Similar to previous Windows 7/8, low disk space on the C drive is a common issue on Windows 10/11 computers. When it happens, some people try to clean up the C drive with Disk Cleanup or third-party software, but they cannot free up a large amount of space. To solve this problem, the best method is moving free space from the D to the C drive. Otherwise, the C drive will become full again shortly. Some people may ask whether it is possible to transfer space from the D to the C drive without losing data. The answer is yes, but you had better use safe partition software. This article introduces how to move space from the D to the C drive in Windows 10/11 with native tools and safe free partition software.
Move Space from D to C in Windows 10/11 with Native Tool
From Windows 7, Microsoft added advanced new "Shrink Volume" and "Extend Volume" functions in Disk Management to help resize partitions without losing data (not 100%). There is a way to move disk space from the D to the C drive in Windows 10/11 with the inbuilt tool, but it is not recommended.
First of all, you should know that the size of a physical disk is fixed. You can resize a partition on a disk, but you cannot change the size of the disk itself. Before extending a partition, there must be "unallocated space" on the same disk. To get this kind of space, you may either delete or shrink a partition.
After deleting a volume, all its disk space will be converted to unallocated and all files will be deleted. After shrinking this volume, only a portion of the free space will be converted to unallocated, and all files will remain intact.
Windows Disk Management can only delete the D drive and move all its space to the C drive. If you want to shrink D and extend the C drive, Disk Management cannot help you, because:
- It can only create unallocated space on the right when shrinking a partition.
- It can only add unallocated space to the left adjacent partition.
As you see in the screenshot, the unallocated space shrunk from the D drive is non-adjacent to the C drive. Therefore, "Extend Volume" is disabled for the C drive.
If your D drive is a Primary partition and you can delete it, follow the steps below. Otherwise, jump to the next section to transfer space without deleting the volume.
How to transfer space from the D to the C drive in Windows 10/11 with Disk Management:
- Press Windows + X hot keys and click Disk Management in the list.
- Right-click the D drive and select "Delete Volume" to convert its space to unallocated.
- Right-click the C drive and select "Extend Volume" to merge this unallocated space. You just need to click Next until Finish in the pop-up "Extend Volume Wizard".
To move space from one partition to another in Windows 10/11, NIUBI Partition Editor is a better choice. It can shrink the D drive and move a portion of the free space to the C drive without deleting the partition or losing data.
Move Free Space from D to C in Windows 10/11 with Free Tool
To move space from the D to the C drive on a Windows 10/11 computer, NIUBI Partition Editor is a much better choice. To accomplish this task, you just need to drag and drop on the disk map. It offers a free edition for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP home computer users.
Download this tool and you will see the main window with disk partition layout and other information.
How to move space from the D to the C drive in Windows 10/11 with NIUBI:
Step 1: Right-click the adjacent drive D and select "Resize/Move Volume", then drag the left border to the right in the pop-up window.
A portion of the free space will be converted to unallocated on the left side of D.
Step 2: Right-click the C drive and select "Resize/Move Volume" again, then drag the right border to the right in the pop-up window.
Then the unallocated space will be moved to the C drive.
NIUBI is designed to work in virtual mode, and all operations you perform will be listed as pending on the bottom left. Real disk partitions will not be resized until you click the "Apply" button on the top left to confirm.
If the C and D drives are on different disks on your computer, no software can move space from the D to the C drive. In that case, you can clone the system disk to a larger one and extend the C drive with the extra disk space.
Take Care of Data When Transferring Space from D to C Drive
It is easy to move free space from the D to the C drive on a Windows 10/11 computer, but not all software can accomplish this task well. There is a potential risk of data loss and/or system damage when you resize partitions with unreliable software. Because all parameters of the associated disk, partitions, and files must be modified correctly, all files must be moved to a new location, and system boot-related files must be updated, even a slight error could cause damage.
Compared with other tools, NIUBI Partition Editor has advanced technologies to protect your system and data:
- Hot Clone - Clone disk partitions in Windows for backup, migration, and fast disk swapping.
- Virtual Mode - All operations are listed as pending for preview, and real disk partitions won't be modified until you click "Apply" to confirm.
- Cancel-at-Will - If you applied incorrect operations, you can safely cancel the ongoing operations at any stage before completion.
- 1 Second Rollback - If any error is detected while resizing partitions, it can immediately and automatically revert the disk partitions to their previous state.
- Advanced file-moving algorithm: Resize and move partitions 30% to 300% faster, saving significant time, especially when handling a large number of files.
Besides moving space from one partition to another in Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP, this free software helps you perform operations such as copying, converting, defragging, checking, wiping, hiding partitions, scanning for bad sectors, optimizing file systems, and much more.
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