Disk Partitioning
Partitioning Primer
Partitioning tools
You can perform simple partitioning tasks using the tools that come with Windows, but to make best use of partitions there are a number of third-party tools available. These tools each allow you to do one or more of the following tasks:
- Create and delete partitions
- Format partitions
- Copy partitions
- Re-size and shift existing partitions without losing data
- Convert partitions from one file-system to another
- Change the number of blocks per cluster
- Merge and split partitions
- ark partitions hidden or visible
- Select which partition to boot from at start-up
- Create and restore partition images (stored as compressed files)
There is, however, no one product which does all these things, so it's important to decide what you need most, and pick the product which suits best. If you want all possible features be prepared to buy more than one product.
Working in DOS mode
Modifying partitions can only be done if no programs are reading or writing files on those partitions, so the safest way to ensure this is to run these tools in a single-task operating system such as DOS. All the tools reviewed can run under DOS or an equivalent, booted for the purpose. Some of them only run in this mode, while some can perform certain tasks in Windows, in which case they may force a special re-boot to complete their operations.
The ways in which the different tools handle this issue can be seen in the comparison table on the next page.
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