Programs for hdd windows 10 in Russian. Hard drive partitioning program

The hard drive in your computer and the drive icon in the My Computer window are different concepts. For example, your computer may have one HDD, 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:

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.
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.
Manufacturers of laptops (and some computers from famous manufacturers such as Acer) have their own reason for dividing sections hard drive: on a partition 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.
Operating Windows systems 7 and Windows 8, 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.
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:

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.
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.
Each partition can have its own file system. IN this moment to install Windows Vista, 7 and 8, you can only use NTFS, and outdated Windows XP can install on disks with file system FAT32. However, I do not recommend doing this, as it imposes too many restrictions. Make all partitions in NTFS - everything will work as it should.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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) using special programs with the participation of specialists, but it is best to save all of it in advance important information to other disks (not logical, but real disks) 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 Windows versions, the capabilities of this program change a little, 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:

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.
Opening Control Panel - Administration - Computer management - Disk management.
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:

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.
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.
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 standard Windows programs 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.

We 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.

We talked about how to create a bootable AOMEI PE Builder Live CD. In this article I decided to tell you how to partition a hard drive. using Windows And free program AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition.

Why share a hard drive at all? Many laptops and computers are sold with an unbroken hard drive, i.e. exists on disk only one sectionC: for the system and data and additional service sections for programs from laptop manufacturers.

There is a saying: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” The same is the case with your hard drive in a computer, where your operating system (Windows XP, 7, 8, 10) and your data (documents, photos, music, movies and other data) stored on one partition Your disk. This is not good, because if there is an error on the C: partition (C: drive), all data on this partition is at risk, including your data. Secondly, when transferring Windows installation, if you have only one partition, you need to rewrite all your data from this partition to another place, which takes considerable time if the volume is large and there is not always an external hard drive or a large flash drive where this data can be rewritten. And thirdly, it is always convenient to have two or more partitions (disks) for separation systems and data. In this article, I will tell you and show you how to divide your hard drive into two partitions (drive C and drive D). There is no particular difficulty in this, but you need to be careful, as there is a risk of losing data, but there is always a risk of losing in our lives but if you read this article to the end, everything will become clear even to a child. But it will be better if you create a data backup in advance, as I described how to do this. So let's get started...

How to partition a hard drive using meansWindows

Friends, to partition a hard drive using Windows you need to go to “ Computer management" In Windows 8, to do this, right-click in the lower left corner of the screen and select “ Disk management»

In Windows 7, go to the menu “ Start" and right-click on “ Computer" and in the context menu select " Control", then select " Disk management»

The window “ Disk management" We see that the hard drive of our computer (laptop) is divided into partitions. IN in this case into two partitions: system-reserved (350 MB), which contains Windows boot files, and system partition C: (24 GB), on which Windows is installed.

Your disk may be divided into three or even four partitions (depending on the laptop model), this does not change the essence, since these partitions are most likely inaccessible to you and are used for utility programs of laptop manufacturers.

We are interested in section C: (marked in red in the photo), we must divide it (split) into two parts (section C: and section D:)

Don’t be surprised that in the photo I have a small hard drive (25 GB), since I am showing the whole process on a virtual machine where a hard drive of this size is installed, while for you all actions will take place on a physical computer or laptop. But this does not change the process of partitioning the hard drive. All pictures are clickable.

Right-click on section C: and select “ Compress volume...»

The system polls the hard disk volume to determine the space for compression

In the next window indicate the size compressible space in MB, that is, we indicate how much we will compress the partition so that we can then allocate this space for a new disk partition and press the button “ Compress" We mean that the size of the compressed space is indicated in MB (megabytes), so if you want, for example, to create a new partition of 250 GB (gigabytes), then multiply this figure by 1024 (in 1 GB - 1024 MB), we get 250 * 1024 = 256000 MB.

We also take into account that the system may not give us so much space, since it is already occupied by data.

And further: standard means management Windows disks they may become “stubborn” and not give as much space as you “ask” for, although you have it free. This can be caused by a number of reasons, one of which is fragmentation of data on this partition. In this case, you need to use special programs disk management, one of which I am describing Further In this article. Let's read, don't get distracted :)

After compressing the partition, we see that now we have partition C: it has become smaller and additional unallocated space has appeared...

Now we need to create a partition from this unallocated space; to do this, right-click on it and select “ Create a simple volume...»

The Simple Volume Creation Wizard window appears, in which we click “ Further»

We indicate the size of our volume in MB and click “ Further»

Note:

We assign a letter to our new partition (disk). Click " Further»

Let's format our new section with the option " Quick formatting", click " Further»

We see that the wizard has completed creating the volume (partition) with the parameters that we set at the beginning.. Click the button “ Ready»

We see our two partitions in the disk management window: the reduced partition C: and the new partition E:

Voila! Let's go to " My computer"and we see our created additional disk

This is how you can partition a hard drive using Windows, but this method is not always suitable or does not always work properly, so we will look at another option for managing hard drives, this is the multifunctional and free program AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition. With it we will do the same thing and in addition I will show its other main functions.

How to partition a hard drive with a free program

To install the program AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition, go to the official website of the program: and click “ DownloadFreeware»

Click the button " Download Now»

The program will begin downloading to your computer. After downloading, run this file to install

Installing the program is simple, see the screenshots (pictures are clickable)…

To scroll through the pictures, click " Back" or " Forward»

After installation, run the program AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition

We see that the C: partition (C: drive) is large and you can “unfasten” the second partition from it. Usually for drive C: a partition of 60-150 GB is enough, I usually leave 80 GB.

Now what are we going to do. We will shrink the C: drive (change the partition), and use the freed up space for a new partition (D: drive). What do we need for this? This program and bubble and mindfulness.

So, right-click on section C: and select “ Resize partition»

Enter a new partition size. To do this, “grab” the right circle of the section with the left mouse button and move it to the left... Or indicate the size of the section in numbers in the field “ Partition size»

About the same as in the photo below. I changed the size of partition C: to 80 GB. Click " OK»

Now in the main program window we see that our disk has unallocated space for a new partition(s). Let's use this 🙂 and create a new partition in this disk space. To do this, right-click on the unallocated space and select “ Creating a section»

We indicate the size of our new partition, the program by default offers all the free space, select the drive letter and click “ OK»

Note: If you want to create more than one partition, then indicate the desired partition less than the recommended maximum, and use the rest of the space for one more partition.

To apply all these actions, you need to click the " Apply»

The window “ Deferred operations", where the program shows what operations it will perform on our hard drive before reaching the final result. If you agree with the actions of the program, click " Go»

The program requires a reboot, agree and click “ Yes»

Well, did you like it? free version programs AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition?. I like it. In addition to the fact that the program can divide disks, I will list a number of its main functions:

Migration operating system to SSD/HDD drives;
Increase, change, move, merge sections;
Copying a disk/partition;
Creating, deleting, formatting partitions;
Creating a bootable CD;
MBR recovery;
Convert from MBR to GPT disk and back without data loss;
Partition recovery;
Disk surface testing;
Aligning partitions and speeding up disks, especially SSD disks;
Converting the FAT/FAT32 file system to NTFS

The program supports all types of storage devices: HDD/SSD hard drives with MBR/GPT disk partition styles, RAID arrays, flash drives.

Here is my video on how to partition a hard drive using the free program AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition

Competition “Like - get a key”!

Friends, there is paid version programs, . In the paid version of the program, in addition to the standard functions described above, additional functions are available:

Converting a partition from primary to logical and vice versa;
Distributing free space from a partition to another partition;
Creating and working with dynamic disk partitions;
Convert a dynamic disk to a basic disk;
Changing the partition type;
Change serial number hard drive;
Free technical support

Full list on the page:

It just so happens that I have 3 license keys for the program AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro Edition cost 32 $ (near 1800 R. for May 2015) and I want to arrange for you contest and draw these keys among your readers!

The conditions of the competition are simple:

You need to click just below on one of the social networking buttons

In the comments, provide a link to your profile social network.

Summarizing:

June 6, 2015 I'll play these 3 Keys among those who clicked on one of the social buttons. networks (shared information about the draw) and showed this profile in the comments.

I will assign a serial number to each participant. The selection of winners will be determined randomly using a random number generator on the service www.randstuff.ru/number/ .

Each participant will accept no more than one “ Laika” on one social network. There will be three winners. Each person will receive one license key.

The winners of the competition will receive license keys for the program AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro Edition and will be able to fully use all the functions of this wonderful program. Well, have we started? Who is first? 🙂

Multilingual registered version!

Aomei Partition Assistant– a powerful program for working with a hard drive, administering partitions for PCs and workstations. The program will answer questions such as: “How to resize a partition or merge partitions without losing data? How to increase computer performance?” In addition, PA includes AOMEI Dynamic Disk Manager Pro (DDM), which means it has the ability to manage dynamic disk volume.

Torrent Hard disk partitioning - AOMEI Partition Assistant Technician Edition 6.6 RePack by KpoJIuK details:
Main features:
·Ability to expand the NTFS system partition without rebooting the computer to maximize computer performance and minimize downtime;
· Merging adjacent partitions into one large one without losing data, or merging unallocated space into a partition;
·Splitting one large partition into two or more partitions;
·Create as many partitions as you need without using free disk space;
·Copying partitions for Windows system migration or when backing up important data;
· Cloning a hard drive helps with updating it;
·Quickly distribute free space from one partition to another to fully utilize disk space.

New opportunities:
OS migration to SSD/HDD: For many SSD users, this simple technology can help migrate their OS to an SSD and keep the original system.
Partition recovery: Recover lost or deleted partitions in a few steps.
Partition alignment: acceleration of disks when reading and writing data, especially SSD disks.
·Creating bootable CDs: Performs secure management of disk partitions in WinPE mode and booting from CD/DVD, USB flash memory.
MBR Rewrite: overwriting from main boot disk to a damaged MBR hard drive for easy recovery.
·Conversion between GPT and MBR: Convert from GPT disk to MBR without data loss and vice versa.
·Control Linux partitions: creating, deleting, formatting, copying, destroying, restoring Ext2/Ext3 partitions.
·Changing the partition type (ID) and changing the serial number.

Changes in version 6.6:
Fully support exFAT file system, including create, delete, format, move, and copy exFAT partition.
·The Windows PE bootable media created on 64-bit system support both UEFI and Legacy BIOS boot modes.
·Remove the limitation to resize/move system boot partition in Windows 10, version 1703 and later.

Version Features:
·Type: installation [official installer]
·Languages: multi, there is Russian
·Treatment: carried out

Command line switches:
Quiet installation: /S /Q
Select installation location: /D=PATH

The /D=PATH parameter is specified last

Creating, deleting and formatting computer disk partitions is only part of the possibilities hard drive management applications. Today, they make it possible to securely perform operations that previously required data deletion or other mind-boggling combinations.

Many of the tasks performed through the Partition Manager can, in theory, be accomplished using Windows' built-in Disk Management tool. However, it is not as intuitive as the programs discussed here.

A good disk management application consists of several modules. They are used to create, delete and format partitions. Apart from these functions, they also have functions for copying and moving partitions, creating images and backups.

Additional modules support system migration, merging and splitting partitions. Supports various partition schemes, dynamic disks, RAID configurations, various systems files and boot records.

Attention! Whenever you work with hard drive partitions, you need to carefully plan everything, execute backup data, make sure you have selected the correct hard drive or partition before pressing Enter.

Attention! All operations carried out on partitions are fraught with risks. The editors recommend extreme caution and are not responsible for possible loss of data or other damage incurred by readers.

EaseUS Partition Master Disk Management

One of the most popular partition management programs hard drives on Windows. Ensures the allocation of new partitions without data loss.

Benefits of EaseUS Partition Master

Easy conversion of partition type, primary to logical and vice versa
Recovers deleted or non-existent partitions
Supported hard drive capacity up to 8 TB

Flaws

Inability to transfer data from HDD to SSD in the free version

License: freeware
Price: free

AOMEI Partition Assistant Disk Management

Also popular. Creates, divides, connects, copies hard drive partitions, changing their size, while saving files. System transfer is possible.

Benefits of AOMEI Partition Assistant

Convenient wizards for every operation
Supports all the most popular file systems
Displays accurate information about supported media
Allows you to create a bootable CD with the application

License: freeware
Price: free

Disk Management in GParted

A tool for managing computer hard drive partitions. Distributed as an ISO file. Install it on a flash drive or burn it to a CD and start your computer from it.

Benefits of GParted

Does not require installation and does not take up disk space
Attractive free offer for companies
Wide range of partition management capabilities for almost any file system

Flaws

Mastery takes time
Only available via Live CD

License: freeware
Price: free

MiniTool Partition Wizard

Performs all operations with hard disk partitions and also hides it. Copying the contents of the disk and changing the file system.

Advantages of MiniTool Partition Wizard

Lots of tools, including disk cleaning and checking
Convenient visual wizard for each operation
Allows you to convert NTFS to FAT32 without formatting, change the disk type from MBR to GPT

License: freeware
Price: free

Active@ Partition Manager

Performs operations on disk partitions. Formats the flash drive in FAT32 and NTFS. Fixes MBR disks. Converts MBR to GPT and vice versa.

Benefits of Active@ Partition Manager

Disk Imaging Tool
Convenient wizard for creating and changing partitions
Built-in boot sector editor, allows you to manually make changes
Shows data for hard drives

Flaws

English only

License: freeware
Price: free

While working with a personal computer, it may be necessary to change, add or delete hard disk partitions. If during the initial installation of Windows 7 the creation of partitions takes place interactively and is intuitive, then making changes to the created partitions requires a certain skill. Due to the lack of any experience in these matters, the user may incorrectly perform the necessary actions, which will subsequently lead to complete loss of data or even failure of the hard drive. The Disk Management utility will help facilitate the process of creating and changing disk partitions.

Disk Management utility and its functions

The Disk Management utility is a tool for performing various operations with hard drives and their partitions.

With its help you can:

create, delete, merge volumes on a disk;
compress volumes;
format volumes;
assign letters for volumes;
add volumes without rebooting;
manage local and remote disks on the network.

Opening Disk Management

There are several ways to launch the program.

Via the Start menu

Click on the “Start” menu and right-click on “Computer”. Select "Management".
Right-click on “Computer” and select “Manage”
In the “Computer Management” window that opens, click on “Disk Management”.
Select "Disk Management"
The Disk Management window will open.
Disk Management window

Via command line

Via "Control Panel"

Click on the “Start” menu and select “Control Panel”.
Click “Control Panel”
In the search bar, enter “administration” and click on the “Administration” section that appears.
Click on the “Administration” section
Select “Computer Management” from the list.
Select "Computer Management"
In the “Computer Management” window that opens, click on “Disk Management”.
Click on “Disk Management”

Why doesn't Disk Management open?

There are situations when the Disk Management console does not open or opens but the console window is blank and the warning “Could not connect to the Logical Disk Manager service” appears.

The reasons that caused this problem to appear may be different. To eliminate their influence on the disk management process, you must perform the following steps:

Conduct an anti-virus scan. Launch antivirus program It is recommended to do it from an optical disk or from a protected flash drive. After checking, open the “Quarantine” of the antivirus. If the dmdskmgr.dll library is in Quarantine, then return it to its place.
Run the command Rundll32 setupapi, InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 %windir%\inf\dmreg.inf through the Start menu and the Run window.
Go to “Control Panel” - “Administration” - “Services” and make sure that “Logical Disk Manager” and “Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service” are running. If they are stopped, then enable them.
Enter the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) menu. To do this, when turning on the computer, press Del, F2 or Esc (the choice of key depends on the computer manufacturer). If the launch panel does not contain information about the connected HDD, then check the connecting cables at the points of connection to the drive.

How to create a logical drive

The very first hard drives, first created by IBM in 1973, contained 30 cylinders, each of which was divided into 30 tracks. By analogy with automatic rifles using the .30–30 Winchester cartridge, such discs were called “Winchesters”. Over time, in colloquial speech the word “Winchester” was transformed into “screw”.

Most hard drives are sold already prepared for installing Windows, i.e. the main partition has already been created on them. The remaining operations are carried out during the system installation process. Installation is carried out from a bootable optical disk or USB device. At one of the installation stages, a window will appear asking you to select a space to install the system.

If the hard drive was not prepared for immediate installation of the system before going on sale, then all operations will have to be done by the user. This requires a bootable optical disk or USB stick.

Before installation, configure the BIOS (basic input/output system) to boot from a DVD or USB drive:

When forming a partition on a hard drive, all free space is used, and additional partitions are created after installing Windows 7.

If possible, it is better to use Windows PE boot, which has Acronis Disk Director or Partition Magic built-in. These utilities are designed to manage hard drive partitions.

Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) is used to prepare your computer for Windows installation. It is a built-in component of other system installation and recovery tools and is not intended to be used as a primary operating system.

If you don't have a bootable disk like Windows PE, you can:

The created logical drives must be formatted using the format.com utility. Now you can proceed to installing Windows 7.

Hard drive logical drive management

You can manage hard drive partitions through the context menu of each of them. They provide a set of commands necessary for work.

Compressing a Partition

The command to compress a logical drive is specified in the context menu.

Creating a section

A new partition is created in a free area of the hard drive that is not yet part of a formatted volume. At the bottom of the Disk Management console, this space is highlighted in bright green, and in the legend line it is indicated as “Free”.

Once the partition has been compressed, right-click on the unallocated space and select “Create simple volume” from the context menu.
Right-click on the unallocated space and select “Create simple volume” from the context menu
The “Create Simple Volume Wizard” will launch.
After launching the “Create a Simple Volume Wizard”, click “Next”
Specify the size of the new volume.
Specify the size of the new volume
Assign a letter (letter) to the disk.
Assign a letter to the disk
We decide on the file system, cluster size and volume label.
We format the partition.
We format the partition
In the last window, click on the “Finish” button and create a new logical drive.
Click on the “Finish” button

After reformatting, the volume is ready for use.

Changing the section letter

Merging sections

When there is a need to reduce the number of logical drives, two are merged into one joint logical drive. Before merging, the necessary information from the logical drive being removed is copied to another drive or removable media.

To merge one drive with another:

Select the volume that we want to attach and call the context menu. Click on “Delete Volume”.
Select the volume, call the context menu and click on “Delete Volume”
A message will appear in the window that appears indicating that all data on the volume will be deleted. Confirm deletion.
Confirm deletion
A partition with the status “Free” will appear in place of the deleted volume. Select it and select “Delete partition” in the context menu.
To attach an empty volume to the desired logical disk, right-click on the section to which the empty partition will be attached, and select “Extend volume” in the context menu.
Mark an empty volume and attach to the main volume

After the merger is complete, restart Windows 7 to avoid errors and information loss.

Video: Disk Management in Windows 7

Disk management programs

To manage disks, in addition to the standard Disk Management utility, there are several programs. They have become widespread due to their clear and user-friendly interface. Such programs include:

Acronis Disk Director is a program that provides management of logical disks and is responsible for servicing “hard drives”;
Provides logical disk management and is responsible for maintaining hard drives
Partition Magic is a program that has fewer functions compared to Acronis Disk Director. This utility is outdated and not supported by most manufacturers, but is included in the package software on old boot disks;
This utility is outdated and not supported by most manufacturers, but is included with the software on older boot disks
AOMEI Partition Assistant is a lesser-known program for working with hard drive partitions. One of the advantages of this program is the ability to convert the master boot record from MBR format to GPT format without losing information. This feature can be useful when migrating from Windows 7 to Windows 8, and is necessary for users working with these systems.
One of the advantages of this program is the ability to convert the master boot record from MBR format to GPT format without losing information

In addition to these utilities, you can find other developments on the Internet designed to work with hard drive partitions.

Despite all the variety of utilities for working with hard drives, it is better to choose one, study it and use it in your work, since incorrect use of programs can lead to the deletion of important data accumulated over many years of work. Restoring lost information will take a lot of time and effort, but may not lead to the desired result.