Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10  

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10

    How to Shrink a Volume or Partition in Windows 10
    Published by Category: Hardware & Drivers
    11 Dec 2023
    Designer Media Ltd

    How to Shrink a Volume or Partition in Windows 10


    In Windows, you can decrease the space used by primary partitions and logical drives by shrinking them into adjacent, contiguous unallocated space on the same disk. This unallocated space could then be used to create a new simple volume (partition) on the disk.

    This tutorial will show you different ways on how to shrink a volume or partition on a basic disk in Windows 10.

    You must be signed in as an administrator to shrink a volume or partition.


    How to Read Shrink Volume Log in Event Viewer in Windows 10



    Contents

    • Option One: Shrink Volume or Partition on Disk in Disk Management
    • Option Two: Shrink Volume or Partition on Disk in Command Prompt
    • Option Three: Shrink Volume or Partition on Disk in PowerShell
    • Option Four: Shrink Volume or Partition on Disk in Settings






    OPTION ONE

    Shrink Volume or Partition on Disk in Disk Management


    1 Open the Win+X menu, and click/tap on Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc).

    2 Right click or press and hold on the partition/volume (ex: "D") you want to shrink, and click/tap on Shrink Volume. (see screenshot below)

    If Shrink Volume is grayed out, then it is not supported for the partition/volume.

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-shrink_volume_in_disk_management-1.jpg

    3 Type in how many MB you want to shrink the partition/volume by, and click/tap on Shrink. (see screenshot below)

    You can compare the given Size of available shrink and Total size after shrink to help determine the amount of space you want to shrink this partition/volume by.

    You can only shrink a partition/volume if it has enough free space.

    1024 MB = 1 Gb
    1024 GB = 1 TB

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-shrink_volume_in_disk_management-2.png

    4 If successful, you can now create a New Simple Volume with the Unallocated space if you like. (see screenshot below)

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-shrink_volume_in_disk_management-3.jpg






    OPTION TWO

    Shrink Volume or Partition on Disk in Command Prompt


    1 Open an elevated command prompt or command prompt at boot.

    2 Type the commands below one at a time into the command prompt, and press Enter after each command. Make note of the volume number (ex: "4") of the drive letter (ex: "D") you want to shrink. (see screenshot below)

    diskpart

    list volume

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-shrink_volume_in_command_prompt-1.jpg

    3 Type the commands below one at a time into the command prompt, and press Enter after each command. Make note of the maximum number of reclaimable bytes (ex: "1427659" MB) that you can shrink by. (see screenshot below)

    select volume <number>

    shrink querymax

    Substitute <number> in the top command above with the actual volume number (ex: "4") you want to shrink from step 2 above.

    For example: select volume 4

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-shrink_volume_in_command_prompt-2.jpg

    4 Type the command below you want to use into the command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

    (To shrink by maximum size allowed)
    shrink

    OR

    (To shrink by specified size)
    shrink desired=<size in MB>

    Substitute <size in MB> in the command above with the actual size in MB (ex: "71680") you want to shrink the partition/volume (ex: "D") by. You will not be able to shrink the partition/volume more than the maximum number of reclaimable bytes given from step 3 above.

    1024 MB = 1 Gb
    1024 GB = 1 TB

    For example: shrink desired=71680

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-shrink_volume_in_command_prompt-3.jpg

    5 When finished, you can close the elevated command prompt, or create a New Simple Volume with the unallocated space if you like.






    OPTION THREE

    Shrink Volume or Partition on Disk in PowerShell


    To see more usage options for the Resize-Partition command, see: Resize-Partition - Microsoft Docs


    1 Open an elevated PowerShell.

    2 Type the Get-Partition command into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and make note of the drive letter (ex: "D") of the partition/volume you want to shrink on a disk. (see screenshot below)

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-shrink_volume_in_powershell-1.png

    3 Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, and press Enter. Make note of the supported SizeMin (minimum size) and SizeMax (maximum size) in bytes to resize the partition/volume. (see screenshot below)

    Get-PartitionSupportedSize -DriveLetter <Drive Letter>

    Substitute <Drive Letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "D") you want to resize from step 2 above.

    For example: Get-PartitionSupportedSize -DriveLetter D

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-shrink_volume_in_powershell-2.png

    4 Type the command below you want to use into the elevated PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

    (To shrink by size in Bytes)
    Resize-Partition -DriveLetter "<Drive Letter>" -Size <Size>

    OR

    (To shrink by size in KB)
    Resize-Partition -DriveLetter "<Drive Letter>" -Size <Size>KB

    OR

    (To shrink by size in MB)
    Resize-Partition -DriveLetter "<Drive Letter>" -Size <Size>MB

    OR

    (To shrink by size in GB)
    Resize-Partition -DriveLetter "<Drive Letter>" -Size <Size>GB

    OR

    (To shrink by size in TB)
    Resize-Partition -DriveLetter "<Drive Letter>" -Size <Size>TB

    Substitute <Drive Letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "D") you want to resize from step 2 above.

    Substitute <Size> in the command above with the actual size (ex: "1327" in GB) you want to resize the partition/volume (ex: "D") by. You will not be able to resize the partition/volume more than the supported SizeMin (minimum size) and SizeMax (maximum size) given from step 3 above.

    The left over space (SizeMax-resize) after resizing the partition/volume will be how much you shrink the partition/volume by for the unallocated space.

    1000 Bytes = 1 KB
    1024 KB = 1 MB
    1024 MB = 1 Gb
    1024 GB = 1 TB

    For example: Resize-Partition -DriveLetter "D" -Size 1327GB

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-shrink_volume_in_powershell-3.png

    5 When finished, you can close the elevated PowerShell, or create a New Simple Volume with the unallocated space if you like.






    OPTION FOUR

    Shrink Volume or Partition on Disk in Settings


    This option is only available starting with Windows 10 build 20197.


    1 Open Settings, and click/tap on the System icon.

    2 Click/tap on Storage on the left side, and click/tap on the Manage Disks and Volumes link on the right side. (see screenshot below)

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-settings_manage_disks_and_volumes-1.jpg

    3 Expand open the disk (ex: "Disk 2") that contains the volume or partition you want to shrink the size of. (see screenshot below)

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-settings_manage_disks_and_volumes-2.png

    4 Click/tap on the volume or partition (ex: drive "F") you want to shrink the size of of, and click/tap on Properties. (see screenshot below)

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-settings_manage_disks_and_volumes-3.png

    5 Click/tap on the Change size button under the Size section. (see screenshot below)

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-change_size_of_volume_or_partition_in_settings-1.png

    6 Type in a New size in MB (ex: 512) you want for this volume or partition (ex: drive "F") that is lower than the Current size (ex: 1025 MB), and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

    You must enter a New size in MB at least the same size as the Min size to as much as the Max size shown for this volume or partition (ex: drive "F").

    The New size (ex: 512 MB) you enter here will be deducted from the Current size (ex: 1025 MB).

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-change_size_of_volume_or_partition_in_settings-2.png

    7 You can now create a New Simple Volume with the Unallocated space (ex: 513 MB) on the disk if you like. (see screenshot below)

    This unallocated space (ex: 513 MB) on the disk (ex: "Disk 2") includes the left over space after deducting the New size (ex: 512 MB) from the Current size (ex: 1025 MB).

    Shrink Volume or Partition in Windows 10-change_size_of_volume_or_partition_in_settings-3.png

    8 You can now close Settings if you like.


    That's it,
    Shawn Brink






  1. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       #1

    Tutorial updated to add option 4 to shrink the size of a volume or partition in Settings.
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 41,366
    windows 10 professional version 1607 build 14393.969 64 bit
       #2

    When using PS is there a command that will display the same result as administrative command prompt: shrink querymax ?




    In the examples above the administrative command prompt shrink querymax displayed: 1394 GB

    The PS command Get-PartitionSupportedSize -DriveLetter D displayed:

    size max: 1500284067328
    size min: 3273654272


    difference: 1497010413056 Bytes = 1,497,010,413.056 KB = 1,461,924.2315 MB = 1,427.6603823242 GB


    How come the administrative command prompt shrink max is 1394 GB and the PS shrink max appears to be 1,427.6603823242 GB?

    The difference between the results appears to be 33.6603823242 GB?


    1000 Bytes = 1 KB
    1024 KB = 1 MB
    1024 MB = 1 Gb
    1024 GB = 1 TB





    Code:
    On the computer used to type this post:
    
    Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19045.2728]
    (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
    
    C:\WINDOWS\system32>diskpart
    
    Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.19041.964
    
    DISKPART> sel dis 0
    
    Disk 0 is now the selected disk.
    
    DISKPART> det dis
    
    Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Disk ID: 2CE38090
    Type   : RAID
    Status : Online
    Path   : 0
    Target : 1
    LUN ID : 0
    Location Path : PCIROOT(0)#PCI(1F02)#RAID(P00T01L00)
    Current Read-only State : No
    Read-only  : No
    Boot Disk  : Yes
    Pagefile Disk  : Yes
    Hibernation File Disk  : No
    Crashdump Disk  : Yes
    Clustered Disk  : No
    
      Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info
      ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------  -------  ---------  --------
      Volume 1     K   System Rese  NTFS   Partition    499 MB  Healthy    System
      Volume 2     C   Windows      NTFS   Partition    689 GB  Healthy    Boot
      Volume 3     D   HP_TOOLS     FAT32  Partition   2056 MB  Healthy
      Volume 4         Recovery     NTFS   Partition   7148 MB  Healthy    Hidden
    
    DISKPART> lis vol
    
      Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info
      ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------  -------  ---------  --------
      Volume 0     G                       DVD-ROM         0 B  No Media
      Volume 1     K   System Rese  NTFS   Partition    499 MB  Healthy    System
      Volume 2     C   Windows      NTFS   Partition    689 GB  Healthy    Boot
      Volume 3     D   HP_TOOLS     FAT32  Partition   2056 MB  Healthy
      Volume 4         Recovery     NTFS   Partition   7148 MB  Healthy    Hidden
    
    
    DISKPART> sel vol c
    
    Volume 2 is the selected volume.
    
    DISKPART> det vol
    
      Disk ###  Status         Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt
      --------  -------------  -------  -------  ---  ---
    * Disk 0    Online          698 GB      0 B
    
    Read-only              : No
    Hidden                 : No
    No Default Drive Letter: No
    Shadow Copy            : No
    Offline                : No
    BitLocker Encrypted    : No
    Installable            : Yes
    
    Volume Capacity        :  689 GB
    Volume Free Space      :  214 GB
    
    DISKPART> shrink querymax
    
    The maximum number of reclaimable bytes is:  143 GB (146953 MB)
    
    
    
    
    
    Windows PowerShell
    Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
    
    
    PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> get-partition
    
    
       DiskPath: \\?\scsi#disk&ven_hitachi&prod_hts727575a9e364#4&2e35f34e&0&000100#{53f56307-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b}
    
    PartitionNumber  DriveLetter Offset                                             Size Type
    ---------------  ----------- ------                                             ---- ----
    1                K           1048576                                          499 MB IFS
    2                C           524288000                                     689.16 GB IFS
    3                D           740501225472                                    2.01 GB FAT32 XINT13
    4                           742657097728                                    6.98 GB Unknown
    
    
    PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> get-partitionsupportedsize -driveletter c
    
         SizeMin      SizeMax
         -------      -------
    585885372416 739976937472
    
    
    size max:       739976937472
    size min:        585885372416
    
    
    difference:   154091565056 Bytes = 154,091,565.056 KB = 150,480.044 MB = 146.9531679688 GB
    
    
    How come the administrative command prompt shrink max = 143 GB and the PS shrink max appears to be 146.953 GB ?
    
    The difference between the results appears to be 3.953 GB ?
    
    
    1000 Bytes = 1 KB
    1024 KB = 1 MB
    1024 MB = 1 Gb
    1024 GB = 1 TB
    Last edited by zbook; 17 May 2023 at 02:20.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 41,366
    windows 10 professional version 1607 build 14393.969 64 bit
       #3

    The shrinking link in the opening paragraph opened to:
    Extend a Basic Volume
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/pr...ectedfrom=MSDN

    This is a shrink link:
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/pr...31894(v=ws.11)
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #4

    zbook said:
    The shrinking link in the opening paragraph opened to:
    Extend a Basic Volume
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/pr...ectedfrom=MSDN

    This is a shrink link:
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/pr...31894(v=ws.11)
    Thank you. Link corrected.
      My Computers


 

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