How do I merge twp partitions ?

[dan99t]

I partitioned my HDD in two partitions when I was thinking about installing an OS on first partition.


But now I have decided not to & want that blank partition space merge to second so I can have more HDD space. There is no data or anything else on that extra partition.


How do I do That ?


Just delete it from disk management ?


OR Use partitioning software to merge it ?


I want to make sure that no data is lost from other partition.


Thanks

[MastaVR6]

deleting it from disk management will make it available to extend your partition if you use partitioning software or use a (windows) sysprep file to extend the partition while installing the OS. Otherwise you are back to wiping all the partitions and reinstalling, or using tools like ghost or acronis disk imaging tools to lay down your OS partition down again.

[just brew it!]

@dan99t -

Yes, you should be able to delete the unused partition and grow the other partition.

However, since the partition you want to get rid of is ahead of (instead of after) the one you want to keep, I do not believe you can do it with Windows' built-in Disk Management tools. You will need to use a 3rd party partitioning tool to delete the first partition, then resize (and move) the existing partition down to the start of the disk.

I generally use gparted for stuff like this. However, it is geared more towards Linux users, and does not handle all types of Windows partitions (e.g. it can't handle Windows "Dynamic Disk" partitions).

Any time you manipulate partitions (and especially if you are moving/resizing them), there is some risk of data loss. To ensure that no data is lost you need to make a backup of the files in the existing partition to another disk or external media before proceeding.

It may be easier to just back up all of the data, reformat the disk with a single partition, and copy all of the data back.

@MastaVR6 -

It sounds like this is a data disk, so there is no need to mess around with an OS partition.