How Do I Resize My Pendrive?

You can shrink a partition on your pendrive using the built-in Windows DiskPart command-line utility by following specific steps in the Command Prompt.

While "resizing" can sometimes mean making a partition larger, the process detailed here, based on the provided reference, focuses specifically on shrinking (decreasing the size of) a volume on your pendrive.

Shrinking a Pendrive Partition using DiskPart

DiskPart is a powerful command-line utility that allows you to manage disks, partitions, and volumes on your computer, including your pendrive. Using specific commands, you can reduce the size of an existing volume.

Here are the steps to shrink a volume on your pendrive:

Step-by-Step Guide:

Follow these steps carefully to shrink a volume on your pendrive using the SHRINK command in DiskPart.

1. Open Command Prompt:

   • Run cmd. This opens the Command Prompt window. You might need to run it as an administrator for full permissions.

2. Launch DiskPart:

   • Type DISKPART and then press Enter.
   • This will launch the DiskPart utility within the Command Prompt window, changing the prompt to DISKPART>.

3. List Volumes:

   • Type LIST VOLUME and then press Enter.
   • This command displays a list of all volumes currently recognized by your computer, including those on your hard drives and your pendrive. Note the volume number corresponding to your pendrive.

4. Select the Pendrive Volume:

   • Type SELECT VOLUME #VOLUME NUMBER# and then press Enter.
   • Replace #VOLUME NUMBER# with the actual number of the volume on your pendrive that you identified in the previous step. Be very careful to select the correct volume to avoid affecting other drives.

5. Shrink the Volume:

   • Lastly, type SHRINK DESIRED=#amount to decrease in MB# and then press Enter.
   • Replace #amount to decrease in MB# with the desired amount, in megabytes (MB), that you want to reduce the volume size by. For example, SHRINK DESIRED=1024 would attempt to shrink the volume by 1 Gigabyte (since 1024 MB = 1 GB). DiskPart will attempt to free up this specified amount of space from the end of the volume.

6. Completion:

   • Once the command executes successfully, the volume on your pendrive will be shrunk by the specified amount. The newly created free space will be unallocated.

Command Summary Table:

Step	Command Used	Action Performed
1	cmd	Opens Command Prompt
2	DISKPART	Starts the DiskPart utility
3	LIST VOLUME	Shows all available volumes
4	SELECT VOLUME #VOLUME NUMBER#	Selects the target volume (replace # with number)
5	SHRINK DESIRED=#amount in MB#	Reduces the volume size by the specified MB

Remember that shrinking a volume can sometimes be limited by the location of unmovable files on the drive. If you encounter issues, you might need to defragment the drive or use disk cleanup tools before attempting to shrink again. The steps provided strictly follow the method for shrinking using DiskPart.