatically formatted and assigned the letter you specified.
That's it, ready. All that remains is to return important data (if any) to the second disk partition from the backup copy.
How to expand space on the system disk - video
Also, if something is not clear, I suggest step by step video instructions that show two ways to increase the C: drive at the expense of the D: drive in Windows 10, 8.1 and Windows 7.
Additional information
There are others in the programs described useful features which may be useful:
- Transferring the operating system from disk to disk or from HDD to SSD, converting FAT32 and NTFS, restoring partitions (in both programs).
- Creation Windows flash drives To Go in Aomei Partition Assistant.
- Checking the file system and disk surface in Minitool Partition Wizard.
In general, they are quite useful and convenient utilities, I recommend them (although it happens that I recommend something, and after six months the program becomes overgrown with potentially unwanted software, so always be careful. On at the moment time everything is clear).