14 DAY TRIAL // Partitioning your hard drive in order to accommodate all the stored files in an organized manner is definitely not a daily task for any user. The truth is that most of them generally do this operation at each acquisition of a hard drive, and then forget about it. This is normal behavior considering that the process of disk partitioning is one of the least frequent when working with a computer.
However, today's tools provide us with an easy and effective way of slicing the hard disks in whatever way we like, and even of physically moving the drives to different areas of the disk. And, to give you more incentive, you should know that there are even free tools able to complete the job quickly, painlessly and with minimum input from the user.
EASEUS Partition Manager Home Edition, for instance, brings you the benefits of the old Partition Magic (now known as Norton Partition Magic) and something on the side. It is a free software designed specifically to help you with dicing a hard disk to your needs and liking.
The moment you start the application, you can clearly see that the interface and its design are not at all among its strong suits. Judging strictly by its aesthetics, this version of EASEUS Partition Manager is torn from an older operating system, and has nothing in common with the shiny visuals in Vista. Truth be told, there is nothing visually appealing about the window, starting from the colors, and ending with the font used and the general presentation of the information.
Then again, at the opposite pole, you have functionality, which is ubiquitous. The app lets you easily manage all the operations available from the both the toolbar, as well as from the side panel or even from the disk map and partition list. All elements are at hand, making choosing the desired drive and modifying it according to your wishes quite a cinch.
From the drop-down menus in the side panel, users can choose to complete operations like creating a new partition, resizing and moving an existing one, or even deleting it altogether. If you think about moving the data on the drives to be processed, you don't really have to worry because the application can perfectly finish the job without affecting stored files. But just to be on the safe side, it is best to perform a backup of all the information before engaging in slicing and dicing, or moving the partition.
Unfortunately, this undertaking has to be performed with a different tool because EASEUS does not come prepared with a backup utility.
Resizing a partition is like a walk in the park, even if you have absolutely no experience. All you need to do is select the desired drive, choose “Resize/Move Partition,” and specify the new parameters. You can either type the values manually in any of the fields available (unallocated space before, partition size and unallocated space after), or simply drag by the graphical representation until the desired size is achieved. Mind that changing one value will automatically affect the others, so that means that you do not have to deal with all the fields.
Immediately after all the new settings are done, the software will lock the specified drive and record the change. However, no change will take effect until after you will have approved it, so you can continue with your work undisturbed.
The flexibility of the program allows you to set several operations, which means that you don't have to make the changes one by one (unless they affect the same drive). If nothing too complicated like moving the partition from its original spot on the hard disk to another is involved, no computer restart is required.
Right clicking on one of the items in the drive list gives you access to basically the same functions available in the side panel, but you will notice that an “Advanced” section is also present, to complete the list of options of the application. This menu allows you to change a drive's letter, make it invisible in Windows environment, and even to check it for errors.
This last function can perform a bad sector test and call on Windows' CHDISK utility to fix the baddies. It's nothing complicated and, frankly, given all the technological improvements brought to hard disks today, the option is a bit useless (I truly can't recall the last time I saw a bad sector on one of my hard disks, and only God knows the horrors they've been through).
Although this is the free version of the Partition Manager, it also comes equipped with the means of protecting all your settings and of preventing others from messing around with your drives. You are assisted by a password in this task, which can be easily set from the General menu of the interface.
Tool menu sports a great feature, Create Bootable Disk but, sadly, it is not available in the free version of the software, and only Professional, Server and Ultimate Editions enjoy the privilege of including it.
Regardless of the operating system you are using (Vista or XP), EASEUS Partition Manager Home Edition will come very in handy when partitioning your disks. Although Vista brings you all the basics for the same task via its Disk Management applet, it will not provide you with the means to alter a drive's position on the disk, to hide it completely or even to handle the operations that easily.
The Good
The application allows for the accomplishment of multiple tasks, and no restart is needed for the less complicated ones. Users can make entire partitions with data on them invisible in Windows environment, allowing them to protect the information included.
If near unallocated space, partitions can be moved on the disk, offering users the possibility of redistributing unused room on the disk.
The Bad
You can only undo either the last change or all of them, with no option being available for something in the middle.
There is no backup option present although, to be on the safe side, it is best to protect the files on the handled drive one way or another.
The Truth
A complete help file and user guide cater all the details about a task or operation.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
