Top 2 Ways to Move Partition to Start of Disk

Situation to move partition to start of disk

In a rare case, you may find that the system partition (C:) is not at the start of disk. On the contrary, the data partition or unallocated space is at the beginning of the disk. Thus, you want to move the boot partition to the beginning of the drive.

To be honest, it's not recommended for you to move system partition or boot partition. The partition containing boot files or bootmgr must be at the beginning of your hard drive. If not, your computer will fail to boot.

If you still want to do so or the moved partition is recovery partition or other partitions that are not harmful to system drive, you can see below and follow the detailed steps. Before that, you are

supposed to make a system backup. After all, there is a possibility that your computer will not boot successfully after you change the location of the boot partition.

How to move boot partition to the beginning of the drive

There are 2 ways provided, you can choose one according to needs.

▶ The safest method - clean install the windows

If you clean install the operating system, the system partition will be at the start of disk. However, your original operating system will be replaced and your data on the original operating system will be lost if you do not have a backup

If you already have a backup, continue to see below. Here will take Window 7 as an example and show you how to reinstall the operating system.

Part 1. Create bootable USB drive

Step 1. Download Windows 7 /8/10 ISO image files from Microsoft Store and save it to a storage device. I prefer USB flash drive, because it's very portable to carry.

Step 2. Download Windows 7 USB DVD download tool and open it. Click Browse to find your ISO image files, and then click Next.

Step 3. Choose USB as media type and click Next.

Step 4. Insert USB flash drive and select it, then click Begin Copying. This tool will format your USB drive at first, and then create the bootable USB drive.

Part 2. Clean install the operating system

Step 1. Insert your USB drive

Step 2. Press the specified key to enter BIOS and set boot priority to USB drive. Then, restart your computer and press any key to boot from USB drive.

Step 3. Wait for Windows 7 installation files to load.

Step 4. Set up language and other preference, then click Install now.

Step 5. Accept the license terms and click Next.

Step 6. Select installation type: Custom.

Step 7. Click Drive Options.

Step 8. Delete system partition and other operating system related partition, then select the unallocated space as the destination path to save your Windows.

Step 9. Wait for the final result.

▶ The fastest method - using partition manager

In the beginning, I will introduce partition manager AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. It's a complete software, which can help you do many operations, including Move Partition, Extend Partition, Delete Extended Partition, etc. Also, it can fix various problems, containing the extend volume is disabled, Diskpart list there are no volumes, SFC SCANNOW not working, and more.

Step 1. Download AOMEI Partition Assistant, install and launch it.

Step 2. Right-click the partition you want to move, find the "Advanced" option and select Merge Partition.

Step 3. Put the mouse on the selected partition and drag it leftward when the mouse becomes a cross crux.

Note: This feature requires an unallocated space adjacent to the partition you want to move. If the disk does not have any unallocated space, you need to create unallocated space in Windows 7/8/10 first. Then, follow step 3.

Step 4. Now, you can see the following screenshot, the system partition is moved to the start of drive. To save the changes, click Apply. During the process, your computer will reboot automatically. Just wait and do not worry about it.

Tip: To make your computer run more smoothly, you can extend system partition to unallocated space.

Summary

Honestly, it's not recommended for you to move system partition to start of disk if your computer is working properly. There is a risk that your computer may not boot successfully.

Thus, before you do, you need to think twice. If you must do so, you are supposed to create a backup. If this is a new computer, you can directly clean install. It does not cause any problems. If not, you can try partition manager AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard.

The Standard version can satisfy all your basic needs. If you want more useful function, you can upgrade to AOMEI Partition Assistant Profesional or Server.