How Can I Resize BitLocker Partition in Windows 10?
About BitLocker partition
BitLocker partition refers to the partition that's locked by BitLocker encryption technology, a full-volume encryption capability that comes standard with Microsoft Windows versions starting from Windows Vista. It interacts with the operating system to protect against data theft or exposure caused by lost, stolen, or improperly retired devices, providing a secure solution to safeguard sensitive information.
The TPM, or Trusted Platform Module, is a hardware component that works with BitLocker to protect user data and ensure that a computer was not tampered with after the system was shut off, providing optimum data security when using TPM 1.2 or later.
Why need to resize BitLocker partition?
BitLocker, a feature that protects data, also presents a problem: users are unable to resize the BitLocker partition via Disk Management without decrypting it first. This can be an issue if the locked drive is almost full of data and you need to extend or shrink the BitLocker partition to free up space for another drive. In such cases, decryption is required before any resizing can be done.
How to resize BitLocker partition in Windows 10?
As we mentioned above, to resize BitLocker partition in Windows, the first part is to unlock it. So, we'll show you how to unlock your Bitlocker partition in Part 1, and in Part 2 we will show you how to resize BitLocker partition.
Method 1. Resize BitLocker partition via Windows tools
▶ Part1. Unlock BitLocker partition
Way 1. Unlock Bitlocker drive in Settings
Step 1. Open Settings and type "encryption", and click "Manage BitLocker".
Step 2. You'll get a popup and choose the drive and click "Turn off BitLocker".
Step 3. Click "Turn off BitLocker" to confirm.
The drive is now unlocked.
Way 2. Unlock Bitlocker drive via CMD
The command to decrypt a Bitlocker drive using the Command Prompt (CMD) is: `manage-bde -off
• manage-bde -unlock d: -password
Then press "Enter" to confirm it.
▶ Part 2. Resize unlocked Bitlocker partition in Disk Management
After manually unlocking the BitLocker partition, you can resize it in Disk Management. To extend the partition, there must be unallocated space next to it, or the extended option will be unavailable.
Step 1. Right-click on "This PC" on your desktop, select "Manage", and click on "Disk Management".
Step 2. Right-click on the partition you want to extend.
Step 3. To increase the size of the target partition, select "Extend Volume" and follow the on-screen instructions to add volume to the partition. If the target partition is the C drive, you may need to restart your computer to complete the process.
Note: If you want to shrink the partition, please choose "Shrink Volume".
Method 2. Easily resize BitLocker partition with a free third-party tool
If you successfully unlock the BitLocker partition, resizing it becomes easier. However, some users may experience issues unlocking the drive even with the correct password. Additionally, some users may find that they cannot shrink the partition by more than half its size or that the "Extend Volume" option is unavailable.
To offer more solutions to resize a BitLock partition in Windows 10, we recommend using Qiling Disk Master Standard, a free Windows disk and partition manager for Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7/XP computers.
The "Resize/Move Partition" function enables users to easily unlock BitLocker partition with a few clicks, allowing them to adjust the partition size or create a new partition on their disk.
To resize the BitLocker partition in Windows 10, open the Disk Management tool by pressing the Windows key + R, typing "diskmgmt.msc" and pressing Enter.
▶ Shrink BitLocker partition
Step 1. Right-click the BitLocker encrypted partition and select "Resize/Move Partition".
Step 2. Drag the bar to resize the partition.
Step 3. Click "Proceed" to confirm the operation.
Step 4. Wait for a while to finish the task.
After shrinking the BitLocker partition, you can use the unallocated space to create a new partition or extend the C drive.
▶ Extend BitLocker partition
To extend the BitLocker partition, you need to have unallocated space adjacent to it, either before or behind the encrypted partition. Alternatively, you can use the "Resize/Move Partition" function to achieve this.
Step 1. Select an adjacent partition of the Bitlocker partition, and choose "Resize/Move Partition".
Step 2. Drag the size to create unallocated space.
1. If the BitLocker partition is on the right of the selected partition, you need to drag it towards the left to create unallocated space before the BitLocker space.
2. If the BitLocker partition is on the left of the selected partition, drag the selected partition to the right to make unallocated space behind the BitLocker partition.
Step 3. After you created unallocated space, now you can select the BitLocker partition and choose "Resize/Move Partition" again.
Step 4. Drag the size to extend the partition.
Step 5. Click "Proceed" to confirm the operation.
When the operation is finished, the BitLocker partition is extended.
Ending
To resize the Bitlocker partition in Windows 10, you can use Qiling Disk Master to unlock and resize it with a simple process, making it more convenient compared to using system built-in tools.
Upgrading to the Professional Edition offers additional features such as GPT/MBR conversion, cloning disk, changing file systems without formatting, and moving installed programs.
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