Programs for formatting and partitioning a hard drive. Free programs for partitioning your hard drive

The reasons why you need to divide your hard drive into several partitions are different for everyone. For some, this is an opportunity to systematize the necessary information and store it correctly; someone using several partitions uses several operating systems on their computer or laptop. Finally, if the hard drive is divided into several parts, then separately.

Standard PC equipment: the simpler the better

This program is rightfully considered one of the best or even the best hard drive partitioning program.

This is the simplest program that will help you effectively manage multiple systems and different programs.

Its main advantages are eliminating partition errors, converting file systems and protecting data. Another advantage is that this utility is very popular, because there is a lot of reference information on it on the Internet.

2. Disk management in Windows

Any version of Windows has the Disk Management function: this is the simplest, most accessible and quite effective tool that allows you to change partitions.

Each version of Windows OS has its own differences, but in the most popular ones (Windows Vista, Windows 7 and 8) there are no fundamental differences. Let's take a closer look at how to partition a Windows hard drive using this utility.

The program opens through the Start menu, and in the “Disk Management” item, even a novice user with the help of three main points (Expand, Shrink and Delete volume) performs all the necessary actions in real time. No special knowledge is required for this - just give affirmative or negative answers and click the desired menu items.

There is only one drawback of the standard program - there are risks of failures that lead to the loss of certain sections. A risk exists if there is a mass of unnecessary programs on the disk, or when trying to partition the partition of the hard drive in which Windows is running: the processor does not always react unambiguously to an attempt to “experiment” with the system partition.

Free software for everyone

Two programs that can be downloaded absolutely free from the Internet - EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition and Paragon Partition Manager 11 Free - are also easy to learn and use, but require certain knowledge.

1. EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition

The program helps not only to partition a hard drive, but also to create, copy, resize or completely delete partitions; and also restore deleted partitions.

The disadvantage that affects the popularity of the program is that it is only available in English. But if you know English, you can appreciate the excellent functionality and predictability of the program, stability of operation and the ability to carry out all procedures in virtual mode - at any time you can correct a settings error, cancel the disk partition procedure and restore the original data.

2. Paragon Partition Manager 11 Free

The program again has an English-language interface, but for a beginner it is more interesting than the previous one - the main windows are quite clear and make it easier to navigate the functions. The disadvantages of the program include low speed and unpredictability.

If funds allow, you can purchase a Russian-language version of this program for money, but it also retains the main disadvantages of the English-language product.

Programs for advanced users

These programs have advanced functionality - support for various disks and flash drives, the ability to convert file systems, create bootable media and much more. The fundamental differences lie in speed, functionality and special features.

5. Active@ Partition Manager

This program is a free manager that simplifies working with logical drives: a system reboot is not required when creating, formatting or deleting disk partitions.

Even if you accidentally delete important partition data, the program will help you restore it!

But the lack of the ability to change disk sizes (the partition must first be deleted and then another created in the same place) leaves no chance of recovering lost information.

6. MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition

Experienced users can use the equally simple and accessible MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition manager. The most important advantage of the program is the ability to work with both a separate hard drive and RAID arrays created on the basis of two or more disks.

From time to time, users want to redistribute free space on their hard drive. This happens in cases where, for example, one has already run out of space, while the other still has quite a lot of it. To divide free space without any problems, it is recommended to look at special editing software. In principle, you can try to do all the work using standard Windows tools, but it is better to use software that was developed specifically for these purposes. Although there are many different applications that you can download, we will describe only a few of them that have gained immense popularity.

One of the best is undoubtedly a hard drive partitioning program called Partition Magic. The software boasts many positive qualities and advantages, among which are a convenient and intuitive interface, as well as rich functionality. Its capabilities are very great, it can move information, change, merge, delete, as well as create new sections.

Among other things, the free Partition Magic program is designed to work with all known file systems, including NTFS, FAT and FAT32. You will be able to convert one system to another without losing data. In general, if you need a high-quality and useful one that will quickly cope with any tasks related to working with hard drives, then you should definitely study Partition Magic - you will really like the software.

Also called Paragon Partiton Manager. The software is distinguished by its high speed of performing all separation operations. At the same time, its functionality allows you to convert file systems, solve loading problems, and backup individual files and entire disks. Unfortunately, it can only be installed on Windows, which forces all other users to find an alternative.

Finally, let's talk about the cool Acronis Disk Director utility - a full-fledged software package that includes a large number of important components - a partition manager for moving, copying, deleting, merging. In addition, if installed, users will be able to recover partitions on the hard drive if they were lost as a result of a system failure.

Partitioning the hard drive into several partitions– a necessary procedure that will allow you to be sure that in case of problems with the system and the need, your personal and important information will remain safe.
There must be at least two logical partitions. Of course, more can be done. For example, create three partitions, leave one for Windows and programs, second use for personal information, and make the third a spare one and store the most important information there.

In this case, if there are any problems with the system, you can easily install it without touching the partition with the necessary files.

Partitioning hard drives using standard Windows tools

This is the easiest way for those who don’t want to search for, download and install special software.

The built-in separation utility is available in all versions from XP to Windows 10. You can find it in two ways:

Press the Win+R combination on your keyboard and enter the command discmgmt.msc in the window that opens, then click Enter.
Go to menu "Start", then "Control Panel" – "Administration" — .
In the dialog box that opens, select the menu on the left side "Disk Management". From the displayed drives, select the one you want to split. Next, open the context menu and find .
In the new window you should indicate the number of megabytes for the partition to be created (in megabytes) and click "Compress".

Now the new area will be reflected in green. This means that she is still completely free and independent. In order to turn it into a hard disk partition, you need to call the context menu and select "Create Simple Volume".

After all this, the system will guide you through a few simple steps, where you need to specify the maximum partition size, assign a new letter to it, select a file system, and so on.

Programs for partitioning local disk on Windows 10

One of the most powerful and popular utilities that does its job perfectly. Its only downside You can name a countless number of functions that a simple user simply does not need; they can simply get confused.
But if you look at it, then The disk partitioning process may seem even easier than in Windows. To do this, you need to find the hard drive in the program window, select it and click “Resize volume” in the left menu.

Now, move the slider to specify the size of the new partition. Next you can see a new unallocated area “Not occupied”. By clicking on it and selecting “ Create Volume", you will be taken to a setup wizard that will walk you through all the steps step by step.

Since the size has already been set, you will only need to specify the filename NTFS system, assign a letter to the new partition and confirm the changes.

Now the main window will show “Apply pending operations”. If you click this button, partitioning will begin.

The functionality of this program is very similar to Acronis. Here at the very beginning you also need to select “ Creating a section", then select the hard drive to work with and Use the slider to indicate the desired size of the new partition. In the same window, you should check that the file system is NTFS and the drive letter does not match the existing ones. After that, we check the changes, confirm them and wait until the utility completes the physical changes on the hard drive.
When she finishes, the newly created partition can be seen next to the usual drives and D.

Hard drive partitioning is the process of dividing one drive into several logical drives. In this article we will look at popular programs for partitioning a hard drive.

The Windows 7 operating system is equipped with a built-in utility for partitioning disks. To launch it, follow the path: Start - Control Panel - System - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management.

By launching the Disk Management utility, you will have access to all the necessary functions. For existing disks, you can perform: delete, format, change letter, compress and delete the disk. If you have a new, unpartitioned hard drive connected to your computer, you can partition the drive.

If the capabilities of the built-in disk partitioning utility are not enough for you, you can use third-party programs.

Wondershare Disk Manager Free

There are not many high-quality free disk partitioning programs. One such program is Wondershare Disk Manager Free. This program allows you to create, delete, copy, and convert partitions. The program has a very simple and intuitive interface. Thanks to this, even the absence of the Russian language will not complicate the process of working with the program, even for not very experienced users. To install this program, you will have to go through a free and extremely simple registration on the manufacturer’s website.

Paid programs for disk partitioning

One of the most popular and well-known programs of this kind is Partition Magic from Symantec. This program can run from a boot disk, which greatly simplifies the partitioning before installing the operating system. Partition Magic supports NTFS and FAT file systems. In addition to basic operations such as creating and formatting, Partition Magic allows you to convert file systems, resize partitions, and merge partitions.

Paragon Partition Manager

Paragon Partition Manager is a powerful program for hard disk partitioning, backup, and operating system management. Unlike the previous program, Paragon Partition Manager has a wider range of features and functions. Thus, this program is one of the few that allows you to work with disks for virtual machines (MS Virtual PC, VMware Workstation, VMware Fusion and Sun VirtualBox).

Acronis Disk Director

Acronis Disk Director is another advanced program for hard disk partitioning and disk management. Acronis Disk Director consists of three parts: the disk management module, the Acronis Recovery Expert module for recovering lost data, and the Acronis OS Selector module for managing multiple operating systems. Acronis Disk Director is equipped with all the necessary functions for disk management, and the program supports all modern file operating systems.

The hard drive in your computer and the drive icon in the My Computer window are different concepts. For example, a computer may have one hard drive installed, while there may be several of them in “My Computer”. The reason for this strange discrepancy is that the hard drive can be divided into so-called partitions. This is called logical disk layout.

I will talk about why such markup is needed, how to do it correctly (and whether it should be done at all), and also tell you about free programs for such a delicate procedure.

Why do you need to partition your hard drive?

There are several reasons to partition a hard drive:

Partitions on a hard drive are primarily needed for proper storage of information. For example, some users prefer the following division: operating system and programs on one disk (usually C), documents - on the second ( D), photo archive on the third ( E) and so on. In this case, there may well be only one hard drive.
If you have one hard drive, but want to have two or more operating systems, you will have to divide the hard drive into partitions, since Windows and other operating systems can only be installed on different partitions or hard drives.
Manufacturers of laptops (and some computers from famous manufacturers such as Acer) have their own reason for dividing hard drive partitions: on a section that is visible as a disk C, Windows installed, second ( D) is completely empty, and the third (which is not visible in any way in the “My Computer” window) stores a compressed copy of the partition C. This hidden partition of the hard drive is called recovery partition. If something happened to the operating system (“Windows crashed” - as some users like to say), then when you turn on the laptop, just press a key combination (see which one - see the instructions for the laptop) and a special program will clean the disk C, then unpacks the contents of the hidden partition there. As a result, the user will receive a laptop with the programs that were originally on it at the time of purchase in the store. Disk D however, it will not be changed. The conclusion suggests itself: if you store all documents on a laptop with such a recovery system not on drive C, A only on D, you can restore damaged Windows with a new one at any time, without losing your important data. By the way, any advanced user can make such a recovery system for themselves, but I’ll tell you about it some other time.
The Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems, when installed on a blank, “unpartitioned” hard drive, create a hidden partition of 100-350 megabytes in size. This small partition stores a bootloader designed, oddly enough, to boot Windows. This partition will not exist or its contents will be damaged - and the computer will not start the operating system, displaying the message “Boot fail”, “Cannot find boot device”, “Boot error” or similar on a black screen, the meaning of which is the same - the boot disk with operating system. Actually, the bootloader can be stored on disk C:, and/or in hidden sectors of the hard drive (outside partitions), but the developers decided in Windows 7/8 to use a separate hidden partition in order to somehow protect the boot loader from damage by other programs, viruses or the user.
There are other reasons for partitioning a hard drive. For example, for the GNU/Linux operating systems to work correctly, several sections must be created, but this is the topic of a separate article; we will not consider them here.

So, The main reasons for partitioning a hard drive are: for the convenience of storing information, for installing several operating systems, for operating a recovery system, for storing the Windows 7/8 bootloader.

A little theory: file systems, partition types

Information about partitions (i.e. logical drives) is stored in a "partition table". Each logical drive can have its own file system. You can read more about all this in the Wikipedia articles: Disk partition, Logical disk, File system. A novice user only needs to know the bare minimum:

If you divide your hard drive into logical drives (partitions), Disk capacity will not increase- there’s simply nowhere to find free space! You can make partitions of any size, but in total they cannot be larger than the capacity of the real hard drive. Less please. Then you will have unallocated free space, not visible in My Computer, from which you can get one or more new partitions. This is a question I often get from newbies, so I put it first.
Exist primary (main) And extended (additional) sections. One hard drive cannot have more than four main partitions (see the links above for why this is so), so they came up with an extended partition - this is a primary partition that can include any number of partitions. As a result, thanks to the extended partition, the hard drive can have any number of partitions - tens, hundreds.
Each partition can have its own file system. At the moment, only NTFS can be used to install Windows Vista, 7 and 8, and the outdated Windows XP can be installed on disks with the FAT32 file system. However, I do not recommend doing this, as it imposes too many restrictions. Make all partitions in NTFS - everything will work as it should.
Any hard drive must be partitioned one way or another. In one or more logical drives - it's up to you. When purchased, the hard drive is usually already partitioned into one partition - this is what the manufacturer decided. If you are satisfied with this way of organizing information, leave it alone.
It is very undesirable to partition the disk in laptops - most of them have hidden recovery partitions that can be damaged (see point 3 of the previous chapter).
If you bought a 2 terabyte hard drive, but in “My Computer” it is “only” 1.86 terabytes (1860 gigabytes), then do not rush back to the store. It's all about how manufacturers and Windows calculate the volume. Read more about this in the Wikipedia article Hard Drive. The larger the size of the hard drive, the more clearly it is clear that there are fewer real gigabytes.
Sections can be delete, create, move(change their physical position on the disk), resize them, format them, convert them file systems on partitions from one to another. Moreover, many programs can do this while saving all the data. There are other operations, but novice users most often need the above.
If there is an error during the process of changing partitions (see point 7), information is almost always lost. Yes, it can be restored (or part of it) with special programs with the participation of specialists, but it is best to save all important information in advance on other drives (not logical drives, but real drives) or flash drives, so as not to pay money for data recovery.

Disk Management in Windows

Windows has a standard partition changer - " Disk management". Depending on the version of Windows, the capabilities of this program change slightly, but in general over the past years (if we talk about Windows Vista, 7, 8) there have been no major changes. Windows XP looks more modest in this regard - apart from formatting and changing the drive letter, there is little that can be done there.

As an example I’ll take “ Disk management» Windows 7. You can open this program in several ways:

The simplest one is to right-click on the line Computer on the menu Start- select an item Control- in a new window select Disk management.
Opening Control Panel - Administration - Computer management - Disk management.
Click Start - Execute(or the Win+R key combination) - enter in the window that opens diskmgmt.msc- press OK.

Disk management looks like that:

Here you can see both physical disks (including DVD drives, flash drives and other devices for storing information) and logical ones, i.e. virtual - hidden partition of the Windows 7 boot loader, disks C And D. The number of disks on your computer may vary.

Basic actions are available by right-clicking on the desired section:

The list of actions is quite meager:

Items Open, Conductor allow you to view the contents of disks
Make the section active- indicate on which disk (partition) the bootloader is located. In Windows 7 and 8, this is a system-reserved partition. You cannot make another partition active - the operating system will stop loading.
Change drive letter or drive path- you can change the drive letter displayed in the Computer window or display it as a folder. Yes, partitions can be displayed not only as disks, but also as folders on any disk.
Format- you can read about this in the Wikipedia Formatting article. The item opens a window with which you can start high-level formatting.
Extend Volume- if there is space on the hard drive that is not marked as a partition, then you can expand the partition size using this free space.
Shrink Volume- this item allows you to reduce the size of the partition. The result will be the formation of unallocated space, which can be used to expand the volume of another section (see the previous paragraph).
Delete volume- delete the section. Don't click on an item without thoroughly considering the consequences. If you delete a partition, the information on it can only be saved with the help of special programs, and even then not always.
Properties- a properties window will open with information about the selected disk (partition).

Of course, this is not a complete list of possibilities. Disk Management. You can create dynamic disks, for example. However, this is of no use to novice users; this article is intended specifically for them.

So, to create, delete, resize partitions via Disk management, you only need three menu items: Expand Volume, Shrink Volume, Delete Volume.

All operations take place in real time, i.e. after clicking the desired item and answering the question in the affirmative - do we want to do this - the actual action occurs.

Do not forget that there is a risk of failure, due to which we could lose either one or all of the partitions. This applies primarily to computers with a large number of unnecessary programs - each of them may be the culprit in deleting all data. Moreover, the scenario is when you need to change the partition from which Windows is launched (usually this is the disk C), is the worst - most often users experience problems when they try to change the system partition.

To minimize the risk of failure, There are three methods:

Insert the hard drive into another computer and change partitions from it by running Disk management or any other program for changing partitions. Due to the fact that Windows will be launched from another drive, no programs will go onto the foreign drive, interfering with a critical operation.
Boot from a Live CD - the operating system and programs will be launched not from the hard drive, but from a CD or DVD, flash drive - again, nothing will interfere with changing partitions.
To change partitions, use a program that can work in Native mode. For example, disk check C always works in this mode - a black window with white text before loading the Desktop. In this mode, a minimum number of programs are launched and the risk of failure is minimal.

The third option is the simplest, because the user essentially does not need to do anything - just restart the computer and wait a few minutes. The following two review programs can do this.

A free hard drive partitioning program for home use.

Surface test- checking the disk surface (physical). Allows you to detect bad sectors (so-called “bads”, “bad blocks”).

View properties- display information about the disk.

Yes, knowledge of English is clearly required here, especially considering that almost every item opens a window with settings for the action being performed. After you have made the necessary manipulations, you need to apply the changes by pressing a button Apply(Apply):

Only then will the partition changes begin. This process may take some time - from a couple of minutes to several hours.

Depending on whether the system partition is affected or not, operations are carried out either immediately in the window, or you will need to restart the computer and start changing the partition in Native mode:

The program has so many functions that it is impossible to list them all. I recommend that you read the help for EaseUS Partition Master. It is in English, unfortunately, but you can use Google Translator. The translation is quite understandable.

Pros of EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition:

Lots of functions.
All actions are “virtual” until you click the Apply button. This means that you can cancel operations before this “point of no return” and try to do something else with the partitions. Or don’t do it at all if you change your mind.
Works stably and predictably. For example, during testing, while changing partitions, I started copying files to the partition that was to be changed. Result - a window appeared stating that it was not possible to lock the partition, all operations were interrupted, the data did not disappear anywhere.
The program is free for home use.

Cons of EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition:

The interface is in English only.
There are, perhaps, too many possibilities - this can confuse beginners.
A serious failure during the operation will lead to serious consequences.
For example, if you turn off the computer while changing a partition, the data on the partition will disappear. However, this is a minus of absolutely all programs for changing partitions.

Conclusion: the program is good. You can and should use it; there is no alternative among free programs.

Paragon Partition Manager 11 Free

Free program for changing partitions from a company based in Russia. Unfortunately, the program is in English. What made the developers take such a step is unclear. Moreover, the paid version of the program is Russian.

The main window of the program is no different from the window of the hero of the previous review, except that the buttons have changed their order:

Deserves special mention Express Mode(Simplified mode). By clicking on this button, we will get a window with a list of the most frequent actions:

One could say that this is an ideal mode for beginners, if not for one “but”: everything here is in English. Moreover, I had a suspicion that the English here was somehow incorrect, as if it was not a person who was translating, but a machine.

Pros of Paragon Partition Manager 11 Free:

Many windows are clear enough to understand the functions.
Some operations are carried out immediately in the program window, some (if required) in Native mode. That is, the program does everything to reduce the chance of data loss.
The program is free to use at home.

Cons of Paragon Partition Manager 11 Free:

English-language, and due to the strange construction of phrases it is quite difficult to understand.
The simplified Express Mode works exactly the opposite: firstly, the descriptions of operations and the operations themselves have more technical subtleties than is required; secondly, this mode is very capricious and does not really work, producing meaningless errors.
The program is too slow. For example, deleting a 38 GB hard drive partition took me about 5 minutes - quite long for such a simple operation.

Conclusion: The program works, but somehow it is unpredictable. I do not recommend using this program, fortunately there is an alternative in the form of EaseUS Partition Master Home.

Changing partitions during installation of Windows 7, 8, 10

This tool also deserves a mention.

Take any installation disk with Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8 or 10, start installing the disk, go to the partition selection and click Disk setup:

It seems that everything is simple: you need to click on a section in the list, then the action button. Unfortunately, there is little action here: deletion, formatting, partitioning and expansion.

You can, for example, delete a partition and, using the freed up space, increase the size of another partition or partitions (when selecting the desired partitions, you must press the Delete and Expand buttons in turn).

Alas, a very popular operation - reducing the size of partitions - is not here. You can delete the partition, then re-create a new one with a smaller partition, but, unfortunately, we will lose the data.

All operations take place in real time, i.e. after pressing the button the action occurs.

Result: editing partitions during Windows installation is an extremely primitive tool. It works, but performs only a limited list of actions, among which the only one that saves data is increasing (expanding) the size of the partition. If you need to install Windows and do not need to save data on partitions, then the tool will come in handy.

If you suddenly accidentally deleted a partition during Windows installation or through some program, do not despair - the partition recovery function is included in EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition.

In order to recover a deleted hard drive partition, don't touch the partitions, immediately boot into Windows (or insert the hard drive into another computer if you deleted the system partition and booting Windows is impossible), then run the above-mentioned program, click on the line with the word in the list Unallocated("Unallocated"), then click the button Partition recovery.

The rest, as they say, is a matter of technique - the action wizard will tell you where to click, where to check the boxes, and then restore your deleted disk.

Tip #2: Installing two or more Windows operating systems on one hard drive

All you need for this is several sections. If your hard drive already has a second partition that is visible in the " Computer" - make sure that there is at least 20 GB of free space there (more is better), then during Windows installation simply specify this second (third, fourth, etc.) disk. After installation, you will be able to select Windows using a menu that appears when you turn on your computer.

If you have one disk ( C), I suggest the simplest option: Through Disk management give it to the section first WITH team Compress, reducing by at least 20 gigabytes (or better yet, more, because in addition to Windows you will also install programs):

Right click on drive C...

After pressing the button Compress disk size C decreases, unallocated (free) space appears in the partition map:

We indicate unallocated space. The installer will create the partition itself.

After installation, you will have two operating systems. You can create unallocated spaces or empty disks and indicate them for installation.

Thanks to reader Vladimir for raising this topic.

You may have noticed that in the screenshots of the Disk Management window, all partitions are marked with a blue stripe. You may have sections with green stripes. What is the difference between blue and green sections?

A green bar in Disk Management is a sign of an extended (additional) partition. As I wrote above, there may be “nested” sections inside, which from the user’s point of view are no different from the main (primary) ones. Nested partitions have one peculiarity - if you reduce their size, then due to the free space that appears, you will not be able to simply expand the main partition. You must first shrink the extended partition itself (which stores free space and the reduced partition) so that free space is created outside of any partitions, only then can you expand the disks.