Open-Source Partition Managers | Free Partition Managers

What Is Open-Source Partition Manager

The open-source partition manager is built to create, extend/shrink, delete, and make other changes to disk partitions on storage devices connected to the PC. Simply put, it can allocate a hard drive, which matter a lot especially for the new hard drive.

If a partition manager is open-source, it means that anyone can view, modify, and distribute the source code of the software. In other words, users are allowed to customize the software, contribute to its development, and ensure transparency in its operating manner.

Pros and Cons of Open-Source Partition Manager

Why open-source partition manager is preferred? It boasts many advantages compared with third-party partition managers. Here, I summarize the main pros of open-source partition manager.

• Free of charge: One of the most obvious advantages of open-source partition manager is that it’s totally free. Individuals and businesses can use it without costs. This attracts a lot of users.
• Cross-platform compatibility: Open-sourcedisk partition management tools usually have good cross-platform compatibility.They can be used on operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• Customizability: As users can modify the source code of the open-source partition manager, they are able to customize it to fit their specific needs. According to users’ needs, they can add features or optimize performance. This offers much customizability.
• Transparency: The source code of open-source partition manager is visible to all users. If necessary, they can inspect it to check if there are hidden malicious features or vulnerabilities.
• Frequent updates: With a community of developers contributing to the project, more updates and bug fixes will be released than third-party partition managers.

Open-source HDD SSD partition managers have multiple advantages, which make them attractive. However, there’s no denying that they also have drawbacks. For instance:

• Fewer advanced features: Compared with third-party software, open-source HDD SSD partition managers have fewer features.
• Technical knowledge requirement: Though users can customize open-source partition manager, they need to have knowledge about source code editing. For command-line ones, users are required to have technical expertise. If users are not experienced enough, it’s difficult to use open-source disk partition management tools smoothly.
• Limited official support: Open-source HDD SSD partition managers don’t have dedicated customer support teams, so users can’t get official support in time. If users have any doubts, they can only refer to community forums and documentation.

Even so, plenty of users are interested in open-source partition managers. What’s the best open-source partition manager? Well, the following section will recommend some high-rating open-source disk partition management tools.

Best Open-Source Partition Manager

In this section, 3 open-source partition managers will be introduced. You can pick the best open-source partition in your mind.

#1: GParted

GParted is the most popular open-source partition manager. It helps graphically manage disk partitions. For instance, it can create, resize, copy, check, label, delete partitions and set new UUID for partitions. It’s worth noting that it enables users to copy, resize, and move partitions without data loss.

In addition, it can be used for data recovery, disk reorganization, and dual-boot setup cases. This open-source partition manager can recover lost or corrupt data from a mixed-up volume, enlarge partitions, and cope with partitioning processes.

It supports dozens of file systems, including exFAT, NTFS, FAT16/32, Ext2/3/4, btrfs, bcachefs, HFS/HFS+, UFS, XFS, UDF, reiserfs/reiser4, nilfs2, minix, lvm2 pv, and linux-swap. It means that GParted can recognize partitions with these file systems.

GParted can work on x86-64 based computers running systems like Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux. So, don’t worry about compatibility issues while applying it to different operating systems.

#2: KDE Partition Manager

KDE Partition Manager is built for KDE desktop environments by Volker Lanz. By using this open-source partition manager, users can manage disks, partitions, and file systems on the PC. To be specific, it enables users to create, resize, move, check, copy, delete partitions and file systems on them.

Moreover, KDE Partition Manager also helps users back up file systems to files and restore the backup. With a graphical interface, it is easy to use. It uses util-linux to detect and manipulate devices and partition tables, while file system tools offer support for manipulating file systems.

#3: Parted

Parted, written by Andrew Clausenlt and Lennert Buytenhek, is a command-line open-source partition manager for Linux and GNU/Hurd. It consists of a library, libparted, and a command-line front-end. It’s worth noting that this open-source partition manager supports disk partitions over than 2TB and allows to resize the partition size.

It is used to partition and manage disks (including RAID disks). For instance, Parted can create, resize, move, copy, and delete FAT/FAT32, Ext2/3, Linux-swap, and reiserfs partitions. It creates, resizes, and moves HFS partitions for Apple systems. Besides, it can detect jfs, NTFS, UFS, and XFS partitions.

Additionally, it can also adjust partitions to install new operating systems, back up partitions to another hard drive, and perform other advanced tasks.

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Free Partition Managers to Use

In addition to open-source partition managers, you can also use free partition managers to partition hard drives. Both two types of partition managers are free of charge. All the users can access and use them for free.

Compared with the open-source HDD SSD partition manager, free partition manager is easier to use.

#1: Disk Management

Disk Management is a built-in partition manager on Windows computers. It offers basic partition management features, enabling you to perform common tasks on partitions. For instance, it can create, format, extend, shrink, delete partitions.

In addition, it is also capable of converting to GPT/MBR disk, converting to dynamic disk, changing drive letter and path, marking partition as active, etc. With a graphical interface, Disk Management is easy to use. Even if you are a new user, you can use it smoothly.

Here is the Windows Disk Management full guide that reveals all details about Disk Management including basic information, access manners, main interface, basic disk/volume management, and dynamic disk/volume management.

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#2: DiskPart

DiskPart is a common-line tool that comes with Windows PCs running Windows 2000 and later Microsoft operating systems. It allows you to perform various tasks by running corresponding command lines. Roughly speaking, it is used for managing disks, partitions, and volumes.

Compared with Disk Management, DiskPart offers more advanced features. With DiskPart, you can create, format, extend, shrink, delete, wipe partitions. Additionally, it also allows you to assign or remove drive letters, mark partition active/inactive, create & manage RAID volumes, convert disk to MBR/GPT, wipe disks, etc.

Here’s how to use DiskPart.

Step 1: Type cmd in the search box and then click Run as administrator under the searched Command Prompt app.

Step 2: Click Yes in the elevated User Account Control window.

Step 3: In the Command Prompt window, type diskpart and hit Enter to run DiskPart.

Step 4: Now, run corresponding commands according to your needs.

• list disk (list all disks connected to your PC)
• select disk # (select the disk you want to manage)
• create partition primary size=xxx (create a new partition on the selected disk)
• format fs=ntfs quick (format the created partition with desired file system)
• assign letter=x (assign a drive letter to the created partition)
• remove letter=x (remove the drive letter)
• extend size=xxxx (increase the size of the picked partition)
• shrink desired=xxxx (reduce the size of the target partition)
• list partition (list all partitions on the selected disk)
• clean (erase all partitions and data on the selected disk/partition)
• clean all (securely erase all data on the disk)

Also read: Diskpart Clean vs Clean All: Choose a Way to Wipe Disks

#3: MiniTool Partition Wizard

MiniTool Partition Wizard is a third-party free partition manager. As a comprehensive disk partition tool, it contains almost all the features of Disk Management and DiskPart. Based on that, it also boasts free features like Space Analyzer, Disk Benchmark, Convert FAT to NTFS, Check File System, Surface Test, Copy non-system Disk, Convert data disk to MBR/GPT, etc.

MiniTool Partition Wizard FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Certainly, it also includes paid features, such as Data Recovery, Partition Recovery, Migrate OS to SSD/HD, Change Cluster Size, Dynamic Disk Management, Boot Media Builder, and so on. If necessary, upgrade to the Pro or above editions.

This free partition manager offers a user manual that illustrates all the features and components of the software in detail. Moreover, it summarizes software FAQ and makes replies to these questions. As a proprietary partition manager, MiniTool Partition Wizard has a technical support team helping users work out issues in time.

More importantly, developers will release new updates to improve user experience because they will solve issues in previous versions and add improvements to features. With an intuitive interface, MiniTool Partition Wizard is easy to use even for new users.

Why users prefer to use a third-party partition manager? As you see, it includes more advanced features, technical support, and a user-friendly interface.

This post introduces several open-source disk partition management tools and free partition managers. If you are not familiar with open-source partition manager, try using the offered free partition manager.Click to Tweet

Bottom Line

This post gives an introduction to open-source partition manager, including its general information, pros & cons, and recommendations. You can choose the best open-source HDD SSD partition manager in your mind to partition your storage devices.

However, if you aren’t good at using open-source partition manager smoothly, try its alternatives – free partition manager. It’s highly recommended to use MiniTool Partition Wizard. If you encounter any difficulty while using this partition manager, contact us by sending an email via [email protected]. We will get back to you as soon as possible.