PartitionMagic


PartitionMagic is a utility software for hard disk drive partitioning originally made by PowerQuest, but now owned by Symantec. As of December 8, 2009, the Symantec website stated that they no longer offer Partition Magic. The program runs on Microsoft Windows operating systems including Windows 2000 and Windows XP, but the application is incompatible with Windows Vista and later versions. A bootable disk for partitioning drives must be used instead. The utility can also be run from a bootable CD-ROM and enables creation and modification of partitions. Existing partitions can be resized without loss of data.

Details

PartitionMagic is capable of resizing NTFS, FAT16 or FAT32 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, FAT32 and NTFS filesystems, and merge adjacent FAT or NTFS filesystems. Additionally, it had somewhat limited support for ext2 and ext3 partitions. PartitionMagic was the first commercial product of its kind containing patented technology.
The first version of PartitionMagic was released with DOS and OS/2 support. Versions 2-3 were offered with DOS, OS/2 and Windows support. Symantec's PartitionMagic version 8 dropped the OS/2 version. Server versions were also offered under the name Server Magic for Windows and Novell NetWare servers.
The stable version of PartitionMagic 8.05 also included a rescue floppy disk with an additional DOS version of PartitionMagic. The DOS version came on one 2.88 MB or two 1.44 MB floppy disks.
The Windows version of PartitionMagic can also be integrated in BartPE a Windows XP based Live CD created by using the . To integrate PartitionMagic into BartPE a is available.

Future versions

PartitionMagic, 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 October 13, 2011, the Symantec website states, "Sorry, we no longer offer Norton Partition Magic."

Compatibility issues

PartitionMagic is compatible with Windows NT, 95/98, ME, 2000, and XP desktop editions. However, it is not compatible with server editions of Windows NT, 2000, nor 2003 by design — a more expensive product from the same manufacturer, ServerMagic, would handle these - nor does it run on Windows Vista and later versions.
PartitionMagic 2.0.5, VolumeManager 7 and VolumeManager 8 cannot resize dynamic disks.