There are two primary benefits of merging partitions in Windows Server 2016: reducing the total number of partitions and expanding a partition by transferring free space from another volume. This article introduces how to combine the D and E drives, merge the C and E drives, or merge the C and D drives in Windows Server 2016. However, if your ultimate goal is to extend a partition by merging another, it is highly recommended to resize the partitions rather than combining them entirely.
How to Merge D and E Drive in Server 2016 Without Software
If the D and E drives are contiguous and located on the same physical disk, you can combine drive E into drive D without using any third-party software. Although the Windows Server 2016 Disk Management utility lacks a direct merge volume function, it can achieve this outcome indirectly via the "Extend Volume" feature.
Steps to merge D and E drive in Windows Server 2016/2019/2022:
- Transfer all files from drive E to drive D.
- Press Windows + X simultaneously on your keyboard and select Disk Management from the list.
- Right-click the E drive and choose Delete Volume.
- Right-click the D drive and choose Extend Volume.
- Simply click Next through the prompts until you click Finish in the pop-up Extend Volume Wizard window.
It is simple to combine the D and E drives in Server 2016/2019/2022 when they are contiguous. However, there are certain limitations when merging partitions via Disk Management:
- There must be sufficient free space in drive D (or the target volume) to accommodate all files transferred from drive E.
- Disk Management can only merge two adjacent partitions. Additionally, it can only combine the right-hand partition into the left-hand one.
- Drive D must be formatted with the NTFS file system.
- The D and E drives must be of the same volume type, either both Primary or both Logical drives (on MBR disks).
With NIUBI Partition Editor, such limitations do not exist. You can merge two contiguous partitions with just a few clicks, regardless of whether they are NTFS or FAT32, or Primary or Logical partitions. Furthermore, you do not need to transfer files manually. Files in the source partition will be moved automatically to a folder in the root directory of the target partition.
How to Merge C and D Drives in Server 2016 When They Are Adjacent
- Download NIUBI Partition Editor, right-click either the C or D drive, and select "Merge Volume".
- Check the boxes next to both the C and D drives.
- Click OK to return to the main interface, then click Apply on the top left to execute the process.
Watch the video guide below to see how to operate:
How to Merge C and E Drives When They Are Nonadjacent
If the C and E drives are contiguous on your server, follow the steps outlined above to combine them. If the C and E drives are non-adjacent, they cannot be merged instantly without affecting the intermediate drives. You can safely delete the E drive and then merge the resulting unallocated space into the C drive using the following steps.
Steps to merge C and E drive in Windows Server 2016/2019/2022:
- Right-click the E drive in NIUBI Partition Editor and select "Delete Volume"; its disk space will then be converted to unallocated space.
- Right-click the D drive and select "Resize/Move Volume". In the pop-up window, drag the middle of this partition toward the right to shift the unallocated space to the left side of D.
- Right-click the C drive and select "Resize/Move Volume" again, then drag the right border toward the right to merge this contiguous unallocated space. Remember to click "Apply" to let the changes take effect.
Consider Resizing Instead of Merging C and D Drives
If your ultimate goal is to extend the C drive, merging the C and D drives in Windows Server 2016 is not recommended. A much better approach is available using NIUBI Partition Editor. You can shrink drive D, E, or any other partition on the same disk to generate unallocated space, and then append that unallocated space directly onto the C drive. By using this method, you will not lose any partitions. The operating system, installed programs, and all configurations (except for partition size) will remain exactly as they were before.
How to extend a partition by shrinking another one:
The operational steps remain identical whether you are utilizing an SSD, any type of hardware RAID array, or running Windows Server 2016 within VMware/Hyper-V virtual machine environments.
Standing out from other tools, NIUBI Partition Editor features innovative Virtual Mode, Cancel-at-will, Hot-Clone, and 1-Second Rollback technologies to safeguard your system and data. Beyond merging partitions in Windows Server 2016/2019/2025/2003/2008/2012, it assists you in performing numerous other disk and partition management tasks.
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