How to merge C and D drive Windows 7

Situation: With more and more data stored to C drive of Windows 7, now this partition is nearly out of space. However, there are lots of free space on D drive, so I want to know whether it is possible to merge C with D so as to enlarge system partition of Windows 7.

There Are 2 Ways to Merge C and D Drive

Definitely, users are able to merge partitions, and there are 2 methods available. One is to use Windows built-in disk management tool, and the other is to ask third-party partition manager for help. Next, we will introduce these 2 methods in detail, and users can choose the most appropriate one in accordance with actual demands.

Merge Drive C and Drive D with Windows Disk Management Utility

If users want to merge C and D via Disk Management, they need to backup all important data on D drive in advance, because this partition will be deleted, and naturally the original data will be lost. Detailed steps are shown as below.

Step 1: Right-click “Computer” icon on the desktop, choose “Manage” and click “Disk Management” to get its main interface as follows.



Step 2: Right-click partition D and then choose “Delete Volume” button to release unallocated space.



Step 3: Right-click partition C and then choose “Extend Volume” button. Then, extend volume C by following Extend Volume Wizard.

From the demonstration above we know though Windows disk management tool can help us merge partitions, it will lead to data loss. So well, is it possible to merge partitions without losing any data? Of course there is, and it is to make use of third party partition manager.

Merge C Drive and D Drive in Windows 7 with Partition Manager

Preparation: users need to download a piece of professional partitioning software from the internet. Here, the green and powerful partition management software MiniTool Partition Wizard is highly recommended since it can help merge partitions without bringing any damage to original data. Now, let’s see detailed steps to combine 2 partitions in Windows 7.

Step 1: Users need to launch MiniTool Partition Wizard to get its main interface as follows.



Step 2: Select C drive and then choose “Merge Partition” from the left action panel to enter its operating interface.



Step 3: Click “Next>” button to get the following window.



Step 4: Select partition D and then click “Finish” button to return to its main interface. Tip: all data saved in partition D will be placed to a folder and then saved to partition C, so no data loss will emerge.



Step 5: Click “Apply” to perform all changes.

After all operations are done, users have finished merging C and D drive in Windows 7 by using MiniTool Partition Wizard, and no data loss is generated.


Comparing the 2 methods above, we can find resorting to third party partition manager is much better since it can help combine partitions without data loss. But for successful merging, users need to pay much attention to the following 3 issues:

1.MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition does not support merging partitions, so users need to purchase the professional edition or more advanced editions.
2.Both partitions should be adjacent.
3.Both partitions should be formatted with NTFS. If one of them is formatted with FAT, please convert it to NTFS.