Combine SSD or HDD boot and data partitions on Windows 8

*NOTE: I highly recommend backing up your data and creating restore media before trying ANY of these methods, just in case something goes awry!

Today Antony asked the following question:

Now that the ssd is successfully installed, my drive is divided into two, in My Computer ihave the Local disk that has the OS inside of it, and i have another drive that has the rest of my free space from the SSD, is there a way to combine the two? after all they are both from the same SSD.

Great question Antony. Thankfully, the answer is yes you can combine the two!

I will outline three approaches below:

#1 Use a free 3rd party tool

This is one of the simplest methods as these tools are built for partition management. Here is my first choice, which I have used to merge boot and data partitions, ‘Partition Master Free’ by EaseUS:

Best partition manager software - EaseUS Partition Master Family.
Best partition manager software – EaseUS Partition Master Family.http://www.easeus.com/partition-manager/Resize/Move partition Merge partitions Split partition Convert partition Copy disk & partition Upgrade disk Recover deleted or lost partition Partition manager software helps you to: For Home…

My 2nd choice is AOMEI Partition Assistant:

Merge Partitions Windows 8 or 8.1 with Partition Magic Tool

Merge Partitions Windows 8 or 8.1 with Partition Magic Toolhttp://www.disk-partition.com/windows-8/merge-partitions-windows-8.htmlWhen a hard drive has been used for a period of time, the partitions, especially system (C) partition would face the problem of “low free space”, but other partitions have plenty of free space.…

#2 Use Windows’ Disk Management to Merge Partitions

I have not personally used this method in Windows 8 but here is a step-by-step guide, and in the comments it is stated that it will work for a boot partition:

Merge Hard Drive Partition in Windows 8

Merge Hard Drive Partition in Windows 8http://techzane.com/merge-hard-drive-partition-windows-8/Merging or combining of Hard drive partitions means that joining two or more single disk parts into one to get one single part. This will result in faster data access and indexing and as well as…

#3 Delete the 2nd partition and extend the OS partition

This method is described below, I recommend paying particular attention to the 2nd comment (which I directly linked to) as it describes what is actually going on: delete second partition (data), extend the first partition (OS/boot), to end up with a single large partition.

Combine Two Partitions In Windows 8

Combine Two Partitions In Windows 8http://www.eightforums.com/general-support/27508-combine-two-partitions-windows-8-a.html#post250838Combine Two Partitions In Windows 8 Hello Everyone Its Win8pctech Today i m telling you about how to combine two partitions in windows 8.. First Of all You Need To Open Control Panel Then Go to…

Summary: a variety of options

I hope this post was helpful to you Antony and feel free to comment again if you have any specific questions. 🙂

After adding this Vertex 3 SSD, the Dell 660s boots into Windows amazingly fast!

BONUS photo: After adding this Vertex 3 SSD and utilizing a single partition, the Dell 660s boots into Windows amazingly fast! (<10 seconds)

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