Shrink Windows 11 Partition: 3 Ways to Shrink a Windows Partition

Shrinking a hard drive partition is a common operation that reduces the size of a partition to create unallocated space on the same hard drive. You might shrink or resize a partition when you need to expand the capacity of your current volume or create new partitions on the same hard drive.

In most cases, when you shrink a partition, your regular files are immediately reallocated on the drive to create the new unallocated space, so you don't need to format the disk to perform the shrinking process.

Hard drives fill up quickly due to insufficient storage. Hence, performing a shrink volume in Windows 11 can create more space for your data and aid effective storage management. Don't worry about losing data; simply refer to the recommended methods in this article and use the best one to accomplish this task effortlessly.

Main content:

How to Shrink a Volume in Windows 11 Using Partition Master Tool
How to Shrink a Volume in Windows 11 Using Built-in Disk Management
How to Shrink a Volume in Windows 11 Using Diskpart in Command Prompt

**Steps to Shrink a Volume with Partition Master in Windows 11** In the Windows 11 OS, you might wanna shrink a disk partition to free up space or create room for a new one. This guide'll show you how to use Partition Master for that. Just remember, fiddling with hard disk partitions can cause data loss, so make sure you back up your important stuff before starting. **Step 1: Back Up Your Data** Always backup your personal files and critical data before any partition action to prevent accidents. **Step 2: Download and Install Partition Master** Head over to the official Partition Master site to download and install the right version for your rig (either Pro or Free edition). **Step 3: Fire Up Partition Master** Once installed, open up the Partition Master app. **Step 4: Choose the Partition to Shrink** In the app's main screen, you'll see all disks on your PC. ID the partition you wanna shrink, typically the C drive or another system drive. **Step 5: Check Available Space** Right-click the chosen partition, then hit "Resize/Move Partition." A new window'll pop up with the partition's size details, including space available for shrinking. **Step 6: Resize the Partition** Slide the partition's right edge to the left to shrink it. Leave enough room for other partitions or a fresh one. Tap "OK." **Step 7: Execute the Resize** Back at the main screen, you'll get a preview of the resized partition. Hit "Execute 1 Operation" in the top-left, then "Apply" to confirm and do the deed. It could take a while depending on your disk size and speed. **Step 8: Check the Results** Once done, reboot your PC. Peek at "My Computer" or "This PC" and review Disk Management to verify the partition's successfully downsized. That's how you shrink a volume with Partition Master in Windows 11. Be careful and prioritize data safety, y'all.

Partition Master Tool enables users to address disk space issues in Windows 11 by providing a safe and efficient method to shrink partition volume without losing data. It offers a one-click partition shrinking solution that creates new unallocated space within your drive.

Partition Master is a reliable software that enables users to easily operate its functions with a user-friendly wizard and interface. It is compatible with various types of hard disk partitions, including primary partitions, logical drives, extended partitions, and more.

Using the Partition Master tool to shrink a partition in Windows 10/11 is straightforward, with its drag-and-drop solution saving time and avoiding redundant operations. Here are the steps to shrink a partition using this tool:

Step 1: Find and select the partition you want to shrink

In the Partition Management screen, right-click the partition you want to shrink, and select “Resize/Move Partition.”

Step 2: Adjust to shrink the partition

Resize the target partition by dragging its end with mouse to shrink the partition space.

You can also adjust the resize sliders to shrink the target partition. When you're done, click “OK” to continue.

Third step: Perform the action.

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

Aside from its excellent partition shrinking capabilities, Partition Master is an all-in-one tool. It also boasts unique features that let users merge, extend, and resize/move partitions. It also allows you to manage partitions efficiently, clone partitions without data loss, manage disk space in Windows 11, and recover lost partitions with simple steps.

How to Shrink a Volume Using Built-in Disk Management in Windows 11

Windows 11 comes equipped with a built-in Disk Management tool that allows you to manage and inspect your hard disk drives. You can use it to shrink and expand the capacity of disk partitions. However, it does not support shrinking non-contiguous spaces.

Disk Management only allows users to shrink RAW partitions or NTFS partitions on basic volumes. Thus, if your target partition doesn't fall into this category, I recommend you shrink the partition in Windows 11 with Partition Master.

To shrink a volume in Windows 11 using Disk Management, follow this guide:

Click the Start button, and type partition in the search box. Select Create and format hard disk partitions. This will open the Disk Management window.

4. Right-click on the partition you want to shrink, and select "Shrink Volume".

• Type the amount of unallocated space you want to free in "Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB", then click "Shrink".

Allocated size decreases, and unallocated space appears next to the selected drive.

How to Shrink a Volume Using Diskpart in Windows 11 via CMD (UTF-8)

Diskpart is another built-in utility in the Windows operating system that can be used to shrink a partition in Windows 11. However, users attempting this process with this tool must proceed with caution, as Diskpart is a relatively practical and complex method. If you're performing this operation for the first time or are not well-versed with the Windows operating system, you should opt for one of the other two methods mentioned above.

The detailed steps to shrink a volume using Diskpart in Windows 11 are as follows:

1. Click the "Start" button in Windows 11, and type "cmd." 2. Right-click on "Command Prompt," and choose "Run as administrator." Click "Yes" in the confirmation window, and then input the following syntax to shrink a volume: 3. Type: list volume. Make sure you note the volume number you want to shrink. 4. Next, enter select volume n (where 'n' represents the volume number you want to shrink), for example, select volume 6. 5. After that, type shrink desired= size to shrink the chosen volume. The 'desired=' value is the number of MB you want to shrink the selected volume by. For instance, shrink desired=10240.

You might receive a warning that shrinking the volume might be problematic because of immovable files, such as the page file or shadow copy storage area, that will not be relocated immediately, and you cannot shrink the allocation beyond the extent of the immovable files. You can shrink only to the location of the immovable files.

However, if you need more space, you must move immovable files to another disk or delete them permanently.

Abstract

Now you know three ways to shrink volume in Windows 11. You will find it more straightforward to use the partition manager tool and Disk Management than using Diskpart. With Disk Management, you have limited options for shrinking volumes, and Diskpart can only shrink volumes in the NTFS file system. Hence, using the partition manager tool is more efficient for this task.