Powerquest PartitionMagic 8.0

by Powerquest

Product Features

• · How-to wizards guide you step by step through the partitioning process
• · Allows you to copy, move, resize, split, or merge partitions as needed without losing data
• · BootMagic? makes it easy to switch between different operating systems
• Adds external drives linked to USB 2.0 or FireWire ports
• The program can handle IDE and SCSI hard drives
• Change the size of existing partitions
• Partitioning tool for hard drives
• Repartition your hard drive, set up multiple operating systems,and perform scheduled backups

Product Details

Supplementary Guide [337kb PDF]

|

Product Manual [1.39mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 0.2 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006MJEN
• Item model number: PM80ENK1
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 20, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,367 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #10 in Software > Utilities > Partitions
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

PartitionMagic is a lot more these days than a simple partitioning tool for hard drives. In fact, PartitionMagic 8.0 can repartition your hard drive, set up multiple operating systems, and even perform scheduled backups to protect your data.

The core program, which can be run from Windows or in DOS mode directly from a boot floppy, enables you to change the size of existing partitions, create new partitions, merge two partitions into one, and more. This is all achieved in a logical and straightforward way, using a new group of wizards and a number of safety checks to make sure you do what you intended.

Any of the changes you make occur without disturbing any data you already have on your hard drive. The program can handle IDE and SCSI hard drives, and this version adds external drives linked to USB 2.0 or FireWire ports. However, you will now need quite a bit of memory on your PC to run the program--128 MB in Windows XP, for example.

BootMagic is bundled with PartitionMagic 8.0, and is a well-featured boot manager that enables you to install several different operating systems on your PC and switch between them at startup.

Overall, PartitionMagic is a safe and effective way to protect your data and improve the efficiency of your PC. --Simon Williams, Amazon.co.uk

Product Description

PartitionMagic 8.0 can repartition your hard drive, set up multiple operating systems, and even perform scheduled backups to protect your data. The core program, which can be run from Windows or in DOS mode directly from a boot floppy, enables you to change the size of existing partitions, create new partitions, merge two partitions into one, and more. This is all achieved in a logical and straightforward way, using a new group of wizards and a number of safety checks to make sure you do what you intended.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Win Xp BEWARE!, November 8, 2003

By 

"shay2100" (Brady, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Powerquest PartitionMagic 8.0 (CD-ROM)

If using windows xp home or pro with NTFS file system this product may not work. Powerquest has so far been unable to help. I would suggest doing a search for "partition magic error 1513" before you buy. I've read other reviews that the software works just fine for XP, but so far just a waste of money.

Update, Thanks powerquest. After a week of waiting I was E-mailed the top secrete address to the password protected zip file patch. (oh by the way phone support cost $30.00 per call) The runaround only hurts honest customers how didn't steal there product in the first place. I'm a firm believer that a know problem should be fixed or patch readily available without having to wait on an E-mail reply. After a few files were replaced the software works great, just as expected. You should buy this product a week or so before you intend to use it, just in case. 4 stars for the software 1 for customer support.

74 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for serious computer users and WinXP upgrades, October 21, 2002

By 

David Wilson (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Powerquest PartitionMagic 8.0 (CD-ROM)

I've used Partition Magic since version 3.0. Partition Magic 8.0 is now WinXP compatable and supports hard drives up to 160 GB and now you can move files from one partition to another regardless of partition types. This software is a phenominal program that allows hard drive repartitioning "on-the-fly" and easy booting into different operating systems. I have a PC-DOS/Win3.1 partition and a Win98SE partition on the same hard drive and a WixXP partition on a second hard drive. I have also had a Linux partition on the first drive. You can resize partitions and convert from fat 16 to fat32 and back. You can also divide one large hard drive into several drives to help organize data and files. Boot Magic (and the previous Boot Manager) are great to allow easy booting into any OS that you have on your drive. Partition Magic has never given my a problem. I have never lost data. The manual is clear, well written and easy to follow. If you want to have more than one OS on your computer or to try out a new OS or upgrade (like WinXP), then this program is a must have. Highly recommended.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I have switched to Acronis OS Selector 8.0, December 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Powerquest PartitionMagic 8.0 (CD-ROM)

I have tried to use Powerquest's products for years. I have purchased the last three PartitionMagic versions. I usually needed to purchase the next PartitionMagic upgrade after installing a new OS version, because the previous version of PartitionMagic didn't support a new file system type. That isn't too unusual - but ...

I also needed to upgrade because PartitionMagic didn't correctly run under the Windows versions that were supposed to be supported, either. I have needed to call Powerquest tech support 4 times because I couldn't run PartitionMagic properly under a "supported" Windows OS. I currently own Partiton Magic 8.0, and it doesn't run properly under Windows XP. I can run Partiton Magic 8.0 using their DOS boot disks, but it is *extremely* slow. (BTW, Powerquest wanted to charge me for 2 of the 4 tech support calls. After a lot of screaming, I was not charged for any of the calls.)

My current dual-boot system has Windows XP and Linux 8.0. Under Windows XP, I get an "Error 117: Partition's drive letter cannot be identified" fatal error. The Windows version of PartitionMagic then aborts. I tried using the Windows version of the PartitionInfo program for tech support, but that won't run properly, either. Using the DOS boot disks, I was able to get the DOS versions of PartitionMagic and PartitionInfo to run. However, The PartitonInfo data file that I e-mailed to Powerquest tech support came back with a "we didn't find any problems with your partitions - you may need to reformat your hard drive" response! Also, it doesn't seem like UltraDMA/Bus Master drivers are loaded under their DOS disks, so everything runs *very* slowly.

At this point, I decided to search for a new product. I ran across a few reviews of Acronis OS Selector 8.0, which got very positive responses. Acronis OS Selector 8.0 is Linux-based, so you are loading a real OS kernel at boot time that looks like it supports UltraDMA and Bus Mastering (unofficially based on my partiton moving/resizing times). The GUI looks somewhat like the Windows XP GUI. It is *very* easy to use and runs quickly. The OS Selector GUI starts quickly at PC bootup, and has all of the necessary functionality (Boot manager and partition management) available at that time. OS Selector doesn't really run under Windows - because it doesn't need to. Also, no "You must reboot your PC" messages occur while changing partitons!

Best of all, Acronis OS Selector 8.0 is cheaper than any of the competition!

Check Acronis Selector 8.0 out. I also purchased Acronis TrueImage 6.0 the same day - an excellent partition back-up product, though it doesn't support DVD writing as described in some of the reviews ...