HDD partitioning problem

[aekyall]

Advice please!
I seem to have acquired 3.75GB of free space on my HDD, but don't quite understand why! Wonder if it was anything to do with GWX/Windows 10 install? Anyway, When I noticed the partition it was (I think!) named as 'Healthy (primary partition)' - I (again, I think!) right clicked on it and selected 'delete the volume', thinking that it would just revert to being added to the 84.14GB next to it. Unfortunately, it seems to have now become 'free space' and when I right click on it and select 'delete', I get the warning message shown in the screen shot. My question/problem is - I don't really understand what will happen if I chose to delete the 3.75GB; Will it just sit there, forever unavailable to use, or will it actually just get added (back) to the 84.14GB. Guess I should have sought advice from the Lounge before actually doing anything!!
Grateful for any pearls of wisdom?

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Edited to correct typo

[viking33]

Keith,
I can't tell if you are using MS Disk Management or another third party tool.
I use Easeus Partition Manager Free Version
This gives you the ability to Merge or Resize Free Space into adjacent partitions, with rather easy steps. It also gives a very complete list of other things to do with your HD and it's partitions.
You should be able to merge that small space into your active space without any problems.

[John Gray]

To me it looks like you can just delete the extended partition, leaving Free Space. Then you can extend the 84.14 GB partition, all using Disk Manager. It is a huge improvement on the days of XP!

[aekyall]

John/Bob,
Thanks for responses. The screen shot is of MS's Disk Management facility. Haven't come across Easus DM, but sounds like it might be useful for future use, so will take a look-see. As I'm currently using MS DM, I'll take heart from John's observation and go for deleting the partition and then try extending the 84.14GB volume. I'll post back on how I get on.

both.

[aekyall]

Well, Looks like I'll have to have a look at Plan B (Easeus DM)! Using MS's DM, I right clicked on the 3.75GB free space and selected 'delete partition'. All I get is the advisory message in the screen shot! I did think that perhaps if I 'shrank' the 84.14GB partition a bit, it might free up some space to allow me to delete the 3.75GB. Unfortunately, the only option available to me on that partition is to delete it, all other options are grey'ed out - which is a bit baffling as, if I right click on the 9.77GB 'Z' partition (which I used to use as a document back-up in W7), I get all the available options! Confusion reigns

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I'll have a look at Easeus DM and see if that helps.

Edited to correct typos

[viking33]

You have to create a new partition in order to delete it, since you can't really delete "free space." That's why the other options are not available to you.

[BobH]

Please do NOT take this as advice on how to proceed. I'm offering this post for you to investigate some options of MS DM.

Several months ago, I went through the process of installing a solid state drive. It appears that you have allocated almost all of your HDD to the partitions shown. Sometimes, not having sufficient free space will prevent MS from executing file system commands. I have a hazy recollection of a function available in MS DM that allows you to shrink partitions. If the partitions that you have defined on your HDD have free space within the partitions, you should be able to shrink them and might possibly free up enough space to complete the operation of deleting the free space. PLEASE! INVESTIGATE THIS ON YOUR OWN BEFORE PROCEEDING ON MY ADVICE. I know the pain of damaging a file system on a computer.

I will join Viking Bob in recommended Easeus Partition Manager. I liked it so much that I licensed it.

[aekyall]

Thanks All,
I've managed to get rid of the 3.75GB! It was all a bit confusing and having tried to write out here what I actually did, even I had trouble understanding it! - So, suffice to say that using Easeus (free version) I've managed to end up as per the screenshot below - much reformatting. creating new volumes, shrinking (!), and merging subsequent partitions has left me with just (C) and (Z). It got a bit scary (for me) at times but I seem to have succeeded, thanks primarily to all your help/suggestions.

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(the screen shot is of MS's DM display. Having done the work in Easeus, I wanted to make sure that MS recognised what I'd done!!!)

[BobH]

Well done, Keith!