Best Free Partition Manager

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Last Update: Mon, 09/07/2009 - 18:37 — allheart55

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Introduction

Having partitions in a hard disk works like having different hard disks.

If your computer has unallocated space on a hard disk, you can create additional partitions from the unallocated space after logging on as an administrator. If a hard disk space is fully allocated, unallocated space can be generated if the size of a partition is reduced or a partition is deleted.

One of the main objectives of having partitions in a hard disk is for separation of user files from operating system files. By keeping user files in a separate partition from another that hosts the operating system, user files can usually remain intact if the operating system needs to be reinstalled.

These are other objectives for having partitions in a hard disk:

To prepare multi booting setup, allowing users to have more than one operating system on a single computer;
To keep frequently used data near each other or in a more organized manner;
To enhance overall computer performance as smaller file systems on separate partitions are more efficient;
To keep an area for virtual memory swapping or paging;
To protect files. In case a partition is corrupted, the data on other partitions may still be salvageable.

Some users may prefer Windows’ built-in Disk Management utility to manage partitions, but most average users will like third party or standalone partition managers, which are usually equipped with more features and easier to use in general.

Discussion

EASEUS Partition Master (Home Edition) is a good choice. It allows you to easily create, delete or format partitions with a simple step, resize and move partitions without erasing data, hide or unhide partitions in your hard drive. It also comes with a Copy Wizard to fast copy partitions or hard disks.

The program features an intuitive, user-friendly interface which makes disk partitioning an easier task, working straight from the Windows environment without the need to boot from a Live CD or a bootable disk.

For ease of use, the relevant task icons are automatically enabled when a related partition is selected.

EASEUS Partition Master works with different file systems and supports 1.5 TB hard disks. It can handle up to 32 hard disks with hardware RAID supports as well. The latest version adds new features such as convert FAT to NTFS file system and explore FAT/NTFS partitions.

The application is in all respects extremely similar to PowerQuest PartitionMagic, which was the benchmark in partition managers for many years, before the advent of Vista. Anyone familiar with PQ PartitionMagic can simply wade straight in as the GUI and all operations are essentially identical. However, a major drawback is that Easeus free edition has no boot manager, so it can probably only be used for data partitions. There is no way to dual-boot or select an alternative partition to boot from, unless the app is installed in each partition, which may not be possible, and is a bad choice in any case.

The main downside to EASEUS Partition Master Free is that it doesn't allow you to create a recovery CD. That feature is only available in the commercial versions.

Another alternative is Paragon Partition Manager Express which offers three basic tasks: create a partition, resize partitions and build recovery media.

This program includes a wizard to create a new partition in the appropriate place of your hard disk, format it to NTFS and make it available in the system by assigning a drive letter. It also has a wizard to increase free space on one partition by up-taking the unused space of an adjacent partition of your hard disk.

Backup an entire hard disk or separate partitions is supported.

However, this free program does not offer to delete a partition, which is a basic task as well. Upon installation of the program, it requires you to register to get a free serial number.

To recover lost partitions, you might want to try TestDisk, which is a console application designed for data recovery. The free program can be used to fix partition table, recover deleted partitions or copy files from deleted partitions. Other features include recover or rebuild NTFS or FAT boot sector, fix FAT tables, undelete files from the file systems, etc.

Other Partition Managers

These are a number of other free partition managers which were brought up in comments here or noted from other sources. As they are not rated in this review, I am listing them here with brief descriptions and links to their sites for ease of reference.

Parted Magic is based on Linux OS. It employs core programs of GParted and GNU Parted to handle partitioning tasks and can be run from a live CD, DVD or USB flash drive. GParted is used for creating, deleting, resizing, moving, checking and copying partitions. One of the popular reasons for using GParted is to resize a partition to make room for a Linux installation or multiple versions of Windows.

Partition Logic allows you to create, delete, format, defragment, resize, move partitions and modify their attributes. It is based on the Visopsys operating system, booting from a CD or floppy disk and running as a standalone system, independent of your regular operating system.

Cute Partition Manager is using DOS interface to add, edit, delete and manage the partitions in your computer, but merging or resizing existing partitions is not supported.

Ranish Partition Manager is a hard disk partitioning tool to create, copy, and resize primary and extended partitions. It includes command line interface and simulation mode that works with large files.

Notes

Number of partitions: A hard disk configured as a basic disk is limited to 4 primary partitions, or 3 primary partitions and 1 extended partition that can contain multiple logical drives.

Basic disk: A basic disk is a physical disk that contains primary partitions, extended partitions, or logical drives. Partitions and logical drives on basic disks are also known as basic volumes.

Primary partition: A primary partition can be created on a hard drive that can host an operating system and functions as though it were a physically separate hard drive.

Extended partition: An extended partition is a container that can hold one or more logical drives, which function like primary partitions except that they cannot be used to start an operating system like Windows.

Have Your Say

You are invited to share and discuss your views in our freeware forum. To post in the forum you need to register first but that's quick and immediate. Alternatively, anyone can leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

Please help us by rating this review

Quick Selection Guide

EASEUS Partition Master (Home Edition)
		Intuitive and user-friendly interface, features include resize, move, copy, create, delete, hide, unhide, convert, explore and format partitions with a single step, etc.
		A wizard is included for copying partitions and hard disks only. No recovery CD.
		http://www.partition-tool.com/personal.htm
		http://www.partition-tool.com/download.htm
		8.80 MB 3.5 Free for home users Windows 2000-Vista (32 bit)

Paragon Partition Manager Express
		Wizards to create, resize and format partitions. Backup entire hard disk or separate partitions.
		Feature to delete partitions is not included. Require to register to get a free serial number.
		http://www.paragon-software.com/home/pm-express/
		http://www.paragon-software.com/home/pm-express/download.html
		98.6 MB 9.0 Free for home users Windows 2000-Vista (32 bit)

Editor

This software category is maintained by volunteer editor allheart55

Tags

partition manager, free partition manager, freeware, free partition, disk partition, disc partition

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#1Submitted by oblivion on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 16:12.

Armed with a shiny new PC with a 250Gb C: drive and a new XP install, I decided I'd repartition it before I did anything much else.

Now, I'd rather use a boot CD; it avoids having to install anything in the target machine, for one thing, and since most of us aren't likely to repartition our systems twice a week for the foreseeable future, it seems like a fair choice.

So I tried Parted Magic. Based on mature software, by the look of things, and those linux types are often real perfectionists, can't fail.

Can it?

Simple intention: I wanted 40Gb for C: and the rest for everything that doesn't need to be embedded directly in Windows.

In use, it was straightforward, seemed feature-rich, Parted worked much like the late, lamented Partition Magic.

Reboot at the end. Nope. Can't mount the C: drive. Reloaded Parted Magic, went looking, it reported great big errors that suggested that it'd rewritten the new size into the partition table but not actually resized the partition to match.

So I found a partition recovery tool I had lying around (partitionrecovery.iso, can't remember where I got it) blew it to a CD, booted from it and it sorted things out.

Despite some of the warnings I'd seen here about Easeus and my own prejudices relating to having to install it before use, I tried that next. Worked first time (although it failed to shut the machine down at the end of the process even though it said it would: it sat at "...in 1 second" for half an hour while I summoned up the courage to hit the off switch. For that reason, I can't give it full marks -- but definitely 4/5.

All of this stuff should be prefixed: fiddling with partitions should not be attempted without the tools you need to recover if things go horribly wrong. Backups, disk fixers you trust, anything else you can think of. I only nearly had to reinstall Windows from scratch; worse could happen to you.

#2Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 09/28/2009 - 16:37.

While preparing for a clean XP install I mistakenly wiped out my partition table, [SATA Drive], & lost 3 other drive partitions. Have not yet reinstalled XP on the drive. I know my C drive partition was 40 Meg in size. Would it be easier to reinstall XP first ? What is the easiest program to get my 3 other drive partitions back ?
Thanks in advance !

#3Submitted by Ahmad on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 12:27.

Thanks for valiable information. Kep up the good work.
NOTE: your tile says FREE !!!

#4Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 08/07/2009 - 08:49.

EASEUS Partition Master is the best partition manager that i have used. It is not only free, but also operations are easy to complete. The 4.0 new features enlarge partition without reboot is quite useful. gold medal product

#5Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 07/21/2009 - 05:08.

Partition Wizard Home Edition is a free partition manager designed by MT Solution Ltd. It supports 32/64 bit Windows Operating System including Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. Home users can perform complicated partition operations by using this powerful but free partition manager to manage their hard disk partition such as Resizing partitions, Copying partitions, Create partition, Delete partition, Format partition, Convert partition, Explore partition, Hide partition, Change drive letter, Set active partition and Partition Recovery.

http://www.partitionwizard.com

#6Submitted by Jojoyee on Tue, 07/21/2009 - 12:15.

Thanks for the info.

#7Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 07/23/2009 - 20:07.

Yes partition wizard looks excellent - has partition recovery and wipe features as well & works with 64 bit amazing!

#8Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 07/28/2009 - 01:20.

Does it support Linux partitions?
Or at least igmore them properly?

#9Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 06/06/2009 - 03:34.

Forgive my newbiness here, but for which operating systems do you need 3rd party software in order to partition a drive? < XP? I know Vista allows you to manage partitions, I assume Windows 7 will..

#10Submitted by Jojoyee on Sat, 06/06/2009 - 04:24.

Thanks for comments. I think the last paragraph in the Introduction provides some explanations. Hope this helps.

#11Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 17:36.

Sorry the link didn't come out right, here's the link:

www.ghacks.net/2009/05/02/free-paragon-software-special-editions/

#12Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 17:35.

I use Paragon Partition Manager Special Edition 2009.
Go here-http://www.ghacks.net/2009/05/02/free-paragon-software-special-editions/ Read the description, it explains everything...

#13Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 05/19/2009 - 10:45.

easeus partition master 3.5 is showing my recovery partition but when i try to use my recovery tool it cant find it any help please.

#14Submitted by mjt328 on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 17:53.

There's a new version of Paragon's basic disk partition software now available from vnunet.com. It's Paragon Partition Manager 10 Express, and "is designed for home users who just want to create or re-size existing partitions. [It]doesn’t contain much more functionality, although it does ship with recovery disc builder, so you can fix your machine if you experience problems partitioning a drive."

You can read more about it and download it here: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/downloads/2240880/paragon-partition-manager

#15Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 04/18/2009 - 19:30.

How come EASEUS Partition Master (Home Edition) and Paragon Partition Manager Express is not free for 64-bit users? I hate that as I am running on a 64-bit system at home, which most users with a new PC does. :-(

So... what is the best freeware partition manager for 64-bit users?

#16Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 07/20/2009 - 08:09.

Partition Wizard Home Edition v4.0 could support 64-bit Windows. And it is also free.

www.partitionwizard.com

#17Submitted by paulhaag on Sat, 06/06/2009 - 02:17.

Good question. What is the best freeware partition manager for 64-bit users? Is there a freeware 64-bit partition manager at all? Maybe there isn't one!

#18Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 00:12.

64 bits is not going to improve the performance of a partition manager. so, you could use a standalone solution instead of your 64 bit OS. Some like cute are mentioned here. The UBCD for Windows (ultimate boot CD for Windows) includes the Easeus Partition Manager on their self booting CD. Its saved my jewels a few times.

Lets face it, this isn't one of those activities that benefits greatly from a GUI OS, except in the situations where the partitioning activity can run in the background. The results are the same regardless of how you partition the drive or what OS environment does the work.

#19Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/17/2009 - 02:45.

Be careful with Paragon Hard Disk Manager 8.5. I have an Acer 3680 laptop with a restore partition. The Paragon software claimed my Vista Home Basic NTFS C partition was not formatted at all. EASEUS 3.5 had no problem reading the partition characteristics properly. EASEUS cased some angst on resizing partitions when Vista wouldn't boot after the resize was completed. You end up in the Vista recovery process. Run the recovery process. Do NOT restore to any previous restore point when it asks you to. Once the recovery process is completed you'll be able to boot back into Vista again, at which point Vista will install a generic driver of some type and tell you to reboot the system again. All is well after this final reboot. I resized both my C and D partitions and it happened with each one of them.

#20Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 17:27.

To Number #2,

You saved my HD. My 1TB WD HD suddenly lost it partition. All my academic papers and stuff were on that disk (No, I didn't have any backup). I thought I'm going to die. I've downloaded Test Disk and in seconds, my computer was like new.

Thanks a lot!

p.s – in order to do that, you have to connect your HD to another computer, download test disk and run it from that computer’s HD.

#21Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/13/2009 - 02:53.

This freeware is great, but it can only be used on my old 32-bit machine, while can not support my new IBM, so I decide to purchase the Professional Edition, when I read their page, I found a discount 20% code page,
http://www.easeus.com/resource/easeus-discount.htm
and indeed it available, saving $8, I'm just puzzling why they discount directly for us?
Whatever, it's a great partition management software.

#22Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 04/04/2009 - 15:24.

i just went to a new pc this week. made all the backups to an external hdd. when I thought to restore the backed-up documents and favorites, I plugged the USB 3.5 drive only to find all partition information was gone, so plugging it to the new notebook only resulted in a "do you want to format the HDD?" greeting.

none of the tools mentioned here really allow recovering the partition table easily, but i found this little gem: test disk. It's a command line program, but does the job perfectly. scan, verify, write partition table, reboot. Done. All four partitions on the external HDD appear to be back to normal.

#23Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/07/2009 - 04:07.

How did you compile it to work on Windows? Thanks

#24Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 03/20/2009 - 20:22.

Regarding the article notes: you can install Linux-based operating systems (i.e. my Xubuntu installation) to the extended partition - you just can't install Windows to the extended partition.

#25Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 05/20/2009 - 17:47.

You CAN install Windows on a logical drive in an extended partition. Only windows boot files need to be on a primary partition.

#26Submitted by Jojoyee on Sat, 03/21/2009 - 03:15.

Many thanks for the feedback.

#27Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 10:56.

Great site, very helpful information. Question: I got the free Paragon 8.5, but it is claiming that I have 2 TB present on an 80 GB disk...? I looked this up on the net and I am not the only one with the problem, see here: http://www.itreviews.co.uk/software/s506.htm. Have any of you guys found this, and can I use the program with confidence? Thanks.

#28Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 01:45.

Hey guys,
all the FREE partition managers mentioned above do NOT work with 64bit VISTA. Can someone please suggest a free program that works with vista 64bit edition?

#29Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 02/26/2009 - 05:20.

Used Norton Ghost and Norton Partition Manager for years? but recently they are bugging me.

I try to clone an old hard disk to a new one, but the pal.dll file keeps coming out flawed. Maybe this is due to having to pull out the old hardddisk before booting, maybe not.

Do any of the recommended PM's permit to do this in a quick and dirty way, i.e.
(1) install the new disk
(2) click a button (possibly after having booted from the PM CD)
(3) follow instructions and boot up on the new hard disk
-> no problems whatsoever, I just get the new disk with the "c:" drive and it WORKS

#30Submitted by dollyp on Sat, 02/14/2009 - 20:50.

Do any of these products allow for converting a NTFS formatted HD to FAT32 without data loss?

I've just put a NTFS formatted HD into an external Digimate-type enclosure and it won't read it, I assume because it only sees FAT32.

Regards

David

#31Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 21:36.

YES!
Paragon Hard Disk Manager 8.5 SE can do this with no problem!
This feature is rare even among partition managers you pay for, and unheard of in free offerings.

Yet the moderator of this category has for some reason chosen to not place this program in the QuickLink section, so you'll have to search through this page to find the information about it. Right now, it's post # 6.

- Bruce Fraser

#32Submitted by chris.p on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 10:46.

This category has no editor at present.

chris.p

#33Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 01:24.

The best way is to back up the data and then reformat. Partition Magic may do the conversion, but it can become "Partition Tragic". Source: http://faq.arstechnica.com/link.php?i=1820

#34Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 01/21/2009 - 22:01.

I've used several versions of Partition Magic over the years and recently have been using Paragon Hard Disk Manager 8.5SE. All worked well and I've created, moved and resized lots of partitions without a problem.

Following recommendation here, I downloaded Easeus, followed the instructions carefully - and it trashed my C: drive. Now trying to recover it...

Take a look at the Easeus forum and you'll see that I'm not alone. By any means. Poor, unreliable product - stick to Paragon.

#35Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/22/2009 - 09:42.

I use version 1.6.4 which is excellent. I tried newer versions and didn't like them because you can't use them as portable (from some liveCD)

#36Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 01/13/2009 - 16:30.

Thanks to post #11 for the links.

Also thanks for pointing out the Paragon partition programme. Which I just downloaded and installed for free. I registered with them and they then sent me a registration key but it didn't cost me a penny, so thanks for that.

#37Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 12/08/2008 - 14:09.

For a limited time (no end date given), Paragon Hard Disk Manager 8.5 SE (Special Edition) is available for FREE: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/downloads/2229498/paragon-hard-disk-manager....

I don't know how these people at VnuNet snag all these great freebies, but this one is excellent.

Features of this version:
- all the usual: create, delete, move, resize, format partitions.
- Format many different formats: FAT 16/32, NTFS, HFS (Mac), various Linux formats, and more
- Convert FAT32 to NTFS, *AND* NTFS to FAT32 (this is very rare in general; unheard of in free programs)
- Can do limited partition imaging. "Limited" being it can restore only the entire image, not pull out individual files the way that Acronis True Image can.
- Windows-based. The GUI (graphical user interface) is much easier to understand than programs which use a command line. Some functions it will perform at the next reboot.

#38Submitted by rangergord on Wed, 02/11/2009 - 14:35.

Paragon Hard Disk Manager 8.5 SE (Special Edition) with XP Pro SP3.
Downloaded and installed Paragon free and seems to work fine EXCEPT it doesn't recognize one of my drives properly. I have a SATA system with an IDE/ATA feature with an IDE/ATA Maxtor 200GB drive. In all other apps like WInXP's Computer Management, Windows Explorer, the extensive System Information for Windows, and even EASEUS Partition Manager 3.0 Home Edition the drive is recognized as an NTFS drive with no indication of a problem. All except Paragon. Doesn't give me much confidence. Any ides?

Also tried Paragon's boot CD and it too doesn't recognize that same drive???

#39Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 12/11/2008 - 03:00.

It's not free!!!!!!!!!!

#40Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 12/08/2008 - 17:30.

I second that.

#41Submitted by Jojoyee on Tue, 12/09/2008 - 14:37.

It has been specifically mentioned that it is a full commercial application and not freeware. Therefore, it will not be included in this review. In any way, thanks for the info.

#42Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 02:21.

I'm the one who made the original post.

Clearly you do not understand the nature of VnuNet.com, how they operate. As I mentioned, they get software publishers to let them post their FULLY functional COMMERCIAL software... FOR FREE!
Actually, several computer magazines from the UK regularly have discs in the magazines with the same kind of thing: usually a slightly older version of their software for free, as a promotion to upgrade to their newest version.

BUT THIS IS FREE!!

And, like I said, it's better than any of the other software in this list. So please go back and have a closer look.

Bruce Fraser.

#43Submitted by Jojoyee on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 07:51.

Thanks Bruce Fraser for your info and returning visit.

Under certain conditions, some software applications are given free. However, if the applications are declared as fully commercial and not freeware, I feel sorry that they will not be included for review following the general guidelines of this site.

Moreover, the application offered by the website you mentioned does not allow third party to host or link directly to their download.

#44Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 13:51.

0,00 € is free for me... why are we playing with the words ? This site is about free software and HDM 8.5 SE is free !

#45Submitted by peter on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 11:14.

Jojoyee,

This issue isn't quite as clear-cut as you might think.
You have to understand that we continuously monitor the effectiveness of this site, and our guidelines and policies may simply change(slowly).
Our current thinking is that there is no "problem at all mentioning paid software in our reviews provided the reference is informative and provided freeware solutions remains the principal focus".

But having said that, you, the Editor of this Category, have the right to decide what is reviewed, and what appears under your name.

#46Submitted by Jojoyee on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 14:31.

Hi Peter,

Many thanks for the message. In the next update, I will include "Paragon Hard Disk Manager 8.5 SE" brought up by Bruce Fraser with a link back to the site providing the software.

This will be helpful for interested site visitors to check out further details from there.

#47Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 12/09/2008 - 20:59.

Check url provided, 8.5 SE is free and fully functional. Better than Express versions.

#48Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 12/04/2008 - 02:51.

Yes! I've been waiting for this site to create a comparison of partition software for a while now! My old copy of Partition Magic 7 doesn't work too well with today's SATA drives, and while creating a GParted CD worked well for me, I appreciate the details behind other recommended options. Thank you, Joyoyee.

For everyone who is considering partitioning their hard drive, or who is new to partitioning, I would say that the RADIFIED Hard Drive Partitioning Strategies guide is required reading. Here, you will find how partitioning works, and information to decide what partitioning strategy is best for you.

#49Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 00:13.

Oh, so much information everywhere about partitioning software, but at last someone (Thank you anonymous, for the Radified link)has realised that newbys like me need to know how and why.
Thank you. The Guv.

#50Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 12/01/2008 - 17:02.

Easeus partition manager Home edition.
The only thing you can say Brilliant a must have, now on version 3

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Best Free Partition Manager

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