Jump to content

Anyone recommend a free GUI Partitioner program pls?


JedClampett

Recommended Posts


Can anyone recommend a free Win 32 Partitioner program, like a free version of Partition Magic please?

I need to format my USB flash drive to NTFS, but having problems doing that under Centos 5.6 with Gparted.

You don't actually *need* any "third party" tool.

Disk Management will do allright, problem is that it won't work on a USB flash that is set as "Removable".

There are two ways out:

  1. Complex - find the manufacturer tool for your stick controller (if avaialble) and flip the "Removable" bit (if available option)
  2. Easy - install a filter driver

See here for reference:

If you want to make a bootable USB stick with just one partition NTFS formatted (+ a hidden fake one that helps in some cases), the "right" tool is RMPREPUSB:

http://sites.google.com/site/rmprepusb/

If you actually want a Free (for personal use) Partition Magic replacement, this could do:

http://www.extend-partition.com/download.html

jaclaz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks jaclaz.

I did format the 16GB Flash drive with an 8GB FAT32 partition, which appeared to work OK, as I installed Vista SP1 & SP2, and other 32 bit Apps from that onto a Vista laptop. I then tried to copy all the latest 7z DriverPacks archives from my downloads directory (ext3) to the FAT32 partition on the USB drive. I had some really weird looking files, with all sorts of strange control codes used for the filenames. The DriverPacks subdirectories were recursively copied. So I had an almost never ending set of subdirectories using the same name. In the end I just reset the partition table and started again.

Basically all I want to do is copy Windows Apps and other things like DP's From my Centos ext3 partition, to the USB flash drive, so I can use them on Windows laptops.

I'd go back to using FAT32 if I could copy the DriverPacks to the USB OK. Maybe I need to unpack the 7z archives first and copy those to the USB drive instead?

Here is a screen shot of me trying to format the USB flash drive under Centos 5.6. The 2GB partition looks OK, but the 4GB produces those errors!

post-331570-0-95925600-1315835872_thumb.

I've just done another test under Centos 5.6 and this seems to be OK. I created an almost 8GB NTFS partition on some unused space on a fixed HDD. That works fine without any errors. Please see the attached screenshot. So it looks like the problem is with the removeable Flash drive? How is it that I managed to create a 2GB NTFS partition on the Flash drive, but I cannot create anything much larger that that?

post-331570-0-89675300-1315838333_thumb.

Edited by JedClampett
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not at all familiar with CentOS, but this could be a limitation of some kind in it's driver or a BIOS limit (IF CentOS somehow relies on BIOS info). :unsure:

If I were you, as said, I would install a filter driver in the Windows OS and do thinmgs as plain as possible.

The driverspack issue sounds like having a different origin.

Now that you have the 8 Gb partition on the HD can you try copying form the Ext3 partition to the NTFS one and then from the NTFS one to the USB stick?

jaclaz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had some really weird looking files, with all sorts of strange control codes used for the filenames. The DriverPacks subdirectories were recursively copied. So I had an almost never ending set of subdirectories using the same name. In the end I just reset the partition table and started again.

Is the flashdrive bought in a shop or on eBay ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that you have the 8 Gb partition on the HD can you try copying form the Ext3 partition to the NTFS one and then from the NTFS one to the USB stick?

jaclaz

There seems to be a problem mounting NTFS file systems under Centos. I never needed to do this before, just used FAT 32, up till now. Working on this ;)

Ponch

Is the flashdrive bought in a shop or on eBay ?

Ebay. Purchased 2 the same - 16GB. Possibly the USB Flash drives are cr*p?

I need to be able to mount the 8GB NTFS HDD partition first, then maybe get a better Flash drive and see if that cures things.

Thanks for all the help thus far :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ebay. Purchased 2 the same - 16GB. Possibly the USB Flash drives are cr*p?

Hmmm.

There are quite a bit (I would say the large majority) of very nice and honest peeps on e-bay, so let us NOT generalize, OK?

But there are records of tens or hundreds of other far less ethical peeps that sold (or sell still) "fake" large capacity USB sticks.

This is NOT necessarily the case at hand, and until we have some tests made the way they should be done (which does not include using NTFS under an OS that has a crappy support for NTFS) it is easy to jump to a wrong conclusion.

However for the record the scam is as following:

  1. a legit, perfectly working 128, 256 or 512 Mb (and more recently 1 or 2 Gb) stick is used (but not necessarily a "good quality " one)
  2. through the manufactirer production tool the controller firmware is set to show a much larger size, typically 16,32, 64 or even 128 Gb :w00t:
  3. most OS utilities will "trust" the USB stick firmware and detect the device with the set bigger size
  4. *any* "normal" partitioning/formatting utility will work normally with one of these "fake" sticks
  5. when you start writing data exceeding the "real" size of the device, you may have all sorts of queer behaviours, including data wriiten to "thin air" and the kind of "recursive" issues you previously described (but that given the conditions of the test do not justify - yet - assuming that the stick is a fake one)

jaclaz

Edited by jaclaz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the reply jaclaz. I even installed Partition Master 9.0 Home Edition from EaseUS

http://www.partition-tool.com/personal.htm onto a Vista Home Premium laptop.

I went to format the 16GB? USB flash drive with Partition Master 9.0 and it said the operation completed successfully. However the 'Updating System' window hung, and the USB flash drive r/w light continued flashing. So I unplugged it after a while.

The latest test was to delete the Partition Table, and try to create 4 x 4GB primary partitions. Here is what the screenshot looks like:

post-331570-0-54849400-1315935952_thumb.

Is there some way to discern the actual real size of a suspect Flash Drive?

TIA

Jed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

jaclaz:

There are quite a bit (I would say the large majority) of very nice and honest peeps on e-bay, so let us NOT generalize, OK?

But there are records of tens or hundreds of other far less ethical peeps that sold (or sell still) "fake" large capacity USB sticks.

This is NOT necessarily the case at hand, and until we have some tests made the way they should be done (which does not include using NTFS under an OS that has a crappy support for NTFS) it is easy to jump to a wrong conclusion.

Absolutely jaclaz. I'm an avid user of ebay and Amazon and wouldn't be without either of them! So how do I go about testing this USB stick please?

TIA - Jed :)

Edited by JedClampett
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't want to seem grumpier than I usually am :unsure:, but you came here with a question, an answer was given to you and you use all available methods, programs and OS's on the earth BUT the ones that were suggested.

Though unfortunately from what you posted you do seem like a victim of the scam, if you continue do "random" tests with apps/OS and methods I am not familiar with, it is difficult to make sure.

FORGET ANYTHING you have done till now. :realmad:

You asked for a Win32 program, which should mean that you can somehow run a win32 OS.

Get RMPREPUSB (already suggested you) and NOTHING else.

http://sites.google.com/site/rmprepusb/

Use it in a Win32 OS to partition/format AND test your USB sticks.

Report what happens.

jaclaz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you want to make a bootable USB stick with just one partition NTFS formatted (+ a hidden fake one that helps in some cases), the "right" tool is RMPREPUSB:

http://sites.google....site/rmprepusb/

I have not looked at that yet, as I was not wanting to create a bootable Flash drive ;)

If you actually want a Free (for personal use) Partition Magic replacement, this could do:

http://www.extend-pa...m/download.html

Thanks for that link, but it seemed to have a lot of adware bundled with the installer of ~ 412KB, so I decided not to use it. I like to download the full program files and keep them, in case I want to install again offline :)

I'm looking at RMprepUSB and will take my time to check out the USB drive on Win Vista.

I'll let you know the results of those test when available.

Jed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for that link, but it seemed to have a lot of adware bundled with the installer of ~ 412KB, so I decided not to use it. I like to download the full program files and keep them, in case I want to install again offline :)

That is not the installer :whistle: , it is the CNET downloader :w00t:, and you can opt-out by un-checking the check boxes allright.

The actual installer and the app in themselves are perfectly "kosher" AFAICT.

RMPREPUSB has also two test modes, a "quick" one that should be enough to detect a "fake" stick and a "full" one that will take a lot of time but which results can be called "definitive".

jaclaz

Edited by jaclaz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi jaclaz. Thanks for all your help so far. I'm getting my head around RMPrepUSB at the moment. It's a very good looking utility.

Also there are some other utilities on the d/l page that look very useful. I will try the cnet downloader again for the Partitioner program after those reassuring comments. ;)

Jed :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...