How to Add Unallocated Space to D Drive on Windows 10/8/7
What is Unallocated Space?
The computer allocates space on the hard drive as adjacent groups of sectors or clusters, and when a new file is created, the operating system allocates available space to it. This unallocated space, also known as "free space", is the area where files are not stored, and can only be used to store data and files once it's allocated to a drive.
The unallocated space on your computer is typically invisible, but you can check it in the Disk Management on Windows 10/8/7 computers. To add unallocated space to your D drive, follow the steps outlined in this article, which also applies to adding unallocated space to other drives.
How to Add Unallocated Space to D Drive
On Windows 10/8/7 computers, users have three options to expand the D drive using unallocated space: professional partition manager, disk management, and DiskPart CMD command. While these methods can achieve the desired result, they require varying levels of partition knowledge, making them suitable for users with different technical expertise.
- 1. Add Unallocated Space to D Drive with Qiling Partition Manager
- 2. Add Space to A Partition with Disk Management
- 3. Add Unallocated Space to D Drive with DiskPart Command Prompt
1. Qiling Partition Master - Easiest
This method is the easiest one, requiring no extensive partition knowledge. All you need is a professional partition management tool like Qiling Partition Master, which specializes in computer partition management and can handle all operations.
- Supports users to resize, move, create, format, and delete partitions.
- The tool supports users to convert from MBI to GPT and vice versa without data loss.
- Allows users to transfer their Windows operating system to a solid-state drive (SSD), resulting in faster system performance.
- Recover deleted or lost partitions by scanning the whole disk or unallocated space, allowing you to retrieve lost data and restore access to previously inaccessible files and folders.
To add unallocated space to D drive, download the Qiling Partition Master and follow these steps: first, launch the software and select the unallocated space, then, click on the "Add" button to add it to the D drive, and finally, confirm the operation to complete the process.
Step 1. Select the partition next to the unallocated space and click "Resize/Move" from the context menu.
Step 2. To move the unallocated space, place the mouse on the partition and drag it to the left or right. This action will relocate the unallocated space and potentially free up space on the partition.
Step 3. Click "Proceed" to execute the operations and add the unallocated space to the target partition.
To move the unallocated space to the desired location, you can repeat steps 1, 2, and 3.
2. Disk Management - Medium
You can add unallocated space to a partition using Disk Management, but this method is best for experienced users. To do this, follow a step-by-step guide: you can add the unallocated space to the target drive.
Step 1.Right-click "This PC" and choose "Manage", then click "Disk Management" to open Disk Management.
Step 2.Right-click the partition you want to manage and select "Extend Volume".
Step 3.To continue adjusting the unallocated space's size to add to the selected partition, click the "Next" button.
Step 4.Continue to click "Next" and "Finish" to finish the process.
3. DiskPart Command Prompt - Difficult
For professional users, they can manage the unallocated space with DiskPart CMD. Here are the detailed steps.
Step 1.Open DiskPart command prompt:
To run Command Prompt as an administrator, go to Search, right-click on Command Prompt, and select "Run as Administrator". Then, type "diskpart" and hit Enter.
Step 2.Type the following command links and hit Enter each time:
- list disk
- select disk 0(replace 0 with your disk number)
- list volume
- select volume dThe command to extend a partition is `resize2fs /dev/sdXy` where X is the target drive letter and y is the target partition number. For example, if you want to extend the partition on `/dev/sda1`, you would use `resize2fs /dev/sda1`.
- extend size=numberThe command to add unallocated space to the selected volume in MB is `resize2fs /dev/sdb1 -f 123456` (assuming the volume is /dev/sdb1 and the unallocated space is 123456 MB).
Step 3.Type exitto close DiskPart.
To verify if the unallocated space is added to the D drive, you can check the disk management console. Look for the D drive and see if the unallocated space is listed as a new partition.
Bonus Tip: Create New Partition with Unallocated Space
You can not only add free space to an existing partition but also create a new partition with the unallocated space using Qiling Partition Master, which offers a simple and easy method to do so.
Step 1.Launch Qiling Partition Master. On the main window, right-click on the unallocated space on your hard drive or external storage device and select "Create" to create a new partition.
Step 2.Adjust the partition size, file system, label, and other settings for the new partition to your liking.
Step 3.Click on the "Proceed" button to create a new partition.
Watch this video tutorial to learn how to create a partition in various file systems, including NTFS, FAT, and EXT, and gain hands-on experience in setting up a partition.
The Bottom Line
To add unallocated space to the D drive, you can choose from three methods: using the built-in Disk Management tool, a third-party partition manager like Qiling Partition Master, or the built-in Diskpart command. Qiling Partition Master provides a quick and convenient experience in partition management, allowing you to not only allocate free space but also convert primary partitions to logical, merge partitions, and create a WinPE bootable disk. You can download the software and try it out.
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