14 DAY TRIAL // AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional Edition is an all-around application that integrates simple-to-handle options for disk and partition management. It can be used as an alternative to the built-in Windows utility for processing this kind of tasks.
Those interested in creating and resizing partitions, expanding their size or merging multiple drives may resort to this program's user-friendly approach. It performs speedy jobs and features a queue for applying multiple operations at once.
The professional edition of AOMEI Partition Assistant can be normally purchased for $13 / €9.53 (temporarily discounted from $49 / €39.9). Meanwhile, the demo version restricts all types of operations to disks with a maximum size of 100MB, including partition size adjustment. Installation does not take a long time and is carried out in a few simple steps.
The program is wrapped in a clear-cut interface, which has been improved since its previous review. Although they are mainly geared towards experienced computer users, most tasks that can be performed in Partition Assistant are accessible through intuitive wizards, significantly reducing the entire workload.
Furthermore, Partition Assistant enables users to allocate free space from the selected partition to any other one, or to create a new volume by establishing its size, drive letter, label, file system, and flag. Partitions may also be copied using two methods: quick mode processes the drive's used space and permits resizing during this time, while sector-by-sector mode copies all used and unused sectors to another disk, in the attempt of reproducing an image as close to the original as possible.
As it was previously mentioned, intuitive wizards are available for some task types. For example, partitions can be extended in size. Apart from enlarging any type of drive, it is possible to expand only the one where Windows is installed. Moreover, the entire disk can be copied to another location using the quick or sector-by-sector copy method, the OS can be migrated to SSD or HDD, while partitions may be recovered from any selected disk.
Although it is not obvious at a first glance, users are able to perform tasks related to the entire disk as well. Aside from copying and wiping data, the disk may be submitted for a surface test, as well as converted from MBR to GPT or vice versa. The utility can also rebuild the MBR to repair or add boot code (supports Windows from XP until 8).
The Good
Bootable USB drives and images can be created for Windows 8 from the OS installation file, while hard disks with a 4096 bytes sector size are fully supported. Plus, it is possible to align partitions for SSD optimization when it comes to creating, copying, resizing, moving or splitting drives.
Tasks are carried out pretty quickly, while CPU and RAM usage remains within normal levels. Evidently, it is advisable to postpone any other activities while Partition Assistant is busy. The PC can be set to automatically power off once all tasks are done.
The Bad
As far as partition management is concerned, the application does not integrate options for defragmenting drives or cloning the entire disk. User access cannot be limited via password protection.
Some buttons pertaining to other AOMEI applications online are visible throughout the interface, even after the program's registration.
The Truth
NOTE: Aomei is giving away an unlimited number of free keys for AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional Edition, until next Friday, January 10. They are lifetime licenses, free for home and commercial use. Click this page to follow instructions.
The campaign is over.
