Fix Cloned Hard Drive Not Showing Full Capacity Like an Expert [Beginners' Guide]

The reason for "cloned hard drive not showing full capacity" is straightforward. This issue arises when a user clones a smaller hard drive to a larger new one. When encountering this error, stay calm and don't worry, as the solution to this problem is both simple and effective.

Note: The above method also applies to fixing the issue of an SSD showing less capacity after cloning.

The cloned hard drive shows insufficient capacity. How can I fix this issue?

So, if you encounter such problems, follow this tutorial to effectively use your hard drive space.

Here are some possibilities, along with a guide to how one might go about addressing them:

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1] Use AOMEI Partition Assistant to Make the Most of Your Disk Space

The primary reason a hard drive clone does not show full capacity is that the cloning software or disk owner forgot to set the disk layout to auto-extend. As a result, the disk is cloned with the same size as the source disk, leaving unallocated space on the target drive.

So, you can use a tool like Partition Manager to help. That's because the software lets you flexibly make the most of the available space on the cloned disk by extending a volume or creating a new partition on the drive.

Please download the Partition Master tool and follow the relevant guide to proceed. With just a few clicks, your problem will be resolved.

1. Extend Volume using unallocated space

Step 1: Shrink the volume to free up space for expanding the volume

If there's enough unallocated space on the hard drive to extend the target partition, skip to Step 2. If not, free up some first:

In the "Partition Manager" section, right-click on the partition next to the target one and select "Resize/Move." Drag the partition's boundary to free up space, ensuring there is enough unallocated space behind the target partition, then click "OK."

Step 2: Extend the target partition

Right-click the partition you want to expand, and select “Resize/Move.”

Drag the target partition handle to the unallocated space to extend the partition.

Third, preserve all the changes.

Click the Run Task button, and then click Apply to save all your changes.

If this worked for you, and your drive now appears full size in your PC, please share this tool to help others:

Create a new simple volume using unallocated space

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant. On the main interface, right-click on the "Unallocated" space on the hard drive or external storage device and select "Create".

Step 2. Adjust the size of the new partition, choose a file system (as needed), label, and so on, then click OK to proceed.

Step 3. Click the “Run 1 Task” button and then create a new partition by clicking “Apply.”

Watch the following video tutorial to learn how to create partitions on an NTFS, FAT, or EXT file system.

2] Use Disk Management to utilize the full capacity of the cloned disk

Windows Disk Management is a graphical disk management utility provided by Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is used for managing and manipulating hard disk drives and partitions within a computer system. The primary objective of Disk Management is to optimize disk space usage and enhance system performance.

Thus, you can extend the unallocated space on the target disk to the adjacent volume using Disk Management. Follow the guidelines below:

Step 1: Press Windows + R, type diskmgmt.msc, and hit "OK".

Step 2: Right-click the partition in the Disk Management window and select “Extend Volume” from the context menu.

Important: If the "Extend Volume" option is grayed out on your computer, skip this method and proceed to the next one to expand the volume of your drive.

Step 3: Click “Next” and select the disk to clone.

Step 4: Modify the space you want to add to the volume. Click Next > Finish. Adjust the space to be used for increasing the volume that you require.

If you need to extend unallocated space from non-contiguous volumes, you can use a tool like Partition Master for assistance. You can also share this manual method to help some advanced users online:

If you're not familiar with graphical user interface operations, you can also use the Command Prompt (CMD) to expand a cloned disk to its full capacity. Here are the steps to do so using CMD: 1. Open Command Prompt: - Press `Win + X` and choose "Command Prompt (Admin)" or search for "cmd" in the search bar, then right-click the result and run it as an administrator. 2. First, identify the disk number of the drive you want to expand and the unallocated space. Enter the following command to view disk information: ``` diskpart ``` Press `Enter`. 3. In the Diskpart tool, enter the following command and press `Enter`: ``` list disk ``` This will list all disks and their numbers. 4. Locate the target disk (the cloned disk) and the unallocated space's disk number. For example, if the cloned disk is Disk 2, type: ``` select disk 2 ``` Replace "2" with your actual disk number. 5. Confirm the selected disk by typing: ``` detail disk ``` 6. Next, find the partition number of the unallocated space. Typically, it will be the last partition. Assuming the unallocated space is on Partition 3, type: ``` select partition 3 ``` 7. Extend the selected partition to the maximum size of the unallocated space with: ``` extend ``` 8. When done, exit the Diskpart tool by typing: ``` exit ``` These commands will automatically expand the cloned disk to its full capacity, incorporating all unallocated space. Make sure to back up important data before executing these operations as a precaution.

Are you familiar with Windows computer tricks? If so, you can use the Command Prompt or CMD ( DiskPart ) to extend unallocated disk space via command lines. It's a command-line tool used to manage volumes, virtual hard disks, partitions, and disks. You can use specific command lines to manage volumes, partitions, and more. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Press the Windows key + R, type diskpart, and then click OK.

Step 2: In the Disk Management window, type the following command and press Enter:

1. list disk
2. select disk X (Replace X with the target cloned disk, for example, select disk 2)
3. select partition X (Replace X with the partition number you want to shrink, for example, select partition 2)
4. extend desired=X (Replace X with the amount of space you want to expand in MB, for example, extend desired = 100)

Enter the command to extend the partition

So, that's how you can extend the target disk with unallocated space using Diskpart from the Command Prompt.

How to Avoid the Issue of Cloned Hard Drive Showing Low Space

I'd like to remind everyone to follow these necessary tips to avoid running out of space on the cloned disk again:

• ✔️Select a reliable disk cloning software that can automatically adjust disk space during the cloning process, whether cloning from a smaller disk to a larger drive or from a larger disk to a smaller one.
• ✔️Utilize the tool Partition Master, as it offers a reliable disk cloning feature to assist you.

• Do not disturb or interrupt the cloning process, close all background applications, and avoid using any files or data on the source disk during the clone.

Conclusions

Therefore, in this article, you will find the answer on how to fix the cloned hard drive not showing full size issue. Generally, you can utilize the built-in tools of Windows like Disk Management and Service Command Prompt to extend the partition volume.

The problem of cloned disks not showing their full capacity is not a complicated one, and people can fix it themselves, like experts.

If both of the above methods fail, you can use the Partition Master tool as the simplest solution to help you get rid of this error on all Windows computers.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cloned Disks Showing Incorrect Capacity

Please bring this issue to people's attention, and seek answers if you have further questions.

1. Why does my cloned hard drive have unallocated space?

If you cloned your hard drive to a larger one using certain cloning software, the extra space beyond the original drive's size might be recognized as unallocated.

**How to Use the Full Capacity of a Cloned Hard Drive?** To utilize the full capacity of a cloned hard drive, follow these steps: 1. **Connect the Cloned Hard Drive:** Attach the cloned hard drive to your computer, ensuring it is properly recognized. This can be done via USB, SATA, or another interface. 2. **Boot Your Computer:** Turn on your computer and enter the operating system. If the cloned drive is meant to replace the original, you might need to change the boot order in the BIOS/UEFI settings to start from the new drive. 3. **Resize Partitions:** If the cloning process didn't fill the target drive's entire space, you'll need to resize partitions to make use of the extra room. You can do this using built-in disk management tools (like Windows' "Disk Management" or macOS' "Disk Utility") or third-party partition software. - **Windows:** - Press `Win + X`, then choose "Disk Management." - Locate your cloned drive and find unallocated space. - Right-click on the partition with allocated space and select "Extend Volume." - Follow the wizard's instructions to add the unallocated space to the existing partition. - **macOS:** - Open "Disk Utility," select your cloned drive. - Choose the partition, then click the "+" button to create a new partition. - Alternatively, select an existing partition, click "-" to delete it, then recreate a larger partition covering the whole drive. 4. **Verify Space Expansion:** After completing these steps, check Disk Management or Disk Utility to confirm that your cloned hard drive now shows as using all available space. Note that if a cloning tool like Acronis True Image or Clonezilla was used, it may have an option to automatically adjust partition sizes to fully utilize the target drive's capacity. Consult the software's documentation for specific guidance.

You can use the full capacity of the cloned drive through Disk Management. Follow these steps:

1. Open Disk Management and select the volume you want to extend. In the Disk Management window, you'll see all of the storage devices connected to your computer.
2. Choose the amount of space you want to add and click “Next,” then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

3. Can I clone my hard drive safely and fully utilize the capacity of the target disk?

You can safely clone your disk drive and use the capacity of the target disk with tools like Partition Master. This software allows you to add unallocated space to its partitions, which comes in handy when you want to expand your storage.