«

»

Oct
11

Tech Tip: Extpart to Expand Boot Vol or Fix unable to connect to c:

by


Expand Windows Partitions using Extpart.

If you have run out of space on your boot drive on a Windows server, you can expand the partition after the fact.

Extpart Unable to Connect to C: Utility

Thank You: Works on any hardware!

Expert Tip: Use the Dell Extpart Utility to expand your Windows boot volume.

If you are running your servers in a VMware environment then you can expand the boot volume with zero downtime.

Here is a list of common error messages encountered, the most common causes of these errors is leaving the VMware Disk Management Console open. Remember to close the VMware Disk Management Console to avoid these errors.

Common Error Messages & Variations -

  • extpart unable to connect to c: or it does not exist
  • extpart unable to connect to d:
  • extpart “unable to connect to volume”
  • extpart “unable to connect to drive”
  • extpart “unable to connect to <drive letter> or it does not exist

Step 1: Download ExtPart Utility.

  1. Download extpart utility from Dell
  2. Run the self extracting exe, it will create two files, extpart.exe and extpart.txt.

.

You can only add space to the partition to the extent that there is free space available on disk directly after the partition you wish to extend.

.

Step 2: Find Out How Much You Can Expand The Volume

If you already know how much space is available to expand your volume you can skip this step. Detailed instructions on finding the available free space to expand your volume prior to using extpart are here.

Step 3: Expand the Windows Server Boot Volume using the Dell Extpart

Usage:  extpart [ volume . size ]

volume – volume to expand (only basic volumes)
size – size in megabytes to expand  (minimum 8mb)
 

extpart - expand windows boot partition

Using Extpart Utility to Expand Windows Boot Volume

For example to make the C: drive 4GB bigger:

extpart c: 4096

note: If you get the error Unable to connect to c: or it does not exist then try restarting Windows in safe mode.  If the Disk Management Console is open or VMware tools are running, close them because they are the primary causes of this error.

NOTE: If using VMware remember to expand the boot volume using Virtual Infrastructure Client first before running extpart in your VM.

.

 

 
 
Sincerely,
The DisplacedGuy
(aka Rich)


Tags: , ,

8 comments

2 pings

  1. Stephquan says:

    February 24, 2013 at 1:24 AM (UTC -5)

    Hello,

    I’ve found this sometimes happens with Extpart too.
    I’m not sure but I believe the ‘free space’ needs to be contiguous to the partition that is being extended.

    Typically if your 1 HDD has multiple partitions (C:\ System, E:\ Data for example) you can extend the E:\ but receive a ‘no free space’ message when trying to extend the C:\ partition.

    There are tools that can correct this but it’s a pain, its slow, and it will typically require a reboot.

  2. Stumper says:

    January 31, 2013 at 11:18 AM (UTC -5)

    WTF do you want to use extpart on windows 2008 moron ? use diskmgmt.msc

  3. Jon says:

    July 18, 2012 at 12:40 PM (UTC -5)

    also disable Windows Search Service – worked for me (and when Indexing service does not exist).

    1. Wesley says:

      September 10, 2012 at 11:06 AM (UTC -5)

      You are the man Jon! Thank you for the Windows Search service advice. As soon as I stopped that service, the extpart tool worked.

  4. Toolman83 says:

    June 19, 2012 at 7:48 PM (UTC -5)

    I was gettiing the:
    “extpart unable to connect to c: or it does not exist”
    error

    Disabling the indexing service worked for me

    Dunno why the indexing service locks the drives, but stopping the service allowed me to use extpart & extend the drives (C: and D:) that previously errored out.

    then restart the service & all was well.

    1. Jen says:

      October 10, 2012 at 6:07 PM (UTC -5)

      Thank u so much…. Disabling the Indexing and Windows search Services fixed the issue. :)

  5. Derek says:

    December 2, 2010 at 11:12 AM (UTC -5)

    Unfortunately booting into safe mode doesn’t resolve the ‘unable to connect’ error on a VM running on ESXi 4.1 and server 2008 R2 32-bit.

  6. Socco says:

    November 8, 2010 at 6:45 AM (UTC -5)

    ЎHola!
    ЎIncreнble! No estб claro para mн, їcуmo offen que la actualizaciуn de su nombre de http://www.displacedguy.com.

    Socco

  1. Get Available Free Space Prior To Using Extpart » The Displaced Guy says:

    November 22, 2012 at 3:46 PM (UTC -5)

    [...] BACK: If you already know how much space is available for expanding your boot volume then you can skip back to, using extpart to expand Windows Boot Volume. [...]

  2. Expand Windows boot volume | Done IT says:

    December 23, 2010 at 12:35 PM (UTC -5)

    [...] Small Dos utility from Dell ExtPart (Works on 32bit OS only). Follow these steps. [...]

Comments have been disabled.