- Shrink Partition Windows 7
- Can't Shrink Partition Unmovable Files
- Move Unmovable Files Windows 10
- Windows 7 Shrink Disk Unmovable Files Download
Open Disk Management and attempt to shrink the system volume. Now you should be able to shrink the drive to the required size as you want. After disabling paging, hibernation and System Restore, I’m now able to shrink the drive by 95% as seen in the above screenshot. Jun 25, 2014 Step 1: Open a command prompt by pressing Win+R and type SystemPropertiesProtection.exe, press Enter. Step 2: Click on the partition you need to resize, if it has Protection set to On. Click Configure. Step 3: Select Disable system protection and click Apply. Step 4: You'll be prompted with a. The reason why Windows won't let you shrink the volume is as the message shown in Disk Management suggested, because there are immovable system files at the very end of the volume. You can use the following tips to work this around. Although the Windows built-in Disk Management utility has an option to shrink the bootable partition, it only allows me to shrink it roughly by half, even though only 20 GiB on the partition is used. As far as I understand, system unmovable files lie in the middle of the partition, preventing Disk Management utility to do what I want.
Removing this file and trying to shrink by 2GB suddenly it worked! I had to do this process iteratively with larger partition shrink sizes and after about 5 shrinks I had 100GB unallocated disk space. Oh, and all the unmovable files were old backup files on my university One-Drive directory.
This article introduces how to shrink C drive with Windows 7 shrink volume function, and the solution if cannot shrink system partition with unmovable files or not enough space.
Applies to: Windows 7 32bit (x86) and 64bit (x64).
Content:
If you forget to create and edit partition when installing Windows 7 on a new disk, so all disk space except the system reserved partition is occupied by C drive. In this situation, you can shrink C drive to create more partitions. In most of Windows 7 computers, system C drive is running out of space, so many people want to shrink volume D to extend system partition.
This article introduce how to shrink C drive and data drive with Windows 7 Shrink Volume function in native Disk Management. If it works, you can shrink hard drive partition without software. If you cannot shrink system C drive with unmovable files or if Shrink Volume greyed out, run NIUBI Partition Editor.
Shrink C drive in Windows 7 Disk Management
Better than Windows XP, Windows 7 has Shrink Volume function built in Disk Management. It is able to shrink system partition and data volumes without losing data. In fact, it has an advantage than all third party partitioning software: it is able to shrink system C drive without rebooting. But on the other hand, it has many disadvantages.
1. Only NTFS partition is supported
NTFS and FAT32 are most common partition type in Windows 7, but Disk Management can only shrink and extend NTFS partitions. This is one of the reasons why Shrink Volume is disabled.
2. Cannot shrink partition towards right
This is not an issue if you just want to shrink a volume to create new, but if you want to extend a volume by shrinking other one, it is impossible with Windows 7 Disk Management.
When shrinking partition D with Shrink Volume function, Unallocated space can only be made on the right side of D, but to expand C drive with Extend Volume, Unallocated space must be on the left side of D.
Follow the steps to shrink system partition C in Windows 7 Disk Management:
1. Press Windows and R together on the keyboard, type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter to open Disk Management.
3. Click Shrink to shrink with default maximum available space or enter a smaller amount by yourself (1024MB=1GB).
In most cases, C drive will be shrunk in a short time.
![Unmovable Unmovable](https://www.howtogeek.com/thumbcache/60/40/91a283bc99b95689f5a88a33a0e2f886/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Fullscreen_2_28_17__9_49_AM-650x300.png.pagespeed.ce.-RjYU_xftx.png)
It is the same to shrink partition D or other data volumes.
Can't shrink system partition - not enough space
It is very easy to shrink partition with Windows 7 Disk Management, but you may encounter issue. The most common trouble is not enough space and unmovable files.
When you shrinking any partition (especially to C drive), if you shrink with default maximum amount or even entered a larger amount by mistake, you are very likely receive error - There is not enough space available on the disk(s) to complete this operation.
Solution: repeat the shrinking operation by entering a smaller amount by yourself.
Cannot shrink volume because of unmovable files
In the shrinking window, there is a tip - You cannot shrink a volume beyond the point where any unmovable files are located Ck2 what holdings to build minecraft. , what does it mean?
For example: C drive is made up of 4 blocks, if any unmovable files are located in block 3, you cannot shrink C drive to block 2 or 1 even though there is free space.
These unmovable files include Paging File, Hibernation and other larger files. So comparing with data volumes, it is more likely encounter this issue while shrinking system partition C. In some computers, Disk Management gives only little space to shrink. In few computers, Disk Management cannot shrink partition with even 1MB.
Solution: run third party software such as NIUBI Partition Editor, which can move these 'unmovable' files.
Shrink Partition Windows 7
Drag and drop to shrink system C drive and data volumes
Comparing with Windows native Disk Management tool, NIUBI Partition Editor has benefits while shrinking partition volume:
- Both NTFS and FAT32 partitions are supported.
- Partitions can be shrunk towards either side and make Unallocated space on either left or right side.
- It is able to move these unmovable files, so you can shrink volume to minimum size if you want.
- Unallocated space shrunk from a partition can be easily combined to other volume on the same disk.
Steps to shrink volume in Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit):
1.Download NIUBI Partition Editor, right click the partition that you want to decrease (here is D:) and select Shrink Volume.
2. In the pop-up window you have 2 options.
If you drag left border towards right, or enter an amount in the box Unallocated space before (1024MB=1GB):
Then Unallocated space is made on the left of D.
If you drag right border towards left, or enter an amount in the box Unallocated space after (1024MB=1GB):
Then Unallocated space is made on the right of D.
3. Click Apply on top left to execute. (All operations before clicking Apply only work in virtual mode and real disk partition won't be modified.)
Watch the video guide how to shrink partition in Windows 7:
The steps are the same no matter you want to shrink system C drive or any data partition in Windows 7. Follow the steps to extend partition after shrinking.
NIUBI Partition Editor has free edition for home computer users, besides shrinking and extending partition, it helps move, merge, convert, defrag, wipe, hide partition, scan bad sectors and much more.
Summary :
This article tells some basic knowledge on disk partition management. You can learn some propaedeutic knowledge like what is the default partition style for Windows 7 and how to get the best disk partition management for Windows 7.
Quick Navigation :
What Is the Default Partition Style Used in Windows 7?
Part 1: About Partition Style (MBR and GPT)
What is the default partition style in Windows 7? Before giving my answer, it is necessary to make it clear what partition style is. Normally, a brand new hard disk cannot be put into use directly until we initialize it to either MBR (master boot record) or GPT (GUID partition table), and the proper nouns here - MBR and GPT - are two kinds of partition styles.
- MBR uses the standard BIOS partition table while the latter uses unified extensible firmware interface.
- The maximum addressable space MBR partition table supports is 2TB, while GPT disk can recognize up to 18EB space.
- On a MBR disk, we can create 4 primary partitions or 3 primary partitions plus 1 extended partition at most, while on a GPT disk we can create up to 128 partitions.
Now we know MBR and GPT are two partitions styles. But do you know what is the default partition style used in Windows 7? The answer is MBR. Why?Although GUID partition table is a more advanced partition style, not all Windows systems support this partitioning scheme:
- Operating systems earlier than Windows XP 32-bit cannot read, write, and boot from GPT disks. These OS can be Windows 2000, Windows NT 4, Windows 95, Windows 98, etc.
- Windows XP 64-bit can use GPT disks for data storage only.
- All versions of Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 and Windows Server2003/2008/2012 can use GPT disk for data storage. However, booting is only supported for 64-bit editions on UEFI-based systems.
Reading here, you know MBR is still more compatible with all operating systems than GPT does. Besides, the traditional ways of system installation is not suitable for GPT disk. What's more, to boot Windows 7 from GPT disk, you must guarantee your computer motherboard supports booting from EFI mode and you are installing the 64-bit edition. Thus, the default partition style Windows 7 is MBR. Part 2: How to Convert Partition Style between MBR and GPT
Note: To convert system disk from MBR to GPT, please make sure that your mother board supports EFI mode, otherwise the system disk will fail to boot.
1. Why Do Conversions between MBR and GPT?
In the following situations, you may consider converting MBR to GPT:
- To create more partitions;
- To get large-capacity hard disk support.
- To solve 'Windows Cannot Be Installed to This disk. The Selected Disk Has an MBR Partition Table'.
Tip: You can also convert primary partition to logical partition so as to create more partitions. However, this way is no better than MBR=>GPT conversion because logical partitions should be located altogether, as all logical partitions are included in one extended partition.
2. Convert Partition Style between MBR and GPT
For a brand new hard disk, you can initialize it to MBR or GPT when you enter Windows Disk Management utility (image attached). But for a used disk, how can you make conversions between MBR and GPT disk?
Here we list 3 ways to help you.
Way 1. Use Disk Management Utility
Convert to MBR Disk' or 'Convert to GPT Disk'.
Way 2. Mediashout keygen. Use Diskpart
Back up important data on the disk -> run CMD as administrator -> run Diskpart ->type the following commands: list disk - select disk [disk number] - clean - convert GPT (or MBR) -> type exit two times to leave Diskpart and CMD.
Tip: Clean command will delete all partitions on the selected disk. If you clean the wrong disk, you can undo diskpart clean command by using MiniTool Partition Wizard.
To be honest, both Way 1 and Way 2 work great to do conversions between MBR and GPT. However, neither of them can avoid data loss if no backup is made in advance. Here we would like to introduce Way 3 - a lossless way to do this conversion.
Way 3. Use MiniTool Partition Wizard
Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard -> select the disk you want to convert -> choose 'Convert MBR disk to GPT' or 'Convert GPT disk to MBR disk' function from the menu -> click 'Apply' to make all changes performed. You will see all your partitions are still there on the drive along with integrated data.
Note: Changing the MBR disk which saves Windows OS to GPT may lead to boot failure, because booting Windows from MBR disk employs Legacy BIOS mode; while booting from GPT disk employs UEFI mode. Besides, the Windows 32 bit OS cannot be installed on a GPT disk. Taking these into consideration, MiniTool Partition Wizard won't allow converting system disk from MBR to GPT.
What Is the Main Tool or Utility that You Can Use to Manage Your Disk?
Today, disk partition management is of great significance for distributing disk space reasonably and protecting important data. Normally, there are 3 utilities to manage your disks, and they are: Disk Management Utility, Windows Command Prompt, and professional partition manager.
Disk Management Utility and Windows Command Prompt are born with Windows OS. That is to say, they are parts of Widows OS, free, official, and reliable. Their features? Well, Disk Management is easier to operate compared with Command Prompt, for it has visual interface, and offers basic functions. However, Command Prompt offers more than Disk Management can, and is especially favored by professionals. Due to these advantages and disadvantages, users have their own preference.
But in my opinion, third-party partition manager is more competition for most computer users.
When I say third-party software, I mean the programs that have won great reputation among global users, such as MiniTool partition Wizard, which enjoys more than 20,000,000 downloads on CNET. And in the next part, you will see how it improves user experience in disk partition management
What Command Is Used to Partition and Format a Disk?
As we have said, Command Prompt is a commonly used utility to manage hard drives. In this part, you will learn how to create, format, extend, shrink and delete a partition by using Command Prompt. Let’s get started:
Note:
1. To perform all actions presented in this article, you need to own administrative permissions and run Command Prompt as administrator.
2. If you misuse some commands, you risk losing your data. So be careful and make a backup of your data before going ahead. If anything bad should happen, seek help from Data Recovery to recover as much data as possible.
1. To perform all actions presented in this article, you need to own administrative permissions and run Command Prompt as administrator.
2. If you misuse some commands, you risk losing your data. So be careful and make a backup of your data before going ahead. If anything bad should happen, seek help from Data Recovery to recover as much data as possible.
Option 1: Create Partition from Command Prompt
Step 1. Run Command Prompt. Then, type 'diskpart' to access Diskpart Utility.
Step 2. After you've launched Diskpart, type the following commands in order and carry out them end with Enter key:
- Type 'list disk', this will display the key information of your hard drives connected to this PC. Please pay attention to the free space that is available.
- Type 'select disk n' where 'n' is the number of the hard disk you want to use.
- To create a primary partition, type 'create partition primary size=[number]', the unit of the number is MB. (example: create partition primary size=1024)
- To create a logical partition, first of all you need to create an extended partition. Type 'create partition extended size=[number]', and then type 'create partition logical size=[number]'. Note that the size of the logical partition should be no larger than the size of your extended partition.
- Type 'exit'.
Tip: The new partitions you have just created lack drive letters, thus, they won't appear in Windows Explorer. To avoid this embarrassment, you need to assign drive letter to them. Please type 'assign letter = N' (N can be other letters from C to Z that are not occupied by the rest partitions) after a new partition is created.
Easy, right? But if we use MiniTool Partition Wizard, creating partition is just a piece of cake. You just launch this program, hit the unallocated space to choose 'Create Partition', customize the property in the operating window and finally hit 'Apply' button
You have to admit it's really user-friendly:
Option 2: Format from Command Prompt
Format partition is necessary before you can use it to store data. To do this in Command Prompt, open Diskpart to run the following commands:
- Type 'list volume', all the volume will be listed there.
- Type 'select volume n', the volume you want to format will be selected.
- Type 'format fs=ntfs quick'. Also you can type 'format fs=fat32 quick' to distribute FAT32 file system to it.
- Finally, you can type “exit” to close Diskpart. Till now, you can see the new formatted drive in My Computer and make use of it.
Note: Diskpart only helps to format partitions to exFAT, FAT, FAT32 and NTFS, if you want other file systems like Linux Swap or Ext2/3/4, use MiniTool Partition Wizard to help you format partitions, otherwise you will encounter Virtual Disk Service error.
Option 3: Extend Partition from Command Prompt
Sometimes, users may find that their partitions on basic disk or the volumes on dynamic disk are not big enough to store their data. Thus, extending partition/volume is necessary. Here is how you can use command line to extend partition/volume:
Step 1. Run Diskpart from Command Prompt.
Step 2. At Diskpart window, run the following commands:
- Type 'list volume'.
- Type 'select volume n'. Please make sure there is unallocated space/free space behind the primary partition/logical partition you want to extend.
- Type 'extend size=[number]'.
Note: Diskpart only helps to extend partitions with NTFS or RAW file system.
Option 4: Shrink Volume from Command Prompt
Can't Shrink Partition Unmovable Files
To shrink a partition by using Command Prompt, you need to enter the diskpart command prompt and then:
- Type 'list volume'
- Type 'select volume n'.
- Type 'shrink desired=[number]'.
- Type 'exit' to end up this progress.
Note: Some Requirements to Shrink a Partition.
1. Shrink Volume only helps to shrink partitions with NTFS or RAW file system.
2. Shrink Volume is only supported on simple or spanned volume on dynamic disks.
3. There may be some unmovable files like the page files located in the partition you intend to shrink, at this time, diskpart can only shrink the partition to the unmovable file point. If you need to shrink more space, you need find out and copy the unmovable files to another location, and then delete the original copy.
1. Shrink Volume only helps to shrink partitions with NTFS or RAW file system.
2. Shrink Volume is only supported on simple or spanned volume on dynamic disks.
3. There may be some unmovable files like the page files located in the partition you intend to shrink, at this time, diskpart can only shrink the partition to the unmovable file point. If you need to shrink more space, you need find out and copy the unmovable files to another location, and then delete the original copy.
Tip: No matter you want to extend or shrink a partition, Partition Wizard offers the simplest solution with its 'Move/Resize Partition' and 'Extend Partition' features.
Option 5. Delete Partition from Command Prompt
When you need to delete a partition from your computer, the procedure is quite simple. Step 1. Open CMD to run Diskpart.Step 2. Run the following commands in order:
- Type 'list volume'.
- Type 'select volume n'.
- Type 'delete partition'.
- Type 'exit'.
Move Unmovable Files Windows 10
Despite the fact that you might think it's hard to manage your disk partitions through Command Prompt, we hope that we have managed to prove that it's not that difficult by giving detailed explanation. In short, as long as you know the correct commands, using Command Prompt can be a good solution. And if you turn to MiniTool Partition Wizard, you are saving time and effort.
Conclusion
His post mainly gives some information about hard drive management, to help you learn some basic knowledge. In this case, you will find it is not as that difficult as you have though to deal with some common issues. If you have any questions, feel free to leave us a comment below or email to [email protected] Thanks!
Default Partition Style Windows 7 FAQ
Windows 7 can be installed on both MBR and GPT disks. MBR uses the legacy BIOS while GPT uses UEFI. The maximum addressable space MBR partition supports is 2TB, while for a GPT disk, it reaches up to 18EB. Based on your hard drive space, you can choose either partition scheme for Windows 7.
Of course, you can install Windows operating system on a primary partition, and it is usually installed on a primary partition. The Windows 7 operating system also comes with a system reserved partition or EFI system partition, which takes 100MB or 300MB disk space depending on which version of Windows you install, and they are both primary partitions.
There are two simple ways to check your partition style. Run diskpart and then list disk, if there is a GPT disk, it is marked with a * on the GPT column. Also, you can open the Disk Management utility and check for the disk property. Go to Volume and then you see your partition style is MBR or GPT.
Windows 7 Shrink Disk Unmovable Files Download
MBR and GPT are two partition styles, while MTFS is the default file system in Windows 7/8/10. You can create or format a partition to NTFS no matter you use MBR or GPT partition style.