Download a program to resize your hard drive. Choosing a utility for working with a hard drive

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The hard drive in your computer and the disk icon in My Computer are different concepts. For example, a computer may have one HDD, while there may be several of them in My Computer. The reason for this strange inconsistency 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 talk about free programs for such a delicate procedure.

Why you need to divide your hard drive into partitions

There are several reasons for dividing a hard disk into partitions:

1. Partitions on a hard disk are primarily needed for competent storage of information. For example, some users prefer the following division: the operating system and programs on the same disk (usually C), documents - on the second ( D), archive of photos on the third ( E) etc. In this case, there may well be one hard drive.
2. If you have one hard drive, but you 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.
3. Laptop manufacturers (and some computers from well-known manufacturers, such as Acer) have their own reason to divide hard disk partitions: on a partition that is visible as a disk C, Windows is installed, the second ( D) is absolutely empty, and the third (which is not visible in the "My Computer" window in any way) stores a compressed copy of the partition C... This hidden section hard drive called recovery partition... If something happened to the operating system ("Windows flew" - as some users like to say), then when you turn on the laptop, just press the key combination (which one - see the instructions for the laptop) and a special program will clear the disk C, then unpacks the contents of the hidden section 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 it will not be changed. The conclusion suggests itself: if all documents are stored on a laptop with such a recovery system not on drive C, a only on D, it will be possible to restore damaged Windows with a brand new one at any time, without losing important data for yourself. By the way, any advanced user can make such a recovery system for himself, but I'll tell you about it some other time.
4. Operating systems Windows 7 and Windows 8, when installed on a clean, "unpartitioned" hard drive, create a hidden partition 100-350 megabytes in size. This small section contains the boot loader, which is, oddly enough, to boot Windows. This section will not be or its contents will be damaged - and the computer will not start the operating system, displaying an inscription on a black screen "Boot fail", "Cannot find boot device", "Boot error" or similar, 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 disk (outside the partitions), but the developers decided to use a separate hidden partition in Windows 7/8 in order to somehow protect the bootloader from being damaged by other programs, viruses or the user.
5. There are other reasons for partitioning a hard drive. For example, for the correct operation of GNU / Linux operating systems, several partitions should be created, but this is a topic for a separate article, we will not consider them here.

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

A bit of theory: file systems, partition types

Information about partitions (ie logical disks) 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. For a beginner, it is enough to know the very minimum:

1. If you divide the hard disk into logical disks (partitions), disk capacity will not increase- there is simply nowhere to free space! You can make partitions of any size, but in total they cannot be larger than the size of a real hard disk. Here is less - please. Then you get unallocated free space not visible in My Computer, from which you can get one or more new partitions. This is a question I get a lot from newbies, so I'm putting it first.
2. Exists primary (main) and extended (additional) sections. One hard disk cannot have more than four main partitions (why so - see the links above), so they came up with an extended partition - this is a primary partition that can include as many partitions as you want. As a result, thanks to the extended partition, the hard disk can have as many partitions as you want - tens, hundreds.
3. Each partition can have its own file system. V this moment for Windows installations Vista, 7 and 8 can only use NTFS while outdated Windows XP can install 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.
4. Any hard drive must be partitioned one way or another. Into one or more logical drives - it's up to you. When buying a hard drive, it is usually already divided into one section - so the manufacturer decided. If you are satisfied with this way of organizing information, do not touch it.
5. It is very undesirable to do disk partitioning in laptops - most of them have hidden recovery partitions that can be damaged (see point 3 of the previous chapter).
6. If you bought a 2 terabyte hard drive, and My Computer has “only” 1.86 terabytes (1,860 gigabytes), then don't rush back to the store. It's all about how the manufacturers and Windows consider the volume. Read more about this in the Wikipedia Hard Drive article. The larger the hard disk, the more clearly you can see that the real gigabytes are smaller.
7. Sections can delete, create, shift(change their physical position on the disk), resize, format, convert file systems on partitions from one to another. Moreover, many programs are able to do this while preserving all data. There are other operations, but novice users most often need the above.
8. In the event of an error in the process of changing partitions (see paragraph 7), information is almost always lost. Yes, it can be restored (or part of it) by special programs with the participation of specialists, but it is best to save all important information to other disks (not logical, but real disks) or flash drives so as not to pay money for data recovery.

Disk Management snap-in for Windows

Windows has standard remedy section changes - " Disk management". Depending on the Windows versions, 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 you can do.

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

1. The simplest - right-click on the line Computer on the menu Start- select the item Control- in the new window select Disk management.
2. We open Control Panel - Administration - Computer management - Disk management.
3. Push Start - Execute(or the keyboard shortcut Win + R) - 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 bootloader Windows 7, disks C and D... The number of disks on your computer may be different.

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

The list of actions is rather meager:

• Points Open, Conductor allow you to see the contents of the disks
• Make a section active- indicate on which disk (partition) the loader 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 it in the article Formatting Wikipedia. The item opens a window with which you can start high-level formatting.
• Expand volume- if there is space on the hard disk that is not marked as a partition, then you can expand the size of the partition at the expense of 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 put into action - to expand the volume of another section (see the previous paragraph).
• Delete volume- delete a section. Don't click on an item without carefully considering the implications. If you delete a section, then the information on it will be possible to save only 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, novice users do not need this, this article is designed just for them.

So, to create, delete, resize partitions via Disk management, only three menu items are needed: Expand volume, Shrink volume, Delete volume.

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

Do not forget that there is a risk of failure, due to which we can lose one section or all. This applies primarily to computers with a large number of unnecessary programs- each of them may be the culprit for the deletion of all data. Moreover, the scenario when you need to change the partition from which Windows is started (usually this is a 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:

1. 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 started from a different disk, no programs will climb on extraneous disk interfering with a critical operation.
2. Boot from Live CD - the operating system and programs will be launched not from the hard disk, but from CD or DVD, flash drives - again, nothing will interfere with changing partitions.
3. Use a program that can work in Native mode to change sections. For example check disk C always works in this mode - black window with white text before loading the desktop. In this mode, a minimum of programs are running, 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. Two can do it following programs review.

Free for home use program for changing hard disk partitions.

By clicking on the section (it does not matter - in the list above, in the picture below), you can see the menu (both pop-up and on the left panel) with all the requested actions:

Resize / Move partition- resize the partition and / or shift its physical position on the disk. By the way, the official website says that EaseUS Partition Master version Home (free) does not support changing partitions. It is not - everything works great.

Copy partition- copy the partition to another disk with all the information available on it.

Merge partitions- merging two or more sections. Convenient if you need to save information on the hard disk, but reduce the number of partitions. Convert to logical / primary- conversion to logical (extended) / main (primary) partition.

Change label- change the disc label.

Change drive letter- change the drive letter.

Defragment- launch standard program Windows to defragment the disk.

Check partition- checking the disk for errors using the standard Windows programs.

Hide partition- make sure that the section is not visible in the "Computer" window.

Delete partition- deleting a section.

Format partition- section formatting.

Wipe partition- clearing the contents of the section. All folders and files will be deleted, the section will remain. Information deleted in this way cannot be recovered.

Explore partition- view the contents of the section.

View properties- see how much space is occupied on the partition, what file system it has and find out other technical information.

The list of actions changes depending on where you click. In the screenshot above, I clicked on the non-system partition. By clicking on the system partition (from where Windows is started), there will be no items for deleting, hiding, cleaning. If you click on the physical disk icon, the list of actions will be completely different:

I will list the points:

Copy disk- the contents of the entire disk are copied: sections, information in them. This requires a second disk of the same or larger capacity.

Upgrade disk- the function is primarily needed to port Windows to new hard a larger disk. The partition is copied and enlarged in proportion to the size of the new hard disk.

Delete all partitions- delete all sections.

Wipe disk- the same as the previous point, only with special deletion algorithms, making it impossible to recover the information.

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

View properties- display information about the disc.

Yes, knowledge of English is clearly required here, especially when you consider that almost every item calls up a window with settings for the action to be performed. After you make the necessary manipulations, you need to apply the changes by clicking the button Apply(Apply):

Only then will the partition change begin. This process can 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 a lot of functions, it's hard to list them all. I recommend that you read the help for EaseUS Partition Master. It is in English, unfortunately, but you can use the Google translator. The translation is quite understandable.

Pros of EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition:

• There are a lot of functions.
• All actions are "virtual" until the Apply button is pressed. So, you can undo operations before this "point of no return" and try to do something else with the partitions. Or not at all if you change your mind.
• Works consistently and predictably. For example, during testing while changing partitions, I started copying files to the partition to be changed. Bottom line - a window appeared stating that the partition could not be locked, 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 opportunities - it can confuse beginners.
• A serious failure during the operation will lead to serious consequences.
• For example, if you turn off the computer while changing the 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 not clear. Moreover, the paid version of the program is Russian.

The main window of the program is no different from the hero window 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 was somehow wrong, as if it was not a person who translated, 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-speaking, and because of the strange construction of phrases, it is quite difficult to perceive.
• The simplified Express Mode works exactly the opposite: first, the descriptions of operations and the operations themselves have more technical subtleties than required; secondly, this mode is very capricious and does not really work, giving out meaningless errors.
• The program is running too slowly. For example, it took me about 5 minutes to delete a 38GB hard drive partition - long enough for such a simple operation.

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

Changing partitions during installation of Windows 7, 8, 10

This tool deserves a mention too.

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

Everything seems to be simple: you need to click on a section in the list, then the action button. Unfortunately, there is little action here: deletion, formatting, partition creation and expansion.

You can, for example, delete a partition and use the free space to increase the size of another partition or partitions (by choosing required sections, press the Delete and Extension buttons in turn).

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

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

Outcome: editing partitions during Windows setup is a very primitive tool. 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 suddenly you accidentally deleted a partition during Windows installation or through any program, do not despair - the partition recovery function is available in EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition.

In order to recover a deleted hard disk partition, do not touch sections, immediately boot into Windows (or insert the hard drive into another computer if you deleted the system partition and Windows boot impossible), then start the above program, click on the line with the word in the list Unallocated("Unassigned"), then click Partition recovery.

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

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

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

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

Right-click on the C drive ...

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

We indicate unallocated space. The section will be created by the installer itself.

After installation, you will have two operating systems. You can make more unallocated spaces or empty disks, specify them for installation.

Thanks to reader Vladimir for bringing up 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 the 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) sections. Nested partitions have one feature - if you reduce their size, then due to the free space that appears, it will not be possible to expand the main partition just like that. You must first compress the extended partition itself (which stores free space and a smaller partition) in order to create free space outside any partitions, only then you can expand the disks.

Standard Disk Management does not know how to work normally with extended disks, so if you see green marks instead of blue, it is better to use the free programs above - they will reduce extended partitions, move free space where necessary and expand the main disk.

The hard drive stores all the files on your computer. The work of each program and even the operating system itself depends largely on the work of your hard disk... Therefore, it is important that it is in perfect condition and optimized.

Optimizing hard drive performance in Windows 7

Optimizing a disk is a complex process that involves several steps. These steps differ depending on whether you are using an SSD or HDD.

Advanced Disk Cleanup in Windows 7

The first step in optimizing disk performance should be to clean it up. Temporary files and other debris accumulate on the disk over time and slow down its work. To remove them, we will use system utility Disk Cleanup. We do the following:

In addition, you can delete additional files For more information, see the "Clean up system files" section. But that's not all. You can access Advanced Disk Cleanup by entering a command at the command prompt. For this:

Defragmenting a disk in Windows 7

Defragmenting the hard disk is the basis for its optimization. If over time your disk starts to work slower than before, and the response when opening files and launching programs has become much greater, then your hard disk needs to be defragmented. By itself, this process consists in moving fragments of files to each other for faster access to them. The need for defragmentation arises when these pieces are active use disc are recorded on different parts of this disc.

During the defragmentation process, all red areas will appear side by side, ensuring fast access to file

Defragment your disk as needed. Before defragmenting, let the utility analyze the fragmentation of all partitions and issue a report. If the share of fragmented files is 10% or more, then it is worth defragmenting them, but if less than 10%, then defragmentation can be delayed.

Automatic defragmentation is enabled by default in the Windows 7 operating system. It is tuned for Wednesday and turns on at night. However, depending on your computer work schedule, this may not be enough, or the defragmentation process may be interrupted by you. In this case, you need to start it manually. This is done as follows:

It is worth mentioning that defragmentation is a rather lengthy process. You may have to wait for several hours.

Video: How to Defragment a Disk on Windows 7

Optimizing an SSD drive on Windows 7

If you have an SSD drive, the situation is slightly different. It does not require defragmentation, and the system takes this into account. Automatic defragmentation will not be performed when using an SSD. But in the case of such a drive, there are a number of other actions that can contribute to increasing the speed of the disk. And instead of doing setting up the SSD drive manually, it will be easier to use a special program - SSD Mini Tweaker.

After downloading the program from the Internet and downloading it, do the following:

Complex customization of your SSD storage was produced. Of course, you can tweak most of these options yourself, but it will take much longer. And also you can get information about each option that this program changes if you read the reference data.

In the help, you will find information about all the settings of the SSD drive.

Video: how to set up a system for an SSD using SSD Mini Tweaker

Disk Management Utility

You may need to have access to the disk management system to set up a disk. With its help you can change letter designation disk, divide the disk into virtual volumes or, conversely, combine them together, which can be convenient for creating a separate partition for the operating system. In the future, this can help to avoid the loss of important data and provide the ability to format the partition without the risk of deletion. required files.

To interact with the disk, use the context menu: it is called by pressing right button mice

To open Disk Management in Windows 7, just call the Run menu by pressing the Win + R keyboard shortcut and enter the command "diskmgmt.msc" there.

Enter the command "diskmgmt.msc" and click "OK"

Actions in the dispatcher itself are performed mainly using context menu... That is, it is enough to select the required disk and call up the menu by pressing the right mouse button.

Fixes errors with hard disk

Let's figure out how to solve the most common errors that may arise with your hard drive.

Disc is defined as dynamic foreign (undefined)

If you find in the manager that the disk is not defined as basic, but as dynamic with the postscript "undefined" or "foreign", then most likely you will not be able to access the data on this disk.

Dynamic foreign disk will not work properly

This error can be corrected using special programs. To fix it, we need to convert the dynamic disk back to basic, and this can be done using de paid program TestDisk or paid Acronis Disk Director. The possibilities of a paid program, of course, are much wider, and we will analyze this process using its example. Do the following:

Of course, if a malfunction occurs on a disk with an installed operating system, you will not be able to access it. The solution here is simple - insert the disk into another computer as an additional one and perform all the actions you need, and then put it back in place when the disk is restored.

Video: Working with Acronis Disk Director

Windows 7 detects a hard drive failure

If, during any check, the system displays a message about problems with the hard disk, the first thing you should do is create backup required files. While your disk is still functional, copy all the necessary files from the disk to another drive or upload them to the cloud. This can later help you rescue these files if the problems get worse.

You can determine which drive you are having a problem with by carefully examining the error message. The letter designation of the virtual disk partition will be indicated there.

At the bottom of the notification, you will see the drive letter

The error could arise for the following reasons:

• problems appeared directly with the drive itself. This may be due to physical damage or contamination. In this case, it is recommended that you return your drive to service center to diagnose and fix problems;
• operating system problems. In case of damage to certain system files viruses, the error can appear on its own for no reason on the part of the disk. In this case, it is recommended to check the system antivirus software, and then restore damaged files using the installation disk.

Regardless of the cause of the problem, the best you can do is save your files ahead of time. If the error message continues to appear and you want to get rid of it, you can disable the disk diagnostic system. This is done as follows:

Formatting the disk for installing the Windows 7 operating system

For more efficient disk performance when reinstalling Windows it is recommended to format it, that is complete cleaning disk from files on it. You can format the disk right during the installation of Windows 7. Be sure to back up all the necessary files, as formatting will completely delete them. To start formatting:

Thus, formatting is carried out quickly and without much frills. In addition, it is possible to perform formatting using special programs. For example, there is such a possibility in the above Acronis program Disk Director. The program must be written to the disc, and the disc itself must be selected as the boot device. This can be done in the menu Boot BIOS or by pressing the appropriate key when turning on the computer (depending on your BIOS version).

Install CD / DVD as the first Boot device

After the disk with the program is loaded, we do the following:

Disk programs

There are many programs that can help you optimize, clean, or otherwise manipulate your drives. Let's analyze the possibilities of some of them.

CCleaner disk cleaner

Disk cleanup includes deleting temporary files and installed applications at the user's choice. Good program cleaning tool can delete the cache of your browser and temporary files of various programs, carry out system diagnostics. And one of the best programs in this area is CCleaner. This program has the following features:

• system cleaning automation;
• completely harmless and safe cleaning of temporary files, as well as analysis of registry damage and its correction;
• work with all popular browsers.

The program interface is simple and convenient, suitable for beginners who want to regularly clean their computer of garbage. In addition, the free version of the program is not limited in functionality and has the same features as the paid one.

CCleaner helps you set up startup applications, which will also speed up your computer.

CCleaner is a popular disk cleaner

Video: CCleaner and its main functions

EaseUS Disk Copy hard drive cloning software

In this case, cloning means the transfer of information from one disk to another. This can be extremely helpful when reinstalling your system. Program EaseUS Disk Copy is great free solution for this task. It is different:

• the ability to work with any operating system;
• support for disks up to a terabyte;
• high cloning speed;
• simple interface for novice users;
• support for dynamic disks.

In general, it does an excellent job with the task for which it was created, and its only serious drawback is the absence of the Russian language in the program.

EaseUS Disk Copy - disk cloning software

Recovering disk partitions with Starus Partition Recovery

In the event of a damaged hard disk partition, one of the special recovery programs - Starus can help Partition Recovery... She copes well with this task. The main features of this program:

• deep scan of the disk for damage;
• recovery of partitions that have been damaged or deleted;
• recovery of information on any type of media;
• comprehensive disk analysis.

The program is considered simple and effective among the users.

Starus Partition Recovery can repair damaged partitions of your disk

DAEMON Tools disk drive emulation software

If you are going to reinstall the system, you cannot do without a flexible tool for creating virtual disks... Program DAEMON Tools Lite or another version of DAEMON Tools will help you create an installation disc or create virtual discs. The program also makes it possible to create several virtual drives immediately and their simultaneous use.

It is easy to work in this program, but the limitations free version programs are not very visible.

DAEMON Tools - a program for creating and using virtual disks

Video: DAEMON Tools Lite program overview

It is important to know how to tune your hard drive to work efficiently. The disk optimization process is not one-time, and actions to improve its performance should be performed from time to time throughout the entire life of the device. Now you know how easy and simple it is to improve the performance of your disk with the Windows 7 operating system.

Reasons why it is necessary to divide into several partitions hard disk, each one is different. For some, this is an opportunity to organize 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, 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 most simple program, which will help you effectively manage multiple systems and different programs.

Its main advantages are elimination of errors in sections, transformation 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

In any version of Windows there is a function "Disk Management": this is the simplest, most affordable and effective enough tool that allows you to change partitions.

Each version of Windows OS 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 break hard Windows disk using this utility.

The program opens through the Start menu, and in the "Disk Management" item, even novice users with the help of three main items (Expand, Shrink and Delete the volume) perform 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 lot of unnecessary programs on the disk, or when you try to divide 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 with the knowledge in English you can appreciate the excellent functionality and predictability of the program, the stability of the work and the ability to carry out 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 work and unpredictability.

If funds permit, 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 - this is 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 features.

5. [email protected] Partition Manager

This program is a free manager that makes it easy to work with logical drives: 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 recover it!

But the lack of the ability to resize disks (the partition must first be deleted and then created another in the same place) leaves no chance of restoring the lost information.

6. MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition

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

Often the standard tools offered by the system are not enough to work with the hard drive. Therefore, we have to resort to more efficient solutions that allow us to obtain 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 its kind. Wide functionality will allow you to efficiently 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 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 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 absolutely free and available for non-commercial use only. The program provides the ability to change the disk label, and when creating a partition - the size of the cluster.

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 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. Making 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 ​​are 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, which is divided into sections. The program allows you to scan your PC for broken 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, which allows 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 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 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 the 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. Advantageous feature Partition Magic lies in the fact that it allows you to select several active partitions, each of which has 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 the connection of the image virtual disk... Among them are supported image files of VirtualBox, VMware and others. virtual machines.

Noteworthy is the function that allows you to convert HFS + file system formats to NTFS and vice versa. 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.

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.

Partitioning a hard drive refers to the process of dividing one drive into multiple logical drives. In this article, we'll take a look at popular hard drive partitioning software.

Operating room Windows system 7 has a built-in partitioning utility. To start it, follow the path: Start - Control Panel - System - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management.

By running the Disk Management utility, you will have access to all the necessary functions. For already existing disks, you can perform: delete, format, change letter, shrink and delete the disk. If you have a new hard drive connected to your computer without partitioning, you can partition the drive.

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

Wondershare Disk Manager Free

There are not so many quality free partitioning software. One of these programs 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 too experienced users. To install this program, you will have to go through a free and extremely simple registration on the manufacturer's website.

Paid partitioning software

One of the most popular and famous programs of this kind is Partition Magic from Symantec. This program can work with boot disk, which greatly simplifies the breakdown 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, merge partitions.

Paragon Partition Manager

Paragon Partition Manager is a powerful hard drive partitioning program, Reserve copy, and control operating systems... Unlike the previous program, Paragon Partition Manager has a wider set of features and functions. So, this program 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 hard disk partitioning and disk 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 functions for disk management, while the program supports all modern file operating systems.