How to Clone and Move System Reserved Partition to Another Drive or Another Disk Windows 11/10

Move System Reserved Partition Overview

In computing, the system reserved partition is a small partition on a hard drive or solid-state drive that contains system files and settings, but is not intended for user data. It's usually labeled as "System Reserved" or "System" and is typically around 100-500 MB in size.

2 scenarios that require moving the system reserved partition to another drive are:

Case 1. Can I move system reserved partition to SSD?

You can use the built-in Windows feature called "Disk Management" to move the system reserved partition to your new SSD. Here's how: Open the Disk Management tool, select the system reserved partition on your new SSD, right-click and choose "Extend Volume", then select the unallocated space on the new SSD and click "Add" to add it to the system reserved partition. This will move the system reserved partition to your new SSD.

You want to move the system reserved partition from the old hard drive to the new SSD. This is possible, but it requires some technical expertise and caution to avoid data loss. You can try using a tool like Qiling Disk Master or Acronis True Image to clone the old hard drive to the new SSD, which will also move the system reserved partition. Alternatively, you can use the built-in Windows feature called "Disk Management" to resize and move the system reserved partition to the new SSD. However, be careful not to delete any important files or partitions during the process.

Case 2. System clone left the system reserved partition on the original disk, how to move system reserved partition to another disk?

Yes, it's possible to move the system reserved partition to the new disk. You can use the built-in Disk Management tool in Windows to move the partition. Alternatively, you can use third-party software like Qiling Partition Master or Acronis True Image to move the partition. Be sure to back up your data before attempting to move the partition, as it can potentially cause data loss if not done correctly. You can also use the built-in command-line utility `robocopy` to copy the system reserved partition, but this method is more complex and requires more technical expertise. It's recommended to use the Disk Management tool or third-party software for a safe and easy move.

How to move system reserved partition to new disk.

If you're experiencing issues with your system reserved partition and want to move it to another drive or disk without encountering boot problems, don't worry! You can learn how to do this in two ways by reading in-depth and following the steps to move your system reserved partition without any issues.

1. How to Move System Reserved Partition with the Free Partition Manager Software

To simplify the process of removing the system reserved partition, we recommend using the free partition manager software Qiling Partition Master Free. This program allows you to easily move the system reserved partition to another drive using its Clone feature, making the process straightforward and uncomplicated.

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Qiling Partition Master Free offers a range of disk partition features beyond disk/drive cloning, including resizing and moving partitions to address low disk space, creating, deleting, and formatting partitions, merging partitions, wiping data, and converting disk types, such as converting MBR to GPT.

To move the system reserved partition to another drive or disk without boot issues, download and install the free software on your PC, then follow these steps.

Step 1. Right-click the partition you want to copy, and choose Clone.

Step 2. Choose your the target partition and click Next to continue.

If you're cloning a partition to an existing partition, make sure to transfer or back up your data first to avoid it being overwritten during the cloning process.

Step 3. Click Proceed and wait for the clone to complete.

After deleting the unnecessary partitions, you can then change the partition label to System Reserved and set the partition as Active on your new disk.

 Notice:: The system reserved partition must be a primary partition to ensure a smooth boot process on a new disk.; If the cloned and moved system reserved partition is not a primary partition yet, you can refer to converting a logical partition to a primary partition with the help of Qiling Partition Master.

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2. How to Move System Reserved Partition to Another Drive with Disk Management Manually

If you don't like to use a third-party disk partition tool, you can use the Windows built-in Disk Management to move system reserved partition to another drive, but the process is complicated and requires following step-by-step instructions.

To avoid a system failure caused by the wrong operation, we recommend that you first backup your system and create a system image on a USB drive.
To move or copy the system reserved partition to another disk, follow these steps. If your goal is to copy the system reserved partition to another drive, the process is the same. You can move the system reserved partition to another disk by following the same steps.
The System Reserved partition is 100 MB on Windows 7, 350 MB on Windows 8, and 500 MB on Windows 11/10.

Step 1. Right-click the "Start" button and select "Disk Management".

Step 2.To create a new simple volume on Disk 0, find the unallocated space and right-click on it, then select "New Simple Volume". If there is no unallocated space, you can first shrink a partition to create some.

how to move system reserved partition

Step 3. Assign a drive letter for the newly created simple partition.

Step 4. Copy everything from the system reserved partition, including the Boot folder, bootmgr, and BOOTSEC.BAK, to the new drive.

Step 5.To remove the drive letter from the system reserved partition on disk 1, you can use the following command in the Command Prompt: `mountvol X: /D`, where `X:` is the drive letter you want to remove. Replace `X:` with the actual drive letter of the system reserved partition on disk 1.

Step 6. Change the name of the new partition to "System Reserved".

Step 7. Remove the drive letter from your new System Reserved partition, then mark it as active. This is a step in the process of re-partitioning and re-formatting your computer's hard drive.

Step 8. If Windows can't start, restore your system from the backup image created at the beginning. If it can start, restart your computer and delete the system reserved partition on the original Disk 1. If it still can't start, restore your system from the backup image created at the beginning.

Wrap Up

You can learn two ways to move system reserved partition to another disk or another drive on Windows 11/10. The simplest and safest way is using a free partition management tool, which can help you move the system reserved partition without any hassle or risk.

Qiling Partition Master Free allows you to easily clone and move your system reserved partition to another drive or disk with just a few clicks, eliminating the need to manually create a partition, copy files, or delete the partition. This tool also enables you to clone larger hard drives to smaller solid-state drives, clone SD cards, and more, making it a useful tool for managing your hard drive and freeing up disk space to enhance system performance.

Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Move System Reserved Partition FAQs

If you have any of the following questions about how to move system reserved partition on Windows 11/10/8/7, get help here.

How do I move the system reserved partition to another drive?

You can move the system reserved partition to another drive in two ways. Firstly, you can use the built-in Windows tool, Disk Management, to relocate the system reserved partition to a different drive.

Apply Qiling Partition Master Free to clone the system reserved partition to another drive or disk in a few clicks, ensuring a smooth process without any boot issues.
Manually move system reserved partition to another drive in Disk Management in complex steps.

What happens if I format system reserved partition?

When planning a clean install, delete all partitions entirely instead of formatting the system reserved partition. This will allow the system reserved partition to be recreated when setting up the first partition for Windows installation. (Note: This response is a rewritten version of the original text in a single paragraph.

Can System Reserved partition be deleted?

On the GPT disk, you can delete the system reserved partition without any boot problem, as it will be recreated automatically when the system partition is created. They don't recommend it, but it's an option.

How do I change my system reserved partition size?

To resize the system reserved partition using Qiling Partition Master Free, navigate to the "Resize/move partition" function, select the system reserved partition, and adjust the size as needed. This allows for easy modification of the partition size without requiring complex operations.

Step 1. Right-click on a system reserved partition and select "Resize/Move".

Step 2. Drag the partition handle to change the partition size.

Step 3. Click the Execute Operation button and click Apply to keep changes.

How do I mark a system reserved partition?

Set the system reserved partition as active with one click:

Step 1. Download and launch Qiling partition manager software.

Step 2. To set the system reserved partition as active, right-click on it in the disk map and select "Set Active". The software will then automatically execute the operation and mark the system reserved partition as the active partition for you.