How to extend partition in Windows Server 2008

This article introduces how to extend partition in Windows Server 2008 R2 without losing data. Extend Server 2008 volume with Disk Management, Diskpart cmd and partition editor software.

When system C drive is running out of space on Windows Server 2008, if you contact support from OEM manufacturers, they'll tell you to back up everything, delete and recreate partitions, finally restore from backup. If you do like that, a whole day may be wasted, obviously, it is not the best solution.

To help change partition size, Microsoft provides 2 native tools in Windows Server 2008: Diskpart command and Disk Management. Both tools can shrink and extend Server 2008 volume without losing data (in most cases). However, they only work under restricted condition. In most cases, you still need third party partition software for Server 2008.

1. Extend volume in Windows Server 2008 Disk Management

To extend partition with Windows Server 2008 Disk Management, your disk partition structure must meet all requirements below:

1. The partition that you want to extend must be formatted with NTFS file system.
2. There is another partition on the same disk and on the right of the drive that you want to increase.
3. You must delete the right contiguous partition to get Unallocated space (for example, delete D to extend C).
4. On MBR disk, the partitions that you want to delete and extend must be the same Primary or Logical partition.

How to extend volume in Windows Server 2008 using Disk Management:

1. Press Windows and R hot-keys together, type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter.
2. Right click the right adjacent partition (such as D:) and select Delete Volume, then the disk space will be changed to Unallocated.
3. Right click the partition that you want to extend (such as C:) and select Extend Volume.
4. Disk and available space is selected by default, simply click Next till Finish in Extend Volume Wizard dialog box.

Together with Extend Volume, there is another Shrink Volume function in Disk Management, why not extend C drive by shrinking D or other partitions?

2. How to extend Server 2008 partition with diskpart cmd

The same with previous Server 2003, you can extend partition in Windows Server 2008 with DiskPart command. But the same with Disk Management, diskpart can only extend a partition by deleting the right contiguous one. Furthermore, only NTFS partition can be extended.

Note: Unlike Disk Management that displays partition layout and detailed information, diskpart only displays single partitions in a list. In addition, it doesn't show any Unallocated space.

Steps to extend Server 2008 partition with Diskpart:

1. Press Windows and R hot-keys together, type diskpart and press Enter.
2. Input list volume and press Enter in the command prompt window, then you'll see all partitions.
3. Input select volume D and press Enter. (D is the right adjacent drive.)
4. Input delete volume and press Enter.
5. Input select volume C and press Enter. (C is the partition that you want to extend.)
6. Input extend and press Enter.

Note: if you want to extend this partition with only part of Unallocated space, input extend desired=XX (XX is amount in MB).

3. How to extend partition for Windows 2008 server with NIUBI

Comparing with Windows native tools, third party software have many advantages such as:

• They can shrink and extend both NTFS and FAT32 partitions.
• They can make Unallocated space on either left or right side while shrinking a partition.
• They can add Unallocated space to either contiguous and any nonadjacent partitions on the same disk.

However, before extending volume in Windows 2008 server with any partitioning software, you'd better make a backup.

Better than other tools, NIUBI Partition Editor has powerful technologies to protect system and data:

• Virtual Mode - all operations will be listed as pending for preview, real disk partitions won't be modified until click Apply to confirm.
• Cancel-at-well - if you applied wrong operations, it doesn't matter, you can also cancel the ongoing operations without losing data.
• 1 Second Rollback - if encounter any error while resizing partition, it automatically reverts server to original status in a flash.
• Advanced file-moving algorithm - move and extend partition 30% to 300% faster, saving much time especially if there are large amount of files.

How to extend partition in Windows Server 2008 R2 with NIUBI Partition Editor:

① Download this program and you'll see the main window with disk partition structure and other information.

② Right click D: (the right contiguous drive) and select "Resize/Move Volume", drag left border towards right in the pop-up window. You may also enter an amount in the box behind "Unallocated space before" (1024MB = 1GB).

③ Right click C: drive and select "Resize/Move Volume", drag right border towards right to combine this Unallocated space.

To modify real disk partition, remember to click Apply on top left to execute. Otherwise, these operations only work in virtual mode.

Besides shrinking and extending partition in Windows Server 2008/2012/2016/2019, NIUBI Partition Editor helps you do many other disk and partition management operations.

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