How to merge disk partitions without losing data. Merging partitions under Windows XP

If there is not enough space on one of the local disks, then it can be increased at the expense of other volumes by merging them. The procedure for merging a hard disk partition does not pose a threat to user information, since you can choose whether to delete files or not.

About merging sections

There are two main options for doing this procedure:

1. Use the built-in system functions. This can be handy because you don't need to install any additional software. However, you may encounter serious functional limitations.
2. Use programs from third-party developers. In this case, you can get access to advanced functionality (depending on the program), but there is a need to install third-party software.

It is recommended to use the second option, since your data will not be affected during the merging, while the standard Windows utility will most likely format the disk. If storing information on local disk if it doesn’t matter to you, or there is no information there, then you can safely use the standard disk utility.

Option 1: AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard

This is a convenient assistant program that is distributed free of charge and has a full-fledged Russian version. It will allow you to merge volumes or their partitions without losing user and system information. All information that could be deleted is moved to one of the local drives (by default, to the one where the system is installed).

The instructions for working with the program are as follows:

Upon completion of the merge procedure, the system will reboot. Old data that was stored on the donor drive can be found in the folder "X drive". Instead of X, you will have the letter of the donor drive.

Option 2: Minitool Partition Wizard

The program has similar functionality to the one discussed above. However, there are some differences in the interface, plus there is no Russian version. Fortunately, the interface remains understandable to the average user who has a basic understanding of English language.
The instruction for the program is as follows:

Option 3: Acronis Disk Director

This is a famous multifunctional program that will allow you to merge hard disk partitions, even if they have different file systems. However, for user-friendly interface And wide opportunities you have to pay, since the software is distributed on a paid basis. There is a demo period that temporarily opens all the features of the program for free.

Merging hard disk partitions in Acronis works like this:

Option 4: Windows Features

The operating system also has in its functionality software that is capable of producing basic operations with disks - "Disk Management". With its help, you can merge volumes with each other, but the information on them will be deleted without the possibility of recovery. There are also cases when it is impossible to merge disks in this way, then you will have to resort to one of the options described above.

If you choose to use the standard Windows utility, then the instruction looks like this:

1. open line "Run" using the keys Win+R. In this line you need to write the command:

   Press to execute Enter, or "OK".




2. In the lower part of the window, select the disk partition that you would like to merge with another. Click on it right click mouse and click "Delete Volume".




3. Confirm the action by clicking on "Yes". After that, all information on the donor disk will be deleted (and the disk itself too). The freed space will be marked as "Undistributed". It will only be checked in the utility window. From "Explorer" this space will disappear.




4. Now you need to distribute the freed space. For example, add it to another disk. To do this, right-click on the disk you want to expand. A context menu will open where you need to select "Expand Volume".




5. A window will pop up "Extend Volume Wizard". Explore the possibilities "Masters" and press "Further".




6. In this step, you need to set the amount of space that you would like to add to the main drive. To do this, use the field called "Select the size of the allocated space (mb)". Here you need to enter the volume in megabytes. One gigabyte is 1024 megabytes. But you can not bother and enter the entire available volume (see "Maximum available disk space"). When finished press "Further".




7. A confirmation window will open, where you need to click on "Ready".




8. The partitions will be merged, but for them to take effect, it is recommended to restart the computer.

To merge hard disk partitions, you can use any of the proposed options. If you are using third party programs then do it anyway backup important data, as malfunctions cannot be ruled out.

Good afternoon! For those PC users who crashed their HDD into sectors, let's talk about how to combine sections of the hard disk. For example, I merged sections because I had very little space on the C drive. When I start watching movies online, the whole movie is loaded into the cache and memory hard disk becomes smaller. Well, let me tell you what and why)

What is the advantage of splitting a disk into parts?

1. each of the partitions can contain a separate file system or a distinctive cluster size;
2. each partition of the disk is separate and is not affected by operations performed on other sectors of the disk;
3. this is the ability to save data even after reinstalling the operating system by separating system files from user files;
4. multiple hard disk partitions allow you to install more than one operating system.

What is a hard drive partition? This is a separate part of the drive, which allows you to more conveniently and efficiently use the disk capacity. I will not hide, sometimes it creates some problems.

That is why today I will show you how to merge hard disk partitions. For this we need special program, otherwise it will not be possible to merge sections. One such program is the EaseUS Partition Master Free program. It is completely free and easy to understand.

As soon as the merging process is over, you will see the main program window in front of you, where the sections you have selected have already been merged. But so far this is still far away.

In time, it goes from several minutes to several hours. It all depends on the number of sections and their volume. The program will display a message in the form of a pop-up window about the completion of the merging.

The My Computer window will display new section, which will combine all the previous sections, as well as the files and folders created in them. Its volume will be equal to the total volume of all merged partitions. And here is a list of alternative programs for merging hard disk partitions:

• Acronis Disk Director,
• Paragon Hard Disk Manager,
• Norton Partition Magic,
• [email protected] Partition Manager etc. The only "but", most of them are paid programs.

Finally, I invite you to subscribe to new blog articles. To do this, enter your email at the end of the article and I will send new articles to your mail.

So, now you know how to merge hard disk partitions into one. I would be glad if I helped you understand this issue, and if something didn’t work out, ask your questions in the comments. I wish you all health and wellness!

With Uv. Evgeny Kryzhanovsky

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: 12 comments

1. badrudi

   Hello Eugene. Thank you for the article. We will try to merge if necessary. although I have a different problem now. How to clean a hard drive thoroughly.

2. Oleg

   Hello Eugene! I have a question: how to split a hard drive into several parts. Initially, only the C: drive is installed, on which the OS sits. I am not strong (yet) in computer matters, but I think I can solve this issue on my own with your help. All the best!

3. Oleg

   Good afternoon, Eugene! Unfortunately, I did not find an article on your blog that interests me. Could you please provide a more precise title of the topic that reveals the answer. I am currently working from a tablet, perhaps for this reason I cannot find what I need. Thank you in advance!

4. Oleg

   Hello Eugene! Yes, I had a question about how to split a hard drive into two or more. But I already managed on my own. By the way, the same program is used, which you offer to merge the disk. Good luck! And success!

5. Peter Firsov

Let's take a closer look at how to merge hard disk partitions. If your hard drive is divided into several partitions, you can easily merge them with standard tools Windows or third party programs.

In more early versions Windows division of the hard disk into partitions made it possible to structure the volumes of information that users stored on their computers. Also, some system administrators create a division to system files and the rest of the data was stored in different places.

This reduces the risk of their damage by virus software or careless user actions.

In modern OS models, as a rule, only two divisions are used - the main disk and the backup space. Thus, if a serious failure occurs in Windows, everything stops working, your data will not be damaged, because it will always be possible to restore using the second partition of the disk.

If your PC has too many unused partitions and you want to remove them, use the following instructions from the article.

Preparing to remove a disk volume

Before you merge multiple volumes, you need to take steps to help save your files. Any editing of a partition in Windows results in the permanent deletion of files and folders in this volume.

We recommend that you create a backup copy of all files and move it to a removable USB drive. If the amount of information is too large, create a separate profile for it in cloud storage. In most of them, you can use up to 20 GB of space for free (Yandex.Disk, DropBox, OneDrive, and others).

Fig. 1 - a schematic example of dividing a hard disk

Merging Partitions in Windows 7

In Windows 7, users can merge disk partitions without booting additional programs to your computer. All necessary settings can be changed as follows:

• Go to the Start menu and open the Run window. Windows 7 Home Edition may not have this key. In this case, just press Win + R to bring up the desired window or edit appearance Start menu in home screen settings;
• In the window that appears, type diskmgmt.msc - a command to open the computer's disk management window. Confirm the action by clicking on "OK".

Fig. 2 - command input

• The following window will open. The lower part of the window displays all hard drives connected to the system and their conditional division. Each division section is a separate volume. It is marked with a letter, has its own type file system and space;

Rice. 3 - display sections in the settings

• You need to select the section you want to delete (merge with the main volume of drive C). Then right-click on it and click on "Delete Volume". Next, a window will appear with a system message stating that all data on the volume will be deleted and you will not be able to restore it. Confirm the uninstall. Essentially, you are not deleting anything, but simply erasing the section. All space goes to drive C;

Rice. 4 - delete volume

After deleting one volume, you can do the same with the rest, thus creating free partitions. An "Empty Volume" will appear in place of the previous object. Don't forget to attach it to the desired section. Click on the section into which all objects will be combined and in the context menu click on "Expand volume".

In the window that opens, select an available empty section and add it to the main one. Do this until there is no unreserved part of the hard disk left on the computer.

Rice. 5 - volume expansion in Windows 7

After completing the procedure, you must restart Windows work, otherwise further work may lead to errors and deletion of data.

Instructions for Windows 10

The instructions described in this section of the article are suitable for both Windows 10 and all Windows versions 8. You can merge partitions using the built-in OS tools. As in the previous description of the settings, we need the Disk Management utility. Follow instructions:

• Go to the search box and type in the word "management". The desired option will appear in the results. And also, you can click on the combination Win keys and X by calling up the menu quick access. It has a link to access Disk Management;

Fig. 6 - hard disk settings window in Windows 10

• Decide which sections you no longer use. For better orientation, they are marked with letters that correspond to the names of the drives in the "This PC" window;
• If you want to keep only one volume, choose which one you will attach the rest of the elements to;
• Then right click on the object to be deleted. And uninstall it;

Fig. 7 - deleting a partition in Windows 10

• Confirm the action by agreeing to the loss of data;
• Delete partition space;

Fig. 8 - freeing up space

• Now you will see that the section has become empty, but its division remains. Since it is no longer used in the system, its name and other attributes are removed. The object can be combined with the main disk;
• As a result of the correct execution of all actions, you will see that the inscription appeared in place of the disk section: “Not allocated”. Now you can start merging sections.

Click on the main section - in most cases this is drive C. From the menu, select the item expand volume.

Rice. 9 - attaching an element

The setup wizard window will open. With it, you can easily divide free space or combine it into one system storage medium.

Fig. 10 - merging sections

Working with Acronis Director

Often in the standard Disk Management window, users are faced with the fact that the Delete Volume button is not available or other functions cannot be performed. This is due to the limitation group policies. Maybe, System Administrator forbidden to perform such actions or your OS version does not imply setting up disk partitions and other system parameters.

Using third-party utilities will help solve the problem. Acronis Director is one of the best programs, which allows you to configure the disk and bypasses all prohibitions on changing your computer settings.

We recommend that you work only with the bootable version of the program, because it will help you avoid errors that may appear during system settings. The main window of the utility contains all the necessary data about the hard drive. Partitioning information is also provided in this window.

Rice. 11 - main window in Acronis Director

To create one disk instead of several sections, simply select all the partitions that you no longer want to use and click on "Merge" on the left side of the window. Appear in a new window detailed setting elements. You must select the volume that will be the main one and attach other objects to it one by one.

After completing all the steps, you must apply the settings. To do this, click on the "Apply" button, which is located at the top of the utility (on the toolbar).

Thematic videos:

How to merge hard disk partitions in Windows.

Simple Solutions to Complex Errors

Merge hard drive partitions FAST!

I will show you how to merge hard disk partitions using a simple program Acronis Disk Manager. If you still don't know how it's done, then watch my short video tutorial, where I explained everything in detail. You will need a few minutes of your time to merge disks and Acronis Disk Director.

If you need to combine several hard disk partitions into one volume, then the first thing to do is save important data on another medium. Most likely, they will be irretrievably destroyed. If the paging file of the operating system is stored on the logical drive to be removed, transfer it to the main partition in advance.

Partitions can be merged correctly not only by means of the OS, but also by external programs.

During the process of merging hard disk partitions, all programs must be closed. A program or process accessing the hard drive may block access to the system, and the procedure will not be able to start. Do not turn off or restart your computer while changing disks.

1. The operating system removes the logical volume you specified.
2. The partition on which the logical volume functioned is removed.
3. The system partition expands to the freed disk space.

Combining partitions using external programs

You can merge hard disk partitions, for example, using the Acronis Disk Director Suit package with the Acronis Partition Expert utility or the AOMEI Partition Assistant program. There are other programs, but these have proven to be optimal.

The Acronis package is convenient, has an intuitive clear interface, and is able to merge drives without data loss, just like the free AOMEI Partition Assistant.

Merge partitions with AOMEI Partition Assistant

In the main screen of the program, right-click (RMB) on drive C and select "Merge Partitions" in the context menu

Mark the disks for merging, confirm with Ok, and the program places the order you generated into the delayed start queue.

To start the procedure, click the "Apply" button.

The program will ask you to confirm the operation a few more times, then it will check the disks for errors and merge the volumes into one.

All folders on the former D drive will be placed in the D-drive folder on the C drive.

Merging partitions under Windows XP

To solve the problem of merging hard disk partitions under XP, there are several options.

1) Through the OS control panel.

"Start" - "Control Panel" - "Administrative Tools" - "Computer Management" - "Disk Management"

• After entering the "Disk Management" menu, right-click (RMB) click on the name of the volume you want to delete. In the context menu, select "Delete logical drive"
• After removing the logical drive, delete the empty partition. Right-click on it and select "Delete Partition"
• Right-click on the name of the remaining volume and select Extend Volume. The extension wizard will start, follow its instructions.

2) Using the DISKPART utility located in C:\WINDOWS\system32\diskpart.exe.

To launch the DISKPART utility, select Run from the Start menu or press the Win+R key combination and manually enter the name of the utility: diskpart.

To work with this utility, you need to remember the principles of managing the operating system from the command line.

Merging partitions under Windows 7

The diskmgmt.msc utility allows you to merge hard disk partitions. The utility can be launched in two ways:

1. Through the control panel. "Start" - "Control Panel" - "Security and System" - "Administrative Tools" - "Computer Management" - "Disk Management".
2. Through the "Start" menu - "Run" or the key combination "Win + R", then enter the name of the utility diskmgmt

Step-by-step algorithm for merging sections:

In the Disk Management window that appears with a list of disks, right-click (RMB) click on the name of the volume you want to delete. From the context menu, select "Delete Volume"

After deleting a volume, an unnamed partition will appear in its place. Right-click on it and select "Delete Partition"

Select the volume you want to expand, and right-click on it, select "Extend Volume" and then "Next"

Specify how much you expand the disk and click "Finish".

Restart your computer immediately after the process is finished.

Merging partitions under Windows 10

The algorithm for merging partitions under Windows 7, Windows 10 and Windows 8.1 is identical. The difference is in the way you enter the control section.

To enter the disk utility under Windows 10, right-click on the "Start" button, and select "Disk Management" in the context menu

The window that appears is the window completely described above for the Windows 7 system.

Conclusion

Any changes made to hard disk are critical and important. Incorrect actions can lead to the inoperability of the hard drive, data loss and the need to reinstall operating system. The process of merging disk partitions is quite lengthy, and if the computer turns off during operation, or an unexpected failure occurs, data may be lost. Therefore, before starting work, be sure to do backups data, make sure that you can restore the operating system if necessary, and only then start.

Computers and laptops are often sold with several partitions on the HDD, this is a fairly standard situation. This is done due to the fact that for most users it is convenient reinstalling Windows in a special partition without losing data on other drives. For others, the difficulty is how to merge hard disk partitions, so as not to be scattered over several volumes, but to store everything in one place.

Why merge sections?

Merge hard partitions Windows disk 7 was indeed somewhat difficult, because further operation carried the risk of losing all data when replacing the system. With the release of Windows 10 and its factory reset feature, this complexity has been removed. Today, you can easily roll back the system and without losing data, even if the disk is not partitioned.

Manufacturers divide the disk into 2 or more sections for ease of use, as if dividing them according to their intended purpose. It is much easier not to divide into volumes, but simply create characteristic folders inside the partition.

The most relevant reason for the connection is the lack of free space on system drive. Then you should think about expanding its contents at the expense of another disk. There is only one problem - when transferring space, data is lost from the disk that you want to attach. This rule only applies to connections using ordinary Windows tools, there is an alternative. Perhaps the user shared the disk for no reason, or the need for it simply disappeared.

It is important to know that aggregation implies the presence of one HDD. If you want to combine two different hard drives, then this procedure will not work. Another action is needed that is performed at the zero level, the creation of a pool hard drives, execution with storage spaces and other options. We will not consider it in detail because this procedure does not bring significant benefits, but it often cuts off half of the space, blocks autoload, and has other similar side effects.

How to merge hard disk partitions in Windows?

Merge partitions on a Windows 10 or Windows 7 hard drive is easy enough. All versions of the system have the Disk Management tool, which is great for various HDD manipulations. For consolidation, 1 disk with the system and the other with data are mainly used.

It is important that when merging volumes, the information of one of the partitions will be lost, namely the one that will be moved. Therefore, you must first remove the data from the partition, transferring them to the second disk, if there is space. Otherwise, you can move the information to the cloud or flash drive.

1. Click Start and "Control Panel";
2. Next, select the "Administration" tile;

1. Go to "Computer Management";

1. In the menu on the left, select "Disk Management";
2. Determine the letter of the volume that we will delete and RMB on it, click "Delete Volume". Everything that was moved to unallocated space on the partition should now simply be added;

1. RMB on the target disk to enlarge and select "Expand volume";

1. Specify the amount of persistent memory attached to the partition.

This procedure will combine 2 or more logical drives. To make one partition out of 3 parts, you will have to delete all other volumes, the freed memory will be transferred to unused.

AOMEI Partition Assistant Hard Disk Partitioning Software

The program for high-quality, fast and complete memory transfer eliminates the possibility of data loss. There is not always a need to merge disks, mainly the question arises of expanding a partition, usually a system one, at the expense of another. It is not necessary to delete the volume to do this.

AOMEI Partition Assistant allows you to separate the required amount of memory and transfer it to another location. In this case, the application does not require payment. Before using the program, it is better to create a backup, although the application is generally safe, but user error is possible.

1. Download the utility https://www.aomeitech.com/download.html ;
2. Install and then run the application;
3. In the window, select the disk from which the part should be separated, RMB on it and "Resize partition";
4. A window will appear with a draggable slider, you need to move it to the required amount of memory. Important! For further transfer, you need to move the strip on the left so that an empty space is formed in front of the occupied one;

1. RMB on the disk to be expanded and go to its settings;
2. Stretch the slider to the size that was just released;

1. After all the steps, click on "Apply".

The program has a delayed action execution system, so before clicking on "Apply" no changes occur and you can perform many manipulations. If necessary, it's really easy to delete a partition and attach the space to another.

There are others disk managers, which allow you to merge partitions on disks, but they are similar in functionality to the options already considered.

Thanks to simple actions, you can create one from any number of partitions, provided that they are within the same media. Special care must be taken not to remove desired disk, since the user often gets confused in the letters of the sections.

If you have any questions on the topic “How to merge hard disk partitions?”, You can ask them in the comments

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