Merging unallocated space

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  1. Posts : 2
    Windows 7 Professional x64
       #1

    Merging unallocated space


    I just recently purchased a new internal hard drive, which will be used as storage alongside my main hd, and for some reason it has two unallocated spaces (see picture).



    I've looked around the forums and tried creating the partition on the first unallocated space and trying to extend it but the option isn't shown. Any help would be appreciated.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       #2

    snoboarder said:
    I just recently purchased a new internal hard drive, which will be used as storage alongside my main hd, and for some reason it has two unallocated spaces (see picture).



    I've looked around the forums and tried creating the partition on the first unallocated space and trying to extend it but the option isn't shown. Any help would be appreciated.
    I certainly wouldn't expect a new hard drive to show 2 instances of unallocated space.

    Do you have any idea how that happened---was it that way right out of the box?

    Are you trying to partition in Windows Disk Management?

    What exactly happens when you right click on the unallocated space? Does a menu come up? What choices appear in the menu?

    Whoops--that's a 3 TB drive. Drives of that size often have some special considerations--with which I am not familiar.

    Nonetheless, what happens with a right click as I asked??
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  3. Posts : 1,167
    Windows 7 Pro with SP1 32bit
       #3

    Welcome to the Windows 7 Forums, Snoboarder.

    The partitioning that you desire should be possible with a good Partition Manager Boot CD. I am pretty certain that Acronis Disk Director Suite Boot CD shall do it easily and more or less sure that Free Partition Wizard Boot CD shall be able to accomplish it too.

    However Ignatzatsonic is dead right. It should have come out properly partitioned from the box.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #4

    Hi,

    EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition will allow you to merge these partitions. The FREE version can be downloaded here:

    Free Partition Magic alternative. Best Free Partition Manager Freeware for Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7/8 32 bit & 64 bit - EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition.

    Regards,
    Golden
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 8,375
    W7 Ultimate x64/W10 Pro x64/W11 Pro Triple Boot - Main PC W7 Remote PC Micro ATX W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
       #5

    Hello snoboarder Welcome to SF!

    Another thought on that would be a drive returned to seller by previous customer where someone had simply wiped the data without cleaning the drive off fully or it was a drive tested while on the production line at the manufacturer from a batch of drives and ended up being shipped out for sale.

    The later believe ir or not is the more likely explanation for a new drive if received in a sealed carton unopened. For a fast clean of that you can use a free security tool like Eraser or open up a command prompt and use the Disk Part tool while sitll booted in Windows to nuke the drive entiirely before seeing a fresh new volume created and formatted for use.

    Since the second drive is a 320gb model while the 7 host drive is only 120gb in size you won't have any problem using the following commands in Disk Part. The command prompt will open to:

    C:\Windows\system\>disk part (start up tool)
    list disk (lists all internal as well as external HDs, usb flash drives)
    select disk #0 or #1 (you can easily see the size difference)
    clean
    create partition primary
    format fs=ntfs
    exit

    The drive has been cleaned and seen a new NTFS volume added as well as formatted before you exit the tool and close up the command prompt. If you are worried about using the command prompt method and feel more comfortable using a gui the free drive tool GParted Liive for cd will cover any future needs as well as clean this in no time while booted live from a cd or usb flash drive made bootable.
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  6. Posts : 2
    Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Thank you all for welcoming me to the forum :)

    I apologize for the misinformation - this was a clearance item from the store I purchased from and the hard drive was supposedly returned "unused." The seller said the sectors had been verified by the company, but I guess this issue was left behind...

    @ignatzatsonic
    The above paragraph was geared towards you but I thought it makes more sense if everyone was clarified. When I right click the second space of unallocated space, the context menu is grayed out besides the properties and help buttons

    @Golden
    I tried this program before starting this thread but it didn't recognize the 2nd unallocated space.

    @Night Hawk
    I tried using the cmd prompt way but it unfortunately kept the unallocated space.

    @wanchoo
    I didn't see an easy to get to link via google search to the second program you suggested (the first looks like it costs money), but I will continue looking into finding this program.

    If all else fails, I think it would be best to just return the hard drive to the seller and trade in for another for peace of mind.

    Thank you all again!
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       #7

    You could try a "clean" or even "clean all" command from within Diskpart, but I'm not sure it would resolve the issue
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 1,167
    Windows 7 Pro with SP1 32bit
       #8

    Snoboarder,

    Partition Wizard is the Partition Manager used by many in these Forums. Read a tutorial at Partition Wizard : Use the Bootable CD and download the bootable CD from Free download Magic Partition Manager Software, partition magic alternative, free partition magic, partition magic Windows 7 and server partition software - Partition Wizard Online.

    Good luck.

    Amarnath Wanchoo
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 10,200
    MS Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit
       #9

    Snoboarder,
    Accept the two partitions.
    You have run across a limitation of your Bios and Win 7.

    Decide how you would like to partition the drive, but you will never be able to merge them on you system.

    That is just as well. Running chkdsk, running defrag, running a malware scan is all going to be easier to deal with a max partition size of 2 TB and personally I recommend a max of 1 TB.

    I don't have the technical links at hand, but accept the fact that you have hit a limit. If you had a newer bios, newer mobo then you could handle a larger partition. As I stated, practically speaking such large partitions just aren't needed.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 1
    Windows 7 64-bit
       #10

    Snoboarder,
    Accept the two partitions.
    You have run across a limitation of your Bios and Win 7.

    Decide how you would like to partition the drive, but you will never be able to merge them on you system.

    I found your thread when i ran across the same problem, except that I already have 2 3TB drives in the computer that are recognised properly, so it couldn't have been a limitation of my bios or windows 7.

    I solved my problem, simply by right clicking on the disk and selecting "Convert to GPT disk" and BAM! there's only one "unallocated space".



    The limitation snoopy was referring to is with MBR disks, which is what your drive is currently using.
      My Computer


 
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