Two Ways to Extend C Drive on Windows Server 2003

It applies to extended C drive on Windows Server 2003, 2008 (R2), 2012 (R2), 2011, 2016, and 2019, as well as Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista. Though earlier Windows Server 2000 and Windows NT before it are rare now, the solution for extended system partition also works on these operating systems.

How to Solve the Issue of Extending C Drive in Windows Server 2003

From Windows Server 2003, 2003 R2, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2… to the latest version 2019, they are all regarded as an enterprise-level operating system with enhanced management solutions and robust hardware and software configurations. To ensure these highly configurable servers/computers run stably for a long time, you can't let the system partition run out of space. Otherwise, it will slow down in booting up, loading large files, running applications, or networking, etc. Despite regular disk cleanups, system C drive still tends to show “low disk space” issues.

How to extend system partition on Windows Server 2003? This article will guide you to resize C drive on Windows Server 2003 with Server Partition Wizard and Diskpart command.

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AOMEI Partition Assistant is a renowned third-party disk management software for both personal operating systems and server disks, which provides three powerful options to expand C drive without data loss. Meanwhile, Windows also has its own built-in solution - Diskpart.exe, but it requires shrinking or deleting the existing partition to get unallocated space. If you're not familiar with Diskpart, it may be difficult to use.

#1. (Safe Method) Extend C Drive on Windows Server 2003 with Partition Master

We recommend using the server partition software Partition Master Server Edition to extend system partition on Windows Server 2003. It is a leading data management tool designed for IT administrators to manage server disk partitions. It can manage the hard drive on Windows Server quickly and safely.

You can perform basic and advanced server disk partitioning operations without data loss, including resizing and moving partitions, copying partitions/disk, cloning dynamic volume, creating and deleting partitions, formatting partitions, converting partitions, merging partitions, splitting partitions, browsing partitions, hiding and showing partitions, and setting active partitions. Preview changes to the server partition before applying to the hard drive, and enjoy complete protection of your data throughout any operation.

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The most obvious feature of Server Edition Partition Assistant to extend system partition on Windows Server 2003 is no data loss and more intuitive operation interface. There are three ways for you to increase C drive system partition space with zero data loss.

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Option 1: Resize/Move partitions without losing data

Step 1: Locate the target partition

Launch the partition manager, find the target partition and choose “Resize/Move”.

Select the partition to extend

Step 2: Expand the Target Partition

Drag the partition to the right or left to add unallocated space to the current partition, and then click “OK” to confirm.

Get space from another drive

Additional option: Get space from another drive

If there isn't enough unallocated space, right-click a large partition with enough room and select “Allocate Space.”

In the Allocate space to column, select the partition you want to expand.

Step 3: Perform the operation to expand the partition

Drag the partition with the bootable operating system to the “Unallocated” space, and then click OK.

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

Option 2: Merge C Drive and D Drive Without Losing Data

Step 1: Choose the Target Partition

Right-click on the partition that you want to keep and select “Merge.”

Step 2: Select the adjacent partitions to merge

Merge with the partition adjacent to the previously selected one.

Select the partitions to merge

Click "OK" to continue.

Step 3: Perform the partition merge operation

1. Click the "Perform Tasks" button at the top, then click "Apply".
2. The program will merge the drives and add the contents of the second partition to the first one.

Option 3: Allocate space to C drive without losing data

Step 1: Right-click on Drive D with sufficient space and select "Allocate Space".

Step 2: Select the target partition - C drive, and then drag the partition panel rightwards to add free space from D drive to C drive. Then click "OK" to confirm.

Click on the “Perform Tasks” button and then click “Apply” to start the process of transferring free space from Drive D to Drive C.

Video tutorial demonstrating how to use the Partition Master tool:

#2. Extend C Drive in Windows 2003 Using Diskpart

When using the Diskpart command to extend the C drive in Windows Server 2003, there must be a contiguous unallocated space next to it. This is a prerequisite for the Diskpart command to work. Otherwise, you will receive an error message that prevents you from executing the next command.

Error: The volume you selected might not be able to be expanded.

The volume you selected might not be expandable.
Choose a different volume and try again.

The error message is related to the prerequisite we mentioned. This is due to unallocated space missing. Besides, Diskpart.exe can only be run from the command line on a bootable CD to extend the system volume.

How to Fix Common Errors and Extend C Drive Space in Diskpart

Step 1: Open the Diskpart command prompt on Windows Server 2003

Type “Diskpart” in the search box and click “OK” to open the “Diskpart Utility.”

Step 2: Extend C drive with contiguous unallocated space

Here, “x” refers to the number of the hard drive or partition.

1. Type list disk, then press Enter. This will list all the disks.
2. Type select disk x to choose the target disk, then press Enter.
3. Type list partition, then press Enter. This will list all partitions.
4. Select the system partition you want to extend by typing select partition x, then press Enter.
5. Type Extend, then press Enter.
6. Type Exit to close the Diskpart window.

Step 3: Extend C drive with unallocated space discontinuously (data backup needed)

If there is no unallocated space behind the system volume, you need to delete the adjacent drive to get unallocated space, and then increase Drive C by entering the relevant command and pressing Enter.

The "x" in the example refers to the number of the hard drive or partition.

• List disks
• Select disk x
• List partitions
• Select partition y
• Delete partition
• Select partition x
• Extend
• Exit

Additional tip: Extend the server system partition using Disk Management

This video also shows how to use Disk Management to extend the system partition on a server computer. Check it out: