Merge partitions in Windows Server 2008 (R2)
In technical forums, many people are talking about merging partitions in Windows Server 2008, but after reading most of the threads, nobody give complete introduction, so I sort it out in this article, hope it does help.
Why merge Server 2008 partitions?
Running Windows Server 2008 for a certain time, many people encountered the problem that C drive runs out of space and “Low Disk Space” warning pops up. Some people click the warning and try to free up space, but regain little free space. They wonder whether it is possible to combine the partitions such as C and D together, so C drive free space increased. Yes, it is possible in theory.
Merge partitions in Sever 2008 Disk Management
You can combine volumes in Disk Management of Windows 2008 Server, steps:
- Back up or transfer all files in volume D to other location.
- Open Disk Management by click Server Manager on bottom left.
- Right click D and select Delete Volume.
- Right click C and select Extend Volume.
- Finish the Extend Volume Wizard.
In a short time, disk space of D will be merged into C drive.
Benefits of combining volumes
In one word, you can get the disk space of a volume by deleting it and turn the disk space to free space as part of another volume.
Limitations of merging partitions
- There must be another partition or storage device as backup.
- All Windows services and applications in D stop working after deleting it.
- Extend Volume is disabled even if you delete D in some condition.
- Only 2 adjacent partitions can be merged.
Resize instead of merge
If your aim is to expand C drive by combing 2 partitions, there is better way – resize partitions.
Server partitioning software can resize disk volumes, shrink a volume to get free space and add into C drive, so there is no need to delete a volume.
DownloadNIUBI Partition Editor and watch the video how to resize Server 2008 partitions.