How-To

How to Change Partition Sizes in Windows 11

By Ben Stockton

Updated November 16, 2023

Need more space on your Windows 11 partition? You can change partition sizes in Windows 11 to help you manage your storage more efficiently. Here’s how.

Do you want to make more space for files and programs on your Windows 11 PC? Do you want to organize your hard drive better by creating or deleting partitions?

A good way to do this is to resize partition sizes in Windows 11. Partitions are sections of your hard drive that act as separate drives. They can have different file systems, labels, and letters.  You can use partitions to store different types of data, such as dual-booting operating systems, your personal files, and more.

Changing partition size on Windows 11 isn’t difficult, but it requires some caution and preparation. Windows 11 comes with two built-in apps that can help you change partition size, but you can also use third-party apps instead.

To help you, we’ll show you how to change partition size on Windows 11 below (as well as how to avoid the risks).

How to Change Partition Size in Windows 11 Using Disk Management

Disk Management is a graphical user interface (GUI) app that lets you view and manage your disks and partitions visually. Disk Management is the easiest way to change partition size on Windows 11 if you are not comfortable with using commands.

Warning: Before you begin, make sure you back up your data. If the process fails, the partition might become inaccessible, and you may lose your files.

To resize a partition using Disk Management:

1. Right-click the Start menu and select Settings.
   
2. Press System > Storage.
   
3. Under the Storage management section, press Advanced storage settings.
   
4. Select Disks & volumes setting.
   
5. Select the Properties button next to the partition that you want to resize.
   
6. Under Size, click the Change size button.
   
7. Depending on whether you want to shrink or extend the partition, you’ll have to consider two different scenarios:
   • To shrink a partition, enter the amount of space that you want to reduce from the partition in MB (megabytes) and press OK. This will create some unallocated space next to the partition that you can use for other purposes.
   • To extend a partition, make sure that there’s already some unallocated space next to the partition that you want to enlarge. If not, you might need to shrink or delete another partition first. You can then enter the amount of space that you want to add to the partition in MB before pressing OK. This will merge the unallocated space with the partition and increase its size.
     
8. Wait for the process to complete, then restart your PC for the changes to take effect fully.

How to Change Partition Size in Windows 11 Using DiskPart

DiskPart is a command-line (CLI) app that lets you perform various disk operations using commands. DiskPart is a more advanced method for changing partition sizes on Windows 11, but it can also be quicker (if you’re comfortable using tools like these).

You can use the older Command Prompt or the newer Windows PowerShell or Windows Terminal tools to run these commands.

Warning: Like Disk Management, you should back up your files before you start, just in case. Otherwise, if the partitions become corrupted, you might lose your files.

To resize partitions in Windows 11 using DiskPart:

1. Open the Start menu and type cmd, powershell, or Terminal.
2. Select the Best Match result.
   
3. In your preferred terminal app, type diskpart and hit Enter key to launch DiskPart.
4. Type list volume and press the Enter key to show all of the partitions on your PC.
   
5. Next, type select volume x and hit the Enter key to select a partition to resize. x represents the number of the target partition that you want to resize.
6. Depending on whether you want to shrink or extend the partition, you have different commands at this point:
   • To shrink a partition, type shrink desired=x and press the Enter key. x represents the amount of space that you want to reduce from the partition in MB. This will create some unallocated space next to the partition that you can use for other purposes.
     
   • To extend a partition, make sure that there’s already some unallocated space next to the partition that you want to enlarge. If not, you might need to shrink another partition first (or delete it). When you’re ready, type extend size=x and hit the Enter key, where x represents the amount of space that you want to add to the partition in MB. This will merge the unallocated space with the partition and increase its size.
     
7. When you’re finished, type exit and close the terminal app. The partition should be bigger (or smaller) at this point.

How to Change Partition Size Using a Third-Party App

If you find both Disk Management and DiskPart too complicated or too limiting to use, you can use a third-party app instead. There are many apps available online that can help you change partition size easily and safely, but one of the easiest is EaseUS Partition Master.

EaseUS Partition Master is a powerful and user-friendly app that lets you manage your disks and partitions on Windows 11 with ease. You can use it to resize, move, merge, split, create, delete, format, clone, wipe partitions, and more.

Warning: Like the built-in methods for resizing Windows 11 partitions, make sure you save a backup of your files on another hard drive before you proceed.

To use EaseUS Partition Master to change partition size on Windows 11:

1. Download and install EaseUS Partition Master on your PC.
2. In EaseUS, select the Partition Manager option on the left.
3. Select the target drive or partition in the My Disks area in the middle.
4. Finally, press Resize/Move on the right.
   
5. To shrink the partition, drag your mouse from the end to free up any unallocated space. To extend the partition, make sure that there’s enough unallocated space next to it for you to enlarge into. If not, you might need to shrink another partition first.
6. When you’re finished, press OK.
   
7. At this point, you’re ready to save your changes—press Apply to confirm your options and to start resizing partitions.
   

Once the partitions are resized, you can exit the program, but you may want to restart your PC afterward.

Managing Your Drives on Windows 11

If you want to reorganize your drive partitions, changing their size is a good way to get started. Using the steps above, you can change partition size on Windows 11 with ease, but remember the golden rule—make sure you have a backup of your important data to avoid any data loss or corruption before you begin.

Worried about your data security? You should test your hard drives for the risk of failure. If they’re failing, back up your files and swap out the drive as soon as possible.

Need to speed things up? Switch out an older hard drive and use an NVMe M.2 SSD instead.