Merging Two Partitions Using Windows Vista Disk Management Snap-In
February 18, 2008 9 Comments
In this blog post, I will describe how to merge two partitions on the same hard drive into one partition drive using the Windows Vista Disk Management snap-in.
Windows Vista cannot merge two partition together if the partitions contain data (files and folders). One of the partitions must be deleted, once this is done then you can successfully merge the partition that you didn’t delete with the unallocated space. All of these tasks can be performed using Windows Vista Disk Management snap-in.
In this example I have a 80 GB hard drive which I have split into two partition; drive C contain Windows Vista Business Edition and drive E has Windows Vista Business Edition also installed but I would like to delete drive E and merge it with drive C. With Windows XP and earlier version of Windows, you could not perform this operation without third-party software such as Acronis Disk Director. Windows Vista has the ability to expand and shrink volumes by using the Window Vista Disk Management snap-in. Administrative privileges are required for this task.
What I Did
- Click on the Start Orb (formerly know as the Start Button in earlier version of Windows).
- Type diskmgmt.msc in the Start Search field.
- Press SHIFT+CTRL+ENTER to open Disk Management snap-in in an elevated state.
- Right-click E drive to select Delete Volume….
NOTE
Ensure you have backup any data on drive E before deleting the volume which will cause loss of Data.
- Click Yes in the confirmation dialog.
- Right-click C drive to select Extend Volume….
- Click Next when the Extend Volume Wizard opens.
- Enter the expansion size for drive C click Next.
- Review disk settings and click Finish.
- Congratulations, you now have successfully extended (merged) a partition using the Disk Management snap-in with Windows Vista.
Platforms Tested
- Microsoft Windows Vista x86 Versions
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Version 1.3
Edited: May 11, 2012
BillJr's Space 
Hi,
Thanks for such a great tip. I have an older Compaq C793c which had BSOD error after I wiped the keyboard during a boot cycle, I certainly won’t do it again. Anyway after an unsuccessfule reinstall using the HP Recover DVD a PC tech loaned me his Vista install disk [I used my Vista key] and I reinstalled Vista but had a strange SVDT drive and an unmounted 200GB drive.
During the several attempts to install with the HP DVD I got a strange HP error code 0x4001001300001002, which indicated a failing HDD.
Anyway after much work using the second Vists DVD, and loading 104 Vista updates, I finally had a working licenced copy of Vista on my machine but still had these two extra drives. So when searching for a solution I came across your page and am very glad of the help you have been.
I now have only one HDD listed C:/ and all the HP drivers are now loaded.
Again, many thanks.
Keith Harris
Riverview
Qld, Aust.
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Thank you very much where in other sites they advised for 3rd party softwares u make me do this in a min thanks once again for sharing ur idea
I tried it, but it didn’t work. After making the new space available (Drive D, 160 GBs), the drive I wanted to expand (C Drive) could not inherit the new available space. The option to Expand the space on that drive was greyed out.
Perhaps you can’t expand a drive that is the boot drive??
LarryFromVegas
try to delete the partition until it become unallocated then, right click again the drive C and you can merge the unallocated partition now..
Thanks so much for this walkthrough! Everything worked perfectly!
after deleting the volume i wanted to merge, when right-clicking on C: to select extend, …the “extend volume” is grayed out so i cant merge it with the empty partition; C is my boot drive, is this the issue ( i have Win Vista) ?
Hey there did you get the solution for this coz I’m also facing the same problem do let me know as well