Partition Wizard FAQ

  • Data Recovery
  • Move/Resize/Extend partition
  • Partition Recovery
  • Change Cluster Size
  • Split/Merge Partition
  • Copy Partition/Disk/Migrate OS
  • Rebuild MBR
  • Check File System
  • Convert MBR Disk <=> GPT Disk
  • Create Partition
  • Delete Partition
  • Change Drive Letter
  • Convert FAT to NTFS
  • Create Dynamic Volume
  • Resize/Move Dynamic Volume
  • Convert Dynamic Disk to Basic
  • Copy Volume
  • Convert NTFS to FAT
  • Change Partition Type ID
  • Surface Test
  • Error Code
  • I purchased the Pro Annual subscription but when I attempted to recover some lost data from a hard drive, I am now being told that I am not allowed to do that with the current license.

    MiniTool Partition Wizard Pro Annual license does not support data recovery and partition recovery, and you need a Pro Deluxe or Pro Ultimate license. If you need the license urgently, you can place a new order to purchase the correct license, then send both the old order ID and the new order ID to [email protected], and then we can refund the incorrect order. Or you can send your order ID and problem details to [email protected] so that we can provide you other available solutions.

  • Is the Data Recovery function in MiniTool Partition Wizard as strong as MiniTool Power Data Recovery?

    The Data Recovery feature of MiniTool Partition Wizard works the same as MiniTool Power Data Recovery when it comes to recovering data from hard drives and flash drives. However, for CD/DVD recovery, MiniTool Power Data Recovery is the right choice.

  • Difference between Partition Recovery and Data Recovery.

    Partition Recovery function is designed to recover lost/deleted partitions along with data to their original location while the Data Recovery function is developed to recover data from Recycle Bin, lost/deleted/formatted/damaged partitions and existing partitions to another drive.

  • The program crashed when scanning my drive in the Data Recovery module.

    Please send us an email that includes the following details so that we can review them and give you some instructions. Here is our email: [email protected].
    1. Where were your files originally saved and how did they get lost?
    2. Please take a screenshot to show us the disk layout in Windows Disk Management.
    3. Please send us the log file of the program, which is located in the installation folder of the program (C:\Program Files\MiniTool Partition Wizard 12\ by default) and called log.txt.

  • The program only found .swf files which are unable to open..

    Please send an email to [email protected] and tell us the following details:
    1. Where were your files originally saved and how did they get lost?
    2. What types of files are you going to recover? Just tell us the extension or suffix of these files.
    3. Please send us the log file of the program, which is located in the installation folder of the program (default location is C:\Program Files\MiniTool Partition Wizard 12\) and called log.txt.

  • It is very slow to save files or the program crashed during the process of saving files.

    Please try this way to save files again:
    Firstly, please go to the installation folder of the program (default location is C:\Program Files\MiniTool Partition Wizard 12\), locate the partitionwizard.exe.ini file (sometimes, the .ini suffix is invisible), open the file, add one line under [General], copy DestPathSimpleMode=1 and paste it to the file, as the following screenshot shows: pw faq 39 Then, save the change. If you are not allowed to save the change, please close the file without saving the change, then copy the file to another drive, drive E: for example, open the copied file, add one line under [General], copy DestPathSimpleMode=1, paste it to the file, save the change, and copy the changed file back to replace the original one in the installation folder.
    Next, run MiniTool Partition Wizard again, choose the Data Recovery function, and load the previous recovery result: pw faq 40 Then, save files again.

  • Why the program found 1.7TB of files from a 500GB drive?

    Our program uses 2 ways to scan a drive, namely file system scan and RAW scan.
    Files found by file system scan are saved in Existing Partition or Lost Partition and have the original names while files found by the RAW scan are saved in the More Lost Files folder and lose the original names. Most files found by these 2 methods are repeated files.

  • Can I recover data to the original drive?
    We strongly advise you not to recover the data to the original drive, because doing this may overwrite the lost files. If you do, do at your own risk.
  • How long it will take to complete scan process?

    The time required to scan a drive depends on many factors, such as how many data you saved in this drive and the current status of the drive.

  • Software stuck at “building virtual file system” after scanning, what to do?

    You got the issue because the file system of the drive is too fragmented. In this case, please rescan the drive and Pause (not stop) the scanning when it gets to 90%: faq 33 Then, select the needed files to recover. When 90% of the scanning is completed, 99% of the files are already found.

  • After scan I got the error message "failed to find any file system information from the specified device", and no files are found.

    There are 2 possible causes for the issue:
    1. The connection between the drive and the computer is not good.
    2. The drive is physically damaged.
    So, please reconnect the drive and scan the drive again. If the program still fails to find any file, probably the drive is already damaged, and you can download HD Tune free trial version to make an error scan for the drive.

  • The Free version scanned my drive for 12 hours and it found my data, so i upgraded to the Full version. Do i need to install the Full version and rescan my drive?

    There is no need to rescan your drive with the Full version, because you can directly activate the program on the Free version and continue to recover.

  • It's a 2TB disk, but the program reported that there are dozens of TB files found, so I can't save them.

    In your case, mostly some files have problems and miscalculated. Please use this method to filter files:
    Step 1: if you already closed the program, please run the program again and load the previous recovery result, which can avoid rescanning the drive:
    load previous recovery result 1 Step 2: Click the Filter button, give a check mark "√" on By Size option, and limit the size for files that the program found. For example, we need to recover files smaller than 1GB, so we make the following filter:
    load previous recovery result 2 1048576KB = 1024MB = 1G
    Then, we can only see files NOT Larger than 1GB.
    Please limit the size of your files.

  • Why the program found a lot of partitions

    When our program finds a file system track, after scanning it will show it as a partition no matter the file system is intact or not. If it finds 10 file system tracks, it will show 10 partitions. If file system is intact, all files in this partition will be shown correctly. If file system is incomplete or corrupted, all files will be in the RAW Files folder and lose their original name. Files in the All RAW Files partition are found over file system, so they lose original names and date.

  • What does RAW Files mean?

    Our program uses 2 ways to scan a drive, namely file system scan and raw scan. RAW files are found by the raw scan. Most files found by the file system scan and the raw scan are repeated files. If you find the needed files from the Existing Partition or Lost partition, there is no need to recover RAW files. If you do not find the needed files from the Existing/Lost Partition or the program only finds RAW files, please just recover those RAW files.

  • The program said it saved files successfully, but I just found an empty folder.

    In general, there are 4 causes for this issue:
    1. There is not enough free space on the drive to save the file. Could you please check the unused space of the drive?
    2. There are errors in the path selected for recovered files. In this case, could you please right click an individual file and recover it to root directory of a drive to see whether it is there? If you already closed the program, you can run it again, choose the function you used to scan the drive, and load previous scanning results.
    3. Errors occurred during scan. In this case, would you mind rescanning the drive and saving an individual file to see whether it can open?
    4. File system of the drive you used to save recovered files isn't supported by Windows. Could you please try saving files to an NTFS or FAT32 partition?

  • Recovered files can't open in any supported programs.

    In general, there are 4 possible causes for the issue that recovered files cannot be opened:
    1. File records in the file system got corrupted and you recovered files with original names.
    2. Errors occurred during the process of scanning or saving.
    3. Files are already overwritten or corrupted before recovery.
    4. The disk has physical issues.
    Under such a circumstance, please run the program again, choose the Data Recovery function and load the previous recovery result (not rescan), which just takes a few seconds:
    pw faq 41 Then, please try saving some files again and see whether they can open correctly. This time, please save files with the original names as well as save files in the More Lost Files (RAW) folder:
    pw faq 42 However, if this method still doesn't work, errors may occur during the process of the first scanning. In this case, please scan the drive again. During the process of scanning, please try previewing and saving some files.
    Kindly Reminder: Please do not save files to the original drive, because doing this may overwrite lost files, and the overwritten files can't be recovered any more.

  • Why recovered files lost original names and showing up as file1, file2, file3…

    There are 2 causes for this issue, including:
    1. Errors occurred during the process of scanning. In this case, would you mind rescanning the drive?
    2. File system is damaged. In this case, original folder structure can't be restored.

  • When I click the save button, the window that pops up is blank.

    pdr faq 3 Have you moved Desktop or My Documents from OS drive (default) to another drive or do other related move recently? If yes, to change them back may solve the problem.

  • How to create bootable disk to recover data from a crashed computer?

    You need to prepare a CD, DVD, or USB drive, then run MiniTool Partition Wizard, and click the Bootable Media Builder button to create.

  • When I clicked the Bootable Edition button, it brings me to a website. How can I create a bootable disc?

    This indicates you are using MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition. When clicking the Bootable Media Builder feature, you will be led to purchase a higher version to unlock this feature.

  • MiniTool Partition Wizard cannot extend the specified partition. It shows not enough free space, but there is much free space.

    There are 3 possible causes for this issue:
    1. There is non-NTFS or non-FAT partition(s) between the partition you want to extend and the partition or unallocated space you want to take free space from. If yes, please take a screenshot to show us disk layout in MiniTool Partition Wizard so that we can give you some advise.
    2. You are extending a partition on an MBR disk by taking free space outside 2TB, because on an MBR disk you can only use 2TB of space. In this case, converting the disk from MBR to GPT could fix it.
    3. There is no available free space for the target partition to take space from.

  • Received the error "The last operation will create an overlapping partition" when resizing partition.

    pw faq 2 Could you please use the Align Partition function to align partitions that will be operated during the process of resizing, and then resize partition again?

  • Shrunk D but still can't extend C to unallocated space.

    Partition C: and partition D: should be on the same hard disk. If you have the problem when C: and D: are on the same disk, most probably you used the Move/Resize Partition function to extend, but the unallocated space is not adjacent to C:. In this case, please use the Exend Partition to extend C: directly. You can also send us a screenshot to show disk layout in MiniTool Partition Wizard so that we can give you some instructions.

  • Can’t take free space from C to extend the EFI system.

    pw faq 43 You are unable to take free space from C to extend the EFI partition because there is a 128MB or 16MB Other partition between the EFI partition and the partition C. Under such a circumstance, you can delete the Other partition, which shouldn’t affect Windows, and then extend the EFI system partition again. However, since you are going to operate the OS partition, it’s better to create a backup for the system in advance or use the bootable version of the program to extend.

  • Why does the Extend Partition or Move/Resize Partition function doesn’t work for EXT2/3/4 partitions?

    Currently, MiniTool Partition Wizard doesn't support resizing EXT2/3/4 partitions but can only move those partitions, and our development team will take this feature into serious consideration.

  • The program found lost partition, but after I clicked the Apply button, the disk becomes unallocated again.

    This problem appears largely because partition size and disk size are not consistent. In this case, you need to use the Linux bootable version of MiniTool Partition Wizard to recover partition. Could you please send your order ID or registered email address to [email protected]? Once the order is confirmed, we will send you the Linux version.

  • The program found overlapped partitions and I cannot tick them.

    It seems new partitions were created after partition loss, and 2 or more partitions are overlaped. In this case, could you please double click each partition to explore contents, and then try checking needed partition? However, if you are unable to check all needed partitions, the best way is to recover data with MiniTool Power Data Recovery. If you already purchased MiniTool Partition Wizard, you can pay difference to get the data recovery software.

  • Recovered partition isn't showing up in Windows Explore or File Explorer.

    Could you please check whether the partition has a drive letter? If it doesn’t have, please assign it one with the Change Drive Letter feature.

  • Still can't open recovered partition, and Windows asks to format.

    It seems this partition has file system errors. Could you please use the Move/Resize Partition feature to shrink the partition a little, several GB for example. During the process of resizing, our program could fix slight file system errors. If this method doesn't work, please use the Check File System feature of MiniTool Partition Wizard to do some repair. However, if the partition is showing up as Other or Unformatted in MiniTool Partition Wizard, you need to recover data with MiniTool Power Data Recovery. You can pay difference to get our data recovery software.

  • Why the Apply button is grayed out after I run Partition Recovery.

    Most probably all your partitions are existing. Only when the program finds deleted partitions, the Apply button is available. Under this situation, please take a screenshot to show us disk layout in MiniTool Partition Wizard so that we can give you some advise.

  • At least one of the existing partitions will be deleted. Are you sure that you want to continue?

    pw faq 3 When doing partition recovery, users need to choose all needed partitions, both existing and lost/deleted ones, because unchecked partitions will be deleted.

  • Get the error message "The selected Partition Layout is invalid" when doing partition recovery.

    It might be because the structure of your disk is corrupted. In this case, you need to send us a screenshot of the Choose Searched Partitions window so that we could give you some advice. However, if you can't recover partition even with our suggestions, you may need to use our data recovery software.

  • Get the error message "The specified disk is dynamic disk" when doing partition recovery.

    Please convert dynamic disk to basic disk and then do partition recovery again.

  • When doing partition recovery, I can view data but have no option to recover them or can't open them.

    The Explorer feature of Partition Wizard doesn't detect the integrality of file system deeply and it just offers a preview effect. Just follow instructions to recover the partition, and then you should be able to access it in Windows Explorer or File Explorer.

  • Windows won't boot after partition recovery.

    The latest version of Partition Wizard doesn’t have such an issue. Please upgrade to the latest version.

  • Invalid configure file.

    Could you please send your order ID or registered email address to [email protected] for further assistance?

  • The process got stuck for a very long time. Can I cancel it?

    If the Cancel button is available, you can cancel the process without worrying about data loss. However, if it is grayed out, please wait the program to complete the operation. You can also send a screenshot to [email protected]. Our technicians can review it and give you some instructions.

  • Can't change cluster size. It reported the disk required defragmenting. Defragmented the disk and it still failed.

    If the program gives the same error after you defragmented the disk, probably you need to defrag MFT. This tool is more powerful than Windows built-in Defragmenter:
    https://www.ccleaner.com/defraggler. You can also try the bootable version of MiniTool Partition Wizard.

  • How much time does changing cluster size require?

    pw faq 4 It is affected by many factors but mainly depends on how many files should be moved. Let's just see a simple example:
    The above represents old clusters, while below represents new clusters.
    If file A is saved in old cluster 5, it is not located at the starting position of new cluster. For successful reading, our program will move it to a free new cluster. If file B is saved in old cluster 8, 9, 10, and 11, it just uses a new cluster, and our program will keep file B in this location. In reality, the changing cluster size process is much more complicated, and our program will move or keep data to fit new cluster size.

  • During the process of changing cluster size, can i use the volume?

    For data security, the volume will be locked during changing cluster size. So, you can't use it during the process.

  • Can i use your program to change cluster size of my volume so that i can extend it?

    In this situation,we suggest directly extending it. During the extending process, our software will change the cluster size automatically. And with the added free space, the program should complete the increase faster.

  • Received a warning when changing cluster size. Please see the attached image.

    pw faq 5 You received this error message because you are operating boot partition. Changing cluster size of boot partition will cause system unbootable, we don't suggest performing this operation.

  • Can't choose desired partition to merge.

    Cause 1: partitions you want to merge are not neighboring. In this case, you can't merge them. Instead, you can take free space from one partition to extend the other using the Extend Partition feature.
    Cause 2: one or both partitions are not NTFS partitions. The Merge Partition feature can only combine NTFS partitions. If they are FAT32 partitions, please convert them to NTFS using the Convert FAT32 to NTFS feature, which will not affect data, and then merge again. If they are Ext or other types of partitions, you can't merge them.

  • My boot volume and system volume are not on the same disk; Migrate OS function cannot be launched. How do I resolve?

    pw faq 35 MiniTool Partition Wizard cannot migrate system provided that the related partitions are located on different disks. You need to move these partitions to the same disk first of all. Read this article to get the details.

  • Get the "The specified disk is too small" error when copying disk or migrating OS.

    If you are using the Copy Disk feature, please make sure the target disk can hold all files on the source disk. If you are using the Migrate OS feature, please make sure the target disk can hold all files in partition C. However, if the target disk has enough space to hold files but you still receive the error, please check whether the partitions on the source disk are BitLocker encrypted, like this: pw faq 44 If yes, please turn off the BitLocker encryption first, and then copy the disk or migrate OS again.

  • Can I copy a large disk to a smaller one?

    As long as the target disk can hold all files on the source disk, you can copy a large disk to a smaller one.

  • Received the error "Destination device must be an unallocated space".

    In this case, please delete a useless partition or shrink a large partition to create an unallocated space, and then copy partition again.

  • Get the error "Since a different sector size on the source disk and destination disk, MiniTool Partition wizard cannot continue" when copying disk/partition or migrating OS.

    You failed to migrate OS/copy disk/copy partition because the target drive and the source drive use different sector size. To be specific, one drive uses 512B sector while the other uses 4K sector. You can use the Disk Properties feature in MiniTool Partition Wizard to view the sector size, namely the Bytes Per Sector parameter, and then choose a target disk that uses the same sector size as the source drive to copy disk or migrate OS.

  • When I tried to migrate OS or copy disk, the program popped out a prompt that reminds me to upgrade to the full version.

    The Migrate OS/Clone System Disk functions are supported only in full editions. Here is a page of the comparison between the free edition and the full editions: https://www.minitool.com/partition-manager/partition-software-comparison.html.

  • Received file system error when migrating OS or copying disk.

    Please use the Check File System feature in MiniTool Partition Wizard to check/fix file system errors for all partitions on the source disk, and then copy disk or migrate OS again. For partitions that do not have a drive letter, please give them a letter with the Change Drive Letter feature first. However, if you still receive file system error after file system checking, please click the Bootable Media feature on the top of the program to create a bootable CD, DVD, or USB, and then boot the computer from the created bootable disk to migrate OS or copy disk again.

  • The target disk is unbootable.

    Please try the following methods:
    1. Please swap out the source disk with the targe disk and check whether the target disk is bootable.
    2. Try to use a Windows installation media to repair the target drive.
    3. Try booting the computer from the Windows installation media, open CMD and running the following 3 commands to do some repair:
    • bootrec /fixboot
    • bootrec /fixmbr
    • bootrec /rebuildbcd
    However, if all the methods fail to fix the issue, please boot the computer from the source disk, and take a screenshot to show us the disk layout of both disks in MiniTool Partition Wizard.

  • Get the error "Partition Wizard detected your disk configuration has changed" when cloning hard disk or migrating OS.

    pw faq 6 Please open Windows Disk Management and check whether the partitions are BitLocker encrypted. If YES, please turn off BitLocker encryption first and then copy the disk or migrate OS again. You can search for how to turn off Bitlocker encryption on the internet. If NOT, please follow this guide to create a MiniTool bootable media and then use this tool to do the copy/migration. pw faq 34

  • What's the difference between the Copy Disk and Migrate OS feature?

    The Copy Disk feature will copy all partitions along with files to the target disk while Migrate OS feature offers 2 options. One is to copy disk, and the other is to migrate OS only. Migrating OS only just copies system required partitions.

  • Received the error "Failed to read or write disk" when copying disk/partition or migrating OS.

    It seems there are bad sectors on your hard disk. Could you please run chkdsk /r /f on your source disk in CMD, and then copy or migrate again? If it doesn't work, could you please try bootable version of MiniTool Partition Wizard?

  • Windows won't boot from cloned partition.

    That is because copying Windows OS partition will not fix and update boot information. Instead, we suggest using Migrate OS to SSD/HD or Copy Disk feature to clone or transfer Windows.

  • The program asked to restart the computer, and then got stuck at the black screen or reported errors

    Please open Windows Disk Management and check whether the partitions are BitLocker encrypted. If YES, please turn off BitLocker encryption first and then copy the disk or migrate OS again. You can search for how to turn off Bitlocker encryption on the internet. If NOT, please follow this guide to create a MiniTool bootable media and then use this tool to do the copy/migration.
    faq 32

  • Can't find the Rebuild MBR function or this function is grayed out.

    Firstly, please check whether it is a GPT disk. GPT disk doesn’t have MBR, so there is no Rebuild MBR feature for GPT disks. Secondly, please check whehter it is a dynamic disk. If yes, you need to convert it to basic disk, and then rebuild MBR. At last, to rebuild MBR, you need to highlight the disk. If you highlight a partition, you'll not see the Rebuild MBR feature or it is grayed out.

  • The check File System function is grayed out.

    Firstly, please confirm the partition you want to check is highlighted. Then, please confirm it has a drive letter. If it doesn’t have a letter, please assign it one and try again. At last, please confirm this partition is formatted with FAT or NTFS. Our program doesn't support checking EXT and HFS+ partition.

  • All partitions got lost after I applied the conversion.

    Could you please send the log file of MiniTool Partition Wizard to [email protected], which is located at the installation directory of the program and called log.txt.

  • Windows won't boot after you converted the system disk to GPT.

    Firstly, could you please check whether UEFI boot is enabled. If it is already enabled, could you please take a photo with your phone to show us the exact boot error?

  • Get the error message "MiniTool Partition Wizard cannot convert this GPT disk to MBR. (Too many primary partitions)

    pw faq 7 You received this error message because an MBR disk can only hold 4 primary partitions at most. To fix this issue, you have 2 choices:
    1. delete extra partitions after important data is backed up. For example, if there are 5 partitions on the GPT disk, you can delete a small partition, and convert again; if there are 6 partitions, you need to delete 2 partitions.
    2. Shrink partitions with the Move/Resize Partition feature if you do not want to delete partition. For example, if there are 5 partitions on the disk, please shrink the last partition to create a 1GB or smaller unallocated space before the partition, and then use the same method to shrink the fourth partition; if there are 6 partitions, you need to shrink the last 3 partition. After that, you should be able to convert the disk to MBR.

  • MiniTool Partition Wizard cannot convert this GPT disk to MBR. (partition layout exceed 2TB limit)

    pw faq 8 You received this error message because MBR disk has a 2TB limit. In this case, we suggest keeping GPT if you want to use all space. But if you need to convert GPT to MBR due to some reason, please delete or shrink the last partition and confirm existing partitions just use 2TB or less capacity.

  • My external drive has a single partition. I want to split it and create a new partition for backup.

    For your case, you can shrink the current partition to get an unallocated space and then create new partition on the unallocated space.

  • When resizing my usb drive to create new partition, I received the error: MiniTool Partition Wizard cannot create a new partition on this removable disk. If you like to create several partitions on this removable disk, you need to delete all the partitions first.

    You received this error most probably because your USB drive doesn't have partition table. Can you please select the first partition of the drive, choose Move/Resize Partition feature, shorten the partition handle to create a small unallocated space before this partition, and apply the change. Then, try creating the second partition.

  • Receive "No free MBR slot" error when creating partition.

    The error occurs because there are 4 primary partitions or 3 primary partitions plus one extended partition already. To fix this issue, you need to convert one of the primary partitions adjacent to the unallocated space to logical partition. For steps to convert partition, please see Set Partition as Logical.

  • I deleted/format a partition on my SD card. The program reported successfully, but in fact the partition is still existing.

    Probably this drive has physical issues. Please try using Surface Test feature of MiniTool Partition Wizard to scan it and see whether there are bad sectors on it.

  • I reduced the size of the C drive and added 3 new partitions which are supposed to be D E F.
    I could assign E and F with no problem but cannot assign the D. It does not appear in the option of letters to choose.

    Most probably letter D is assigned by your CD-ROM or other devices. Could you please check it in Windows Disk Management? If yes, you can change CD-ROM to another drive letter and assign D: to your new partition.

  • Assigned a letter for the partition and clicked apply. The program says it is done but the drive letter disappears.

    You can try the following method: select the problem drive, then select Change Partition Type ID feature, next change partition type ID to 0x07, and assign drive letter again.

  • I'm unable to assign letter for the second partition on my USB flash drive. Why?

    Windows only recognizes the firstly created partition of removable device. That's why you can't assign letter for the second partition.

  • I booted computer from MiniTool bootable version, my C drive is showing up F: . I then changed it to C, but after rebooting, it back to F:.

    Bootable MiniTool Partition Wizard is running in Win PE while the Windows edition is running in normal Windows OS. Under different systems, drive letters are a little different, but both are correct.

  • I highlighted partition C and want to assign D: to it, but under Partition tab, the Change Drive letter function is grayed out.

    We do not allow users to change drive letter for OS partition, because it may affect system.

  • I want to convert my FAT32 partition to NTFS, but the convert FAT to NTFS function is not visible.

    Probably this partition is hidden. In this situation, you need to unhide it at first.

  • I just bought the license which is for Home Users but the option to create RAID-5 volumes is grayed out.

    RAID 5 volume is only supported by Windows Server but not supported by Windows 7/8/10. In this case, our program doesn't allow users to create RAID 5 volume in Windows 7/8/10.

  • I want to extend a dynamic volume, but if i click on menu - partition, all menus are grayed out and i can´t click on extend.

    To extend a dynamic volume, you need to choose the Dynamic Disk menu. Actually, after you highlight the volume you want to extend, you can see all available functions on the left panel. Please choose Move/Resize Volume feature to extend your volume.

  • I want to take the unallocated space to extend a dynamic volume, but when i go to Resize/Move function, i can't choose the unallocated space.

    MiniTool Partition Wizard supports extending a dynamic volume, but you may need to move the unallocated space to be after the volume you want to extend. If there is a primary partition existing in front of the unallocated space, as the below screenshot shows, please use the Convert Dynamic Disk to Basic Disk function of our program to convert the disk to basic and then extend the volume to the unallocated partitions again. However, if it is an Other partition, you may need to delete it, and then extend the partition again.
    pw faq 45

  • How to extend striped or mirrored volume?

    You can refer to this help manual: https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmanager/extend-different-types-of-dynamic-volumes.html

  • I can't extend my C volume by using free space on another dynamic disk.

    On dynamic disk, you can extend a volume by taking free space on another dynamic disk, and this volume will automatically convert to spanned volume, but volume C is an exception. Windows doesn’t allow it to use space on other dynamic disks.

  • Please see the attached image. I was trying to convert my dynamic disk to basic, but received error "failed to convert the specified dynamic disk".

    pw faq 9 You received this error message because an MBR diks can only hold 4 primary partitions at most. To fix this issue, you have 2 choices:
    1. delete extra partitions after important data is backed up. For example, if there are 5 partitions the dynamic disk, you can delete a small partition, and convert again; if there are 6 partitions, you need to delete 2 partitions.
    2. Shrink partitions with the Move/Resize Partition feature if you do not want to delete partition. For example, if there are 5 partitions on the disk, please shrink the last partition to create a 1GB or smaller unallocated space before the partition, and then use the same method to shrink the fourth partition; if there are 6 partitions, you need to shrink the last 3 partition. After that, you should be able to convert the dynamic disk to basic disk.

  • MiniTool Partition Wizard can't convert the specified dynamic disk to basic disk.

    pw faq 10 Please read Fixed: MiniTool Partition Wizard Cannot Convert the Specified Dynamic Disk to Basic to get the details.

  • How to convert my mirrored dynamic drive to basic?

    pw faq 11 Firstly, please break mirrored volume (not remove mirror) in Windows Disk Management, which doesn't affect data. Then, please retry conversion using MiniTool Partition Wizard.

  • Got "Failed to convert the specified dynamic disk" error when converting dynamic disk to basic disk in MiniTool Partition Wizard. The disk shows "dynamic invalid" in Windows Disk Management and "Bad Disk" in MiniTool Partition Wizard.

    pw faq 31 It seems this dynamic disk is from another system. If the disk wasn't a part of striped volume, spanned volume, or RAID volume before, please go to Windows Disk Management, right click the dynamic disk, and choose Reactivate Disk. In general, this should make your disk workable again. However, if you receive an error message, please choose Convert to Basic Disk instead, which will delete all partitions, but you can recover all deleted partitions using MiniTool Partition Wizard. We have tested this method for multiple times, and all worked.

  • When I copy my volume to another drive, it reported that this program detected file system error.

    The error message means there are file system errors on your drive, please use Check File System to repair original volume and try again.

  • The cluster size of the specified partition is too small to use by FAT32 file system. You need to change the cluster size to 16 sector(s) first.

    pw faq 21 Please high light this partition, choose Change Cluster Size feature, set cluster size to 16 sectors, then execute Apply. After that, please retry converting this NTFS partition to FAT32.

  • During converting my NTFS partition to FAT, I received an error: The specified partition contains a file larger than 4GB.

    You got this error message because FAT 32 partition doesn't support files larger than 4GB. Could you please backup the large files to another drive, then delete them and try again?

  • Can't convert a 4TB NTFS Partition to FAT32.The error says can't convert the specifiedpartition to FAT file system. It's too large.

    pw faq 12 The maximum size for an FAT32 partition in Windows is 2TB, so you can't convert a 4TB drive from NTFS to FAT32. If files saved on this drive are less than 2TB, you can shrink the partition to 2TB, and then convert the 2TB NTFS partition to FAT32.

  • I changed type ID of one little partition, and now it is showing up as "Storage Space Protective Partition" in Windows Disk Management, but MiniTool Partition Wizard can't detect the disk.

    The disk is not showing in MiniTool Partition Wizard most probably because you set this partition as Storage Spaces Partition. If you didn't save important data on it, would you mind using Diskpart to delete this partition and try again?
    Note: Please choose the correct partition to delete.

  • Can MiniTool Partition Wizard flag and fix bad sectors?

    MiniTool Partition Wizard Surface Test feature can only test whether there are bad sectors but can't flag and fix bad sectors.

  • Error code 2

    pw faq 23 Probably there are illegal value in the partition. In this case, could you please use the "Check File System" function to do some repair? If this method doesn't work, you need to recover data using MiniTool Power Data Recovery at first, and then recreate the partition.

  • Error code: 3

    pw faq 13 The error code shows there are bad sectors on the drive. Could you please use Surface Test feature of MiniTool Partition Wizard or CHKDSK.exe to see whether it has bad sectors? If there is bad sector, you can try running chkdsk /r in CMD and then try again.

  • Error code 4, error code 40

    Sometimes, when you are trying to manage disk partitions, you receive the following error messages after hitting the Apply button:
    "Failed to execute the following command:
    Error Code: 4
    Disk I/O error."
    error-code-4 "Failed to execute the following command:
    Error Code: 40
    NTFS file system error. Please use "Check File System" function to fix it first."
    error-code-4 How did this happen? During the process of installing MiniTool Partition Wizard, there is a remote possibility that the related device drivers which are responsible for invoking system information are installed inappropriately.
    Now you can do the following operations to remove such errors:
    Step 1: Run "regedit", find the folders "pwdrvio" & "pwdspio" under "Computer > HKEY_LOCAL-MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Services" and then delete them.
    Step 2: Restart your computer.
    Step 3: Reboot MiniTool Partition Wizard. During this step, the related device drivers will be reinstalled and work normally. At this time, you can successfully execute the operations you did before.

  • Error code 7

    pw faq 24 This error indicates this partition has file system errors. Please use "Check File System" function to fix file system at first. If the partition doesn't have drive letter, please assign it one at first.

  • error code 11

    pw faq 14 This error shows file system of the partition has errors. Please highlight this partition, and then use the Check File System feature to do some repair. If the partition doesn’t have drive letter, please assisgn it one at first.

  • error code 12

    pw faq 25 This error indicates this partition has file system errors. Please use the "Check File System" to fix file system at first. If the partition doesn't have drive letter, please assign it one at first.

  • error code 13

    pw faq 26 The operation failed largely because there is little free space left in the partition, and we suggest extending the partition by taking free space from other partitions or from unallocated space on the same disk.

  • error code 16

    pw faq 27 This error indicates there are bad sectors on your disk. We suggest running chkdsk /f /r for this partition in CMD, and then try again.

  • error code 19

    pw faq 28 This error indicates the partition has NTFS file system errors. Please use "Check File System" function to fix file system at first. If the partition doesn't have drive letter, please assign it one at first.

  • error code 35

    pw faq 29 This error indicates your partition has NTFS file system errors. Please use "Check File System" function to fix it at first. If the partition doesn't have drive letter, please assign it one at first.

  • error code 39

    pw faq 30 This error indicates there is much fragmentation in your file system. Please run Windows Disk Defragmener before operating your partition.

  • Install
  • Run
  • Bootable Version
  • Other Non-Fucntion
  • Every time I try to download or install MiniTool Partition Wizard Free, my antivirus software detects it as a virus, malware, or unwanted program, as the following screenshot shows. What’s the problem?

    pw faq install This is a false positive mainly reported by ESET. You got this error because of the FusionCore file which is about our parterner. The program is 100% safe, so you can download or install it without any worries.

  • Can't install Partition Wizard and receive the error message: An error occurred while trying to rename a file in the destination directory: MoveFile failed; code 5.

    Please try the following methods:
    1. Go to C:\Program Files\ , delete the MiniTool Partition Wizard folder, and install the program again.
    2. Install the program to another location.
    3. Choose Ignore.

  • Received the error "The procedure entry point GetLogicalProcessorInformation could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNAL32.dll" when installing MiniTool Partition Wizard.

    The error message shows Partition Wizard doesn't support your system. For Windows non-server operating systems, it requires Vista SP2 at least. For server operating systems, it requires Windows 2000 SP4 at least.

  • Received the error "The setup files are corrupted. Please obtain a new copy of the program" when installing MiniTool Partition Wizard.

    Could you please try the following methods:
    1. Install the program as administrator.
    2. Redownload the program and install it again.

  • It reports additional software will be installed. Is it safe? Can I remove it?

    Installing MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition may install an additional program of our partner, which is 100% safe. But if you do not want to install it, you can decline:
    pw faq install

  • The program got stuck at the loading screen or crashed during startup.

    pw faq 19 If you are running Free version, could you please try this version:
    https://www.partitionwizard.com/download/10.2.3/pwfree1023.zip? However, if you are running paid version, could you please send your order ID or registered email address to [email protected] for further assistance?

  • Can't launch the program and received the error "Failed to load disk access driver. Please try to launch MiniTool Partition Wizard again".

    pw faq 1 A: This error appears because it failed to install drivers. Could you please run regedit.exe and delete "pwdrvio" & "pwdspio" under "Computer > HKEY_LOCAL-MACHINE> SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Services". For your reference to find both items:
    https://www.partitionwizard.com/faqvideo/partition-wizard-error-code-4-and-error-code-40.html
    Then, please check whether these 2 items are still in the installation folder of the program, which are under the x64 or x86 folder. If yes, please delete them.
    Finally, temporarily disable security program and run MiniTool Partition Wizard again. This should fix the issue.

  • Every time I restart computer, I'll get the error "Loading Engine… Failed to launch Partition Wizard" error in DOS boot mode.

    pw faq 20 Could you please boot computer from Safe Mode, then run regedit.exe and delete autorun pwnative* and autocheck pwnative under Value data after double-clicking on BootExecute under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager. Then, start your computer again?

  • Get the error "The license server has unbound your license to this computer" when running the program.

    Just close this box, then run the program again, and register.

  • The program got stuck at the loading module screen.

    Probably some of your drives have errors. Please reconnect your external drives and run the program again. If it still crashes, please disconnect all your external drives and try running the program again. If nothing helps, please send the log file of the program to [email protected]. By default, the log file is located in the installation folder of the program (C:\Program Files\MiniTool Partition Wizard 12\) and called log.txt.

  • MiniTool Partition Wizard has crashed.

    Please send the following details to [email protected] so that we can review them and give you some advice:
    1. When did the program crash, upon running or doing a specified operation?
    2. Please take a screenshot to show us the disk layout in Windows Disk Management.
    3. Please send us the log file of the program, which is located at the installation folder of the program (default path is C:\Program Files\MiniTool Partition Wizard 12\) and called log.txt.

  • I tried to use MiniTool Partition Wizard Media Builder and received the following error: failed to format the USB disk

    For the error "Failed to format the USB disk", it might be because your USB drive doesn't have partition table. To fix the issue, please launch MiniTool Partition Wizard, select the partition of the USB disk, choose the Move/Resize Partition function, shorten the partition handle to create an unallocated space and make the unallocated space before the partition, and apply changes. After that, please delete the partition and create a new one to hold all space of the USB disk. After that, you should be able to format the USB disk in Bootable Media Builder.

  • I booted computer from MiniTool Partition Wizard bootable disc, it reported "MiniTool Partition Wizard has been launched", but I can’t find the program.

    Please boot the computer from MiniTool bootable disc again. This time, if you click OK when it is launching the program, please do not select anything else in MiniTool PE Loader. You just wait and then MiniTool Partition Wizard appears. pw faq 46 However, if you still receive the same error, please press on Alt + tab combination keys to switch window.

  • When I boot computer from the bootable disc of MiniTool Partition Wizard, the program falls outside the border of my screen/the screen is outsized.

    Please boot the computer from the bootable disc again and choose OK when it is changing screen resolution. pw faq 47 However, if you still have the same issue, please enable CSM boot in BIOS. Under the CSM boot mode, the display driver is better.

  • I want to create a bootable USB drive with Bootable Media Builder. What’s the recommended size for the USB drive size?

    For creating a bootable media, the recommended USB drive size is 4GB to 64GB.

  • I am getting the following error message when trying to create a USB bootable media. Any ideas? Failed to prepare the WinPE files.

    If you need the bootable version urgently, please send your order ID or registered email address and problem description to [email protected]. Then, we will send you an ISO image which can be burnt to CD, DVD, or USB drive to create a bootable disk. After your problem is solved, you can send us 2 log files, namely mt_builder.log and dism.log, to help us analyze the "failed to prepare the WinPE files"issue. The former is in Partition Wizard installation folder while the latter is located at C:\Windows\logs\dism.

  • I created a bootable disc. When I try to use the bootable media it allways boots into a Windows 10 Recovery Mode instead of Partition Wizard.

    Have you set MiniTool Partition Wizard bootable disc as the first boot device in BIOS?

  • When I boot computer from the bootable disc of MiniTool Partition Wizard, I can only see the attached command prompt window.

    pw faq 22 If you need the bootable disc urgently, could you please send your order ID or registered email address and problem description to [email protected]. Then, we will send you a working ISO image. In addition, could you please send us the dism.log file which is located at C:\Windows\logs\dism to help us analyze this issue?

  • When trying to create a bootable CD, I get the error “Failed to get the WADK file”. Can you help please?

    If you need the bootable disc urgently, please send your order ID/purchase email address and problem description to [email protected]. Then, we will send you a working ISO image. In addition, could you please send us 2 log files to help us analyze this issue, namely mt_builder.log and dism.log. The former is in Partition Wizard installation folder while the latter is located at C:\Windows\logs\dism.

  • USB mouse and keyboard didn't work in the bootable version.

    It seems your bootable disk is created on a Windows 7 computer. Windows 7 doesn't come with USB 3.0 driver, so bootable disc of Partition Wizard created in Windows 7 doesn't have USB 3.0 driver. To resolve, you can try one of the followings:
    1. Add USB 3.0 drivers manually using the Add Drivers feature and then recreate a bootable disc.
    2. Create a bootable disc on a Windows 10 computer.
    3. Contact [email protected] to send you a compatible iso file to burn the bootable disc.
    4. Connect the USB mouse and keyboard to a USB 2.0 interface.

  • How to create bootable disc with MiniTool Partition Wizard.

    For your reference to create bootable media and boot computer from the created bootable disc:
    https://www.minitool.com/help/general/create-minitool-bootable-media.html
    https://www.minitool.com/help/general/boot-from-minitool-bootable-media.html

  • I created a bootable disc, but it can't boot my computer.

    It seems you failed to created bootable disc. Could you please retry creating? If you still get the same result, please let us know and we will create an ISO image for you.

  • I want to use my existing WADK file to create MiniTool Partition Wizard bootable disc.

    To use existing WADK file, you can add the wim file manually to C:\Boot\, for example C:\Boot\winpe_3_64\winre.wim, and then our program will directly use the specified wim file.

  • When I run the bootable minitool partition wizard 10.2.3, I see these partitions on my hard drive have different drive letter with Windows environment.

    Bootable MiniTool Partition Wizard is running in Win PE while the Windows edition is running in normal Windows OS. Under different systems, drive letters are a little different, but both are correct.

  • The WinPE bootable version of the program doesn’t detect our drive.

    Most probably the bootable version lacks an Intel® Rapid Storage Technology driver.
    In this case, please do the followings on a normally running computer:
    1. Go to https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29094/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-User-Interface-and-Driver?product=55005.
    2. Download f6flpy-x64.zip and unzip it. 
    3. Copy the unzipped folder to C:\Program Files\MiniTool Partition Wizard 12\PEDrivers\x64\ or x86\. 
    4. Restart the program, choose the Bootable
    Media function, click the Options button, Detect Drivers, and create a new bootable disk to see whether it works.

    However, if the above method doesn’t work, please send an email with your problem details and order information to [email protected], and then we can send you an ISO with the RST driver added. This way you can burn the ISO to a CD/DVD with Windows built-in Disc Image Burner or burn it to a USB flash drive with Rufus (freeware).

  • My partition is showing up correctly in Windows but MiniTool Partition Wizard regarded it as a bad disk.

    Could you please send the log file of MiniTool Partition Wizard to [email protected], which is located at the installation directory of the program and called log.txt.

  • Every time I try to install or open the program, my antivirus software detects it as a virus, malware, or unwanted program. What's the problem?

    Don't worry about it. It's just a false positive, and you can ignore it.