Can't shrink C partition in Windows 8.1 with diskmgmt

[Quickdraw996]

I am trying to shrink C:\ with Disk Management so I can make room for another partition, however it says the max size it can be shrunk is 1,666 MB. But even if I try to shrink it by that much I get an error (pictures attached).

What I have done to try and fix this issue:
I figured I may need to defragment my drive but that has not remedied the issue.

So I decided to do power down, remove my laptops battery, hold power for about 30 seconds, put the battery back in and power up again. This also has not remedied the issue.

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I apologize if those measures were noobish and useless to fixing my issue, I have not ran into this issue ever and was not/am not sure what to do.

I am new to windows 8 and am not sure if this is related to something that has changed since windows 7. Could it be related to secure boot or something called (U)EFI? (I need to do some reading on both of these)

Does anyone have any ideas what may be preventing me for shrinking my C:\ drive and therefore creating a new partition out of the freed up space?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

 

[popeye]

Probably because the partition has to be offline to do it. I've had to use third party partition managers to do it. EaseUS has worked for me but some have had it mess up their partitions, be sure to image before using it.

 

[topgundcp]

The partition is fragmented. You need to run defrag first to consolidate all free spaces then try again.

 

[Quickdraw996]

The partition is fragmented. You need to run defrag first to consolidate all free spaces then try again.

The first solution I tried was defragmenting the hard drive but that did not fix it.
If I run the program called defrag a cmd window pops up and disappears.
The result of those actions is now I can only shrink it by 148MB

 

[topgundcp]

From Admin command Windows, run dfrgui. Hi lite C then Optimize

 

[Addictive Gamer]

1.) Your C partition is not at the end of disk.
2.) data is spread across C partition.
If you want to see how data is spread download Disk view from Microsoft sysinternals

example of disk view:



If your disk does not look like the one above, you won't be able to shrink it.
additional defragmentations might solve this.

 

[topgundcp]

If the solution suggested above does not work then download: Bootable Partition Manger | MiniTool Partition Wizard Bootable Edition
then use: Rufus - Create bootable USB to create a bootable CD/USB. Bootup your PC, right click on C drive->Resize. Click Apply to commit the change from the top left corner.

 

[windows8use]

You can try download the MiniTool Partition Wizard to shrink it. It worked for me when I want to extend the C: drive.
Partition Wizard may need to reboot your PC to shrink your C: drive.

Note: Backup your data before shrink or extend partitions/volumes.

 

[genet]

Step One: Disk Cleanup - Open and Use - Windows 7 Help Forums

Step Two: Partition or Volume - Shrink - Windows 7 Help Forums

The size of the available shrink space can be restricted by the amount of space currently allocated to on the hard drive for the virtual memory page file, System Protection maximum storage space size, and hibernation files. The location of the files on the hard drive plays a big part here because these files are marked as unmovable, and Disk Management is unable to relocate them. As such, if these unmovable files are located in the middle of the total amount of free space on the disk, then only the amount of free space on the other side (to the right) of these files will actually be available for the new partition. This will result in you showing that you have x amount of free space, but not being able to use it for your partition. [del]The only way around this is to use a 3rd party hard drive partition management program, or setup the partition when installing Vista.[/del]

Note: If you have an OEM PC that came with Windows 8/8.1 preinstalled, you may not use the third-party partition software (for example, EaseUS Partition Master), because modifying the hard drive partition structure usually break the factory restore feature. But if you use Windows Disk Management to shrink the C: partition (see screenshots below), then Refresh and Reset should work.

EDIT: This program does not break the factory restore feature: http://www.disk-partition.com/free-partition-manager.html

 

[popeye]

Genet, I forgot to mention that very important detail about OEM installs. I no longer have OEM or recovery partition so not an issue for me. Imaging is the best safety measure before messing with partitions, especially with any third party software.

 

[Quickdraw996]

Thank you guys for the support!

I have tried multiple suggestions but the best I have been able to do is extend C:\ to the end of the drive, but it would only let me shrink to what I had just extended.

I think there may be unmovable files at the end of C:\. How do I tell and how should I deal with this if it is the case?

I remember years ago I saw a program that (I think) was built into XP, that would linearly break down the drive and color code it. I remember yellow was unmovable files. Does anyone know what I am talking about? Is it still around in Windows 8?

 

[Addictive Gamer]

I remember that, the thing you're talking about is a disk defragmenter known from XP era and earlier.
defragmenters from new Windows versions do not show this data, but you can see it by using disk view ( link from my previous post )

As told by others your best bet is to make a backup and test 3rd party tools.
example: MyDefrag v4.3.1