Shrink Volume Access Denied Issue

 
Question:
“I have Windows 10 and I try to shrink one of the volumes but I’m getting an error message ‘access is denied’. It’s on a basic disk. I have 1 Basic disk and 2 volumes on the same disk. (C and D). I’m trying to shrink drive D. How to fix this and create a new partition? Is there any other way to create another partition without using disk manager, by using 3rd party partition managers ? Thanks for reading and replying.”
 

 
When there is a need to shrink volume with Disk Management in Windows Vista/XP/7/8/10 or Windows Server 2008/2012, you may get such a message “Access is denied”. In this case, you are likely to be very upset and don’t know what to do. Why does shrink volume access denied issue happen? In fact, it is because virus attacks or the user account doesn’t have the permission to go access to the partition. If you can’t shrink partition in this case, how to solve? In fact, it is not a difficult problem and can be fixed quickly and effectively.
 

Two Solutions to Fix Windows Access Denied Issue

 
If you have a problem “Windows 10 can’t shrink volume” and access is denied, here are two ways to fix this error. Here take D volume as an example.
 

Solution 1: Allocated Authority

 
Here is a guidance from the forum : social.technet.microsoft.com
 
1. In Windows explorer, right click D partition and select “Properties” feature.
2. Then under “Security” table, click “Edit”. Then you can see if “Administrators” is listed in the “Group and User” name list. If not, please click the Add button and type “Administrators” in the open window and click “OK” to add this group.
 

 
3. Highlight “Administrators” and check “Full Control” under “Accept”.
4. Click the “Advanced” button and choose the “Owner” tab.
5. Highlight the “Administrators” user group in the list and mark the check box before “Replace owner on subcontainers and objects”.
6. Click “OK” to save changes and wait for Windows to transfer ownership of all the objects on the partition.
7. Click “OK” again to save changes and exit the Properties window.
 

Solution 2: Shrink Partition with MiniTool Partition Wizard

 
The above solution is a little difficult and maybe you still can’t shrink volume with Disk Management. In this case, it is suggested to use a professional third-party software. MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition is worth of being used in Windows 10/8/7 PCs. As a free partition manager, it is designed to resize partition, shrink partition, extend partition, split partition and so on. Therefore, in order to shrink partition well, just download MiniTool Partition Wizard and then make an installation to your computer.
 
Step 1: Launch this free application and you can see many features in the main interface. Please right-click on D partition and select “Move/Resize” feature. Or you can click this function in the left pane after selecting D drive.
 

 
Step 2: Then you can drag the slider towards left side or right side to leave unallocated space before or after the target partition D according to your needs.
 

 
Step 3: Then click “Apply” to execute the change.
 

 
After finishing shrinking partition, you can create partition or do other partition management with the unallocated space.
 
Like that, you can easily solve “shrink volume access denied” issue. Right now try this freeware when you meet such a problem.