How Do I Merge Extended Partition to Primary Partition Safely?
Can I merge extended partition to primary partition?
To resolve the low disk space issue on your C drive, you can either merge the free space from D drive to C drive or shrink D drive and add the free space to C drive. To merge, you'll need to convert D drive from an extended partition to a primary partition, which might require reinstalling Windows. Alternatively, you can shrink D drive and add the free space to C drive, but this might not be possible if D drive is too large. It's recommended to use a disk management tool like Disk Management or a third-party software to safely resize partitions without affecting your data. Be cautious when making changes to avoid data loss.
About extended partition and primary partition
On a Master Boot Record (MBR) disk, primary and extended partitions serve a specific purpose. A primary partition is where an operating system can be installed, and a disk can have up to 4 primary partitions. To overcome the 4-partition limit, extended partitions are used, allowing for an unlimited number of logical drives to be created under a single extended partition, with only one extended partition allowed per disk.
Two solutions to the scenario above
After having some knowledge of extended partition and primary partition, it's time to realize the two solutions listed below to the scenario aforementioned:
① Merge two partitions directly and simply via third-party software. ② To free up space on your primary partition C, you can shrink or delete an existing partition to create unallocated space. Once you have the unallocated space, you can then add it to your primary partition C, effectively increasing its size. This process can help you reclaim space on your primary partition and make better use of your disk space.
To combine two partitions in Windows, you can use the built-in Disk Management tool, which allows you to extend a primary partition with unallocated space, but does not directly combine partitions.
To extend a primary partition using Disk Management, you need to delete all logical drives on the extended partition, then delete the extended partition itself to free up unallocated space. This process may require moving the unallocated space to the desired position of the primary partition to be extended. However, be aware that deleting a partition will erase all data on it, so it's crucial to back up important data before proceeding. If this process becomes too complex, it's recommended to use a third-party software like Qiling Disk Master Standard to achieve the desired result.
Professional and reliable disk partition manager
Qiling Disk Master Standard is a powerful disk partition manager that allows you to shrink or extend partitions without data loss, merge unallocated space into existing partitions, and merge adjacent partitions into one, all while working in Windows 10/8/8.1/7, XP, and Vista. This tool can be particularly useful for extending primary partition C, and can be downloaded as a free version.
PS: In case of data loss, backup important data via backup software to prevent loss due to inappropriate operations or events.
Tutorial on how to merge extended partition to primary partition
Step 1. Install and run Qiling Disk Master Standard. In the main interface, right-click C drive and choose "Merge Partitions".
Step 2. To merge a partition, first, open the Disk Management console. Then, select the partition that you want to merge with another one.
Step 3. The D drive has been merged into the C drive, and the D drive is no longer accessible. This change has been confirmed and the operation has been completed.
Notices:
▪ After merging partition D into partition C, a new folder named "Partition D" will be created in partition C.
▪ The data partition can be merged into the system partition, but the system partition cannot be merged into the data partition.
Tutorial on how to extend primary partition C with unallocated space
Step 1. To free up space on your disk, you can run Qiling Disk Master and use the "Shrink partition" feature to create unallocated space. If there is already unallocated space on your disk, you can skip this step.
Step 2. Right-click the primary partition that you need to extend and choose "Resize/Move Partition".
In the third step, extend the partition by dragging the slide bar to the right in the window.
Step 4. To extend the operation, click "Proceed" to implement it.
Conclusion
When your primary partition is almost full, shrinking it might not be the best solution as it only creates free space that can't be used to extend the primary partition, leading to complex operations.
To merge an extended partition to a primary partition securely and effectively, consider using Qiling Disk Master. This tool allows you to shrink a partition and merge it with another, or upgrade to the Professional version to use the "Allocate free space" feature to transfer free space directly from one partition to another, such as keeping D drive while extending C drive.
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