Hard drive partitioning program. Review of free programs for working with hard drive partitions

Key Features

resizing hard drive partitions;
formatting/deleting/creating/copying logical and primary partitions;
file conversion FAT systems in NTFS;
cloning hard drive;
visual viewing of data;
transformation dynamic disk to basic;
hard drive performance testing;
hide/show/set active partition;
changing the assigned letter.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

free distribution;
performing all basic actions with disk volumes;
internal data security system;
work with traditional and new types of disks;
professional testing tools;
support for working with RAID arrays.

Flaws:

blocking certain functions;
lack of support for dynamic disks;
English menu.

Paragon Partition Manager. Free software For driving hard drive. It can change partition structure, size, defragment and search bad sectors. Supports any media models.

Partition Magic. Free program for breaking down hard disk into partitions, as well as managing their structure. Can carry out what is planned backup, create volumes, merge them into one or split them, resize them.

Work principles

After starting the program, it will open working window with the drive selected by default:

Working window

The sidebar is divided into sections. At the top there are buttons for managing current tasks. Below is the Wizards section with three wizards for copying and restoring. If you select specific volume, then the list of available operations will expand.

Operations on the selected volume

You can format, delete, copy, move, expand volumes, set headers, check the integrity of a partition, view its properties, and much more. etc.

If you need to increase, for example, the size of drive C by reducing other volumes, use the “Extend Partition” tool, which performs expansion.

Changing the disk size

Select the drive, activate the tool and configure the settings in the window that opens. Then click “Ok”, after which new scheduled operations will appear

In order to create new section, select the area with the stripe gray(“Unallocated”), and then activate the “Create Partition” tool.

Saving changes

MiniTool Partition Wizard convenient program for execution various operations with a hard drive.

To make two local disks one or to increase the disk space of one of the volumes, you need to merge partitions. For this purpose, one of the additional sections, into which the drive was previously divided. This procedure can be done both with saving information and with its deletion.

Perform Merge logical drives can be done in one of two ways: use special programs for working with drive partitions or built-in Windows tool. The first method has priority, since such utilities usually transfer information from disk to disk when merging, but the standard Windows program deletes everything. However, if the files are unimportant or missing, then you can do without using third party software. The process of how to combine local disks in one on Windows 7 and more modern versions this OS will be the same.

Method 1: AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard

This free manager program disk partitioning helps to merge partitions without losing data. All information will be transferred to separate folder to one of the disks (usually the system one). The convenience of the program lies in the simplicity of the actions performed and the intuitive interface in Russian.

After the merger is complete, you will find all the data from the disk that was joined to the main one in the root folder. It will be called X-drive, Where X- letter of the drive that was attached.

Method 2: MiniTool Partition Wizard

The program is also free, but at the same time it has a set of all necessary functions. The principle of working with it is slightly different from the previous program, and the main differences are the interface and language - MiniTool Partition Wizard does not have Russification. However, to work with it it is enough basic knowledge in English. All files will be transferred during the merge process.

Look for the transferred files in the root folder of the disk with which the merger occurred.

Method 3: Acronis Disk Director

is another program that can merge partitions, even if they have different file systems. By the way, the ones mentioned above cannot boast of this opportunity. free analogues. User data will also be transferred to the main volume, but provided that there are no encrypted files among them - in this case, merging will be impossible.

Acronis Disk Director paid, but convenient and multifunctional program, so if you have it in your arsenal, you can connect volumes through it.

After reboot, look for files in the root folder of the disk that you designated as the primary

Method 4: Windows built-in utility

Windows has a built-in tool called "Disk Management". He knows how to perform basic actions with hard drives, in particular, you can merge volumes in this way.

The main disadvantage of this method is that all information will be deleted. Therefore, it makes sense to use it only when the data on the disk that you are going to attach to the main one is missing or not needed. In rare cases, perform this operation through "Disk Management" fails, and then you have to use other programs, but such a nuisance is rather an exception to the rule.

Press the key combination Win+R, type diskmgmt.msc and open this utility by pressing "OK".
Find the section you want to join to another. Click on it right click mouse and select "Delete volume".
In the confirmation window, click "Yes".
The volume of the deleted partition will become an unallocated area. Now it can be added to another disk.

Find the disk whose size you want to increase, right-click on it and select "Extend Volume".
Will open . Click "Further".
In the next step, you can choose how many free GB you want to add to the disk. If you need to add all the freed up space, just click "Further".

To add a fixed size to a disk in a field "Select the size of the allocated space" indicate how much you want to add. The number is indicated in megabytes, taking into account that 1 GB = 1024 MB.
In the settings confirmation window, click "Ready".

Result:

Merging partitions in Windows is a very simple procedure that allows you to effectively manage disk space. Despite the fact that the use of programs promises to combine disks into one without losing files, do not forget to do backup copy important data - this precaution is never superfluous.

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 perform a split free space without any problems, it is recommended to look at special software for editing. In principle, you can try to do all the work using standard Windows tools, however, it is better to use software that was developed specifically for these purposes. Although you can download many various applications, we will describe only a few of them that have gained enormous popularity.

One of the best, undoubtedly, is the program for division of hard disk 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, and also create new sections.

Among other things, free Partition program Magic 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 software 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 different high speed performing all separation operations. At the same time, its functionality allows you to convert file systems, solve loading problems, and perform backups. separate files and whole disks. Unfortunately, it can only be installed on Windows, which forces all other users to find an alternative.

Finally, let's talk about a cool utility Acronis Disk Director is a full-fledged software package that includes a large number of important components– section 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 a hard drive using Windows 7

Partitioning the C:\ drive in Win7

When purchasing a new computer or laptop with a pre-installed operating system Windows system 7, many users are faced with the problem of dividing their hard drive into several partitions.

Partitioning the hard drive into several partitions is important both from the point of view of ease of use of the system interface and the ability to save data after reinstalling or restoring the operating system.

Main partition C:\

As you know, when you reinstall the operating system, all data located on the C:\ drive is lost, while the data on the remaining partitions of the hard drive remains intact. All important files can be easily used after the system has been restored to functionality.

Partitioning a hard drive is also convenient because it system partition C:\ programs and applications are installed. If the C:\ drive is the only one, then when you add all kinds of files and folders to it, confusion arises between system files and regular folders added by the user. In this case, it’s easy to get confused in the files and inadvertently delete some important system file. Therefore, partitioning the hard drive is necessary.

In order to split a hard drive in Windows 7 into several partitions (logical drives), many use specialized programs, like Partition Magic and the like. Using such programs, you can split a disk into several partitions. But Windows 7 provides the ability to split it using system utilities. In this case, the need for third party programs disappears completely.

To partition a hard drive in Windows 7, you need to go to the computer control panel.

You can do this in two ways:

It is clear that the first method is simpler.

In the “Disk Management” tab you can view all the information on our HDD and its partitions. In addition to the main partition C:\, there is a possibility of finding hidden section recovery.

Main partition C:\ and hidden recovery partition

The recovery partition is used to store information to restore the operating system in the event of a serious failure when the system does not boot. It is not indicated by a letter. It is worth noting that the amount of memory occupied by recovery files can reach several gigabytes (usually about 15GB). Also, in addition to it, there is a section on the disk System Reserved , volume 100 megabytes. These sections are official, since they are not used by the user in any way and serve for the normal functioning of the operating system.

So, let's turn our attention to the C:\ drive, which is to be divided into sections - additional logical drives.

In order to split it, right-click on the conventional image of the disk. In the drop-down menu, select “ Shrink Volume…”.

Item "Compress volume..."

After the request is completed, a window will appear in which the compression parameters will be indicated. If the disk has not been partitioned before, then by default the utility will offer to split it approximately in half. If the HDD initially had a memory capacity of, for example, 1.8 Terabytes, then after division two sections are formed with a capacity of approximately 900 Gigabytes each.

The window that appears indicates the size of the C:\ volume before compression (in megabytes) and the size of the compressed space. The size of the compressed space is the amount of memory of the new partition that will be created. Overall size after compression is the size of volume C:\ after compression. It will be slightly larger than the newly created one. As already mentioned, the system will offer to split available memory approximately in half.

If you have the desire and confidence in your abilities, you can indicate your numbers and divide the disk according to your needs. In any case, it will be possible to carry out the reverse procedure - volume expansion and return everything to its previous state.

After familiarizing yourself with the separation parameters, click the “Compress” button. After a short process, another partition with the inscription “Unallocated” will appear on the HDD.

The item "Create a simple volume..."

Launch the “Creation Wizard” simple volume" Click “Next”. The “Specify volume size” window will appear – click “Next” again. In the next window, select the letter of the new volume in the “ Assign a drive letter" You can choose any letter you like.

Assigning a letter for the new partition

Confirm your choice and indicate in a new window file system. In point " Format this volume as follows:” specify the file system NTFS , leave the cluster size at default. Put a tick in the checkbox “ Quick formatting ” and click “Next”. A window will appear with all the specified parameters. If everything is correct, then click the “Done” button.

If you are not satisfied with the default parameters set by the system, then, of course, you can set your own. But in most cases this is not required.

After a few seconds, the new HDD partition will be formatted, a letter will be assigned to it and in the field symbol the message “Defective ( Logical drive)". Now the C:\ drive will be divided into two.

New HDD partition - New volume(E:)

If desired, you can change the name of the new section, and instead of “ New volume”, give another. You can do this in several ways:

1 .In the computer control panel in the disk management window, select the one whose name you want to change. Right-click and select " Properties". In the name field, enter a new name and confirm by clicking OK.

If you have installed in your system instead of HDD solid state drive(SSD), then the separation technique is similar.

Sometimes there comes a time when the user is not satisfied with the volume of logical partitions on the hard drive. Of course the easiest way to make a change is hard dimensions disk during Windows installations, but it is not always possible to reinstall operating system. A hard drive partitioning program will help with this. There are different software, which ensures changing the structure of the hard drive without losing data and without reinstalling the OS. Let's look at the most popular programs for hard disk partitioning and built-in Windows application « ».

If you need to make simple steps by changing the disk structure, then standard means Windows will be quite enough. In Windows 7 and 8 similar utility can be called by running the following actions: Right-click on “My Computer,” select “Manage,” and then “Disk Management.” Then a program window will open.

To make changes to the structure, you need to open context menu by right-clicking the mouse. In the list that appears, you need to use the following functions:

Shrink volume. This operation Shrinks an existing partition to provide more memory for another partition.
Expand volume. Using this function, you can increase the performance of a disk partition. It is important that there is unallocated disk space on the hard drive.
Change drive letter. This function allows you to change the drive letter to any free one.

If you need to shrink or expand a volume, you need to select the appropriate operation in the menu and specify the new size in megabytes.

EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition

Utility EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition is powerful software, which is used for hard control disk in personal computer. The utility has the following functionality:

Checking the hard drive for bad sectors.
Hide sections from My Computer.
Recovering and deleting data from partitions.
Changing partition letters.
Changing volume partitions.
Removing and creating partitions.

Similar software is free for home use and is great tool to control the hard drive. The utility has no analogues among free software.

The only drawback of the program was the lack of Russian language. So let's look at the controls.

When starting the program, select “Partition Manager”. Then the utility window for dividing the hard disk will open.

Then the required partition on the hard drive is selected. All possible operations are presented in the Operations menu. Let's look at the most important of them:

Surfacetest. Checking the hard drive for bad sectors.
Deleteallpartitions. Delete all used partitions.
Copydisk. Copying all information from one hard drive to another.
Wipepartition. Deletes all files from the specified hard drive partition.
formatpartition. Formatting a section.
Deletepartition. Deleting a section with all the information on it.
Hidepartition. Hiding partitions in the My Computer folder.
Changedriveletter. Changing the letter of logical partitions hard drives.
Mergepartitions. The process of merging several sections into a single one. All available information is saved.
Copypartition. The process of copying one hard drive partition to another. All data is saved. The operation is effective for creating a backup or before installing the OS.
Resize/Movepartition. Resizing hard drive partitions. Move logical volumes within disk space.

Now you can begin the process of changing hard drive partitions. To do this, select the Resize/Movepartition item.

In the window that opens, select the desired volume size in the “PartitionSize” menu and click “OK.” Then in the working window of the utility, select “Apply”. After this, the process of resizing the partition will be shown.

If a resize is made on a non-system partition, the changes will take effect without a reboot. If the partition where Windows is installed changes, you need to reboot.

Paragon Partition Manager

This program will be quite effective for working with hard drive partitions. The utility is free and is an analogue of the previous program. Changes only in the interface.

The application is styled for Windows 8. The main points of the program:

DeletePartition. Removing partitions.
FormatPartition. Formatting sections.
ResizePartitions. Resize existing partitions.
CreateNewPartition. Creating a new section.

Let's look at the process of resizing a hard drive. You need to select the “ResizePartitions” item, then click on “Next” twice.

In the window that opens, you need to move the slider to the required location. As alternative solution Enter the desired partition volume in the right or left field, then click “Next” again.

After that, check “Yes, apply the changes physically” and click “Next” again, then “Restart the computer”.

After you press this button, the computer will restart. You should save your documents and close all applications beforehand.

After the reboot, the software will begin resizing the volume. This process approximately takes about 15 minutes. When performing the procedure, it is not recommended to press the keyboard buttons and restart the computer. When the resizing task is completed, the computer will boot as normal.

In this article we looked at three free programs that can be used to perform hard division disk. For this process don't buy expensive ones software packages or look for them on torrents.