Hard partitioning is the process of dividing the 1st disk into several logical disks. In this post, we will analyze popular splitting programs.
The Windows 7 operating system is equipped with a built-in disk partitioning utility. To run it, follow the path: Start - Control Panel - - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management.
By launching the disk management utility, you will have access to all the necessary functions. For already existing discs, you can perform: delete, format, change letters, compress and delete the disc. If a new hard drive without partitioning is connected to the PC, you will be able to partition the disk.
If the capabilities of the built-in disk partitioning utility are not enough for you, you can use third-party programs.
Free disk partitioning software
There are not so many high-quality free programs for partitioning a disk. One such program is Wondershare Disk Manager Free. This program allows you to create, delete, format and convert partitions. The program has a very simple and intuitive interface. In view of 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.
Download Wondershare Disk Manager Free
Paid disk partitioning software
One of the most popular and well-known programs of this kind is Partition Magic from Symantec. This program can work from a boot disk, which greatly simplifies the hard partition 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 makes it possible to convert file systems, resize partitions, merge partitions.
Paragon Partition Manager is a powerful partitioning, backup, defragmentation and operating system management software. Unlike the previous program, Paragon Partition Manager has a wider range of features and functions. So, 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 is another advanced hard disk partitioning and management software. Acronis Disk Director consists of three parts: a disk management module, an Acronis Recovery Expert module for recovering lost data, and an Acronis OS Selector module for managing multiple operating systems. Acronis Disk Director is equipped with all the necessary features for managing disks, while the program supports all modern file operating systems.
The reasons for dividing a hard disk into several partitions are different for everyone. For some, this is an opportunity to systematize the necessary information and store it competently; someone using multiple partitions uses multiple operating systems to work on their computer or laptop. Finally, if the hard drive is divided into several parts, then it is easier to defragment them separately.
Standard PC equipment: the simpler the better
This program is rightfully considered one of the best or even the best hard drive partitioner.
This is the simplest program that will help you effectively manage multiple systems and different programs.
Its main advantages are the elimination of errors in partitions, the conversion of file systems and data protection. Another advantage is that this utility is very popular, because there is a lot of reference information on it on the network.
2. Disk Management in Windows
Any version of Windows has a Disk Management feature: this is the simplest, most affordable 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 novice users using the three main items (Expand, Shrink and Delete Volume) perform all the necessary actions in real time. Special knowledge is not required for this - it is enough to give affirmative or negative answers and press the necessary menu items.
There is only one drawback of the regular program - there are risks of failures that lead to the loss of certain sections. There is a risk 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 unequivocally respond to an attempt to "experiment" on the system partition.
Free software for everyone
Two programs that can be downloaded absolutely free from the net - 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 the hard disk, but also to create, copy, resize or completely delete partitions; as well as restore deleted partitions.
The disadvantage that affects the popularity of the program is the only English version. But if you know English, you can appreciate the excellent functionality and predictability of the program, the stability of work 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 is again with an English-language interface, but for a beginner it is more interesting than the previous one - the main windows are quite visual and make it easier to navigate the functions. The disadvantages of the program include low speed and unpredictability.
If funds allow, you can buy a Russian-language version of this program for money, but it still retains the main shortcomings of the English-language product.
Programs for advanced users
These programs have advanced functionality - this is support for various disks and flash drives, the ability to convert file systems, create bootable media, and much more. The fundamental differences are in speed, functionality and accessibility.
5. [email protected] Partition manager
This program is a free manager that simplifies work with logical disks: 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 them!
But the lack of the ability to change the size of disks (the partition must first be deleted, and then another one must be created in the same place) leaves no chance of recovering the lost information.
6. MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition
Experienced users can use the equally simple and accessible MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition manager. The main plus 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 drives.
To work with hard disk partitions (dividing into partitions or combining them into one) in the Windows 10 operating system, there is a built-in utility " Disk Management". Its use, in my opinion, is preferable to installing any third-party tools. How to divide a hard disk with your own means of "dozens" or, conversely, combine its sections, you can read in separate articles on this site: divide and unite. But sometimes there are situations when it is quite difficult to do without third-party tools.
This article was written in response to questions from readers of the site who had problems dividing a hard drive or combining its volumes. The Disk Management utility built into Windows 10, despite all its advantages, has its drawbacks: sometimes it does not allow you to create a partition of the desired size, from time to time it does not allow you to split the hard disk at all, sometimes it is not possible to combine the necessary volumes into one. In these problematic situations (and only in them!) I recommend using a third-party, albeit free program for managing hard disk partitions in the "top ten". It is worth remembering that using any third-party tool to manage the operating system can be potentially dangerous. I am not inclined to dramatize the situation, but I feel it is my duty to warn about it, even if the probability of possible problems is one chance in ten thousand. Therefore, when possible, it is still better to use the built-in Disk Management utility developed by Microsoft in Windows 10.
When I was preparing this article, I spent several hours of time to find a truly completely free, reliable and reputable hard drive partitioning software(or their combinations). There are a lot of outright lies and dubious programs of unknown origin in this area. A separate item in my search was the question that the software found was not only free, but also had a Russian-language interface and also turned out to be completely compatible with Windows 10. The last question is far from idle - the fact is that on the Internet you can find information about how some disk partitioning programs created for Windows 7 or 8 ruined hard drives for Windows 10 users.
So, as a result of a long and careful search, I finally found and tried the program myself AOMEI Partition Assistant. In general, its full version of the Professional Edition costs from $ 59 and much more. But don't let that scare you, because the functionality of its free Standard Edition branch is quite enough to:
- Divide hard drive into partitions
- Merge hard drive volumes into one partition
In general, the presence of a paid version speaks only in favor of this software. After all, this testifies to the seriousness of the intentions of its authors. Those who create programs for money certainly make worthy solutions for free, albeit with somewhat limited functionality (all the more so, it will be enough for us). Another proof of the authority of AOMEI Partition Assistant, in my opinion, is the presence of an article about it in Wikipedia. By the way, if you doubt the reliability and safety of a program, always check through a search engine to see if Wikipedia writes about it. This, of course, is not a 100% guarantee, but still, since this electronic encyclopedia strives for maximum objectivity, in articles about software there you can find information about the possible "pitfalls" of a particular program. It is in the same place, on Wikipedia, that it is better to take a link to the official website of the program. The fact is that in search engines, the first places are often occupied by no means official sites of certain programs.
On the official site AOMEI Technology I immediately found section on Partition Assistant. We go down on this page a little down to the second screen. There, to download the free version of the hard disk management program we need, we find the item Partition Assistant Standard Edition and (of course) click "Download". Do not be afraid that the site is in English, the program itself has an official Russian localization. Please note that there are several options for downloading this program for different needs on the page - for home free use, choose the version standard edition.
The process of installing the program is not complicated at all. First, it is proposed to select a language, then traditionally accept the usage agreement, if necessary, select the folder where the program will be stored - that, in general, is all. After installation, the program will automatically start if at the last step you leave a check mark on the “Run this program” item.
I will not consider all options for using AOMEI Partition Assistant to manage a hard drive. I will analyze in detail only the question of how this free program partition hard drive into multiple partitions in windows 10. Everything else (including merging volumes) is done by analogy.
Partitioning a hard drive with the free AOMEI Partition Assistant in Windows 10
When the program starts, all the physical hard drives installed on your computer or laptop, as well as the partitions that exist on them, will be displayed at the bottom of it. In order to divide a disk into several volumes, you first need to “pin off” a piece of space from an existing partition. To do this, stand on the donor volume and right-click on it, select " Resize Partition».
A new window will appear in which you need to specify what size you want to leave the existing volume. The rest of the space will be freed up for the new partition. I left the C drive 150 GB. We press OK.
Now we see that we have free space labeled " Unoccupied". We need to create a new partition (volume) on it. To do this, click again with the right mouse button on it and select the item " Section creation».
The pop-up window appears again. In it, we leave everything by default and click OK.
After that, a new section will already appear on the program screen. It would seem that you can rejoice. But it was not there. Turns out, no changes have been made to the hard drive itself yet! To complete the operation, you must press the button at the top Apply».
As a rule, a computer restart is required to complete the operation. This is what the new window in the AOMEI Partition Assistant tells us about. Click "Go" on it. It is better to leave a tick in front of the “Check partitions before execution” item. It will allow the program to check sections for errors before dividing.
After that, a new window will appear again with a warning about restarting the computer. We agree and click "Yes".
After the reboot, the actual physical division of the hard disk into two partitions begins. It occurs before the Windows 10 operating system boots in PreOS mode.
Personally, this process took me a couple of minutes. Most likely, the fact is that on the shared hard disk I had nothing but myself cleanly installed Windows 10 and several programs. Therefore, it did not take much time to move the files. If the computer is weak, and there is a lot of information on the disk, then the division process can take much longer. My computer rebooted twice and then started in normal mode. After that, a new section appeared in the explorer, and the existing one became smaller.
Let me remind you that by analogy with this instruction in Windows 10 Freeware AOMEI Partition Assistant Can Merge Hard Disk Partitions.
I foresee a question from some caustic readers of my site, why I reviewed only one free program for managing hard drive partitions on the "top ten". Will explain. The fact is that the rest of the programs I studied did not suit me for various reasons: some of them did not have the Russian language (and for many this is important), for others the functionality in the free version turned out to be too much curtailed, and still others raised doubts in terms of security for the operating system and compatibility with Windows 10. In addition, I absolutely see no reason to look for something else to solve fairly rare tasks. I think that the reviewed software copes with the tasks with a bang and has undoubted advantages over all other free programs that I have studied. So why fill your head with unnecessary information then?)
Often, the standard tools offered by the system are not enough to work with the hard drive. Therefore, you have to resort to more efficient solutions that allow you to get detailed information about the HDD and its partitions. The solutions discussed in this article will help you familiarize yourself with the operations that apply to the drive and its volumes.
With its toolkit, AOMEI Partition Assistant is one of the best programs of its kind. Wide functionality will allow you to effectively configure hard disk volumes. In addition, the program makes it possible to check a specific section for errors. One of the interesting features is the transfer of the OS with all installed software to another hard drive or SSD.
It also supports writing an image file to a USB device. The interface is endowed with a pleasant graphical shell. Despite the large number of useful features, the program is available for free use, which makes it even more in demand. At the same time, it is possible to download the Russian-language version.
MiniTool Partition Wizard
This software has powerful functionality that allows you to merge, split, copy partitions, and a number of other functions. MiniTool Partition Wizard is completely free and available for non-commercial use only. The program provides the ability to change the disk label, and when creating a partition, the cluster size.
The surface test operation allows you to detect bad sectors on the HDD. The ability to convert is limited to only two formats: FAT and NTFS. All tools for working with disk volumes are placed in a very convenient way, so even an inexperienced user will not get confused.
EaseUS Partition Master
A program that opens up many possibilities when working with a hard drive. Among the main ones: disk cloning and OS import from HDD to SSD or vice versa. Partition Master allows you to copy an entire partition - this feature is suitable for the need to create a backup copy of one partition to another.
The program has a user-friendly interface, in which all operations are located in the left block - this allows you to quickly find the desired function. The peculiarity of EaseUS Partition Master is that it can be used to hide a specific volume by deleting a letter on it. Creating a bootable OS is another interesting and useful tool.
Eassos PartitionGuru
The convenience of working with Eassos PartitionGuru is achieved primarily due to the simple design. All tools are located on the top panel. A distinctive feature is the ability to build a virtual RAID array. To do this, the user only needs to connect drives to the PC, from which the program itself will construct a RAID.
The existing sector editor allows you to search for the desired sectors, and hexadecimal values are displayed in the right block of the panel. Unfortunately, the software comes in an English-language trial version.
Macrorit Disk Partition Expert
A nice interface displays functionality that is divided into sections. The program allows you to scan your PC for bad sectors, and you can configure the checked disk space. Available conversion formats NTFS and FAT.
Macrorit Disk Partition Expert is free to use, but only in English version. The software is suitable for people who need to quickly set up a hard drive, but for more efficient work it is recommended to use analogues.
WonderShare Disk Manager
A program for performing various operations with a hard disk, which allows high-quality data recovery. Compared to other similar software, Macrorit Disk Partition Expert allows you to perform a deep partition scan for lost information.
You can trim and merge hard disk volumes without losing the files stored on it. Other tools will allow you to hide the partition if necessary, or to convert the file system.
Acronis Disk Manager
Acronis Disk Director is one of the most powerful programs with a set of functions and operations for managing hard disk partitions and more. Thanks to the capabilities of this software from Acronis, users can recover lost or deleted data. Among other things, it is possible to defragment the volume, as well as check it for file system errors.
The use of mirror technology allows you to save a backup copy of the partition selected by the user. Acronis Disk Director offers to use the disk editor, which makes it possible to find a lost cluster, taking into account that the execution environment for this operation displays hexadecimal values. The program can be safely used in order to carry out the most efficient work with the HDD.
Partition Magic
A program that allows you to carry out basic operations with a hard drive. The interface in many ways resembles the standard Windows Explorer application. At the same time, among the tools located in the graphical shell, it is easy to find the one you need. The advantage of Partition Magic is that it allows you to select multiple active partitions, each with its own separate OS.
You can also use the services of converting file systems, among them two are supported: NTFS and FAT. You can resize the volume and merge partitions without losing data.
Paragon Partition Manager
Paragon Partition Manager delights users with an interesting set of features and their uses. One of them is mounting a virtual disk image. Among them, image files of VirtualBox, VMware and other virtual machines are supported.
Noteworthy is the function that allows you to convert HFS + file system formats to NTFS and vice versa. Other operations are basic for partitions: cropping and expanding. A large number of settings provided by the program will allow you to customize all the functionality to your liking.
The considered software solutions have a unique potential, each in its own way. The powerful toolkit of the developed software makes it possible to save disk space and extend the working capacity of the hard disk. And the function of checking the HDD for errors allows you to prevent critical errors in the operation of the drive.
This article explains how to create, modify or delete hard disk partitions using Windows 7.
To work with hard disk partitions in Windows 7, there is a tool called "Disk Management": Control Panel → System and Security → Administrative Tools → Computer Management → Disk Management OR Start → in the search bar enter: diskmgmt.msc and press Enter.
1. Section creation
Right-click on a free, not occupied by other partitions, place of the desired hard disk → Create a simple volume... The "Simple Volume Wizard" window will open, click the "Next" button. Then specify the size of the partition to be created, assign a drive letter, select the required file system and formatting options, once again make sure that you did everything correctly and click "Finish"
2. Partition compression
Shrink Volume... A message box will appear asking for a place to compress, wait until the end of the poll. Then in the window that appears in the line "size of compressed space" specify the amount of free space and click "Compress"
3. Partition extension
Right click on the desired section → Extend Volume... The "Extend Volume Wizard" window will appear, click the "Next" button. Then select the desired free area in the list, click "Add", then specify the size of the free space allocated to the partition, click the "Next" button, check the information and click "Finish"
4. Deleting a section
Right click on the desired section → Delete volume... Before continuing the operation, copy all the necessary files and folders to another drive, because. After deleting a volume, all data on it will be lost.
5. Change drive letter
Right click on the desired section → Change Drive Letter or Drive Path... Click on the Change button, select the desired drive letter and click OK. Next, we will take a closer look at ways to expand disks and not harm the information stored on them.
In order to divide the hard disk into partitions, you need to go to the "Start" menu → right-click on "Computer" and click on "Management".
In the window that appears, go to the "Disk Management" section.
Select the hard drive and partition you want to partition and right-click on it.
In the drop-down menu, you need to select "Shrink volume" and then select the size to which you want to reduce the existing partition. The space freed up after compression will be the new hard disk partition.
To create a new partition, you need to right-click on the free space and select "create volume". Then specify the size of the new partition and wait for the operation to complete. Sooner or later, any computer user is faced with such a problem as lack of free space on the system partition of the hard drive. This is where the question arises: How to expand C drive?
First we need to go to the "Computer Management" tab (see above).
When this tab opens, you will see in the window all the media that is currently connected to the computer. Each hard disk can be divided into several logical ones. The very first one will be "Disk 0". The space reserved by the system and the logical partitions (C, D, E, F, etc.) will be displayed on the right. If you have only one C drive and it is full, then you can try "Compress Volume" (see above). If you have several logical partitions, then go ahead.
Principle of disk division.
The principle of action is as follows: we must expand the C drive at the expense of the adjacent logical partition. It can be drive D, E, and so on. In the same way, you can increase not only section C, but also others, if you have such a need. So, we delete the neighboring disk, for example, D. Right-click on it and select the "Delete volume" option. We press OK. Immediately after that, this volume should be displayed in black. It should show "Volume Unallocated". Now we can add the space we need to the C drive. To do this, right-click on the C partition and select "Expand Volume". Click "Next" and select the size you want to add.You can use the maximum size, as suggested by default, or choose your own. Click "Next" and then "Finish". If no additional windows popped up, then the operation was successful. You have learned how to expand the C drive using Windows 7. The main thing to remember is that the system partition can only be expanded if there is free space to the right of it. Otherwise, nothing will work.
Possible difficulties.
What else can be difficult? Suppose we have five volumes. We want to configure them in such a way that we add part of the space to drive C, and the other to drive D. When deleting one of the partitions, the "Delete volume" function may not be active, and the "Expand volume" function is not available on volume CThe thing is that the section style can be used MBR*. This is an outdated style. In this case, two neighboring volumes can be connected by a green frame. This means that more than four volumes cannot be created with the MBR partition style.
Windows 8 provides the same tools for increasing space. Therefore, this method is also applicable on this operating system.
Partitioning a hard drive into partitions in the Windows 7 operating system is a very simple thing. You can see for yourself if you partition and create a new partition according to the described algorithm.
*MBR (Master Boot Record) in a PC is a table in the first sector of the boot disk that stores data about the physical and logical organization of the disk. If this entry is corrupted, booting the OS becomes impossible.
That's all. Thanks for reading the article. I hope it was helpful to you.
