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Shrinking Disk Space on Windows Server

0

Hello,

I am trying to shrink the disk space on my AWS Windows Server instance. AWS doesn't allow shrinking volumes directly. Instead, I was thinking of creating a smaller volume, attaching it to the server, and cloning the disk. However, most of the disk cloning software I've come across is quite expensive.

Could you recommend any alternative services or free disk cloning tools that I could use for this purpose?

Thank you.

Topics
ComputeStorage
Tags
Amazon EC2WindowsAmazon Elastic Block StoreStorage
Language
English
asked a year ago510 views
2 Answers
0
Accepted Answer

To shrink the disk space on your AWS Windows Server instance, you can use a disk cloning approach since AWS doesn’t allow direct shrinking. While some disk cloning software can be pricey, there are several free or open-source tools you might find useful.

Clonezilla is a solid choice as it’s open-source and supports a range of file systems. Macrium Reflect Free is another user-friendly option that lets you clone disks and create images.

The process involves preparing your new, smaller volume, installing one of these tools on your server, and then using it to clone your current disk to the new volume. Make sure to verify that everything works correctly after the cloning process and check that the new volume is properly set up, especially if it's intended to be bootable.

EXPERT
answered a year ago
EXPERT
reviewed a year ago
0

Thank you for your response.

However, I believe it's a bit too simplistic for my situation. Unfortunately, Macrium Reflect Free is not free for Windows Server and requires a paid version, which is why it doesn't work for my case. As for Clonezilla, while it's open-source, I haven't found any detailed examples or clear documentation specific to AWS Windows Server environments, which makes it challenging to implement.

Do you have any other suggestions or perhaps more detailed guidance on using free tools specifically within an AWS Windows Server environment?

Thank you for your assistance.

answered a year ago
  • Giovanni Lauria EXPERT
    a year ago

    I think that the only reasonable why, while tedious, would be to attach a smaller volume and copy the content of the original disk to it, with RoboCopy or things like that. AWS does not allow direct shrinking as far as I know,

  • Leo K EXPERT
    a year ago

    That's correct: EBS volumes cannot be shrunk. The only option is to copy the data to a new volume, either with the third-party tools that copy an entire file system/partition, or with Robocopy, which is an effective tool for this purpose. Make sure to exclude the "System Volume Information" folder from the copy, if you're copying the full file system contents.

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