Shrink and Extend feature of Windows 2008 Server

Comparing to the old Server operating systems, Windows Server 2008 has a new feature – Shrink and Extend partition, with which you can resize partitions without data loss, fast and safely. However, there are huge disadvantages of these features to resize partitions. In this article, I'll tell you how to shrink and extend Server 2008 partition under Disk Management, the disadvantages of Disk Management and how to resize Server 2008 with Server partition software.

How to shrink Server 2008 partition under Disk Management?

Right click My Computer > Manage > Storage > Disk Management, you will see the main window of Disk Management.
Step1: Right-click the partition you want to shrink and select "Shrink Volume…"



Step2: In the pop-up window, enter the amount of space to shrink. The default amount of this box is the maximum amount you can shrink from the partition.



Click Shrink, the partition will be shrank automatically without reboot.

How to extend Server 2008 partition under Disk Management?

Step1: Right-click the partition you want to extend and select "Extend Volume…"



Step2: In the pop-up window, enter the amount to extend from the total Unallocated space.



After that, the system C drive will be extended.

Disadvantages of Disk Management to shrink and extend Server 2008

To solve drive low disk space problem under Server 2008 Disk Management using Shrink and Extend, you'll find that in some conditions, you cannot extend C drive, as the pictures below:



The fact is, to extend a partition, there must be unallocated space behind it. The Shrink feature could shrink partition and get some Unallocated space, but you cannot extend C drive by shrinking Partition D, as the Unallocated space is behind Partition D. So the Shrink and Extend feature is useless to resize partitions, except that it could "move" the partitions.

In fact, there are many disadvantages in Disk Management, comparing to professional partition software, such as Partition Wizard Server, the features below is unavailable,

• Extend/Shrink FAT partition
• Move partition
• Change cluster size without reformatting
• Copy disk/partition
• Wipe disk/Unallocated space
• Recover lost/deleted partition
• Convert Partition Primary <=> Logical
• Convert dynamic disk to basic without deleting

Please note: this software is commercial.