How to Safely and Quickly Merge Partitions in Windows 10

• Applies to: Two or more partitions, whether adjacent or not.
• Tools needed: Partition Master or the Windows 10 Disk Management tool

Merging disk partitions is the current trend, making it a practical need for users to merge partitions. You might wonder if it's possible to merge partitions in Windows 10 without losing data? If so, how to merge partitions in Windows 11/10? There are three scenarios for merging partitions in Windows 10. You can use a disk partition manager tool software to merge two partitions without data loss.

Get specific about what you need, and implement the exact steps to achieve it.

How to Merge Partitions in Windows Without Losing Data

There are two options for merging Windows partitions, and in this case, using third-party software is much easier than Disk Management. Read on to learn why I'm not exaggerating.

Option 1: Merge two partitions using a Partition Master tool

For a great partition manager tool – AOMEI Partition Assistant, merging two adjacent partitions is quite easy. It's an all-in-one partition merger software that perfectly works with almost all 32/64-bit Windows OS. More importantly, it can help you merge two partitions without data loss.

Unlike disk management, Partition Master doesn't require you to delete a volume to create new space. As long as the source partition and the target partition (or unallocated space) are adjacent, you can combine them directly.

Step 1: Choose the Target Partition

Right-click the disk partition that you want to merge into the space and select “Merge.”

Step two: Merge adjacent partitions that should be combined.

Merge with the partition that is adjacent to the previously selected one.

Click “OK” to proceed.

Step 3: Perform the operation – Merge Partitions

1. Click the "Execute Task" button at the top, then click "Apply."
2. The program will merge the two partitions and add the files from the second partition to the first one.

Select the partitions to merge

If you managed to merge two partitions into one, don't forget to share this guide online to help more people around you master their disk drives like a pro!

In addition to merging partitions, you can use Partition Master to partition a hard drive. The video demonstrates how to easily adjust partition size, create a partition, and delete a partition in Windows.

Option 2: Merge two partitions into one in Disk Management

Whether the partitions you want to merge are adjacent or not, Disk Management requires you to delete the target partition first to create unallocated space. That's because Disk Management merges partitions by extending the source partition with the unallocated space. Therefore, if you choose to use Disk Management, backup your partition data before deleting it.

Also read: How to Automatically Backup Files to an External Hard Drive.

After backing up your files, you can proceed to merge partitions in Windows 10 using “Disk Management”:

Step 1: Right-click “This PC”, and then choose “Manage” > “Disk Management”.

Step 2: Right-click the partition you want to delete, and select “Delete Volume.” Click “Yes” when prompted.

3. Right-click the disk partition you want to extend, and select “Extend Volume.”

Step 4: Click Next in the Extend Volume Wizard.

Step 5: Choose the partition size, and click “Next.” (You might be confused by the “Select Disk” window. Here, “Max Available” means the total unallocated space on the current disk.)

Step 6: Click Next > Finish, and wait for the process to complete.

Please feel free to share this tutorial to help more people merge their partitions:

Option 3: How to Merge Two Non-adjacent Partitions in Windows 10

Both Partition Wizard and the built-in Disk Management in Windows can merge two non-contiguous partitions.

• To merge non-adjacent volumes, the process varies depending on the partitions between the source volume and target volume. You may refer to Method 2 (delete the target partition and then extend the source partition). • Using a professional partition merger tool to combine non-adjacent partitions will differ based on the partitions between the source partition and target partition.

If there is unallocated space between the source and target partitions, you can directly merge these two partitions without deleting any existing volumes, and the unallocated space will also be added to the new partition. For example, you can directly merge Disk C and Disk D in the above picture (for details, refer to Option 1).

However, if there is a partition between the two volumes that you want to merge, you do not have to use a disk management tool to delete it; merging the partitions will not endanger your data.

Here are the steps to merge two non-contiguous partitions in Windows 10:

Step 1: Enter the “Disk Partition Management” interface, right click on one of the partitions to be merged and select “Merge Partition”.

Select the partitions to merge

Step 2: Select a non-adjacent partition to merge, and then click “OK.”

Step 3: Select the target partition that you want to keep, and then click “OK” to merge the non-contiguous partitions into it.

4. Click the “Execute Task” button and then “Apply” to commence the partition merge.

Additional Information: Reasons for Merging Partitions in Windows 10

Merging partitions refers to the act of combining two partitions into one larger partition. It has become popular over time due to its convenience. You can have the joy of merging partitions on one or multiple hard disks. Depending on users' needs, they have three main reasons to merge partitions in Windows.

• Increase disk space and expand the system partition

It is common that there is not enough space on a disk partition, especially the C drive. To extend system partition or data partition, many users tend to merge partitions (merge D drive into C drive) first so as to add more free space to the source disk.

• Saving files more easily

Users, especially gamers, tend to have more efficient storage of game data, measured in GBs, on a single hard drive rather than in partitions. Most computers, however, come with pre-partitioned hard drives from manufacturers. Hence, many opt to merge partitions.

• Faster file searching

Even if you divide the hard drive into several partitions, you will hardly store files separately as planned. Instead, data will be scattered across these sections randomly, making it difficult to locate a specific file or folder you need at the moment. To cut down on the time spent searching for files, it's a good idea to reduce the number of volumes by merging partitions.

Did you want to merge your Windows 10 partitions for any of the three reasons above? Regardless of whether your answer is “yes” or “no,” as long as you attempt to adjust their sizes by adding one partition to another, you can do so using the method outlined above.

Ultimately

Now that you've learned about two tools to help merge partitions into one larger one, you should have noticed some differences between using third-party software and the built-in Windows program. For instance, with a tool like Partition Master, you can skip the step of deleting the target partition if you want to merge adjacent ones, which is not supported by Disk Management.

Moreover, you can use free backup software to back up your files more efficiently even if a third-party app requires you to delete partitions. Choose the partition management solution that best suits your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions About Merging Partitions

If you still have questions, read the FAQ to get answers right away.

1. Can I merge C drive and D drive?

Many of you may know that the built-in Disk Management utility in Windows can help to merge C drive and D drive in Windows 10 for free. However, this program also has its drawbacks. As Disk Management is unable to adjust partition size directly, you have to delete the other partition before merging it with C drive. With the assistance of Partition Master, you can merge C and D drives quickly and without data loss.

2. Will deleting a partition remove data?

Deleting a primary partition will require formatting your hard drive and starting over. This will permanently delete any data currently stored on the partition.