How to Fix “Extend Volume Greyed Out” in Windows – Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Struggling with the ‘Extend Volume greyed out‘ issue in Windows Disk Management? You’re not alone!

A common query from the Microsoft community looks like this:

“Hi, I want to extend my drive C volume, but the ‘Extend Volume’ option is greyed out. I can’t click it. Please advise.”

This problem can be frustrating, especially when you have unallocated space but can’t use it. In this guide, we’ll walk you through a simple yet effective method using diskpart to fix the issue without relying on third-party tools.

Follow the step-by-step guide below to fix the problem.

Step-by-Step Guide to Fix “Extend Volume Greyed Out”

Open Command Prompt as Administrator

• Type cmd in the Start Menu search bar.
• Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
  
  

Launch DiskPart and List Disks

• In the Command Prompt, type diskpart and press Enter to open the tool.
• Type list disk and press Enter to see all available disks on your system.
  
  

Select the Disk and List Partitions

• Identify the disk containing the partition you want to extend (e.g., Disk 0).
• Select the disk by typing:
  select disk 0
• List all partitions on the disk:
  list partition
  
  

Delete the Blocking Recovery Partition

1. Identify the Recovery Partition or the partition blocking the unallocated space.
2. Select the blocking partition:
   select partition X
   Replace X with the partition number of the recovery partition.
3. Delete the partition:
   delete partition override
   
   

⚠️ Warning: Deleting the recovery partition will permanently remove it. Ensure you don’t need it before proceeding.

Reopen Disk Management

Go back to Disk Management. Right-click the partition you want to extend. The “Extend Volume” option should now be enabled.

Use the Extend Volume Wizard

• Click “Extend Volume” to open the wizard.
• In the wizard, click Next to proceed.
  
  

Add Unallocated Space

1. If unallocated space is available in the Available column, select it and click Add to move it to the Selected column.
2. If it’s already in the Selected column, click Next to continue.
   
   

Complete the Wizard

Click Finish to finalize the process. The unallocated space is now merged with your partition.

Verify in Disk Management

Go back to Disk Management and confirm that the partition has been successfully extended.

Additional Tips

• Ensure your target partition is formatted in NTFS. If not, reformat it before proceeding (right-click the partition → Format → select NTFS).
• For advanced scenarios, such as MBR-to-GPT conversion, consider third-party tools if necessary.

Final Words

By following this guide, you can resolve the “Extend Volume greyed out” error in Windows without third-party tools. Using diskpart is a powerful way to bypass Windows limitations, delete blocking partitions, and extend your storage with ease.