Windows – How to prepare SSD drives for shrinking partitions in Windows

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I was trying to shrink a partition (Windows 10). For traditional hard drives, I can use the Optimize Tool to defragment the hard drive to free up disk sectors towards the end of the HD and shrink the volume as much as possible.

However, I read that the Optimize tool in Windows does not defrag SSD drives. Therefore, it's not of much use as it is for mechanic hard drives (for shrinking).

Is there a Windows tool that can "conceptually" move the sectors to the beginning of a SSD to help shrinking?

Ideally, I am looking for something from Windows or Microsoft.

Note: I looked around in Superuser, and related posts e.g. How to shrink Windows 7 boot partition with unmovable files are all about moving unmovable files for mechanical HD. They do not seem to address the issue of SSDs.

Best Answer

Shrinking drives under Windows can be a pain in the rectum. You need to remove any ummovable files, then defragment it, then you can shrink it.

To remove files -

  • Disable system Restore (Right click on Computer -> Properties -> System Protection -> System Restore)
  • Disable Virtual Memory/Paging File (Right click on Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Performance (Settings) => Advanced Tab -> Virtual Memory (Change) -> remove paging file

Defrag the drive (Auslogics Disk Defrag is free and can do this)

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