DiskPart Move Partition to End of Disk: Workarounds and Free Alternative

DiskPart cannot move a partition to the end of a disk. DiskPart does not support partition movement of any kind — including data, system, EFI, or recovery partitions. However you can do it in around way with Diskpart by creating the partition at the end, or move the partition to end with free tool Partition Resizer.

Quick Answer: NO, or Workaround Way

No. DiskPart does not support moving partitions or relocating a partition to the end of a disk. Free tool IM-Magic Partition Resizer can move partitions when there is adjacent unallocated spaces. To move a partition to the end of a disk, you must back up and delete all partitions that follow it to make the rest space unallocated, then use a free partition resizer tool to move the partition end of the disk.

Workaround: Use DiskPart to delete the existing partition and recreate it at the end of the disk. (You can use Partition Resizer 'Copy Partition' feature to backup partition to another disk before the deletion, and then later restore it, without using Diskpart)

Easier Way to Move a Partition to the End of Disk

Video: How to move a partition

Video: How to move EFI partition to end of disk

1. Identify the partition you want to move
2. Back up all partitions located after it
3. Delete the partitions that follow the target partition
4. Move the target partition to the end using a free partition resizer
5. Restore deleted partitions if required

Also read: How to move a partition to end of disk

Video: How to Move Recovery Partition to End of Disk

Scenario 1: Healthy Recovery Partition

If the partition is a Healthy Recovery Partition, disable Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) first, delete the existing recovery partition, expand the system partition if needed, and then create a new Recovery partition at the end of the disk.

Note: This process is relatively complex. Detailed step-by-step instructions are provided at the end of this page.

Major Steps:

1. Run reagentc /disable to disable WinRE.
2. Use DiskPart to delete the existing Recovery partition.
3. Extend the C: drive (optional, if required).
4. Create a new primary partition at the end of the disk (recommended size: 1GB).
5. Format it as NTFS and set the partition ID to the Recovery type (GPT required).
6. Run reagentc /enable to re-enable WinRE.

Scenario 2: EFI System Partition (ESP)

If the partition is the EFI System Partition, create a new EFI partition at the end of the disk first, configure it properly, rebuild boot files, verify system boot, and then remove the old EFI partition using Windows PE.

Warning: This is an advanced operation. Incorrect handling may result in an unbootable system. Detailed steps are provided at the end of this page.

Major Steps:

1. Create a new EFI partition (FAT32, typically 100–300MB).
2. Assign a drive letter temporarily.
3. Use bcdboot C:\Windows /s X: /f UEFI to rebuild boot files (replace X with the new EFI letter).
4. Reboot and confirm the system boots correctly from the new EFI partition.
5. Boot into Windows PE.
6. Delete the old EFI partition.

Why DiskPart Cannot Move Partitions

• DiskPart has no move command
• Partition order on disk cannot be changed
• Only create, delete, shrink, and extend operations are supported

Authority note: DiskPart cannot move any partition, including system, EFI, recovery, or data partitions. This limitation is permanent ⚠️

Example Disk Layout C: | EFI (Recovery) | D: | E: (Move EFI/Recovery to End)

Original order:

• C: | EFI (Recovery) | D: | E:

Goal: Move EFI / Recovery partition to the end of disk

Note: If it's the recovery partition that you want to move to the end, it's better do it with another way:

• Shrink a partition to create a 1024MB unallocated space at the end of the disk with Partition Resizer
• Disable the current recovery partition using command:
• reagentc /info
• reagentc /disable
• Create a partition at the end of the disk and then use the following command to make it recovery
• diskpart
  list disk
  select disk 0
  list partition
  select partition
  detail partition
• (For GPT disk, run the following command
  set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac)
• set id=27
• detail par
• exit
• reagentc /enable

Steps of Moving EFI/Recovery to end of disk with Partition Resizer

C: | EFI (Recovery) | D: | E:

• Copy D and E to another disk for backup, and delete D and E
• Move EFI/Recovery to end of disk with Partition Resizer
• Copy D and E back to the original disk if needed, with Partition Resizer (Optional step)
• Click APPLY CHANGES (Needs a reboot if EFI is involved)

Move EFI/Recovery to end of disk with Diskpart without software

C: | EFI (Recovery) | D: | E:

Step 1: Shrink Volume E to Create a Partition (EFI or Recovery) Using Diskpart

• Press Win + R, type cmd, then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open Command Prompt as Administrator.
• Type diskpart and press Enter.
• Wait until DISKPART appears in the command window.
• Type list volume and press Enter to display all volumes.
• Locate Volume E by checking the drive letter and size.
• Type select volume E and press Enter.
• Type detail volume and press Enter to confirm you selected the correct volume.
• Determine how much space to shrink (for example, 500MB for EFI or 1000MB for Recovery).
• Type shrink desired=500 (replace 500 with your required size in MB) and press Enter.
• Wait for Diskpart to complete the process and confirm the operation was successful.
• Type list volume to verify that unallocated space has been created.

Step 2: Create EFI or Recovery Partition Using Diskpart

• In the existing Diskpart window, type list disk and press Enter.
• Identify the correct disk where Volume E was shrunk (usually Disk 0).
• Type select disk 0 (replace 0 with the correct disk number if different) and press Enter.
• Type list partition and press Enter to confirm the unallocated space is available.
• Type create partition efi size=500 (replace 500 with the size you allocated in MB) and press Enter to create an EFI partition.
• If creating a Recovery partition instead, type create partition primary size=1000 and press Enter.
• Type format quick fs=fat32 label="EFI" and press Enter for an EFI partition.
• For a Recovery partition, type format quick fs=ntfs label="Recovery" and press Enter.
• For EFI only: type assign letter=S and press Enter to temporarily assign a drive letter.
• Type list partition to confirm the new partition was successfully created.

Step 3: Make the Newly Created EFI or Recovery Partition Work

• If you created an EFI partition, make sure it is formatted as FAT32 and has a drive letter (for example, S).
• Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
• Type bcdboot C:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI and press Enter (replace S with your EFI partition letter if different).
• Wait for the message confirming that boot files were successfully created.
• Restart the PC and enter BIOS/UEFI settings to ensure UEFI boot mode is enabled.
• Set the correct disk as the first boot device if necessary.
• Save changes and restart to test that Windows boots normally.
• If you created a Recovery partition, open Command Prompt as Administrator.
• Type reagentc /disable and press Enter.
• Type reagentc /setreimage /path R:\Recovery\WindowsRE (replace R with your Recovery partition letter).
• Type reagentc /enable and press Enter.
• Type reagentc /info to confirm that Windows Recovery Environment is enabled.

Step 4: Delete or Disable the Old EFI or Recovery Partition

• Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
• Type diskpart and press Enter.
• Type list disk and press Enter.
• Identify the correct system disk (usually Disk 0).
• Type select disk 0 (replace 0 if your disk number is different) and press Enter.
• Type list partition and press Enter to display all partitions.
• Identify the old EFI or Recovery partition by checking its size and type.
• Type select partition X (replace X with the correct partition number) and press Enter.
• If deleting an old Recovery partition, type delete partition override and press Enter.
• If deleting an old EFI partition, type delete partition override and press Enter.
• Wait for the confirmation message that the partition was successfully deleted.
• Type list partition again to verify the partition has been removed.
• Type exit to close Diskpart.

Question: Will it need to connect the disk to another PC as external if it is to remove the old EFI?

• If Windows boots normally after creating and configuring the new EFI, you can safely delete the old EFI from the same PC using Diskpart.
• You must confirm the system is using the new EFI (for example, by temporarily disconnecting the old disk or checking boot entries in BIOS/UEFI).
• If the PC is still booting from the old EFI, deleting it will cause the system to fail to boot.
• If you are unsure which EFI is active, it is safer to test first before deleting anything.
• You only need to connect the disk to another PC if the system cannot boot at all and you need external access to fix partitions.

Important: Never delete an EFI partition unless you are 100% sure another working EFI exists and the system is using it.

Easier Solution with Partition Resizer✔

• Back up D: and E: to another disk
• Delete D: and E:
• Move EFI to the end of the disk using a partition resizer
• Restore D: and E: if needed

Also read: How to move EFI to end of disk

Example: C, D, Unallocated, E; Task: Move D to end of disk of disk

Steps with Partition Resizer

• Shrink E to let it have enough space for D (If there is no space larger than the D, then you need to Move E, to make the unallocated space at the end of disk first)
• Copy D, and choose unallocated space at the end of disk for target space, name the new partition F
• Delete D, rename F to D
• Click APPLY CHANGES

DiskPart vs Disk Management vs Partition Resizer

DiskPart

• ❌ Cannot move partitions
• ❌ Cannot change partition order
• ✔ Built into Windows

Disk Management

• ❌ Cannot move partitions
• ❌ Cannot reorder partitions
• ✔ GUI-based Windows tool

Free Partition Resizer Tool

• ✔ Can move partitions
• ✔ Can move partition to end of disk
• ✔ Works when no partitions exist after the target
• ⚠ Backup required (Backup disk or partition feature built-in the software)

Conclusion

DiskPart cannot move partitions. The only reliable method to move a partition to the end of a disk is to back up and delete following partitions, then use a free partition resizer tool.