How to Shrink NTFS Partition on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7?

An NTFS partition is a storage section on a hard drive or SSD that uses the NTFS (New Technology File System) format. NTFS is the default file system for Windows and is known for its high performance, reliability, and security. Sometimes, you may need to adjust the size of an NTFS partition. You might want to extend it by shrinking another partition or reduce its size to create space for other system partitions. Fortunately, resizing an NTFS partition is simple. This guide will show you three easy ways to resize NTFS partitions on Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7 without losing data.

How to shrink NTFS partition on Windows PCs?

We will introduce three methods for extending partitions, ranked from easiest to most difficult. AOMEI Partition Assistant is the simplest option, allowing you to extend partitions in just three steps without any limitations, making it suitable for all users.

Windows Disk Management is a bit more complex, requiring unallocated space on the right side of the partition, making it better suited for experienced users. Diskpart, a command-line tool, is the most difficult method, requiring at least five commands and unallocated space on the left side, making it ideal for experts.

Method 1. Use a professional partition tool to shrink NTFS partition

AOMEI Partition Assistant is a professional disk management tool. Its 1-Click Adjust Space feature allows you to adjust NTFS partitions quickly and easily. You can extend or shrink partitions by simply dragging them, making it user-friendly even for beginners. It supports partition resizing without data loss and can be managed through a graphical interface on Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7.

If you cannot boot into Windows, you can use a bootable media created by AOMEI Partition Assistant to resize your partitions. Besides NTFS, it supports multiple file systems, including FAT32, exFAT, ReFS, and Ext2/Ext3/Ext4. It also allows resizing encrypted partitions effortlessly. Before making changes, it's always a good idea to back up important data.

It also provides advanced features like merging partitions, managing unallocated space, and cloning partitions, making disk management safer and more efficient. You can download and try this tool for a seamless partition management experience.

Here’s how to shrink a Windows partition using AOMEI Partition Assistant:

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, right-click the partition you want to shrink, and select the 1-Click Adjust Space option.

Note: This tool does not support unallocated space adjustments directly. If unallocated space is available and you wish to expand an adjacent partition, use the Resize Partition feature instead.

Step 2. To shrink the space on a partition, simply drag the dot at the head or the tail. For example, if you want to reduce the F: partition, drag the marked dot to the right. This action will shrink its space and enlarge partition D at the same time. Then click OK to proceed.

Step 3. After setting the desired adjustments, you can preview the changes in the Pending Operations window. Then click Apply > Proceed to confirm and apply the changes.

The process may take a few minutes. Once the operation is complete, the partition sizes will have been adjusted accordingly.

Method 2. Use Disk Management to shrink NTFS partition

You can easily resize an NTFS partition using the built-in Disk Management tool. Below is a detailed guide on how to do it.

Step 1. Right-click on "My Computer" and select "Management", In the Computer Management then click "Disk Management". Disk Management shows the detailed condition of all available partitions and disk drives. There is the C: and D: and free space on the Disk 0. look at this screen:

Step 2. Right-click on any partition that you wish to resize, and select either Extend (to enlarge the size) or Shrink (to reduce the size) according to your requirements.

Note: because there is an unallocated space nearby the D: drive, so the "Extend Volume…" option in the right-shortcut menu is available.

Step 3. Select the "Shrink Volume…" and will open the following windows, you can input the amount of space to shrink, remember that cannot exceed the size of available shrink space. (Attention: system partition just supports shrinking the partition to one half at most.)

Please click the "Shrink" button to execute the operation. 

Step 4. Right-click the C: partition, in the shortcut menu the Extend Volume is grayed out as following show. The main reason is that there is no unallocated space next to the C: partition. To fix this, you need software like AOMEI Partition Assistant, a useful Windows partition manager, to move the unallocated space and extend the C: partition.

Method 3. Shrink NTFS partition with DiskPart

You can use the Diskpart.exe utility to manage disk partitions through the command line (CMD). For an NTFS partition, it allows you to extend the volume by adding unallocated space without losing data. To use DiskPart, first, open the command prompt. Click Start, type "cmd", right-click on the program, and select "Run as Administrator." Alternatively, press WIN + R, type "cmd", and press Enter. Then, type "diskpart" and press Enter to open the DiskPart command prompt. Then type these commands:

Summary

There are 3 ways about how to shrink NTFS partition, each method has its advantages, but many users find Windows Disk Management and DiskPart challenging due to various reasons. AOMEI Partition Assistant simplifies the process on Windows 11/10/8/7 and even supports resizing BitLocker partitions. It also offers features like merging partitions, converting MBR to GPT, and creating Windows To Go. While Disk Management and DiskPart meet basic needs, AOMEI Partition Assistant is a more comprehensive and user-friendly solution, overcoming their limitations and even merging non-adjacent partitions.