Windows refuses to extend a volume because a recovery partition sits between it and the unallocated space. Disabling WinRE tempers the problem: the protected partition becomes deletable, and WinRE moves back into Windows afterwards.
Check the layout with **Get-Partition**, disable WinRE with **reagentc /disable**, delete the recovery partition in diskpart with **delete partition override**, extend C:, then re-enable WinRE with **reagentc /enable**.
**Get-Partition** shows offset and size, which is the only reliable way to see whether the free space is really behind C:. A recovery partition in between is the usual blocker.
Get-Partition -DriveLetter C | Select-Object PartitionNumber,Offset,Size,Type
Get-Partition | Select-Object PartitionNumber,DriveLetter,Offset,Size,Type | Sort-Object Offset
Get-Disk | Select-Object Number,Size,LargestFreeExtent**reagentc /info** names the recovery partition and its state. Do not delete anything until the output says the WinRE image is on the partition you plan to remove.
reagentc /info
Get-Partition | Where-Object Type -eq 'Recovery' | Select-Object PartitionNumber,Size,OffsetA screenshot is not enough if the machine does not boot afterwards. Write the partition table and the WinRE state to a file you can read from another device.
New-Item -ItemType Directory C:\DiskLayout -Force | Out-Null
diskpart /c "list disk" > C:\DiskLayout\disks.txt
diskpart /c "select disk 0" /c "list partition" > C:\DiskLayout\parts.txt
reagentc /info >> C:\DiskLayout\re.txt**reagentc /disable** moves the image into the running system and releases the partition. A recovery partition keeps a protected type, so diskpart needs the **override** keyword to delete it.
reagentc /disable
diskpart
select disk 0
select partition 4
delete partition override
exitWith the space now adjacent, **extend** grows C: without moving a single file. Afterwards **reagentc /enable** puts a working recovery environment back — in a folder on C:, not in a new partition.
diskpart
select volume C
extend
exit
reagentc /enable
reagentc /infoThe volume must show the new size and WinRE must report a hard disk location again. Check both, because a working C: with a disabled WinRE is a machine without recovery options.
Get-Volume C | Select-Object DriveLetter,Size,SizeRemaining
Get-Partition | Select-Object PartitionNumber,DriveLetter,Type,Size
reagentc /infoAnother hidden partition of a few megabytes is sitting in the gap. List every partition with its offset and check what lies between the end of C: and the unallocated block.
The partition is in use by WinRE. Run reagentc /disable first and confirm with reagentc /info that the state reads Disabled.
The recovery image is gone or the path in the WinRE configuration is invalid. Restore winre.wim from the installation media, or leave WinRE disabled and use a USB recovery drive instead.
The wrong partition was deleted. Restore the layout from the text file in step 3 with diskpart, or boot the installation media and use its repair options.
No. Windows can only extend into unallocated space that follows the volume; moving a partition to the left needs third-party tooling.
No. WinRE lives in C:\Windows\System32\Recovery after re-enable and starts from there.
Shrink the volume with diskpart shrink, then run reagentc /disable and reagentc /enable to restore a recovery environment. Recreating the deleted partition with its exact type and size is only possible from the layout notes.
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