What is Partition Magic?
Partition Magic is a computer program for hard disk drive partitioning originally made by the PowerQuest corporation but now owned by Symantec. The program runs on Microsoft Windows operating systems (only 2000 and XP, not Vista) or from a bootable CD-ROM and enables creation and modification of partitions. Existing partitions can be resized without loss of data.
Partition Magic main window
Details about Partition Magic
Partition Magic is capable of resizing NTFS or FAT (16 or 32) partitions without data loss, and can copy and move partitions, including to other disks. It also has various other features, including being able to convert between FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS, modify the cluster size of FAT16/32 and NTFS filesystems, and merge adjacent FAT or NTFS filesystems (all without data loss, though some NTFS-only metadata is lost on conversion to FAT). Additionally, it has somewhat limited support for ext2 and ext3 partitions.
Partition Magic releases 1–3 were offered both in OS/2 and Windows versions. Symantec’s Partition Magic version 8 only supports Windows.
Future versions of Partition Magic
Partition Magic, while under PowerQuest, was updated regularly, adding new and useful features. Since Symantec purchased the application in 2003, there has not been a new release, and Symantec has stated that it has no plans on releasing a new version.
As of December 8, 2009, the Symantec website states, “Sorry, we no longer offer Norton Partition Magic.”
Free alternative to Partition Magic
What a pity of Partition Magic fans. The life of this great and famous software ended. Fortunately, today there are several free partition magic alternative to partition your disk, providing same outstanding performances as Partition magic.
Here is a list of the best partitioning software( free or open source):
EASEUS Partition Master
Gparted
Gparted Live CD
Parted Magic Live CD
Ranish Partition Manager
5. Partition Logic:
Partition Logic
If you are using Windows operating system, EASEUS Partition Master is a better choice. Its Home Edition is free and supports Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7 (32-bit only). Server Edition is commercial and supports Windows Server 2000/2003/2008 (32 and 64 bit)
Popularity: 18%
