The program for dividing hard disks in Windows: a review of the best

A special program for dividing hard disks is called a section editor. The Windows operating system has a built-in tool that allows you to perform all basic manipulations, but it is not very convenient. The article will consider both the use of internal Windows utilities and third-party products.

Disk Management

Disk management is a standard tool included with Windows. Since Windows Vista, this utility has changed very little. But in earlier versions of the OS, using it, it is impossible to partition the hard drive. XP, for example, will only format the partition or change the letter.

The easiest way to start the utility is to right-click the "Computer" icon, click "Manage" in the context menu . The Administration window opens, where you need to select the "Disk Management" item.

Here all the drives installed in the computer (HDD, floppy disk drive, disk drive of laser disks, flash drives) will be presented. If there are several partitions on the drive, they will be presented as a schematic.

To find out what basic actions this program can perform for dividing hard disks, right-click on the partition.

• Open - launches explorer for viewing files.
• Make active - indicates which partition the system will look for the OS loader. If you use this option for an incorrect disk, the operating system will stop running.
• Change the letter - it is logically clear that the command will change the letter that is displayed in the Explorer window.
• Format - changes the file system type and / or cluster size. After this operation, all data will be deleted.
• Expand the volume - if there is space on the HDD labeled as unused, you can increase the partition size.
• Compress Volume - reduces the size of the partition, but creates an unallocated space that can be used to expand the volume.
• Delete volume - when you click on this item the section will cease to exist. The data on the volume after such an operation is difficult to reconstruct.

Accordingly, in order to create several volumes, the program for dividing the hard disks must first compress one partition, and then create a new one.

The execution of any operation begins immediately after the user confirms his choice.

Third-Party Software

EaseUS Partition Master can be downloaded for free on your home computer. In its functions there is not only a change in the size of partitions and the creation of new ones, but also many additional ones. By the minuses can be attributed except that the lack of Russian localization.

In the main window of the program there will be a list of disks and their labels on top and a diagram of their location from the bottom. After clicking on any volume, a context menu opens with all possible actions.

• Resize / Move - resize the volume.
• Copy partition - create a mirror partition on another physical disk.
• Merge partitions - merge several volumes into one.
• Change label - set the label (the inscription near the letter of the disk).
• Defragment - defragmentation, is performed by the standard program built into the operating system.
• Check partition - check the volume for errors. As in the case of defragmentation, standard Windows tools are used.
• Hide partition - hide the volume, the operating system will not mount it and display it in the explorer.
• Delete partition - this item will delete the partition.
• Format partition - change the file system or cluster size. All data will be deleted.
• Wipe partition - full cleaning of information without formatting.

As with the built-in Windows tool to make a new volume, the program for dividing hard disks first must reduce the existing one, and then create a new one, in the unallocated space. Be careful, you can do any editing, but before pressing the "Apply" button no changes will be applied.

Non-system partitions change directly in the operating system, but if the changes affect the C: drive, you will need to reboot.

The main advantages of EaseUS

• The program for dividing the hard disk has a lot of useful functions.
• The operations will not be applied until the "Apply" button is pressed, it means that you can undo erroneous actions.
• It works stably and tries to protect the user's data as much as possible. For example, if you copy data to the one you want to change, the program will not start its work, warning the user that you must first complete all processes that use the disk.
• The program is free for home use.

Disadvantages of EaseUS

• Lack of Russian localization.
• A large number of opportunities can confuse a beginner.
• Serious hardware or software failure will result in all data being lost after dividing the hard disk. (This scenario is not possible if the equipment is correct).

Paragon Partition Manager

This app is also free. As in the previous one, it does not have Russian language. The main window is identical to EaseUS. The presented program is equipped with all the standard tools: changing the size of partitions, creating new ones, copying a volume with the entire file structure to another HDD, checking for errors, formatting, merging volumes.

Advantages of the Paragon product

• A clear view of the windows, which makes it easy to understand the program even for a beginner.
• High level of security. Starting the division of the hard disk, Windows 8 will notify the user if there is a risk of data loss, then again ask whether to perform the operation.
• Fully free for home use.

Disadvantages of Paragon Partition Manager

• Fully English interface.
• Express Mode, which is made to simplify the work, but hides a lot of useful features.
• Slow speed of work. For example, to delete a partition of 40 GB, it takes about ten minutes of time.

Acronis Disk Director

The software of Acronis must be the most popular among disk editors. It allows you to perform all the popular operations: create partitions, change from size, copy to another HDD, merge and split volumes. After all the changes have been made, they become queued and will not be applied until the user agrees.

Acronis Disk Director differs from other partitions editors with the built-in volume recovery tool. If during the operation, the program for dividing the hard disk due to a failure will delete or damage the partition table, the Recovery Expert can be launched, which will find and restore the deleted volumes.

The version downloaded for free has no limitations on the time it is used. However, in it some functional is truncated. For example, you can not convert MBR to GPT, clone the main partition, make the volume the primary if it is logical. To remove the restrictions, you have to pay $ 50.

The installation of the program is quick and easy, it will not cause any difficulties even for the beginner. The interface of the main window resembles EaseUS and is as informative as possible.

In the list showing all drives and their volumes, in addition to the standard scheme, there is free space on each, file system type, unallocated space. The only drawback of the program is that it can not work with non-system partitions "on the fly." To partition the hard disk, Windows 7 must be rebooted.