This guide explains why you can’t extend the Windows 10 system partition after using Clonezilla and shows simple ways to fix disk space, recovery partition, and extend volume issues.
Some users cannot extend the C drive after restoring a disk with Clonezilla. The main reason is the disk layout. Windows Disk Management can only extend a partition if unallocated space is directly next to the C drive. If there is a recovery partition or another partition in between, the Extend Volume option will be greyed out.
Other reasons include no unallocated space or the C drive being in the wrong file system. The C drive contains Windows, system files, and programs, so it needs enough free space to work properly.
To fix this, you can move partitions, delete unnecessary partitions, or use third-party tools like AOMEI Partition Assistant to extend the C drive. If your disk is small, consider upgrading to a larger hard drive. You can clone the old disk to the new one using a useful tool. Cloning creates an exact copy, keeping all your files and Windows intact. Now, follow our guide to quickly fix the Disk Management extend volume greyed out in Windows issue.
There are several ways to extend the C drive in Windows, such as using Disk Management, DiskPart, or AOMEI Partition Assistant. However, both Disk Management and DiskPart require unallocated space right next to the C drive. If the unallocated space is not adjacent, these tools cannot complete the task.
AOMEI Partition Assistant is a powerful and flexible partition manager. Unlike the built-in tools, it can extend the C drive even without adjacent unallocated space. It allows you to take free space from other partitions or unallocated areas on the same disk. You can also move partitions to make unallocated space contiguous without losing any data.
If you are unable to extend the system partition after restoring the disk with Clonezilla, try using AOMEI Partition Assistant instead of deleting partitions or drives. Its Move Partition feature can rearrange disk space safely and help you extend the C drive quickly and easily.
The Best Windows Disk Partition Manager and PC Optimizer
Step 1. Install, launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, and wait until all disks and partitions appear.
Step 2. Select, right-click on the recovery partition, and select “Resize/Move Partition”.
Step 3. Select the partition and drag it rightwards until the end. Then, hit “OK”.
Step 4. Hit “Apply” on the upper left of the home interface to commit the operation.
Step 5. After it’s done, you can open Disk Management and extend the volume with the unallocated space.
As for the first and second reasons listed above, what we all need to do is to get unallocated space that is adjacent to C drive. To finish such a task in Disk Management, the only solution is to delete the volume that comes right after the C drive. In most cases, it is the D drive that needs to be deleted, and then we can get unallocated space on C drive’s right side.
🌟Before you do: Copy all your data from your D drive or other drive that will be deleted to an external drive or USB to make a backup.
Step 1. Right-click D drive and select "Delete Volume".
Step 2. After deletion, you will find it becomes unallocated space.
Step 3. Now, you will find the "Extend Volume" of C drive is enabled and clickable. Follow the wizard and extend C volume.
You can utilize the unallocated space you need to add into C drive, and then using the remaining unallocated space create a new volume and name it D. Now transfer your data back to the D drive from the external drive.
Since Disk Management only supports extending NTFS partition, when your C drive is formatted as FAT32, the "Extend Volume" of C drive will be disabled even if there is adjacent unallocated space on its right side. In this situation, you can use DiskPart.exe tool to directly convert FAT32 to NTFS. Different from formatting, the conversion won’t damage any data in the partition.
Step 1. Press Win+R to open the Run dialog, input cmd and hit "Enter".
Step 2. Type in "convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs". Replace the drive letter with the letter of the drive you’re converting (c, d, or whatever that might be). Finally, press Enter to start the process.
After conversion, you can extend C drive with unallocated space smoothly. You should note that there is no command for converting NTFS back to FAT32.
If you can’t extend the C drive after restoring a disk with Clonezilla, the issue is often caused by disk layout or lack of adjacent unallocated space. Using tools like AOMEI Partition Assistant makes it easier to move or resize partitions without data loss, allowing you to extend the system partition quickly. Follow the methods above to safely fix the problem and ensure your Windows 10 system runs smoothly.
The Best Windows Disk Partition Manager and PC Optimizer