How to extend the partition on a SSD drive?

Brian G Turner

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So my SSD drive in my Windows 10 PC, at 250GB, is too small for me now. I'm looking to replace it with a 1TB SSD.

I've hooked up the 1TB one via a USB-SATA connector and been able to clone my PC's hard drive to it without a problem using Macrium Reflect. However, it's preserved the partitions, which means the 1TB drive has a 250GB C: drive partition, and 600+GB of unallocated space.

I looked to use the Windows 10 built-in disk Manager to extend the C: partition, but I get a prompt saying that if I do so, the 1TB drive will become a "dynamic drive" and no longer be bootable with an OS.

I looked online and tried a few "free" partition tools - AOEMI Partition manager loaded up fine, but when asked to extend the partition, didn't do anything at all. MiniTool was similar but asked for money to execute the command. EaseUS also offered something the same - loaded up fine, but you have to pay for any of the commands to actually function.

I ran out of patience and decided I may as well just pay for the EaseUS one to get the job done - only to find it not only forces a subscription, there's no instant activation so I'd have to wait for another time zone to come online for office hours before I can continue. So I immediately cancelled the transaction, and then spent the next 3 days fighting EaseUS for a refund.

I figure there must surely be a relatively simple and easy way to extend my 1TB SSD partition so it's a bootable drive I can replace the one in the PC with. However, whenever I run a search I'm just flooded with ads, "reviews" and articles promoting the "free" options above.

Any pointers gratefully received. :)
 
Haven’t partitioned a disk for years and had a look at what’s available. It’s a minefield out there. I notice that Minitool is free if it doesn’t involve an OS partition. Sneaky.
I don’t see many (any) attractive options.

I have a Win 10 PC with 250G SSD and 1T hard drive. I just make sure that I never install anything new on the SSD (therefore preserving the space for Win10 updates).
Perhaps you could live with the existing partitions and do the same thing? (ie. only install on the non-OS partition).

There’s this but I think you’ve already looked at most of them


P.S. have you tried the answer to FAQ question 3 in the link? On second thoughts, you probably have - making it a dynamic drive.
 
If you're also looking for cloning features plus others, like backups, you can also check out Hasleo, which is free.

 

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