How to Resolve the "New Simple Volume Greyed Out" Error in Windows Disk Management

There are instances when the "New Simple Volume" option is unavailable in Disk Management when attempting to create a new partition. You encounter a New Simple Volume greyed-out issue. Here's a typical scenario where the New Simple Volume feature isn't functioning:

＜img alt="New Simple Volume greyed out in Windows 10/8/7" height="278" data-src="/images/en/screenshot/partition-manager/new-simple-volume-grayed-out.png" width="700"＞

Don't worry. In the following, you'll find practical solutions for resolving this issue on your computer hard drive or external USB.

Solution to Fix "New Simple Volume" Greyed Out on Windows 11/10/8/7 Local Hard Drive

To re-enable the New Simple Volume option on your Windows 11, 10, 8, or 7 local drive, the ideal solution is to convert MBR to GPT (you can learn why in Part 3). Here's a comparison table to help you choose the perfect method:

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Method 1: Convert MBR Disk to GPT Disk Without Losing Any Data

Here are the translations:
• Free or Charge: Charge
• Duration: 3 Minutes
• Tools: Computer, Partition Master software.

Professional partition manager software - tools Partition Master allows you to efficiently convert MBR to GPT without deleting any partitions or losing any data. This outstanding software offers many other fantastic features:

• Flexibly adjust partition size by sliding the partition left and right
• Clone an entire disk to another desired disk
• Combine Windows partitions effortlessly to expand partition space
• Properly align partitions on SSDs

Get this user-friendly software to convert MBR to GPT without any data loss.

< strong >Video tutorial to convert MBR to GPT:

Method 2: Manually Convert MBR to GPT using Disk Management

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• Free or Charge: Free
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• Free or Cost: Free
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• Duration: 6 Mins
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• Duration: 6 Minutes
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• Tools: computer, Disk Management.
` **Translation:** `
• Tools: Computer, Disk Management Tool.
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This method only works for non-system disks, as it requires deleting all partitions or volumes on the drive first. If you want to convert a system disk to GPT, refer back to Method 1 for assistance. Additionally, if there are important files in the existing partitions, backup all valuable files to a large external hard drive first. 

Step 1. Open Disk Management by right-clicking on This PC/My Computer and selecting Manage, then Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click the partition on your MBR disk and then click "Delete Partition" or "Delete Volume" > Click "Yes" to confirm.

Then, repeat this step to delete all existing partitions on your MBR disk.

Delete the volume on the local hard drive.

< strong > Step 3. < /strong> Right-click the MBR disk, which is now a whole empty disk, and select "Convert to GPT disk".

After that, you can reuse Disk Management to create new volumes on your disk. On a GPT disk, you can make as many partitions as you require, and the "New Simple Volume greyed out" issue shouldn't reappear on your system.

Translate the following text into English: Solve "New Simple Volume" Greyed Out on USB Drive

As you're aware, if the Windows operating system or the USB device itself doesn't support multiple partitions, the "New Simple Volume" option will appear disabled. To rectify this situation, you have two options. What distinguishes these choices? The following table will illustrate the differences:

Solution 1: Add Unallocated Space to the Existing USB Partition

Here are the sentences translated into American English:
• Free or Paid: Paid
• Duration: 3 Minutes
• Tools: Computer, Partition Master software.

When both USB and Windows OS do not support two partitions, your best option is to add the unallocated space to the existing partition. You might notice that the Extend Volume option is also grayed out in Disk Management.

Why is Extend Volume grayed out? Due to the limitations of the Extend Volume feature in Disk Management, it is currently only available for internal and external hard drives. The unique USB port and structure of USB flash drives also disable this feature when extending partitions. Therefore, the best solution to address this issue is to utilize the Resize/Move feature in professional partition management tools like Partition Master, which allows you to easily add unallocated space to the existing USB partition with ease:

< strong >Step 1. Shrink partition to free up space for extending partition. < /strong >

If the hard drive has enough unallocated space to extend the target partition, proceed to Step 2. If not, free up space first:

1. In the Partition Manager section, right-click on a partition adjacent to the target partition and select "Resize/Move". 2. Drag the partition ends to free up space, ensuring there is sufficient unallocated space behind the target partition. Click "OK".

Step 2. Extend the target partition.

Right-click on the target partition you wish to extend and select "Resize/Move".

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

Step 3. Keep all changes.

Click the "Execute Task" button, and then click "Apply" to save all the changes.

Solution 2: Try Manually - Make New Simple Volume Available on USB

Here are the sentences translated into American English:
• Free or Charge: Free
• Duration: 5 Minutes
• Tools: Computer, Disk Management utility.

Step 1. Update your Windows system to the latest version or new versions after Windows 10 1703.

Starting with Windows 10 version 1703, all newer versions of Windows 10 support multiple partitions on removable disks, particularly on external hard drives or USB flash drives.

Step 2. Format the USB to NTFS first.

Step 3. Open Disk Management and right-click on the unallocated space to create a new partition by selecting "New Simple Volume."

Step 4. Assign a new drive letter, file system, and size, etc., to the new partition on the USB and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

If it still doesn't work, your USB drive might not support creating more than one partition. We recommend following Solution 1 to add all the space into one partition on the USB drive, which is the optimal state for storing data.

If this tutorial successfully solves your problem, click the social buttons to share with others who may be experiencing the same issue. We'll continue to investigate the causes of this error.

Why Does the New Simple Volume Appear Grayed Out?

Although the Disk Management tool is a powerful partition management utility in Windows PCs, capable of creating new partitions, shrinking volumes, or extending partitions, some users might encounter the "New Simple Volume" option being grayed out when attempting to create a partition on unallocated space on a local hard drive or external USB drive.

If you have the same questions listed below, read on to find the answers and apply the right solutions to eliminate this issue.

Why is the New Simple Volume option grayed out on your computer's hard drive?

The primary reason for this is that your disk is an MBR disk. Typically, due to the two limitations inherent in MBR disks, it prevents you from creating a new volume in Disk Management:

Here are the translations for the provided language snippets in English: 1. There are already 4 primary partitions on the disk. 2. The MBR Disk capacity is 2 TB; you cannot create a new partition beyond 2 TB.

For the first scenario, you can find the solution here: convert primary partition to logical, which allows you to create more than 4 partitions on an MBR disk. For the second scenario, you'll need to convert MBR to GPT using the methods provided on this page to overcome the limitation and create additional simple volumes.

Why is "New Simple Volume" grayed out on a USB drive in Disk Management?

Due to limitations in the Windows operating system and USB devices, users are typically not able to create two partitions on a USB external hard drive or USB flash drive. Even if you successfully create two partitions on the drive within your computer, Windows might not display the second partition in File Explorer.

Only Windows 10 (1703 or later versions) and some newer USB drives support creating two partitions. Solutions to the "New Simple Volume" unavailable issue on these two types of devices can be easily found in Part 1 and Part 2.

Conclusion

The solutions above can fix the "New Simple Volume" greyed out issue in Windows Server, on an internal hard disk, or on an external device such as a USB flash drive or SD card. After resolving the error preventing the creation of a new simple volume, you can fully utilize your hard drive or USB drive with the Disk Management tool. This tool allows you to create partitions, merge unallocated space, and more.

"New Simple Volume Greyed Out" FAQs in English would be "Frequently Asked Questions about the 'New Simple Volume' option being greyed out."

Aside from fixes and guides, many users are interested in learning more about the New Simple Volume not functioning issue. Here are some popular topics concerning the New Simple Volume. Continue reading if you seek further assistance.

**1. Will creating a new simple volume erase data?**

Yes, it will erase the data. You can use a tool like Partition Master to recover the partition.

< strong > 2. Why is extended volume grayed out? < / strong >

Here are the reasons why the extended volume option might be grayed out:

1. The MBR disk capacity is limited to 2 TB; you cannot create a new partition exceeding this limit. 2. Due to limitations of USB and Windows, users are unable to create two partitions on a USB external hard drive or USB flash drive.

3. How do I create a new hard drive volume?

Follow these four steps to create a new hard drive using Partition Master tools:

Step 1. Install and launch tools Partition Master.

Step 2. Shrink the partition size.

Step 3. Create a new partition.

Step 4. Specify the size, partition label, drive letter, file system, etc. for the new partition and click "OK" to proceed.

Step 5. Apply the changes.