How to Split Partition Without Losing Data [2 Ways Included]

Why need to split partition?

Most users find there’s only one partition (usually C drive) when they buy a new PC. In this case, it is recommended to split the partition into two smaller partitions. Because storing system programs and personal data in one partition is not safe. When your system crashes for no reason someday and needs a reinstallation from scratch, you will lose all personal data.

On the contrary, if there are two or more partitions to seperate OS from your personal files, you won’t have to worry about such kind of problems. Besides, splitting partition helps you store and search files more efficiently.

2 Ways to split partition without losing data

Two ways are available here to split partition without losing data. One is using Windows built-in disk managing tool - Disk Management. Another one is employing a third-party partition manager. Next, we will demonstrate those two ways in detail.

Way 1. Split NTFS partition via Disk Management

First of all, you can use Disk Management to shrink a volume to get an unallocated space, and then create a new partiton from the unallocated space. Below is the stepwise guide:

Step 1. Right click the partition you want to split and select “Shrink Volume”.

Step 2. In the pop-out window, you can input the shrunk size and click “Shrink”.

Step 3. Now you can see a piece of unallocated space is generated after the shrunken partition. Right click it and select “New Simple Volume”.

Step 4. Then follow the wizard to create a new partition using the unallocated space.

Simple steps can help you divide a partition into two partitions without losing data in Disk Management. However, some limitations exist. For example, you can not shrink a volume beyond the point where any unmovable files are located, which means there’s a chance that you can’t decide the size of a new partition or you won’t be able to resize partition at all. Besides, the Disk Management tool allows you to shrink only NTFS partition. If you are trying to shrink a FAT32 partition, the “Shrink Volume” option will be unclickable.

Way 2. Split partition via professional partition software

Due to Disk Management limitations on splitting partitions, here we would like to share you with a more powerful partition manager: AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. It is able to split both NTFS and FAT32 partition in Windows 10/8/7 and Windows XP/Vista. You can download the free demo version for a free trial.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant. Select the partition you’re going to split. Click “Split Partition”.

Step 2. In the pop-up window, drag the border to specify the size. By the way, when you’re splitting partition on an SSD, tick the box down to optimize its performance.

Step 3. Pending operations will be listed in the main interface. Click “Apply” and “Proceed” for final execution. If you want to split more, just do the same.

Tip: You can also use its “Resize Partition” feature to first shrink a partition to generate unallocated space, and create a new partition then. Plus, operations will be performed under PreOS Mode and your computer will reboot if the process involves system partition. 

Summary 

Now, you can choose a proper way to split partition without losing data in Windows 10, 8, 7. Worth to mention, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional can do more than you imagine. For example, it is able to merge partition, move partition, clone partition, format system partition, clone hard disk, convert (boot) disk between MBR and GPT without deleting partitions, and more. If you want to split Server partition, you can try AOMEI Partition Assistant Server.