Ranish Partition Manager

Ranish Partition Manager is a simple application that runs in command line mode and allows you to create multiple partitions on your hard drive.

For those who are familiar with the command line interface, using Ranish Partition Manager is not inconvenient at all. Moreover, it still works on recent operating systems, such as Windows 7, so compatibility issues are not a problem.

The obvious drawback is that you can only use your keyboard to operate this application. Nevertheless, it is easy to use, as you can easily create, copy, and resize primary and extended partitions on your hard drive in no time.

The software automatically detects the number of hard disks on your system and their size, as well as the number of cylinders, heads and sectors.

You have seven slots at your disposal to create multiple partitions. When selecting a new slot, the partitioning wizard guides you through the creating process.

First, you have to select the file system type, by choosing between FAT-16, FAT-32, Extended, BeOS, Linux or Linux Swap. Thus, this small program can help you install and boot Linux and multiple copies of Windows on your computer.

Once you do this, you can set the desired parameters, such as size, starting and ending cylinders. For each partition you create, several options are available. You can set the drive number, its minimum and maximum size, as well as the partition size.

Using the keyboard, you can select the file system or rapidly clear an existing record.

If there is any problem, such as partitions overlapping or invalid information, a small box appears to notify you.

All these operations are made in simulation mode, allowing you to safely experiment before actually partition your hard drive. Ranish Partition Manager allows you to format the created partitions at a later moment, which is really useful, as it does not alter the integrity of your system in any way.