EASEUS Partition Manager Server 2.1

By Dale Farris, Reviews Coordinator Golden Triangle PC Club October 2008 General Overview As a Partition Magic alternative, EASEUS Partition Manager is a comprehensive hard disk partition management software for Windows 2000 / 2003 Server and Windows 2000, XP, Vista partitions to resize and move partitions, create, delete and format partitions, hide and unhide partitions and much more. Hot Features Supports Windows 2003 Server 32 and 64 bit Hardware RAID supported Resize and move partition without data loss EASEUS Partition Manager Server Edition is the best value server partition software for partition management for Small & Medium Enterprises, School Labs, Government, Organizations, etc. It works with both Windows Server and Non-Server systems on one machine. You may perform basic and advanced partition operations on your servers without data loss, including create and deleted partitions, resize and move partitions, format partitions, hide and unhide partitions, set active partition, etc. Changes of partition can be previewed before applying to hard disk and all data is completely protected during all operations. Unlike partition magic server, EASEUS Partition Manager Server is compatible with Windows Server 2000 / 2003 and non-server 2000, XP, Vista 32 and 64 bit systems which provides more comprehensive uses. The EASEUS Partition Manager Server Unlimited Edition supports all computers within company. Both Windows Server and Non-Server systems are supported. With EASEUS Partition Manager Server Edition, you benefit from the following features Hardware RAID supported: It works perfectly with hardware RAID. Up to 32 hard disks: It can handle up to 32 hard disks, which makes it a good choice for server systems Resize/Move system partition: An easier way to do this is by simply clicking the system partition and sliding it through the unallocated space. The data on the system partition is completely untouched Hide Partitions: Besides organizing your partitions on the disk and formatting or labeling them, You can also use the software to hide drives from view. Hidden drives will not be visible (or accessible) from Windows even if you boot in Safe Mode Bootable CD/DVD Creates a bootable CD/DVD to manage partitions easier and faster. Make sure you are with the right partition for partitioning when operating on the bootable CD/DVD. Since you may not see the drive letters with the bootable CD/DVD. If you are not sure about the partitions, you may judge from the file system, volume label, partition size as well as its allocation. System Recommendations 500MHz x86 CPU minimum Standard PC system with mouse, keyboard and color monitor 256MB RAM minimum EASEUS Partition Manager Server Edition 2.1 runs on the following operating systems: Windows 2000 Professional SP4 Windows 2000 Server SP4 Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP4 Windows XP Home Edition Windows XP Professional Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition Windows Server 2003 x64 Standard Edition Windows Server 2003 x64 Enterprise Edition Windows Vista Windows Vista x64 Edition EASEUS Partition Manager supports the following file systems: FAT, FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS The following hard disks are supported: IDE, SATA, SCSI, USB removable disk, and Firewire disk are all supported by EASEUS Partition Manager. The smallest capability is 2GB and the largest is 1TB. EASEUS Partition Manager can support 32 disks at most. Partitioning Basics What is a hard disk? A hard disk / drive is one the part of your computer responsible for long-term storage of information. Unlike volatile memory (often refers to RAM), which lost its storage information once its power supply is shut off, a hard disk stores information permanently, allowing you to save program, files or any other data. Hard disks also have much more powerful storage capabilities than RAM. What is disk formatting? Computer must be able to access needed information on command. However, even the smallest hard disk can store millions of bits. How does the computer know where to look for the information it needs? To solve this problem, hard disks are organized into discrete, identifiable divisions, thus allowing the computer to find any particular sequence of bits easily. The most basic form of disk organization called formatting. Formatting prepares the hard disk so that files can be written to the platter and then quickly retrieved when needed. Hard disk can be formatted in two ways: physically and logically. Understanding the file systems All file systems consist of structures necessary for storing and managing data. These structures typically include an operating system boot record, directories, and files. A file system also performs three main functions: 1) tracking allocated and unused space, 2) maintaining directories and filenames.3) tracking where each file is physically stored on the disk. Different file systems are used by different operating systems. Some operating systems can recognize only one file system, while others can recognize several. Some of the most common file systems are: FAT (File allocation table), FAT32 (File allocation table 32), NTFS (New technology file system), Linux ext2 and Linux swap. Understanding partitions After a disk has been physically formatted, it can be divided into separate physical sections or partitions. Each partition functions as an individual unit, and can be logically formatted by any desired file system. Once a disk partition has been logically formatted, it is referred to as a volume. During the process of formatting operation, you are asked to name the partition, called the "volume label." This name helps you easily identify the volume. Understanding how a computer boots The way a computer boots from a hard disk depends on the way that hard disk is partitioned and the way that operating system is being booted. When you turn on your computer, the central processing unit (CPU) takes control. It immediately executes the instructions built into the computer's ROM BIOS, a program which contains the startup procedures. The last part of the BIOS instructions contains the boot routine. This routine is programmed to read the master boot record (MBR) from the first sector of the first physical hard disk. The MBR contains a master boot program and a partition table which describes all of the hard disk's partitions. The BIOS boot routine executes the master boot program, which then continues the boot process. The master boot program looks over the partition table to see which primary partition is active. If there is only one primary partition, then the partition's OS is loaded and booted into operation. Managing your partitions Setting an active primary (boot) partition When you create multiple primary partitions to hold different operating systems, you must tell the computer which primary partition is to boot from. The primary partition from which the computer boots is called the active partition. If there is no active primary partition on the first physical hard disk, your computer will not be able to boot from your hard disk. Before you make a primary partition active, make sure that it is a bootable partition. Bootable partitions are logically formatted and have the necessary OS files installed. Partitions without an OS cannot be booted. By creating an extended partition and then dividing it into logical partitions, you can: Access the Same Files from Multiple Operating Systems Make Efficient Use of Disk Space Simplify File Access and Enhance File Security Understanding drive letters The OS that you boot assigns drive letters to the primary and logical partitions on each hard disk. These drive letters are used by you, your system, and all your applications to reference files on the partition. Your OS may change the drive letter assignments if you add or remove a second hard disk. Drive letter assignments may also be altered if you add, remove, or copy a disk partition; reformat a partition with a different file system; or boot a different OS. These kinds of drive letter changes can sometimes invalidate parts of your system configuration. For example, applications that are programmed to look for startup files on a specific drive may no longer launch. Understanding the BIOS 1024 cylinder limit The BIOS 1024 cylinder limitation exists because the start and end cylinder values on the partition table (and some BIOS's) have the maximum value of 1024. Because some operating systems such as DOS 6.22 use the CHS (Cylinder, Head, and Sector) values to address sectors on the disk, they cannot access sectors beyond the 1024 cylinder. When you start your computer the BIOS boots the operating system using the CHS values to locate the first sector of the bootable partition. If the partition starts beyond the 1024 cylinder, the BIOS may not be able to boot it because it cannot address a cylinder number higher than 1024. Changing the BIOS LBA mode setting Caution: Never change the LBA mode in your system BIOS once data is present on any hard disk. Changing this setting may cause data corruption and loss. Most modern system BIOS designs support LBA or Logical Block Addressing. The LBA mode setting, no matter enabled on your system or not, determines how your computer translates logical cylinder-head-sector (CHS) addresses. If you change this setting, the resulting shift in CHS values may corrupt all the files and partitions on your hard disk(s). If you must change the LBA mode setting in your system BIOS, first back up all data on your hard disk(s). Contact the BIOS and/or disk manufacturer's technical support departments to ensure that understand how to proceed safely. Understanding the 2 GB boot code boundary An operating system's boot code is stored in both the master boot record (MBR) and the partition boot record, enabling the OS to boot properly. In some operating systems, however, this boot code is written is such a way that it inadvertently imposes a limit on the location of both the partition boot record and the files needed to boot the OS. DOS (versions 6.x and earlier) and Windows NT (versions 4.0 and earlier) are both affected by this boot code limitation. When booting these two operating systems, the cylinder-head-sector (CHS) address of the beginning boot code sector must be calculated in order to retrieve the sector's information, thus to load and execute the next part of the boot process. The CHS value of for the needed sector is calculated as follows: Sector Number / Sectors per Track Because of the way the boot code is written, the product of this calculation must fit in a 16-bit register. The largest value of 16-bit register may contain is 64K. If the value is larger than 64K, the number is truncated, resulting in an incorrect value that skews the remaining calculations. The boot process fails to load and execute the needed sector, thus prevents the OS from booting. Most current hard disks have 63 sectors per track, creating a 64K boot code boundary at 2 GB. If your disk is older and/or uses drive overlay software, this boundary may be lower. If a partition begins or extends beyond this boundary, the CHS value of the partition's boot code sector cannot be correctly calculated; therefore, the partition and its OS cannot boot. The same limitation applies to the DOS IO.SYS file and the Windows NT file, NTLOADER.EXE. Either of these files being installed or moved beyond the 64K boot code boundary may cause the corresponding OS fails to boot. To boot properly, DOS requires that the first three sectors of IO.SYS are below the 2 GB boot code boundary. Both the IO.SYS and NTLOADER.EXE files are usually located near the beginning of the partition in which they are installed. When you use EASEUS Partition Manager to resize partitions, this area of the partition may be vacated to make room for a larger FAT or other file system structures. As a result, IO.SYS or NTLOADER.EXE may be moved beyond the 2 GB boundary, thus preventing the OS from booting. Price $  149 - EASEUS Partition Manager Server Edition 2.1 A Windows 2000, XP, 2003 Server, Vista partition software for one machine to maximize server performance and the best value to server partition management for small & medium enterprises, school labs, government, & organizations $  499 - EASEUS Partition Manager Server - Unlimited Edition 2.1 Works with both Windows Server and non-server systems on unlimited machines within company to maximize server and PC performance. A complete solution designed specially to fulfill the needs of large enterprises in hard disk management. $39.95 - EASEUS Partition Manager Professional Edition 2.1 For business use, and works on Vista 64 bit. For small & medium enterprises, school labs, government, & organizations FREE  - EASEUS Partition Manager Home Edition 2.1 FREE partition manager supports Windows Vista for Home User Only. You can FREE enjoy it like the commercial Partition Magic! Targeted Customers Partition manager software is not as odd as was the case in the past. There are now quite a few of these PM utilities on the market, and of course you can just create and delete partitions using XP's and Vista's limited disk management utilities. However, there is always room for a better mousetrap, and the EASEUS Partition Manager program has great potential. The EASEUS PM interface is what its competitor, Acronis's Disk Director's should be. It utilizes the same Windows Explorer look, but omits Disk Director's redundancies and offers better placed options. In general, it's more logically laid out. PM lets you create, delete, move, and resize partitions, as well as set them as active or hide / unhide them. That's all that most users will need, but the program lacks the partition recovery features of its aforementioned rival. PM offers both Windows and Linux versions in the same package, which is a good thing since the Windows version and the boot disc the demo created were limited to the FAT and NTFS files systems. While PM will create a bootable CD for accessing drives on non-bootable systems, it will not create a bootable thumb drive. Both Acronis's Disk Director and the free / donationware Parted Magic offer this feature. Running off of a flash drive cuts boot time in half on systems that support it. The program provides a nice competitive alternative to the Acronis Disk Director, and the program also offers some nice features for partitioning servers in enterprise environments. The program is also nicely priced, making this a valuable option in the specialized market of partition software that can work on server machines. The Partition Manager Server Edition features an easy to use interface. After all, you don’t really dabble with partitioning everyday. Usually, you use it when you need to, and don’t want to go through a steep learning curve. EASEUS Partition Manager helps you with partition tasks such as creating, deleting, resizing, moving, hiding, and setting-active. Its task-based interface lets you visualize a “map” of your hard disk, showing you which partition is positioned where. There are many other operations you can carry out on your partitions. You can even set a password so that you do not accidentally make changes that you did not intend to make. It supports FAT, FAT32, and NTFS file systems on all consumer-level internal and removable types of storage devices. EASEUS also supports RAID, SCSI, and Firewire drives. There are multiple editions of Partition Manager on offer by EASEUS. The Server Edition will install and work on server versions (e.g.: Windows Server 2003 Web Edition) as well as consumer versions of Windows (such as Windows 2000, XP, Vista, etc.), including 64-bit versions of Windows. Working with the application should be piece of cake regardless of your computer skills. It is actually a matter of right clicking on the desired partition and choosing one of the options available. You can resize drives (shrink or enlarge) according to the unallocated space available near them. In order to set the new size, all you have to do is either drag it from one side of the drive map or, if a more accurate size is needed, you can type in the value in MB yourself. A very clever option is the possibility of moving a partition someplace else on the physical disk so that you can distribute the unallocated space to other drives as well (simply play with the values for unallocated space before and after). An easier way to do this is by simply clicking the partition and sliding it through the unallocated space. EASEUS Partition Manager Server can be used for a little more than organizing your partitions on the disk and formatting or labeling them. You can also use the software to hide drives from view. Hidden drives will not be visible (or accessible) from Windows OS even if you boot in Safe Mode, but under Linux the data on them is completely unprotected from prying eyes. In the Advanced section of the application you can run a bad sector test to see if everything is A-OK or call on Windows CHDISK utility to check for errors on disk and fix them. This section also gives you the possibility to change a drive letter, but this can also be easily achieved directly from Windows, be it XP or Vista. All in all, the application does a great job if run on XP as it offers a handful of options for partitioning your disks as well as a comfortable, straightforward and easy to use interface. Used on Vista, however, EASEUS Partition Manager Server is not as necessary as this Windows environment brings its own artillery to deal with disk partitioning and almost all the options are included. Nevertheless, EASEUS Partition Manager Server has the edge thanks to its support of up to 32 1TB disks. This feature makes it stand out from the crowd and dots all the i's and crosses all the t's when used on servers. It works fast and few are the cases where it needs to reboot in order to successfully complete the job(s) at hand. Starting with the interface and finishing with the way it runs, EASEUS Partition Manager Server makes for a great partition manager, easy to handle and responsible. Protecting your settings with a password so that unauthorized persons can't mess around with the drives can be easily done. Once you hide a drive from view all the data on it becomes inaccessible until you restore visibility. If you are still fearful about resizing your drives or moving them to a different location on the disk in order to joggle with the unallocated space and distribute it evenly, then EASEUS Partition Manager Server should lift all the haze and give you the necessary confidence for the job. If you are looking at large hard disks, then EASEUS Partition Manager Server proves to be a handy choice. About EASEUS CHENGDU YIWO Tech Development Co., Ltd (YIWO Tech Ltd, for short), established on August 12th, 2004, is a professional data recovery, backup and data security company. Ever since its foundation, CHENGDU YIWO Tech Development Co., Ltd has provided well-received service for a host number of customers home and abroad. With the idea of "strength of the organization based on the loyalty to customers," the company firmly believes that they are a top-grade professional service provider. Their competent staff will persistently follow their business belief in offering customers the best service of data recovery products, security products, counseling, and corresponding solutions. Contact EASEUS Software CHENGDU YIWO Tech Development Co., Ltd F18-K, HuaXiMeiLu Building No.2, No.17 The 3rd section of RenMin Road South Chengdu City, China Postcode: 610041 corp@easeus.com support@easeus.com sales@easeus.com www.easeus.com