A utility for working with disk partitions. Six best programs for partitioning your hard drive

This article talks about how to create, change or delete hard disk partitions using Windows 7.
To work with hard drive 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. Creating a section
Right-click on a free space not occupied by other partitions on the desired hard drive → Create a simple volume... The “Simple Volume Creation 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. Compressing a Partition
Shrink Volume... A message window will appear asking for space for compression, wait until the end of the survey. Then in the window that appears, in the line “size of compressed space”, indicate the amount of free space and click “Compress”
3. Section expansion
Right-click on the desired section → Extend Volume... The “Volume Expansion Wizard” window will appear, click the “Next” button. Then select the required free space from the list, click “Add”, then specify the amount of free space allocated to the partition, click the “Next” button, check the information and click “Finish”
4. Deleting a partition
Right-click on the desired section → Delete volume... Before continuing the operation, copy all the necessary files and folders to another drive, because... Once a volume is deleted, all data on it will be lost.
5. Changing the 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 look in detail at ways to expand disks without harming the information stored on them.

In order to divide the hard drive into partitions, you need to go to the "Start" menu → right-click on "Computer" and click on "Manage".

In the window that appears, go to the "Disk Management" section.

Select the hard drive and partition that needs to be divided 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 shrink the existing partition. The space freed up after compression will be the new hard drive 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 faces 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 drive C?

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 are currently connected to the computer. Each hard drive can be divided into several logical ones. The very first one will be "Disk 0". On the right you will see the space reserved by the system and the logical partitions (C, D, E, F, etc.). If you have only one drive C and it is full, then you can try “Shrink Volume” (see above). If you have several logical partitions, then move on.

The principle of disk division.

The principle of action is this: we must expand drive C at the expense of the adjacent logical partition. This could 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, delete the adjacent disk, for example, D. Right-click on it and select the “Delete Volume” option. Click OK. Immediately after this, this volume should appear in black. The message “Volume is not allocated” should appear on it. Now we can add the space we need to drive C. To do this, right-click on partition C and select “Extend volume”. Click "Next" and select the size you want to add.
You can use the maximum size as suggested by default, or select one of your own. Click "Next" and then "Finish". If no additional windows pop up, then the operation was successful. You have learned how to expand a disk 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 other difficulties could there be? Let's say we have five volumes. We want to configure them in such a way that part of the space is added 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 “Extend Volume” function may not be available on volume C.
The whole point is that the section style can be used MBR*. This is an outdated style. In this case, two adjacent volumes can be connected by a green frame. This means that you cannot create more than four volumes 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 in the Windows 7 operating system is a very simple thing. You can see this for yourself if you partition and create a new partition according to the described algorithm.

*MBR (Master Boot Record) master boot record in a PC - a table in the first sector of the boot disk that stores data about the physical and logical organization of the disk. If this record is corrupted, loading the OS becomes impossible.

That's all. Thank you for reading the article. I hope it was useful to you.

Good afternoon

For some reason, many users believe that the heart of the computer is the processor. (for some game lovers - a video card 👌). But purely in my opinion, the most important piece of hardware in a computer/laptop is the disk (HDD/SSD).

No matter what kind of hardware failure there is (if it is not related to the disk), by replacing and repairing it, you will restore your work and continue it as if nothing had happened. But if the hard disk “flies”, then it is not always possible to restore the data Just...

Okay lyrics, on this page I want to collect the most necessary and useful programs for working with a hard drive. I present only the most popular and relevant programs, which I have used myself more than once or twice.

HDDlife / SSDLife

I really like this utility for its clarity and focus on novice users. All you need to do is install the program, after a while you will learn:

• state of the “health” of your disk in percentage terms;
• status about its performance;
• temperature;
• how much actual time it worked (not to be confused with age and date of manufacture).

The utility works in constant mode (minimized in the tray, next to the clock), and when alarm signals appear, you will be notified in time. What else do inexperienced users need for diagnostics?!

Note : not only work on a PC is supported, but also on laptops, netbooks, etc. SSD drives are also supported.

Victoria

One of the most renowned utilities for testing and diagnosing disks. The program allows you to test: HDD, FDD, CD/DVD, USB/Flash/SCSI.

Main functions:

• viewing complete information about the drive;
• support for IDE/SATA controllers;
• tests to check the “mechanics” of the disk;
• SMART monitor;
• low-level formatting and much more.

In general, I must admit that the program is not very friendly and simple for novice users. It must be used with caution - here, more than ever, it is correct: “if you don’t know, don’t press!”

MHDD

A very popular free program for diagnosing hard drives. Allows for fairly accurate diagnostics of fur. parts of drives, view SMART attributes, identify defective sectors (note:), it contains various tests, and other useful functions.

HDAT2

An excellent program for testing disks. Its main advantage over MHDD and Victoria (discussed above) is support for all drives with a wide variety of interfaces: ATA/ATAPI/SATA, SSD, SCSI and USB.

By the way, the program does not work under Windows; to run it you need to burn bootable media (flash drive or CD/DVD disk), and after booting from it, run the utility.

HDDScan

A very high-quality utility for checking HDDs and SSDs for bad sectors, viewing S.M.A.R.T., for setting up special... parameters (power management, acoustic mode adjustment, etc.).

The hard drive temperature can be displayed on the taskbar (to be aware of how things are going 👌).

Supported drives:

• HDD with ATA/SATA, SCSI, USB, FireWire or IEEE 1394 interface;
• SSD with ATA/SATA interface;
• RAID arrays with ATA/SATA/SCSI interface;
• Flash drives with USB interface.

CrystalDiskInfo

A decent program for monitoring the status of hard drives that support S.M.A.R.T technology.

The program displays detailed information about your disks: interface, total operating time, firmware, serial number, standard, allows you to manage AAM/APM settings, (useful when your drive is very noisy), displays S.M.A.R.T parameters. (reading errors, track search time, number of on-off cycles, performance, spindle starts/stops, sector errors, etc.).

Cleaning the disk from debris

Advanced System Care

One of the best programs for cleaning your computer from junk, fixing errors, editing the registry, removing incorrect shortcuts, etc. Allows you to tidy up your Windows in a few minutes and make it work much faster.

Using the program is very simple: just install and run. In my example below, I did just that - it turned out that there were enough problems (although I regularly use wizards to clean up Windows...).

Found problems after scanning in System Care

Also note that after installing Advanced SystemCare, a special manager appears in the upper right corner of the screen: it shows the current CPU and RAM load (in percentage).

Thanks to this manager, you can take screenshots, watch disk, memory, processor load, perform quick cleaning, and diagnostics. In general, it replaces the task manager...

CCleaner

A free utility for comprehensive cleaning of your Windows. Cleans various garbage: temporary unnecessary files, “residues” from deleted programs, browsing history in browsers (all popular ones are supported: Firefox, Opera, Chrome, etc.).

There is a portable version: which does not require installation. The program works in all popular versions of Windows: XP, 7, 8, 10.

Wise Disk Cleaner

This program allows you to deep clean your Windows system and hard drive from various debris. No other utility will find as much garbage as Wise Disk Cleaner finds!

In addition to its main purpose, the program has a built-in defragmenter. Defragmentation carried out after cleaning has a very good effect on the responsiveness and performance of the hard drive.

Wise Disk Cleaner has a convenient and pleasant interface: all the main tabs are located at the top; by clicking on one of them, you can quickly complete the current task. In general, only positive emotions from such software 👌!

Formatting, breakdown: working with sections

A very convenient and multifunctional program for working with hard drives. Its capabilities are more than enough for the average user, here you go: changing the partition size (no formatting), moving a disk partition, joining (merging) partitions (without loss of information), deleting a partition, formatting, backup wizard, migration wizard from HDD to SSD, and much more.

What especially deserves attention: all operations with disks are performed using a step-by-step wizard, which at each stage will tell you what is being used for what. Also, most disk operations occur without data loss (unless the program warns otherwise).

Aomei Partition Assistant - what can be done with the HDD partition

Acronis Disk Director

A very powerful and reliable tool for managing disks and volumes on a computer.

Main functions: split and merge disk volumes, disk formatting (all popular file systems are supported: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, Exts, Ext3, Reiser3, Linux or SWAP), recovery of accidentally deleted volumes, ability to download the program offline (without using Windows - for this you need to prepare a bootable USB flash drive in advance), etc.

MiniTool Partition Wizard

A very convenient machine for working with a hard drive: it allows you to perform the entire list of operations that an ordinary PC user might need.

Main functions:

• Windows migration wizard to another disk/partition (convenient, for example, when transferring Windows from HDD to SSD);
• Partition Copy Wizard;
• recovery wizard;
• merging, formatting, splitting, deleting partitions;
• Russian language support;
• Works in all popular Windows: 7, 8, 10.

EASEUS Partition Master Free

The best free solution for Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, which will help you create, delete, resize, transfer, expand, split, format, clone partitions of any disks: HDD, SSD, USB drives (flash drives, disks, etc.), memory cards, and other storage media.

The program allows you to change the file system (from FAT32 to NTFS) without data loss, change the MBR disk layout to GPT or the reverse operation - GPT disk layout to MBR (also without data loss).

In general, it is a convenient and indispensable manager for working with disks (certainly more convenient than the built-in Windows wizard...).

Defragmentation (for HDD)

If, when opening some files from the disk, your PC begins to think, does it slowly and not immediately, then in the most harmless case, this is to blame fragmentation.

To correct this mess, you need to carry out the reverse operation - defragmentation(such a tautology ✌).

Defragmentation- the process of optimizing information storage on disk to ensure a continuous sequence of clusters.

In general, if we step back from unclear terms, then after defragmentation your disk starts working faster: reading and writing files speeds up. Thanks to this, your programs become more responsive, and it becomes more pleasant to work on such a PC!

Windows, by the way, has its own defragmentation wizard, but in my opinion, it does not work perfectly... Therefore, I will give a couple of necessary utilities.

Auslogics Disk Defrag

Despite its compact size, this utility will give a head start to many competitors! The program works very quickly, optimizes the file system, which speeds up your work. Needless to say, the program is used by more than 11 million users around the world!

Main functions:

• defragments files and unused space on the HDD;
• When defragmenting, special attention is paid to system files (which affects performance);
• You can defragment specific files (not many programs that have this feature);
• the ability to work in the background (i.e., unnoticed by you);
• free for home use!

MyDefrag

A free and small utility for defragmenting HDDs, USB drives, memory cards, floppy disks. By the way, the program makes it very convenient to set the startup time - you can set up a work schedule so that the disk is analyzed and defragmented when you are not working on the PC.

Main functions of MyDefrag:

• there is a version that works from the command line (does not need installation);
• 2 algorithms for defragmentation;
• there is a task scheduler;
• The standard version of the program is automated and will not take you a minute of time to set up.

Defraggler

A free defragmenter from the manufacturer of the CCleaner utility (Piriform Ltd). The program allows you to work both with an entire disk partition and with individual files and folders.

After analyzing the desired hard drive partition: the program will display a list of fragmented files. You can select the ones you need, and Defraggler will quickly optimize their placement. As a result, you don’t waste time defragmenting the entire disk (in general, in some cases it is very convenient!).

The page will be updated with new software as you work with the site.

Hard disk partitioning is the process of dividing one disk into several logical disks. In this post we will analyze popular programs for breakdown.

The Windows 7 operating system is equipped with a built-in utility for partitioning disks. To launch it, follow the path: Start - Control Panel - - Administration - Computer Management - Disk Management.

By launching the Disk Management utility, you will have access to all the necessary functions. For existing disks, you can perform: deletion, formatting, changing the letter, compressing and deleting the disk. If a new hard drive without partitioning is connected to the PC, you can 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 programs for disk partitioning

There are not many high-quality free programs for disk partitioning. 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 programs for disk partitioning

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 partitioning the hard drive 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, and merge partitions.

Paragon Partition Manager is a powerful program for hard drive partitioning, backup, defragmentation and operating system management. Unlike the previous program, Paragon Partition Manager has a wider range of features and functions. Thus, 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 program for hard partitioning and disk management. Acronis Disk Director consists of three parts: the disk management module, the Acronis Recovery Expert module for recovering lost data, and the Acronis OS Selector module for managing multiple operating systems. Acronis Disk Director is equipped with all the necessary functions for disk management, and the program supports all modern file operating systems.

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The hard drive in your computer and the drive icon in the My Computer window are different concepts. For example, a computer may have one hard drive installed, while there may be several of them in “My Computer”. The reason for this strange discrepancy 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 tell you about free programs for such a delicate procedure.

Why do you need to partition your hard drive?

There are several reasons to partition a hard drive:

1. Partitions on a hard drive are primarily needed for proper storage of information. For example, some users prefer the following division: operating system and programs on one disk (usually C), documents - on the second ( D), photo archive on the third ( E) and so on. In this case, there may well be only one hard drive.
2. If you have one hard drive, but 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. Manufacturers of laptops (and some computers from famous manufacturers such as Acer) have their own reason for dividing hard drive partitions: on a section that is visible as a disk C, Windows installed, second ( D) is completely empty, and the third (which is not visible in the “My Computer” window) stores a compressed copy of the partition C. This hidden partition of the hard drive is called recovery partition. If something happened to the operating system (“Windows crashed” - as some users like to say), then when you turn on the laptop, just press a key combination (see which one - see the instructions for the laptop) and a special program will clean the disk C, then unpacks the contents of the hidden partition 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 however, it will not be changed. The conclusion suggests itself: if you store all documents on a laptop with such a recovery system not on drive C, A only on D, you can restore damaged Windows with a new one at any time, without losing your important data. By the way, any advanced user can make such a recovery system for themselves, but I’ll tell you about it some other time.
4. The Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems, when installed on a blank, “unpartitioned” hard drive, create a hidden partition of 100-350 megabytes in size. This small partition stores a bootloader designed, oddly enough, to boot Windows. This partition will not exist or its contents will be damaged - and the computer will not start the operating system, displaying the message “Boot fail”, “Cannot find boot device”, “Boot error” or similar on a black screen, 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 drive (outside partitions), but the developers decided in Windows 7/8 to use a separate hidden partition in order to somehow protect the boot loader from damage by other programs, viruses or the user.
5. There are other reasons for partitioning a hard drive. For example, for the GNU/Linux operating systems to work correctly, several sections must be created, but this is the topic of a separate article; we will not consider them here.

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

A little theory: file systems, partition types

Information about partitions (i.e. logical drives) 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. A novice user only needs to know the bare minimum:

1. If you divide your hard drive into logical drives (partitions), Disk capacity will not increase- there’s simply nowhere to find free space! You can make partitions of any size, but in total they cannot be larger than the capacity of the real hard drive. Less please. Then you will have unallocated free space, not visible in My Computer, from which you can get one or more new partitions. This is a question I often get from newbies, so I put it first.
2. Exist primary (main) And extended (additional) sections. One hard drive cannot have more than four main partitions (see the links above for why this is so), so they came up with an extended partition - this is a primary partition that can include any number of partitions. As a result, thanks to the extended partition, the hard drive can have any number of partitions - tens, hundreds.
3. Each partition can have its own file system. At the moment, only NTFS can be used to install Windows Vista, 7 and 8, and the outdated Windows XP can be installed 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. In one or more logical drives - it's up to you. When purchased, the hard drive is usually already partitioned into one partition - this is what the manufacturer decided. If you are satisfied with this way of organizing information, leave it alone.
5. It is very undesirable to partition the disk 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, but in “My Computer” it is “only” 1.86 terabytes (1860 gigabytes), then do not rush back to the store. It's all about how manufacturers and Windows calculate the volume. Read more about this in the Wikipedia article Hard Drive. The larger the size of the hard drive, the more clearly it is clear that there are fewer real gigabytes.
7. Sections can be delete, create, move(change their physical position on the disk), resize them, format them, convert them file systems on partitions from one to another. Moreover, many programs can do this while saving all the data. There are other operations, but novice users most often need the above.
8. If there is an error during the process of changing partitions (see point 7), information is almost always lost. Yes, it can be restored (or part of it) with special programs with the participation of specialists, but it is best to save all important information in advance on other drives (not logical drives, but real drives) or flash drives, so as not to pay money for data recovery.

Disk Management in Windows

Windows has a standard partition changer - " Disk management". Depending on the version of Windows, 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 that can be done there.

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

1. The simplest one is to right-click on the line Computer on the menu Start- select an item Control- in a new window select Disk management.
2. Opening Control Panel - Administration - Computer management - Disk management.
3. Click Start - Execute(or the Win+R key combination) - 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 Windows 7 boot loader, disks C And D. The number of disks on your computer may vary.

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

The list of actions is quite meager:

• Items Open, Conductor allow you to view the contents of disks
• Make the section active- indicate on which disk (partition) the bootloader 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 this in the Wikipedia Formatting article. The item opens a window with which you can start high-level formatting.
• Extend Volume- if there is space on the hard drive that is not marked as a partition, then you can expand the partition size using 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 used to expand the volume of another section (see the previous paragraph).
• Delete volume- delete the section. Don't click on an item without thoroughly considering the consequences. If you delete a partition, the information on it can only be saved 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, this is of no use to novice users; this article is intended specifically for them.

So, to create, delete, resize partitions via Disk management, you only need three menu items: Expand Volume, Shrink Volume, Delete Volume.

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

Do not forget that there is a risk of failure, due to which we could lose either one or all of the partitions. This applies primarily to computers with a large number of unnecessary programs - each of them may be the culprit in deleting all data. Moreover, the scenario is when you need to change the partition from which Windows is launched (usually this is the 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 launched from another drive, no programs will go onto the foreign drive, interfering with a critical operation.
2. Boot from a Live CD - the operating system and programs will be launched not from the hard drive, but from a CD or DVD, flash drive - again, nothing will interfere with changing partitions.
3. To change partitions, use a program that can work in Native mode. For example, disk check C always works in this mode - a black window with white text before loading the Desktop. In this mode, a minimum number of programs are launched and 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. The following two review programs can do this.

A free hard drive partitioning program for home use.

By clicking on a section (it doesn’t matter - in the list at the top, on the picture below), you can see a menu (both a pop-up and in the left panel) with all the required actions:

Resize/Move partition- resize the partition and/or move 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. This is not true - everything works great.

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

Merge partitions- merging two or more sections. Convenient if you need to save information on your hard drive, 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 a standard Windows program to defragment the disk.

Check partition- checking the disk for errors using, again, a standard Windows program.

Hide partition- make sure that the partition is not visible in the “Computer” window.

Delete partition- deleting a section.

Format partition- partition formatting.

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

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 section. By clicking on the system partition (where Windows is running), there will be no delete, hide, or cleanup options. 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: partitions, information in them. To do this, you need a second disk of the same or larger capacity.

Upgrade disk- the function is primarily needed to transfer Windows to a new, larger hard drive. The partition is copied and increased in size in proportion to the size of the new hard drive.

Delete all partitions- delete all sections.

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

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

View properties- display information about the disk.

Yes, knowledge of English is clearly required here, especially considering that almost every item opens a window with settings for the action being performed. After you have made the necessary manipulations, you need to apply the changes by pressing a button Apply(Apply):

Only then will the partition changes begin. This process may 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 so many functions that it is impossible to list them all. I recommend that you read the help for EaseUS Partition Master. It is in English, unfortunately, but you can use Google Translator. The translation is quite understandable.

Pros of EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition:

• Lots of functions.
• All actions are “virtual” until you click the Apply button. This means that you can cancel operations before this “point of no return” and try to do something else with the partitions. Or don’t do it at all if you change your mind.
• Works stably and predictably. For example, during testing, while changing partitions, I started copying files to the partition that was to be changed. Result - a window appeared stating that it was not possible to lock the partition, 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 possibilities - this can confuse beginners.
• A serious failure during the operation will lead to serious consequences.
• For example, if you turn off the computer while changing a 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 unclear. Moreover, the paid version of the program is Russian.

The main window of the program is no different from the window of the hero 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 here was somehow incorrect, as if it was not a person who was translating, 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-language, and due to the strange construction of phrases it is quite difficult to understand.
• The simplified Express Mode works exactly the opposite: firstly, the descriptions of operations and the operations themselves have more technical subtleties than is required; secondly, this mode is very capricious and does not really work, producing meaningless errors.
• The program is too slow. For example, deleting a 38 GB hard drive partition took me about 5 minutes - quite long for such a simple operation.

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

Changing partitions during installation of Windows 7, 8, 10

This tool also deserves a mention.

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

It seems that everything is simple: you need to click on a section in the list, then the action button. Unfortunately, there is little action here: deletion, formatting, partitioning and expansion.

You can, for example, delete a partition and, using the freed up space, increase the size of another partition or partitions (when selecting the desired partitions, you must press the Delete and Expand buttons in turn).

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

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

Result: editing partitions during Windows installation is an extremely primitive tool. It 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 you suddenly accidentally deleted a partition during Windows installation or through some program, do not despair - the partition recovery function is included in EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition.

In order to recover a deleted hard drive partition, don't touch the partitions, immediately boot into Windows (or insert the hard drive into another computer if you deleted the system partition and booting Windows is impossible), then run the above-mentioned program, click on the line with the word in the list Unallocated("Unallocated"), then click the button Partition recovery.

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

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

All you need for this is several sections. If your hard drive already has a second partition that is visible in the " 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.) disk. Once installed, you will be able to select Windows using a menu that appears when you turn on your computer.

If you have one disk ( C), I suggest the simplest option: Through Disk management give it to the section first WITH team Compress, reducing it by at least 20 gigabytes (or better yet, more, because in addition to Windows you will also be installing programs):

Right click on drive C...

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

We indicate unallocated space. The installer will create the partition itself.

After installation, you will have two operating systems. You can create unallocated spaces or empty disks and indicate them for installation.

Thanks to reader Vladimir for raising 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 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) ones. Nested partitions have one peculiarity - if you reduce their size, then due to the free space that appears, you will not be able to simply expand the main partition. You must first shrink the extended partition itself (which stores free space and the reduced partition) so that free space is created outside of any partitions, only then can you expand the disks.

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

After purchasing a computer or installing a new hard drive, as a rule, you will only have 1 partition on it. We’ll talk about this today: how to divide a hard drive into 2 or more partitions. This example will be given on Windows 7 OS through the operating system, without installing additional software.

How many sections should there be:

For Windows 7 to work correctly, 1 partition “drive C” is enough. The system is installed on it and it doesn’t need anything else because... it has all the necessary folders. But, from the point of view of convenience and personal safety, it is recommended to have at least 2 partitions: drive “C” and drive “D”. Why 2? It's simple! It is advisable to leave drive C only for windows and programs, and use drive D for games, music, movies, photos, etc. Thus, in the event of a failure and reinstallation of Windows, all important information will not be affected.

How to split drive C into multiple drives

In order to partition the disk, open: Start Menu, Control Panel. Next we will have to work with the “System and Security” tab.

That's it, we've come to the right place and you should see a window like this:

To see which partitions are already installed, open Disk Management. The operating system is usually located on the C drive, so you need to be careful when working with it.

To split drive “C” into partitions, right-click on it and select “Shrink Volume”.

In the new window that opens, enter the desired size of the new partition:

Now click “create”. In the window that opens, enter what volume you want.

In the new window, on the unallocated area, right-click and select “create simple volume” as below:

Ready. You can start working, but it is advisable to restart your computer.

Program for partitioning HDD into partitions

Personally, I prefer to do without third-party programs; if it is possible to do it using Windows, I do so. I have already written above how to partition a HDD without a program, now let’s look at an alternative method using third-party software.

For example, I took the simplest, free and very convenient program “disk manager free”

I uploaded it to Yandex disk, you can download for free— https://yadi.sk/d/c0A22sBs3ReiFh

Installation and use are as simple as doors. To partition a disk, you need to do everything the same as in the example above without programs. As you can see, it is of no use, in my opinion, and it is better to do everything as in the example above, without downloading anything.