Extend System Partition Windows 2008

by Jane / Saturday, October 08, 2016

Windows Server 2008 had a great change on Windows Server 2003, Extend Volume and Shrink Volume options are added to disk management right-click menu, but you cannot use the two functions freely. So when low disk space alert happens to you system partition, you need to do more to use new functions:

  1. Make sure the space behind system partition in unallocated, which means, if D partition is in the place, you had to delete the partition, so that that space can be used for C Drive extension, or Extend Volume option will grey out
  2. Do not use Shrink Volume to create unallocated space, because the space you created is in wrong position, Extend Volume will still grey out even after you shrink one large sized partition
  3. Make sure file system in system partition is NTFS, or Extend Volume cannot be clickable even you have unallocated space next to System partition

So if anyone told you to shrink D partition and you can extend C Drive, that's wrong. Shrink Volume is designed for reducing partition size and make new partition on unallocated space. Really cannot help to extend volume.

When you get unallocated space followed C Drive, you can extend system partition in Disk Management, or use diskpart command line to extend system partition. we have made detailed guides on each methods, you can click to read more:

  1. cannot extend system partition windows 2008
  2. Diskpart Extend System Partition Windows 2008

Disk management alternative partition software: Partition Expert provides another solution on extending system partition of Windows 2008. You can do the extension without data loss: you don't have to delete D Drive or any partition to make space unallocated, or convert original file system FAT32 to NTFS. We'll show you how to easily extend system partition in Partition Expert:

  1. Run Partition Expert Server Edition after downloaded
  2. Click D partition first and click Resize/Move Volume, you can find this option in the left column, or in the right-click menu of the partition you selected
  3. Reduce D Partition size by dragging the handle; you can see the result in real-time in the column followed; and click OK to confirm this operation
  4. Click System partition now, and Resize again; Drag the handle on the right side to extend C Drive, click OK and Commit.

Here are the screenshots of how to extend system partition in Windows 2008. You can take a look if you haven't done the software. In fact, it's so well designed that when you run it, you already known how to use it.

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