Any way to move an unallocated partition?

Djard · 2026-07-01T16:45:06-0400

I have 16 MB of unallocated space between the EFI System Partition and the primary "Local Disk (C:)" partition. I would like to move unallocated space to the right of the primary partition, so that I can extend the drive (C:) and use the wasted space (see attached pic). I tried moving the unallocated space with "NIUBI Partition Editor," but it fails. I also cannot extend the primary partition to absorb the 1.680 MB space after it that NIUBI shows. I'm wondering if Macrium Reflect is the culprit as my PC woes started after I unsuccessfully tried cloning with the program. Is there a way to unlock the apparent restrictions to move and extend the 16 MB of unallocated space?

SIW2 · 2026-07-01T16:52:14-0400

a 3rd party partition manager run from bootable media. Not all of them will automatically fix the bcd entry if the os partition is changed.

Why bother for 16mb ?

dalchina · 2026-07-01T16:52:16-0400

If you were to use e.g. Minitool Partition Wizard you should simply be able to drag the left boundary of the Windows partition left- enlarging C: that way. The task is then scheduled to complete on restart.

Agree with SIW2's observation.

antspants · 2026-07-01T17:04:09-0400

SIW2 said:
Why bother for 16mb ?

Good question.

antspants · 2026-07-01T17:07:12-0400

Have you been messing with your OS drive?

antspants · 2026-07-01T17:18:02-0400

Not sure how you ended up with all those unallocated partitions (That probably should be for the system)

Mine seems clean

spapakons · 2026-07-01T17:54:03-0400

This usually happens when you switch from GPT to MBR. GPT uses a couple more partitions not needed for MBR. However I bet the OP's case is different. He mentioned Macrium Reflect. This might happen when cloning a disk and you drag and drop the partitions in order. If the alignment of the old disk doesn't match the alignment of the new disk, it might leave a small space unallocated. As others mentioned, you can do it with Minitool Partition Wizard and other similar utilities.

gunrunnerjohn · 2026-07-01T18:12:22-0400

I partitioned all my partitions from scratch as GPT. Since I was using Windows Disk Manager, I ended up with the 16MB partitions at the start of every disk, but it's not big enough for me to get excited about. Other than that, no oddball partitions.

My 2TB boot disk is broken up into five logical drives. I've used the same scheme for years, and it works for me, and I can arrange my backup frequency to match the contents. My multimedia drive and my application archive don't change much, so I don't have to drive myself crazy backing them up as often as the other drives.

Bree · 2026-07-01T18:16:00-0400

Djard said:
I have 16 MB of unallocated space between the EFI System Partition and the primary "Local Disk (C:)" partition.

SIW2 said:
Why bother for 16mb ?

antspants said:
Not sure how you ended up with all those unallocated partitions (That probably should be for the system)

Mine seems clean

We all have that 16MB partition, it's the Microsoft Reserved partition (MSR) and its supposed to be there on a GPT disk. We just don't see it in Disk Management, it is deliberately hidden.

A Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR) is a partition of a data storage device that uses the GUID Partition Table (GPT) layout. The Windows operating system uses this partition for compatibility purposes. No meaningful data is stored within the MSR....

...The GPT label for this partition type is E3C9E316-0B5C-4DB8-817D-F92DF00215AE

Microsoft Reserved Partition - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It is however visible in other partition managers, such as MiniTool Partition Wizard, and backup tools like Macrium Reflect. One way that it may have become visible for @Djard is if its partition ID has been changed or lost, possibly during the cloning. It's only 16MB, not worth worrying about. Check its ID using Diskpart.

If needed, set the correct ID with the Diskpart's SET ID command, that should make it hidden in Disk Management, as it should be. In Diskpart select the disk, then select the partition. Then use the command SET ID=E3C9E316-0B5C-4DB8-817D-F92DF00215AE

zbook · 2026-07-01T18:17:46-0400

The 16 MB is a normally a hidden reserved partition.

It can be left unallocated.

Please run diskparinfo.bat > post a share link

https://www.tenforums.com/attachments/bsod-crashes-debugging/355861d1640707960-batch-files-use-bsod-debugging-diskparinfo.bat

Batch files for use in BSOD debugging - Windows 10 Help Forums

Information This thread is for use by the BSOD team to store batch files that can be used to collect additional data, fix settings or anything else that is useful in debugging BSOD problems in Windows 10. The way I see it working is the first

www.tenforums.com

Batch files for use in BSOD debugging - Windows 10 Help Forums

Information This thread is for use by the BSOD team to store batch files that can be used to collect additional data, fix settings or anything else that is useful in debugging BSOD problems in Windows 10. The way I see it working is the first

www.tenforums.com

Consider creating a larger EFI partition.

AdvancedSetup · 2026-07-01T19:18:04-0400

Basic example of disk layout

Code:

PartitionNumber Type                                                                                  Size      DriveLetter
--------------- ----                                                                                  ----      -----------
              1 EFI System Partition (GPT GUID: c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b)                 200.00 MB           
              2 Microsoft Reserved (MSR) (GPT GUID: e3c9e316-0b5c-4db8-817d-f92df00215ae)             16.00 MB             
              3 Basic (GPT GUID: ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7)                                3.64 TB   C:         
              4 Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) (GPT GUID: de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac) 754.00 MB

Any way to move an unallocated partition?

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