How to Extend the Size of System Partition on Windows 11

When I had installed Windows 11 on my computer which has a 512GB hard drive, I thought the system partition (C drive) of 100 GB should be enough for running Windows 11 operating system.

Apparently, it was not. After a single Windows update, it started to fill up the system partition dramatically and my computer became really sluggish due to the shortage of free space on C drive. I decided that I should extend the system partition by another 100 GB. That’s when I found out that there were multiple methods for extending the size of system partition on a Windows 11 computer, and there are various tools available for that, even though it can be done natively from the Command Prompt itself.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to extend the size of the system partition on your computer in 3 different ways. This is because what worked for me might not work for you. I will also tell you the pros and cons of applying each of these tools so that you can make an informed decision as to which method you would use.

However, before you move forward you must understand that the amount of space by which you will be extending the system partition needs to be freed up from some other partition on your computer. So, if all the partitions of your computer’s hard drive are almost full then you will not be able to extend the system partition. In that case, you need to first free up space from some other partition and then go ahead and read this tutorial.

Warning: Adding partition is risky task. In case of unexpected error or wrong operation, please back up your data in advance.

Command Prompt

The Disk Partition tool is a native utility available on Windows 11 that can be used to extend the system partition. Since this is a system tool in Windows 11, you don’t need to install any other software. However, you have to be familiar with commands. If you have not used Command Prompt before, or don’t know what a Command Prompt is, I would suggest you to look at the other methods described below.

Pros:

• No need to install/purchase addition software.

Cons:

• Only support NTFS partition.
• Work only when there is when contiguous unallocated space available.
• No graphics user interface.

Here’s how to use diskpart command to extend size of system partition on Windows 11:

1. Click on the Search icon on the taskbar and type cmd. Then once you find the Command Prompt, click on Run as administrator.

2. This should bring up a Command Prompt window. Type ‘diskpart’ to open disk partition utility.

3. That will start the disk partition utility. You’ll see the prompt change to DISKPART. There, type ‘list disk’ and press Enter to list all the hard drives presented in your computer and get their respective disk number.

4. Next, type ‘select disk 0’, where you need to replace 0 with the disk number given against the drive containing the system partition from the list disk command.

5. Now that you have selected the drive, you need to select the system partition on that drive. For that, type ‘list partition’ and press Enter. That should list all the partitions under the hard drive you selected. Note down the number against the system partition from here.

6. Similar to the previous steps, type ‘select partition 3’ in my case, where is the system C drive where Windows 11 is stored. Replace 3 with the number against the system partition, and press Enter.

7. Finally, type ‘extend size=100000’, replace xxx with the amount of space by which you would like to extend the system partition, and press Enter. The value is in MB. For adding 100 GB, the number should be 100000.

That should start extending the size of the system partition, and once done, it will show you a success message on the screen.

Please remember that if you are trying the extend the size of a dynamic volume, use replace partition with volume and you would do just fine.

Minitool Partition Wizard

Minitool Partition Wizard is a versatile disk partition manager. It can be used to format, create, and resize partitions, convert between MBR and GPT mode, convert between NTFS and FAT32 among other things. It is a freemium tool, they have a free version available for personal use, albeit with restricted functionalities.

Pros:

• Extend partitions that are either NTFS or FAT.
• Unallocated space need not be contiguous to extend a partition.
• Bypass boot issues and extend system partitions in PE.
• Free version available for personal use.

Cons:

• Free version has restricted functionality.

Here’s how to use Minitool Partition Wizard to add size for system partition:

1. Download install and launch Minitool Partition Wizard. Then click on the partition that you would like to extend, in your case that would be your system partition, and click on Extend Partition from the left pane.

2. Now, select the partition from which you would like to assign space to your system partition from the drop-down in the pop-up box, and use the slider to determine how much space you would like to assign.

3. Once you are satisfied with the selections, click OK and then click on Apply. That’s it!

After this, the program will process the request, which might take some time. Once done, it will show you a success message on a pop-up box and you are good to go.

AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard

If Minitool Partition Wizard didn’t work for you, then you can go for AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. Apart from the regular functions, it can wipe hard drives clean, change their serial numbers, check bad sectors, modify drive letters and a plethora of other useful functions.

Pros:

• Wipe entire hard drive or partition
• Hide/Unhide Partition
• Rebuild MBR

Cons:

• Restricted functionality in free version.
• Paid version is a bit expensive.

Here’s how you can extend the system partition using AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard.

1. After installing the tool, launch it and right-click the system partition that you want to extend, then click on Resize Partition from the content menu that pops up.

2. That should bring up a Move and Resize Partition window. Here, select the system partition and resize it by dragging it to the right to set the size with which you would like to extend it. Next, click on OK once done.

3. Finally, once you are back at the previous window, click Apply on the top left for the changes to take effect.

In our example, you can easily extend system partition on a Windows 11 PC. Honestly, GUI based tools are always easier and less risky. If you are not satisfied with the selection, you can always go back and change them before you settle on them. The changes don’t take effect immediately unless you save or apply the changes.