Having problems with partitioning my SSD

Hi,

I went through the tutorials on how to extend a partition, but I've run into the issue of this:



I'm trying to extend 855.31GB C: drive to include the 95.39GB of unallocated space at the end. That's 95GB of wasted space. The problem is the 574mb (Recovery Space) that's in the way of doing that. Or in between the two if you look at it that way.

So in essence, do I merge the two partitions?

And do I really need that 574mb (Recovery Partition) to be in there?

Thanks

To consider: why is your Windows partition so large?
Do I really want my personal data in the same partition as my Windows partition?
(Consider the implications of a clean install- when that partition would be deleted).
If your personal data was on a different disk or partition, it would not be affected, making backups and maintenance easier.

So in essence, I do I merge the two partitions?

No!

And do I really need that 574mb (Recovery Partition) to be in there?

a. This command will tell you which Recovery Partition is in use:


b. It sounds as if you don't know and haven't researched what a Recovery Partition is there for.

It provides Advanced Startup options e.g. boot to command prompt, offline System Restore, boot to Safe Mode, Startup Repair etc. and an attempt at automatic recovery for some boot issues.

It's not necessary for normal use, but it is convenient. Were you to delete it, expect it to be recreated on any major upgrade.

b. You would need to move the Recovery partition to the right, then extend your Windows partition into the adjacent unallocated space.

The easiest way to do this is with a 3rd party partition manager (pretty intuitive, graphical representation of your changes e.g. by dragging partitions and boundaries.. set up what you want, then click Apply.

E.g. Minitool Partition Wizard (free) - which offers video tutorials right from the program.

Further- for a UEFI build there will be a 16Mb (usually) partition not shown by Disk Management. The partition manager will show that.


Note: very similar questions have been asked before, so feel free to search tenforums and use it as a resource.

Some people, conversant with command line methods, are happy to use old-style commands to do this - but you don't see what you're going to get- whereas a partition manager makes that clear graphically.

Backup
As ever, before making significant changes, ensure you have a proper backup, especially when doing somethig for the first time.

Ensure you have a full current 3rd party disk image of all your partitions as is ENDLESSLY recommended by members here.
E.g. Macrium Reflect (free/paid) + large enough external storage for image file sets.
Aomei Backupper is easier - simpler GUI - MR is 'the best'.

Try one of the more friendlier GUI programs ...
- AOMEI Partition Assistant
- MiniTool Partition Wizard
(both freware)

EDIT
My suggestions (i.e. what I practice ...)
- regular image creatons with AOMEI Backupper AND Macrium Reflect
- with regular images, you don't need the Recovery Partition. It can be deleted
- System drive partition (C:\) = full installation of everything you need + circa50% more space (i.e. if your OS+programs take up 60GB, C:\ partition = 90 to 100GB
- partition remainder of drive space (e,g, call it My Drive Files or something of your choosing)
- relocate (formally) system user folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music, Videos) to that remainder partition. Note there is a special set of steps required to move system user folders, not just copy/move > paste.

Here's exactly what you need- a Youtube video on doing this with Minitool Partition Wizard which we've both suggested.

However, my comments about disk image backup and where you store your personal data remain.

Tenforums tutorials don't normally aim to cover the use of 3rd party tools, which is why you couldn't find something suitable.

Move Windows recovery partition - YouTube

You will probably find the left-most Recovery partition is redundant too, so you can delete that and use the space. However you will probably find two partitions to the left of your Windows partition- the EFI partition and a 16Mb partition.

I agree with @dalchina.
It is very useful to have Windows and programs on one partition and your data on another partition.
I would shrink the C: partition to 100G, move the recovery partition to the left and create a data partition on the unallocated space.

If you want to enlarge the C: partition, this is what you should do.
Open a CMD window as administrator and type: (you can select line by line, copy the line and then paste on the CMD window)

Reagentc /disable (to disable the recovery opartition)
Diskpart
sel disk 0
list part (take note of the recovery partition number)
sel part n (replace n with the recovery partition number found above)
del part override (to delete the recovery partition)
sel vol c
extend (will extend the C: partition to the end of the drive)
shrink desired=850
create par prim
format quick FS=NTFS label=Recovery
set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac
gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001
assign letter=S
exit
Reagentc /setreimage /path S:\Recovery\WindowsRE
Reagentc /enable
Reagentc /info
diskpart
select vol S
remove letter=S
exit

As far as backup software like Macrium is concerned, I'll get to that a little later.

Actually I'd suggest that's your priority- if you have a current disk image or set of disk images at different dates, stored e.g. on an external disk (off-line) then..
- you can recover relatively painlessly even if your system disk fails (restore to new disk), your PC is stolen (potentially restore to new PC) or is crippled by ransomware... and also if you make a bad mistake or your PC is unbootable...

Disk imaging is completely different to simply backing up selected personal data. It protects entire partitions.
System Restore is a useful complement.

As to sizes- that depends on your usage.

Some people install some very large programs esp. games.. so ' C: ' may need to be large.

I install many programs, but not games- so maybe 150-180Gb used space.

I don't know how much personal data you have.. only you know that.
It's probably easiest to look at that... and then consider creating a new partition for folders which might be (say)
My Documents
My Videos
My Photos

etc... whatever you wish.

A huge advantage (I think) is that the contents of these are then entirely yours.
The default ones can get filled with folders created by programs you install... which are then mixed up with your own files.

The new folders you create can, if you wish, be added to existing libraries- or you can create new libraries if you wish. They would then be protected from anyone else using your PC under another account just as Documents, Videos etc are now.

Thank you for your reply.

You mean for the C: OS partition?

Well yes, O/S & programs. That's just my example. For me.

It's slightly different with a previously hidden 128mb "Other" partition being shown. What's that for?

You could answer that for yourself by searching for e.g.
what is a GPT reserved partition
GPT Reserved Partition 128MB - 3 Things You Need Know
partitioning - Are GPT reserved and EFI system partitions important? - Super User

Also, based on my CMD picture up above, which recovery partition is active?

Partition 5, it says.

On mine - partition 4- note the 2 occurrences of Partition 4

I don't want to run into any low disk space warnings.

Ensure there's enough free space and allow for some future expansion.


Your 1st partition is DELL specific:
https://www.dell.com/community/Windo...D/td-p/7354610