While working with a personal computer, it may be necessary to change, add or delete partitions of the hard disk. If during the initial windows installation 7 the creation of sections takes place in an interactive mode and is intuitive, then making changes to the created sections requires a certain skill. Due to the lack of any experience in these matters, the user may incorrectly perform the necessary actions, which will subsequently lead to a complete loss of data or even to the failure of the hard disk. To facilitate the process of creating and modifying disk partitions, the Disk Management utility will help.
Disk Management utility and its functions
The Disk Management utility is a tool for performing various operations with hard disks and their partitions.
With its help you can:
- create, delete, merge volumes on the disk;
- shrink volumes;
- format volumes;
- assign letters to volumes;
- add volumes without rebooting;
- manage local and remote drives on the network.
Opening Disk Management
There are several ways to launch the program.
Through the start menu
- Click on the "Start" menu and right-click on "Computer". We choose "Management".
Right-click on "Computer" and select "Management"
- In the "Computer Management" window that opens, click on "Disk Management".
Selecting "Disk Management"
- The Disk Management window opens.
Disk Management Utility Window
Through the command line
Through the "Control Panel"
- Click on the "Start" menu, select "Control Panel".
Click "Control Panel"
- In the search box, enter "administration" and click on the "Administration" section that appears.
Click on the section "Administration"
- In the list, select "Computer Management".
Choose "Computer Management"
- In the "Computer Management" window that opens, click on "Disk Management".
Click on "Disk Management"
Why "Disk Management" won't open
There are situations when the Disk Management console does not open, or it opens, but the console window is blank, and the warning "Failed to connect to the Logical Disk Manager service" appears.
There are various reasons for this problem. To eliminate their influence on the disk management process, you must do the following:
- Conduct antivirus scan. Running antivirus software it is recommended to do it from an optical disc or from a protected flash drive. After checking, open "Quarantine" of the antivirus. If the dmdskmgr.dll library is in the Quarantine, then return it to its place.
- Run the command Rundll32 setupapi, InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132% windir% \\ inf \\ dmreg.inf through the Start menu and the Run window.
- Go to "Control Panel" - "Administrative Tools" - "Services" and make sure that "Logical Disk Manager" and "Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service" are running. If they are stopped, then enable them.
- Enter the Basic Input / Output System (BIOS) menu. To do this, while turning on the computer, press Del, F2 or Esc (the choice of key depends on the manufacturer of the computer). If there is no information about the connected HDD in the start panel, then check the connecting cables at the points of connection to the drive.
How to create a logical drive
The earliest hard drives, pioneered by IBM in 1973, contained 30 cylinders, each of which was split into 30 tracks. By analogy with automatic rifles using the .30–30 Winchester cartridge, such discs were called "Winchesters". Over time, in colloquial speech, the word "Winchester" was transformed into "screw".
Most "hard drives" are sold already prepared for Windows installation, ie, the main partition has already been created on them. The rest of the operations are carried out during the installation of the system. Installation is carried out from a bootable optical disc or USB device. At one of the installation stages, a window will appear prompting you to select a space for installing the system.
If the "hard drive" before going on sale was not prepared for immediate installation of the system, then the user will have to do all the operations. This requires a bootable optical disc or USB stick.
Before installation, we configure the BIOS (basic input-output system) to boot from a DVD or USB drive:
When forming a partition on the "hard drive", all free space is used, and additional partitions are created after installing Windows 7.
If possible, it is better to use the Windows PE boot, which has built-in Acronis Disk Director or Partition Magic. These utilities are designed to manage hard drive partitions.
Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) is used to prepare a computer for installing Windows. It is built into other system installation and recovery tools and is not intended to be used as a primary operating system.
If you don't have a bootable disk such as Windows PE, you can:
The created logical drives must be formatted using the format.com utility. Now you can proceed to install Windows 7.
Management of logical disks "hard drive"
You can manage hard drive partitions through the context menu of each of them. They present a set of commands required to operate.
Compressing a section
The command to compress a logical disk is specified in the context menu.
Creating a section
The new partition is created in a free area of \u200b\u200bthe hard drive, which does not yet belong to the formatted volume. At the bottom of the Disk Management console, this space is highlighted in bright green, and in the legend line is indicated as “Free”.
- When the partition is shrunk, right-click the unallocated space and select Create Simple Volume from the context menu.
Right-click on the unallocated space and select "Create Simple Volume" in the context menu
- The "Simple Volume Wizard" will start.
After starting the "Simple Volume Wizard", click "Next"
- We indicate the size of the new volume.
Specify the size of the new volume
- We assign a letter (letter) to the disk.
Assigning a drive letter (letter)
- Determine the file system, cluster size and volume label.
- We are formatting the section.
Formatting the section
- In the last window, click on the "Finish" button and create a new logical disk.
Click on the "Finish" button
After reformatting, the volume is ready for use.
Changing the letter of a section
Merging sections
When it becomes necessary to reduce the number of logical drives, the two are merged into one common logical drive. Before merging, the necessary information from the removed logical disk is copied to another disk or to removable media.
To combine one drive with another:
- Select the volume you want to attach and call the context menu. Click on "Delete volume".
Select the volume, call the context menu and click on "Delete volume"
- A message will appear in the opened window that all data on the volume will be deleted. Confirm deletion.
We confirm deletion
- In place of the deleted volume, a partition with the "Free" status will appear. Select it and select "Delete section" in the context menu.
- To attach an empty volume to the desired logical disk, right-click on the section to which the empty partition will be attached, and select "Expand volume" in the context menu.
Mark the empty volume and attach to the main volume
After merging is complete, restart Windows 7 to avoid errors and loss of information.
Video: Disk Management in Windows 7
Disk management software
For disk management, in addition to the standard Disk Management utility, there are several programs. They are widely used due to their clear and user-friendly interface. These programs include:
- Acronis Disk Director - a program that provides logical disk management and is responsible for maintaining "hard drives";
Provides logical disk management and is responsible for maintaining "hard drives"
- Partition Magic is a program with fewer features compared to Acronis Disk Director. This utility is outdated and not supported by most manufacturers, but is included with software on older bootable media;
This utility is outdated and not supported by most manufacturers, but is included with the software on older boot disks
- AOMEI Partition Assistant is a lesser known program for working with hard disk partitions. One of the advantages of this program is the ability to convert MBR to GPT without losing information. This feature can come in handy when moving from Windows 7 to Windows 8, and is required for users working with these systems.
One of the advantages of this program is the ability to convert the MBR to GPT format without losing information.
In addition to these utilities, on the Internet you can find other developments designed to work with hard disk partitions.
Despite all the variety of utilities for working with hard drives, it is better to opt for one, study it and use it in your work, since improper use of programs can lead to the deletion of important data accumulated over many years of work. Recovering lost information will take a lot of time and effort, but it may not lead to the desired result.
Partition Assistant is a program for managing disks and partitions in FAT and NTFS formats. With this application you can check the disk for errors, check the disk surface for bad sectors, resize the disk (increase or decrease), merge disk partitions, create, hide, format and delete disk partitions. Partition Assistant contains a wizard for copying a disk in its entirety and for a single disk partition of used space and by sector, as well as a wizard for recovering a disk / partition from a previously made copy. The advantage of Partition Assistant is that it is a free program for private (home) use, and, as you know, tools for administering disk partitions cost a lot of money.
Disk management program
Using Partition Assistant, you can make a bootable USB drive, convert media from NTFS to FAT32 and vice versa, change the drive letter, delete information from the disk beyond recovery, partition the disk, expand the disk partition using unallocated space or at the expense of another partition, and you can expand or reduce the size of the system partition. The utility will help you transfer your current OS from a solid state (SSD) to a regular HDD and vice versa. Partition Assistant will tell you in detail about all the properties of the disk - information about the file system, the number of physical sectors, total size, the first and last used sector, will show the name and mount point of the volume. Also with this program you can recover the MBR disk partition.
Screenshots of Partition Assistant
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Sections work just like any hDD... If you look through the eyes of an ordinary user, then instead of one disk you have several. Although, here you must always remember that partitions and hard drives are still different concepts. Never confuse these concepts, otherwise you may not be understood correctly.
If there is unallocated space on your computer's hard drive, you can use it to create an additional partition. For example, if you want to separate the operating system from your data, then it is worth partitioning the disk (just don't fancy a hammer) into partitions. This, by the way, is one of the basic rules that will help you avoid many problems in the future.
The simplest example is reinstalling the system. Usually, the partition is formatted (ie all previous data is erased) before proceeding with the installation. This is where there are problems with saving your data. Often this leads to a simple way out - copying the entire disk, in fact, some kind of backup copy, but the entire partition. But that's not all. After you have installed the new system, you will need to start sorting all the data on the backup made. All this leads to a bunch of unnecessary actions and a waste of time. Another example is the need for several operating systemsah on your computer. Even if you contrive and install systems on one partition, then you will simply create problems for yourself for the future.
In addition to creating, partitions can be deleted, resized, formatted in various types of file systems, defragmented, merged, and much more.
Some users prefer the Windows built-in disk management utility. But, most of the regular users use third-party programs or their versions on the LiveCD. The reasons are simple. Such programs provide a large number of functions, and, in general, they are much easier and more convenient to use.
Free Disk Partition Managers Review
Disk partition manager MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition is a convenient and powerful program
EASEUS Partition Master (Home Edition)
| Intuitive and clear interface. Supports functions: resize, move, copy, create, delete, hide, show, convert, format partitions. All functions are just a click away. MBR and GPT. UEFI / EFI, which is especially important for Windows 8. | ||
| Wizard only for copying partitions and hard drives. No bootable disk. |
GParted
| ext2, ext3, ext4, NTFS, FAT16, FAT32 and many other file systems. The most reliable. | ||
| Partitions must be unmounted before each change. The Linux interface can be intimidating to regular users. |
Paragon Partition Manager Free Edition
| Can create, format, delete, resize and copy partitions. Informational and detailed interface. Support for Win8 / GPT / uEFI configurations. Works with Apple HFS + file system. | ||
| You must register to receive a free serial number... More advanced features are available only in the paid version. |
Often the standard tools offered by the system are not enough to work with the hard drive. Therefore, you have to resort to more effective solutions that allow you to get detailed information about HDD and its partitions. The solutions discussed in this article will help you become familiar with the operations applied to the drive and its volumes.
Thanks to its toolkit, AOMEI Partition Assistant is one of the best programs of a kind. Wide functionality will allow for efficient volume configuration hard disk... 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 the installed software to another hard drive or SSD.
Writing an image file to a USB device is also supported. The interface is endowed with a nice graphical shell. Despite the large number of useful functions, the program is available for free use, which makes it even more popular. 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 combine, split, copy sections, 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 detects inoperative 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 arranged 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 function is suitable for the need to create a backup copy of one partition to another.
The program has a convenient 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 its 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 the RAID.
The existing sector editor allows you to search for the desired sectors, and hexadecimal values \u200b\u200bare displayed in the right block of the panel. Unfortunately, the software comes in an English-language trial version.
Macrorit Disk Partition Expert
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 scanned disk space. Conversion of NTFS and FAT formats is available.
Macrorit Disk Partition Expert is free to use, but only in the English version. The software is suitable for people who need to conduct quick setup hard disk, but for more efficient operation it is recommended to use analogs.
WonderShare Disk Manager
A program for performing various operations with a hard disk, allowing you to recover data with high quality. Compared to other similar software, Macrorit Disk Partition Expert allows you to deep scan partitions 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 convert the file system.
Acronis Disk Director
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 backup section 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 the fact 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 HDD.
Partition Magic
A program that allows you to carry out basic operations with a hard disk. The interface is a lot like standard application Windows Explorer. At the same time, among the tools located in the graphical shell, it is easy to find the necessary one. Partition Magic's advantage is that it allows you to select multiple active partitions, each with its own separate operating system.
You can also use the services of converting file systems, among them two are supported: NTFS and FAT. You can resize volumes and merge partitions without losing data.
Paragon Partition Manager
Paragon Partition Manager pleases users with an interesting set of functions and purposes of their use. One of them is connecting a virtual disk image. Among them are supported image files of VirtualBox, VMware and other virtual machines.
Noteworthy is the function that allows you to convert HFS + file system formats to NTFS and vice versa. The other operations are basic for partitions: trimming 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 unique potential, each in its own way. The powerful toolkit of the developed software makes it possible to save disk space and prolong the hard disk's performance. And the function of checking the HDD for errors allows you to prevent critical errors in the operation of the drive.
The reasons why it is necessary to divide the hard disk into several partitions are different for each. For some, this is an opportunity to organize the necessary information and store it correctly; someone with the help of several partitions uses several operating systems in their work on their computer or laptop. Finally, if the hard drive is divided into several parts, it is easier to defragment them separately.
Standard PC equipment: the simpler, the better
This program is rightfully considered one of the bestor even the best hard drive partitioning program.
This is the easiest program to help you effectively manage multiple systems and different programs.
Its main advantages are elimination of errors in partitions, 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 net.
2. Disk Management in Windows
At any windows versions there is a "Disk Management" function: this is the simplest, most affordable and effective enough tool that allows you to change partitions.
Each version of Windows has its own differences, but in the most popular (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 items (Expand, Shrink and Delete the volume) performs all the necessary actions in real time. No special knowledge is 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. The risk exists if there is a disk or mass unnecessary programs, or when trying to split the partition of the hard drive in which Windows is running: the processor does not always respond unambiguously to an attempt to "experiment" with the system partition.
Free software for everyone
Two programs that can be downloaded absolutely free from the network - EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition and Paragon Partition Manager 11 Free - are also easy to learn and use, but require some knowledge.
1. EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition
The program helps not only to partition the hard drive, but also to create, copy, resize or completely delete partitions; as well as recover deleted partitions.
The disadvantage that affects the popularity of the program is the exclusively English version. But if you know English, you can appreciate the excellent functionality and predictability of the program, the stability of the work and the ability to conduct all procedures in virtual mode - at any time you can correct the 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 through 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.
Advanced user programs
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 main differences are in performance, functionality and special capabilities.
5. [email protected] Partition Manager
This program is a free manager that simplifies the work with logical drives: no reboot is required when creating, formatting or deleting disk partitions.
Even if you accidentally delete important partition data, the program will help you recover it!
But the lack of the ability to resize disks (a partition must first be deleted and then created another 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 affordable MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition manager. The main advantage of the program is the ability to work both with a separate hard disk and with RAID arrays based on two or more disks.
