Can't figure out extending a disk partition (Windows 8.1)

Today

New Member
Messages
3
Hello,

I'm trying to extend drive E or preferably F but am getting this warning:
partitions.png



AFAIK, this is supposed to appear when I'm trying to create more than 4 partitions, but as you can see, there are only 3 on Disk 2. I tried Googling this issue for a while but still can't find a solution. I have been seeing people advise others NOT to make it dynamic (rather than basic), and likewise I don't want to do that.

Any idea what could be the issue?

I do have AOMEI Partition Assistant (third-party partition program) but would like to use it as a last resort so I can just use the stock Windows functions. Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
It looks like you're trying to extend F: -- which you can't because it is adjacent to E: But, you should be able to extend E: into the unallocated space to the left of it.

I've not used AOMI, but I have used Minitool Partition Wizard, and generally speaking, the third-party tools provide a lot more flexibility than the built-in Disk Management tool.
 

My Computer

It looks like you're trying to extend F: -- which you can't because it is adjacent to E: But, you should be able to extend E: into the unallocated space to the left of it.

I've not used AOMI, but I have used Minitool Partition Wizard, and generally speaking, the third-party tools provide a lot more flexibility than the built-in Disk Management tool.
Thanks Mark! The same message appears when I try to extend E. If F wasn't going to work, I hoped to extend E, shrink E, then use the extra space (hopefully to "the right" of E) to merge with F.

I may have to end up using a third-party tool to do what I want, but I was hoping to get to the root of this issue. It just bugs me that there might be an underlying issue here that I may be sweeping under the rug if I just force it with a third-party tool.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I think you should use the third party software, which I have used it once in a while. it is a great product by the way.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8 64bit
quote_icon.png
Originally Posted by Mark Phelps
you should be able to extend E: into the unallocated space to the left of it.
No you can't.
If you want to extend E: and the unallocated partition, the unallocated partition must be after E:
If you want to extend F: then the unallocated partition must be after F:

@OP
The easiest way to do this is:
  1. Download: Bootable Partition Manger | MiniTool Partition Wizard Bootable Edition and use Rufus - Create bootable USB to create a USB stick to boot from
  2. Boot up with the USB stick you create from step 1. You will see a screen similar to below:
    a.jpg
  3. Assuming you want to extend E: then right click on E: -> Move/Resize. Screen #2 will pop up, click and drag E: drive to the left as shown in screen #3. Then click Apply (#4) to commit the change.
    b.jpg
  4. Disconnect the USB and reboot.
  5. Open Disk Management, right click on E: ->Extend Volume
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
No you can't. If you want to extend E: and the unallocated partition, the unallocated partition must be after E:

Excuse me ... but I have expanded partitions into unallocated space on the left numerous times -- but then, I use the Minitool Partition Wizard to do that. The MS Disk Management tool is too limited in functionality.
 

My Computer

No you can't. If you want to extend E: and the unallocated partition, the unallocated partition must be after E:

Excuse me ... but I have expanded partitions into unallocated space on the left numerous times -- but then, I use the Minitool Partition Wizard to do that. The MS Disk Management tool is too limited in functionality.
Yup. 3rd party partitioning software doesn't have the same limitation that Disk Management has, they can extend partitions that are BEFORE or AFTER unallocated space.

It's not necessary to boot from another disk either, you can just run the partitioning software from the booted drive. It's always a good idea to have a backup should anything go wrong but, generally speaking, you shouldn't have any problems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 Pro (desktop), W10 (laptop), W10 Pro (tablet)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built i7-8700K, Hp Envy x360 EVO Laptop, MS Surface Pro 7
    CPU
    3.7Ghz Core i7-8700K, 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 4.7Ghz, 10th Gen Core™ i5-1035G4 1.1Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS TUF Z370-Pro Gaming, HP, MS
    Memory
    16G, 8G, 8G
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX580, Intel Iris X Graphics, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G4
    Sound Card
    ATI High Definition Audio (Built-in to mobo)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual Samsung U32J59 32 inch monitors, 13.3" display, 12.3" display
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 (Desktop), 1920x1080 (laptop), 2736x1824 Pro 7
    Hard Drives
    500GB ssd boot drive with 2 & 10TB Data (Desktop), 512GB ssd (laptop), 128GB SSD (tablet)
    PSU
    Corsair CX 750M
    Case
    Antec 100
    Cooling
    Coolermaster CM 212+
    Keyboard
    IBM Model M - used continuously since 1986
    Mouse
    Microsoft IntelliMouse
    Internet Speed
    665Mbps/15Mbps down/up
    Browser
    FireFox, MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender on all
    Other Info
    Retired in 2015 after working in the tech industry for 41 years. First 10 years as a Technician, the rest as a programmer/software engineer. After 1 year of retirement, I was bored so went back to work as a Robotic Process Automation Consultant. Retired for 3rd (and final) time in 2019.
@Mark Phelps
Sorry I misunderstood your answer. I thought you said to do from disk management.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
Extending a partition to the right is a relatively simple thing, just update a few numbers in the disk structure. But extending to the left essentially means moving the beginning of the volume and that is a far from simple thing. The built in Disk Management utility has some limitations with extending partitions. If they wished Microsoft could supply with Windows a utility that rivaled the best commercial products. The problem is that doing so would leave commercial products without a market. The companies concerned would see Microsoft as having an unfair advantage. And the courts would likely agree, as they have in the past. Thus Disk Management had designed in limitations. For a similar reason Microsoft was forced to create a special N version of Windows for sale in the European Union that omitted most media programs.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Just wanted to update everyone and say that I finally got around to using AOMEI to manipulate my partitions as desired :) Thanks for all the input.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Back
Top