How to Merge C and D/E Drives in Windows Server 2019/2022

by Lance, Updated on: August 2, 2026

Disk partitions are allocated by server manufacturers or created manually during the operating system installation. When the system C: drive is getting full, many people ask whether it is possible to merge C and D drives, so free space in drive D will be transferred into the C drive. The answer is yes; you can combine C and D drives in Windows Server 2019/2022. However, for those looking to extend the system C drive, it is highly recommended to resize partitions rather than merging them completely. This article introduces two methods to merge C and D/E drives in Server 2019/2022 and a better method to resize disk partitions without losing data.

Merge C and D

Merge C and D Drives in Server 2019/2022 Disk Management

Windows Server 2019 and 2022 have a native Disk Management utility. It has no "Merge Volume" function, but you can use the built-in "Extend Volume" function to combine C and D drives indirectly.

Drive D will be removed whether you use native utilities or third-party software. If you have programs or Windows services in this partition, do not merge drive D into C. If you can remove drive D, remember to transfer files to another place in advance.

Steps to merge C and D drives in Windows Server 2019/2022 via Disk Management:

  1. Transfer or back up the files in drive D to another place.
  2. Press Windows + X on the keyboard and click Disk Management in the list.
  3. Right click D: drive and select Delete Volume.
  4. Right click C: drive and select Extend Volume.
  5. Finish the Extend Volume Wizard by simply clicking Next.

If your system disk is MBR, the contiguous D drive must be a Primary partition. Otherwise, Disk Management cannot merge D to C after deleting. This is because the "Extend Volume" function can only merge Unallocated space to the left contiguous partition. Disk Management can only merge D to C or combine E to D; it cannot merge D to E or combine E to the C drive directly.

Combine C and D/E Drives with Server Partition Editor

With server partition software, there are no such limitations. You can merge NTFS and FAT32 partitions, or merge Primary and Logical partitions together. To do this, only several clicks are needed. Most importantly, all files in drive D will be automatically relocated to a specific folder in the C drive's root directory.

How to merge C and D drives in Windows Server 2019/2022 without data loss:

  1. Download NIUBI Partition Editor, right click either drive C or D and then select Merge Volume.
  2. In the pop-up window, click the check-boxes in front of both the C and D drives.
  3. Click OK to return to the main window, then click Apply on the top left to execute.

After merging D to the C drive, open the C: drive in File Explorer and you'll see a folder named "D to C(date_time)". All files in the original D drive will be moved to this folder automatically.

Video Server 2019

If the contiguous partition is E on your server, simply replace D with E in the steps above. If you want to merge two non-adjacent partitions in Windows Server 2019/2022, follow the steps below:

  1. Move all files in the E drive to another place.
  2. Right click E: drive in NIUBI Partition Editor and select "Delete Volume", then its space will be converted to Unallocated.
  3. Right click the middle D: drive and select "Resize/Move Volume". In the pop-up window, drag the middle of the D drive towards the right, and the Unallocated space will be shifted to the left side.
  4. Right click C: drive and run "Resize/Move Volume" again, drag the right border towards the right to combine this Unallocated space.
  5. Click "Apply" on top left to take effect. (All preceding operations are pending in virtual mode until you confirm.) 

Resize Partitions Instead of Merging C and D/E Drives

You'll lose the D drive after merging it into the C drive, whether you use Windows Disk Management or any partition software. As mentioned earlier, when the goal is to extend the C drive, resizing partitions is a much safer approach than merging them. With NIUBI Partition Editor, you can shrink drive D or other volumes, then part of the free space will be changed to Unallocated, and finally add Unallocated space to the C drive. In this way, you won't lose any partitions; your operating system, installed programs, and all other settings remain exactly as they were.

Follow the steps to expand the C drive with free space in other partition(s):

Video Server 2019

When there's available free space on the same disk, there's no difference between shrinking and extending partitions, whether you use a single SSD/HDD, any types of hardware RAID arrays, or virtual machines in Hyper-V/VMware.

Besides shrinking, extending, and merging partitions in Windows Server 2019/2022/2025 and previous versions, NIUBI Partition Editor helps you perform many other operations, such as copying, moving, defragmenting, converting, hiding, optimizing, wiping, and scanning for bad sectors.

Download

➤