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Group: Forum Members
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Why isn't there a perfect, reliable drive partition editor ?
(Tools like 'PartitionMagic' can fail to work.)
Designed by PowerQuest, PartitionMagic was re-badged by Symantec/Norton.
Good as its design was, it couldn't be tested against every possible make of
drive, BIOS, Operating or File System or combination thereof, so it was
bound to fail one day.
There are other, operating system-embedded tools, like Windows XP Disk
Management (Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer Management),
but they are limited. The most popular alternative tool has been Linux Gnome
Partition Editor or GParted, in LiveCD form.
Progressively revised and issued on stand-alone LiveCDs using different Linux
kernels, specific versions have failed to perform reliably for specific hardware.
However, some good news. The recent PartEdMagic 2.2 LiveCD seems to work
well on many different machines, as a result of using a 2.6-series Linux kernel.
By default it loads into RAM, ejects the CD and continues working, promptly
displaying 'drive' icons for all detected partitions with dual Linux/Windows labels.
Double-clicking them invokes Windows Explorer-like Thunar File Manager for file
recovery, whilst its Gparted 0.3.7 also has dual labeling and very comprehensive
partition editing. There is also a screen capture and save to zip file capability,
plus a recent copy of a character-graphics command-line PartImage.
http://partedmagic.com/wiki/PartedMagic.php?n=PartedMagic.Downloads
(Free - but donations welcomed.)
All-in-all, a great tool that can even fit on an 8cm mini-CD !
(Re-Edited from thread dialogs and more recent experience - 19th July 2008.)
Signature...OldFogeySurvivor -Still Learning...ZorinOS for Windows Refugees
[A] rig..ZOTAC-9500GT SATA 500+500GB P5QL-AM 2.60GHz E5300 3G
[B] rig..ZOTAC-9500GT SATA 500+500GB G31MX-S2 2.4/2.7GHz E5200 3G
[Y] rig..ZOTAC-GT220 SATA500GB++ P5Q 3.4/3.7GHz Q9550 4G ... - K.I.S.
Edited: 19/07/2008 20:53:01 by
Bruce R
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Post #234451
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 14/05/2012 01:06:05
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Partition Magic is good for Fat32 and NTFS, but for ext2/3 and Linux swap it is all but useless.
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Post #254713
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 14/05/2012 12:46:48
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Hi gn2
Yes, that's where FREE PartEdMagic's GPartEd is so much better and even works well with other filesystems. It also includes some other useful Linux utitilities, to mount other drives and thereby save screenpics.
Signature...OldFogeySurvivor -Still Learning...ZorinOS for Windows Refugees
[A] rig..ZOTAC-9500GT SATA 500+500GB P5QL-AM 2.60GHz E5300 3G
[B] rig..ZOTAC-9500GT SATA 500+500GB G31MX-S2 2.4/2.7GHz E5200 3G
[Y] rig..ZOTAC-GT220 SATA500GB++ P5Q 3.4/3.7GHz Q9550 4G ... - K.I.S.
Edited: 07/01/2008 01:13:39 by
Bruce R
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Post #254735
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Last Login: 21/10/2011 19:13:23
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I've used PartitionMagic since version 5 which was given away free years ago...got the hang of it with Windows 9X family...then back in 2002 I needed XP support so I purchased PartitionMagic 7 and believe it or not it was this software that really got me into understanding OSes, File Systems and Partitions - the manual was very good but XP support was a bit basic. I have version 8 (before Symantec purchased PowerQuest). Shame it hasn't been updated and I don't think Symantec support it in the UK anymore.I do agree that PartitionMagic is not perfect but its has been very reliable for me (for Windows) and I've never had any problems or lost data. I would avoid DriveMapper tho which just makes matters worse with drive letters. BruceR will be pleased to hear that I downloaded Ubuntu 7.10 days ago and ran the live CD...I did try to install it to my hard drive alongside Windows and manually edited the partitions (I did set them up in PM8 as ext2 and swap) - however I do not want to delete my Windows (multi-boot) so should I select 'do not use' in the file system? - Ubuntu sees them as /hda/media/something (can't remember)...problem after that was it stalled at 15% and did nothing. I closed it and rebooted and everything was intact. I'm a Linux newbie and really do want to use it...mainly as something new to explore. Also does Ubuntu install a bootloader? (i.e. so I can choose my OS form a list). I remember PCLinuxOS having this and it was mostly automatic. I was quite impressed with the usability of Ubuntu having used PCLinuxOS before. Thank you.
 
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Post #255287
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 14/05/2012 12:46:48
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Hi Computer Dave
PowerQuest was a great innovator, but ran into problems creating DriveImage,
which is what Symantec/Norton bought them for, re-badging it as the new Ghost
(quite different to Ghost2003, which they had to go on including for folk like the FBI).
I started with PM3.0, found that PM4.0 was better, and like you ended up with PM8.0
I now prefer PartEdMagic 1.9, PartEdmagic 1.8 or GPartEd0.3.3.0 LiveCDs, tried in that order.
Where it works, PartEdMagic 1.9's GParted version 0.3.4 more clearly illustrates Linux versus
FAT/NTFS etc filesystems nomenclature, especially if the other CD utilities are used.
Regarding Ubuntu installation, I shunt WinXP 10GiB down the drive, create a 1GiB Linux-Swap
logical drive and then use Partitioner Manual mode to create my ext3 main Linux installation.
There are some other tips that I can provide if you are interested, but other OSs are
automatically searched for and a GRUB selection menu/bootloader is then set up.
That menu can then be easily edited for start-up preference and choices text.
The attached GParted image of two hard drives in my [A] rig illustrates that I can choose
Gutsy Gibbon, WinXPonline, WinXPoffline or WinVista for a hard-drive session.
I will remove the attachment in a day or two, but let me know if you need more info.
Signature...OldFogeySurvivor -Still Learning...ZorinOS for Windows Refugees
[A] rig..ZOTAC-9500GT SATA 500+500GB P5QL-AM 2.60GHz E5300 3G
[B] rig..ZOTAC-9500GT SATA 500+500GB G31MX-S2 2.4/2.7GHz E5200 3G
[Y] rig..ZOTAC-GT220 SATA500GB++ P5Q 3.4/3.7GHz Q9550 4G ... - K.I.S.
Edited: 09/01/2008 15:50:09 by
Bruce R
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Post #255292
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128TB (in a single module) 
Group: Moderators
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I had exactly the same issue with installing Ubuntu 7.10 -- stalling at 15%. The answer is to remove your manually setup partitions and just leave a bunch of unallocated space on the disk. Then choose the "Guided" option at partitioning time. Let Ubuntu do all the work. As soon as I went this route I had no trouble at all. Like you, I thought that setting up my partitions manually beforehand would make things easier, but it was actually a mistake.
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Post #255297
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 14/05/2012 12:46:48
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Hi Jason
Although Computer Dave set up old ext2 instead of ext3, you are right that it's
better to get the Ubuntu Partitioner to do a fresh ext3 format, but you don't have
to select 'Guided' mode to ensure that and there are conscious decision advantages
to 'Manual' mode installation.
Edit PS - Sounds like I need to write up 'Ubuntu 7.10 - Manual Install'.
(It seems to avoid a lot of other problems that folk have had.)
Signature...OldFogeySurvivor -Still Learning...ZorinOS for Windows Refugees
[A] rig..ZOTAC-9500GT SATA 500+500GB P5QL-AM 2.60GHz E5300 3G
[B] rig..ZOTAC-9500GT SATA 500+500GB G31MX-S2 2.4/2.7GHz E5200 3G
[Y] rig..ZOTAC-GT220 SATA500GB++ P5Q 3.4/3.7GHz Q9550 4G ... - K.I.S.
Edited: 09/01/2008 11:09:56 by
Bruce R
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Post #255300
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128TB (in a single module)
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My install simply refused to get beyond 15% until I chose Guided. I'm sure Manual must work in some circumstances, but it didn't work in mine.
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Post #255301
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 14/05/2012 12:46:48
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Yes, the Manual method does have some quirks, the most obvious being
that displayed info doesn't match GParted info, so I'd better write it up.
Edit PS - Of course there is that old problem, that you need an active,
fast Internet connection when installing, so that the UK mirror can be
consulted for machine-specific info, otherwise it stalls.
(So busy-time or maintenance time avoidance can be important.)
Signature...OldFogeySurvivor -Still Learning...ZorinOS for Windows Refugees
[A] rig..ZOTAC-9500GT SATA 500+500GB P5QL-AM 2.60GHz E5300 3G
[B] rig..ZOTAC-9500GT SATA 500+500GB G31MX-S2 2.4/2.7GHz E5200 3G
[Y] rig..ZOTAC-GT220 SATA500GB++ P5Q 3.4/3.7GHz Q9550 4G ... - K.I.S.
Edited: 09/01/2008 11:24:16 by
Bruce R
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Post #255304
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 21/10/2011 19:13:23
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Post #255305
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