If you think partitioning a hard drive is something you do only with new machines, V Communications' Partition Commander has some tricks to show you. With an improved interface and support for Linux, Microsoft Windows 2000, Me, and NT, as well as the new BackStep Wizard, Partition Commander 6.01 (AU$79.95) makes it easier and safer to optimise your machine's hard drive.
At start-up, Partition Commander lets you select manual mode or one of four wizards. The wizards can guide you in finding more hard drive space, speeding disk access, organising your system better, or adding a new OS. The user manual explains how to set up more organised and efficient partitioning, with a minitutorial on partitioning and how it works. As a bonus, you can install the bundled System Commander Personal Edition, V Communications' multiboot utility, so you can easily run multiple operating systems.
The BackStep Wizard adds a comfort level for both new and experienced users. In single- or multiple-step operations, the BackStep wizard logs each step so you can undo one or more steps. Not every change you make is completely undoable, such as deleting a partition with data on it, so having good backup is emphasized.
The NTFS support in Microsoft Windows NT and 2000 is a real boon to users. But while the OSs let you convert FAT partitions to NTFS, this is a one-way proposition. Partition Commander, however, lets you convert NTFS back to FAT, a must if you decide to reinstall Windows 95 or 98. Resizing and copying NTFS partitions worked smoothly during testing.
One glitch we hit was losing the ability to multi-boot after we ran the optimisation wizard on our dual-boot NT 4.0/Win 98 drive. When Partition Commander converted our wasteful FAT16 partition to a more efficient FAT32 partition, the machine wouldn't boot. When we converted back to FAT16 using the emergency disk, it still would not boot into NT 4.0, though Windows 98 booted fine. V Communications explained that Partition Commander rewrites the boot sector file when converting.
Although Partition Commander can manipulate partitions on many OSs, it actually runs in its own DOS session. When launching from Windows 95 or 98, it restarts in command-line mode; with other OSs, you boot the program from a floppy.
Partition Commander has a hidden raw partition editor. It opens by selecting Utilities | Special Options | Diagnostic Checks | Partition Checks from Partition Commander's start menu, or by running the Scin.exe file. The editor provides a view of the starting, ending, and total sectors for each partition. Pressing F2 puts you in edit mode. After reading a dire warning about required knowledge levels, you can edit any of the parameters of your partitions: You can thus create custom partitions or repair damaged ones. The editor automatically validates the partition so you can see if your changes are workable. On exit, you are asked to save or discard the changes (discard is the default).
Despite occasional difficulties, Partition Commander makes partition creation and maintenance easy enough for the neophyte, with power enough for the pro, at a price that's easy to justify.
Partition Commander 6.01
Company: Marketing Results
Ph: 02 9899 5888; Fax: 02 02 9899 5728
Price: ERP AU$79.95.
Rating: 4 Star
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