How to Increase Disk Size in Windows

A major downgrade to system performance, security, and usability on Windows comes from running out of storage. Manage and expand disk size without getting into low space errors, save the organization of data, and keep the system performance perfect. In this guide, I cover the various approaches you can use to increase disk space across various Windows tools, such as Disk Management, Command Prompt, and PowerShell. You will also find useful troubleshooting tips that will help you have a hassle-free experience.

1. Requirements and Precautions

Step by step disk size increase instructions to be followed before boosting Windows disk size. It can be very risky and turn into a real disaster of an unexpected loss of data if you do not complete these steps correctly, change disk partitions, and resize the volumes. Hence, realizing these milestones is important when making the process, while failure to do so can lead to problems.

1.1 Backup Important Data

Sometimes, changing the disk size and partitions causes data loss due to the process working in an inexact manner. Create a full backup for your important files to avoid any unwanted data loss. You should backup your files on a reliable backup tool on an external drive, or to cloud storage.

1.2 Checking for Enough Disk Space

To expand a volume, you must have unallocated space on your disk. Unallocated space is the portion of the disk that is not assigned to any volume. If unallocated space isn’t available, you may need to create it by shrinking another volume, deleting an unused partition, or moving data to an external drive.

1.3 Understand Disk File System Compatibility

Not all file systems allow certain modifications:

• NTFS (New Technology File System) is more flexible and supports larger disk sizes, as well as most resizing options.
• FAT32 (File Allocation Table 32) has limited support for large partitions. If your drive uses FAT32 and needs resizing, consider converting it to NTFS for greater compatibility.

1.4 Check Compatibility of Windows Versions

Some features and commands are only supported in certain versions of Windows (e.g., Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server). Check that your version supports the command or feature you’re planning to use.

2. Using Disk Management (Graphical Tool)

Disk Management is a user-friendly, built-in Windows tool for managing partitions and is available on most Windows editions.

2.1 Step-by-Step Guide: Extending a Volume in Disk Management

Windows offers the simple process of extending a volume using Disk Management. Integrated Disk Management is an amazing tool that allows you to manage disk partitions without any third-party tools.

1. Access Disk Management:
   • To open Disk Management, press Win + X and select Disk Management from the list.

Alternatively, you can open it by pressing Win, type diskmgmt.msc, and hit Enter. If you’ve installed a previous Windows OS onto your drive, then Disk Management will display all partitions along with the allocated and unallocated spaces on your drives.

2. Locate the Disk and Partition:
   • After accessing Disk Management, you’ll see a list of all available disks and their partitions. Each disk is represented visually with segments indicating the partitions, such as C for the main drive and other labels for additional partitions. Unallocated space, if present, will appear as a separate segment marked as “Unallocated.” 

To extend a specific partition, identify the disk where it is located. Right-click on the partition you’d like to expand Volume and right-click (drive). Then, this will open the Extend Volume Wizard, which gives you the ability to use unallocated space on the selected disk for expansion. Continue through the wizard for the extension process.

3. Using the Extend Volume Wizard:

After you right-click the desired partition and choose Extend Volume, the Extend Volume wizard will show up to help you expand the selected partition. We wanted to make a wizard and make the process simple and intuitive. It will ask and then prompt you to indicate how much free space you want to add to an existing partition. By default, the wizard will use all available unallocated space, but you can adjust this if needed.

Follow the prompts by clicking Next to continue, and finally, select Finish to complete the process. The partition will now reflect the new expanded size.

Disk Selection: 

The next screen you encounter in the Extend Volume Wizard is the one that contains a slot in which you are supposed to choose your disk. This process is done to ensure that you are increasing the correct partition. When the wizard is run, it will then display the available disks, the extension then lists the disks with some unallocated space. Make sure that the disk that you want to extend is listed, and check that it has enough unallocated space.

After confirming the disk, pick it, adjust the size if needed, then click Next from the wizard, no changes will be made to any other disks or partitions by accident.

Size Selection:

In the Extend Volume Wizard, the Size Selection step allows you to specify the amount of unallocated space to add to your existing volume. The wizard displays the maximum available space that can be allocated, but you have the option to use all or only part of it. Please enter the desired amount in megabytes, ensuring it meets your storage needs without overcommitting resources. 

This step gives you control over how much space you extend, which is useful if you plan to keep some unallocated space for other partitions or future needs. Once you’ve entered the amount, click Next to proceed.

Complete: 

Once you have set up your settings in the Extend Volume Wizard, proceed to the last step by clicking on ‘Finish’. This final action writes changes made, joining the specified unallocated space with the selected partition and increasing its size. Once completed, you should see the extended volume reflected in Disk Management with the updated size. 

This step finalizes the process, making the additional space available for use in your operating system. Always double-check the extended volume to make sure it meets your storage requirements before exiting Disk Management.

4. Review Changes:

After completing the extension, it’s important to verify that the volume has expanded as expected. Open Disk Management to review the updated volume size and make sure the changes were applied correctly.

Make sure that the additional space has been added to the extended volume by looking at the partition details. It is critical to this step because if it goes right, it confirms that the fund worked and that the new space is ready to be used. If the expected size still has something to be updated, go back to the procedures or troubleshoot.

2.2 Troubleshooting Common Disk Management Issues

• “Extend Volume” is Greyed Out: 

The problem is that the unallocated space isn’t contiguous with the partition, and it doesn’t have an option to extend the volume (although the drive may be defective if it can’t be detected). It may be resolved by reorganizing partitions with tools such as Command Prompt or with third-party software.

• Lack of Unallocated Space: 

To create unallocated space, shrink an existing partition by right-clicking on it and selecting Shrink Volume. Enter the amount of space to free up, and it will appear as unallocated space next to the partition.

3. Using Command Prompt (CMD)

The Command Prompt provides a text-based approach for resizing disk volumes, which is helpful for those who like to do the work directly in command or in the case of a server for which a graphical interface is unavailable. A power command line utility for managing disks, partitions, and volumes in Windows, Diskpart is used by this method. With Diskpart, users can expand volumes. To get the required permissions, you have to run Command Prompt as an Administrator. The next steps, therefore, show how to expand the disk using Diskpart since the GUI-based disk management tools.

3.1 Diskpart Commands for Disk Expansion

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator:
   • First, type “cmd” in the Windows search bar, right-click on Command Prompt, then click Run as Administrator. This grants elevated permissions necessary for managing system-level changes. Once open, you’ll use Diskpart to access and modify disk information directly.

2. Launch Diskpart Utility:
   • In the Command Prompt, type 

diskpart 

Press Enter to open the Diskpart utility. Diskpart will prompt you with a new line to enter specific commands for disk management. This utility enables users to list, select, and extend volumes on their system.

3. List Available Disks:

To view all available disks on the system, type 

list disk 

In the Diskpart command line, press Enter. This command displays a list of disks with details such as size and free space. Each disk is assigned a number, which helps in identifying the target disk for expansion.

4. Select the Disk:

After identifying the disk, select it by typing.

select disk X 

(replace “X” with the disk number). This command targets the disk you want to modify, allowing further commands to apply specifically to this disk. Diskpart will confirm the selection, indicating that the chosen disk is now active.

5. Display Volumes on the Disk:

To locate the volume you want to extend, use the

list volume

This command lists all partitions (volumes) on the selected disk, showing each volume’s letter, label, and current size. By noting the volume number, you’ll be able to target it precisely for expansion.

6. Select the Target Volume:

With the volume number noted, enter

select volume Y 

(replace “Y” with the volume number). This command enables you to execute expansion commands specifically on this volume. Once selected, Diskpart will confirm that the volume is active for any following operations.

7. Extend the Volume:

Once the correct volume is selected, type

extend

Press Enter to expand the volume using any available unallocated space on the disk. This command allows Diskpart to allocate the unassigned space to the selected volume, increasing its size without affecting the existing data. Diskpart will confirm the extension, showing the updated size of the volume. This process is quick and efficient, making it ideal for expanding storage on the fly. Always verify the changes in Disk Management to make sure that the extension was successful and that the volume now has the desired capacity.

3.2 Troubleshooting Diskpart Issues

• Error: “The volume cannot be extended because the volume was created with another tool.” Some partitions created with non-Windows tools may not extend in Diskpart. Use Disk Management or a third-party tool if this occurs.
• Volume In Use or Locked: If Diskpart cannot modify the system volume because it’s in use, consider Safe Mode or a third-party tool.

4. Using Third-Party Disk Management Tools

Suppose users are looking for a less user-friendly graphical interface. In that case, they have the option of downloading other disk management tools that offer features far beyond the capabilities of Windows’ built-in tools. Such tools possess a feature set including dynamic resizing, drag and drop, and partition merging — good for those who aren’t too comfortable with command line operations. Popular third-party tools include:

Popular Third-Party Tools for Disk Expansion

1. EaseUS Partition Master: Known for its intuitive interface, this tool supports many operations like resizing, cloning, and merging partitions with ease. It’s popular due to its wide range of free features and options for more complex partition management.
   Download from – (https://www.easeus.com/partition-manager)
2. MiniTool Partition Wizard: Offering a free version with important tools, MiniTool Partition Wizard allows resizing, merging, and other disk-related tasks. It’s a reliable option for beginners and professionals needing a simple solution for partition adjustments.

Download from (https://www.partitionwizard.com)

3. AOMEI Partition Assistant: This tool provides drag-and-drop partitioning features, making tasks like resizing, splitting, and moving partitions simple. AOMEI also supports dynamic disk adjustments, helping users manage disk space effortlessly.

Download from (https://www.diskpart.com)

Pros and Cons of Third-Party Tools

• Pros: User-friendly, flexible, and allows resizing without adjacent unallocated space.
• Cons: To access some advanced features, you may have to use a paid version.

5. Troubleshooting Common Disk Extension Issues

5.1 No Unallocated Space Available

You need to create some unallocated space on the disk before extending a volume if there is no unallocated space on the disk. If you need unallocated space, you can shrink an already existing partition with unused space or delete partitions you don’t need anymore. Having done this, make sure that any data contained on the partitions being deleted is backed up; this data will be erased once and for all. Another option is to offload some files to an external drive, thus freeing up space to allow for partition adjustments. Once unallocated space is available, you can proceed with extending the volume in Disk Management or Command Prompt.

5.2 Unextendable System Partitions

The biggest reason is that system partitions (Containing, for example, the Windows OS or boot data) are often restricted from resizing. Errors can occur while attempting to extend these partitions. Third-party disk management tools provide advanced functionality that can be used to resize system volumes, which Disk Management fails to support. Temporarily moving system data around such that they can resize will help these tools, but do this with care and back up the data first. Moreover, make certain that the third-party software you plan to install is compatible with your Windows version, or your system may become unstable, or data could corrupt.

5.3 File System Limitations

Some of them, for example, FAT32, have limitations with maximum partition size and flexibility in resizing. For instance, FAT32 only supports partitions up to 32 GB in Windows, something that could be more practical in the current disk drives. Some of these limitations can be corrected by converting a FAT32 partition to NTFS for the following reasons: NTFS includes larger volumes and has greater flexibility regarding size adjustments. It can be accomplished with the help of the Convert command using Command Prompt, which will convert the disk with retention of data with different file system types. NTFS also has relatively improved security attributes, increased efficiency, and incremental file capacity, thus being more appropriate for major storage purposes.

Conclusion

Consequently, Assume that, like most computer users, you need tips on how to manage disk spaces effectively for the smooth running of your Windows system. As storage is used more, users may require partitioning to increase data storage by taking up the available space. Disk Management in the Control Panel area and Diskpart in Command can be very useful, but for some specific operations, special programs may have to be employed.

They help to avoid such problems as the system is slowing down due to insufficient disk space. Because changes in partitions may lead to loss of data, it is wise to back up data that is essential for tasks. Thus, by adhering to different guidelines, users would be assured their systems are equipped for raising storage needs, which, in effect, prolongs the efficiency of the system.

About the writer

Vinayak Baranwal wrote this article. Use the provided link to connect with Vinayak on LinkedIn for more insightful content or collaboration opportunities.