Now read this post and find the best solution that helps you to merge C drive and D drive quickly and easily. And, if you are satisfied with MiniTool Partition Wizard, you can try this freeware to benefit from its powerful features.
Merging C and D drives means combining two separate partitions on your computer into one single larger drive, usually to increase storage space on the C: drive (where Windows is installed).
You may need to do that when:
- The C drive is running out of space.
- Windows updates need more storage.
- Games/apps are too large for the C: drive.
- You want simpler storage (one drive instead of two).
To combine C and D drive for free, you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard and Disk Management.
Here is a table showing the comparison of the two methods.
| Methods | Data Safety | Ease of Use | Requires Deletion | Best for |
| Disk Management | High | Moderate | Yes | Empty D drive |
| MiniTool Partition Wizard | High | Easy | No | Beginners & complex layouts |
How to merge C and D drives? Here is a video guide:
How to Merge C And D Drives via MiniTool Partition Wizard
MiniTool Partition Wizard is professional disk and partition management software. It allows you to merge two NTFS partitions without data loss, and also enables you to extend, move/resize partitions, recover lost partitions and data, and more.
MiniTool Partition Wizard FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Step 1: Install MiniTool Partition Wizard Free on your computer and launch it.
Step 2: Right-click the C drive and choose Merge.
Step 3: On the pop-up window, click Next. Then, select the D drive and click Finish.
Step 4: Click Apply to execute the merging operation.
How to Combine C And D Drives via Disk Management
Step 1: Back up any important files currently sitting on your D drive to an external hard drive or cloud storage.
Step 2: Press Win + X and select Disk Management. Right-click the D drive and choose Delete Volume. Confirm the prompt. This will turn the D drive into unallocated space.
Step 3: Right-click the C drive and choose Extend Volume. Click Next, Next, and then Finish. C and D drives combining is done.
Troubleshooting C And D Drive Merging Issues
Issue 1. C: and D: Are on Different Physical Disks.
Windows does not support merging partitions across different physical disks.
Instead, move files from one drive to the other or migrate your operating system to a larger drive if you need additional system storage.
Issue 2. Extend Volume Is Greyed Out.
Windows Disk Management can only extend a partition when there is adjacent unallocated space immediately to the right of the C: drive. If a recovery partition or another partition is in between, the option will be unavailable.
Issue 3. There Is an EFI Partition Located Between C and D Drives.
- For MiniTool Partition Wizard: Move the EFI partition to another location and then merge the C and D drives.
- For Disk Management: Delete the EFI partition, shrink a partition to create unallocated space, and create a new EFI partition on the created unallocated space (through complex commands). Then, merge C and D drives.
Issue 4. There Is a Recovery Partition Located Between C and D Drives.
- For MiniTool Partition Wizard: Move the Recovery partition to another location and then merge the C and D drives.
- For Disk Management: Delete the Recovery partition, create a new Recovery partition via commands, and then merge C and D drives.
Issue 5. There Is Unallocated Space/Free Space Between C and D Drives.
- For MiniTool Partition Wizard: Move the D drive next to the C drive. Then, merge the C and D drives.
- For Disk Management: If there is unallocated space between the C and D drives, the drive merging won’t be affected. However, if there is free space between the C and D drives, delete all logical partitions and the entire extended partition. Then, extend the C drive.
Issue 6. D: Drive Contains Important Files.
MiniTool Partition Wizard’s Merge Partition feature won’t cause data loss. It will keep data from the D partition in a folder on the C partition.
If you use Disk Management to merge C and D drives, data backup is required before merging.
How to Merge C And D Drive FAQs
Bottom Line
This post shows how to merge C and D drive Windows 11 using MiniTool Partition Wizard and Disk Management, respectively. It also provides solutions to some problems that may be encountered when merging the C drive and the D drive.
If you have any questions about using MiniTool Partition Wizard, welcome to send us an email via [email protected]. Thanks in advance!
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Linda has been an editor at MiniTool for seven years. She continuously learns about computers and puts her knowledge into practice. Moreover, she is particularly knowledgeable in disk management, data recovery, system installation, and PDF editing. Her articles typically reference multiple examples or are based on her own experience, providing users with the most suitable solutions.
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