Paragon Partition Manager - 12 Server User Manual

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PARAGON Software GmbH

Heinrich-von-Stephan-Str. 5c  79100 Freiburg, Germany

Tel. +49 (0) 761 59018201  Fax +49 (0) 761 59018130

Internet www.paragon-software.com  Email sales@paragon-software.com

Partition Manager™ 12 Server

User Manual

Contents

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 6

What’s New in Partition Manager 12 ........................................................................................................... 6

Product Components ............................................................................................................. 6

Features Overview ................................................................................................................. 7

Features ..................................................................................................................................................... 7

User Friendly Fault Minimizing Interface ................................................................................................................................ 7

Backup Facilities ...................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Restore Facilities ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Boot Management Facilities ................................................................................................................................................... 7

Partition/Hard Disk Management Facilities ............................................................................................................................ 7

File System Optimization Facilities ......................................................................................................................................... 8

Auxiliary Facilities ................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Supported Technologies .............................................................................................................................. 9

Supported File Systems ............................................................................................................................... 9

Supported Media ........................................................................................................................................ 9

Getting Started .................................................................................................................... 10

Distribution ............................................................................................................................................... 10

Distributive CD ...................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Online Distribution................................................................................................................................................................ 10

Registration ........................................................................................................................................................................... 10

How to Download Updates/Upgrades .................................................................................................................................. 11

Contacting Paragon Software GmbH .......................................................................................................... 11

System Requirements ................................................................................................................................ 12

Installation ................................................................................................................................................ 13

First Start ................................................................................................................................................... 14

Building Recovery Media ............................................................................................................................ 15

Booting from the Linux/DOS Recovery Media ............................................................................................. 16

Startup .................................................................................................................................................................................. 16

Boot menu ............................................................................................................................................................................ 17

Booting from the WinPE Recovery Media ................................................................................................... 19

Startup .................................................................................................................................................................................. 19

Basic Concepts ..................................................................................................................... 20

Dynamic Disks ............................................................................................................................................ 20

GPT versus MBR ......................................................................................................................................... 21

Apple Boot Camp ....................................................................................................................................... 21

64-bit Support ............................................................................................................................................ 22

Drive Partitioning ....................................................................................................................................... 22

Windows Components ........................................................................................................ 22

Interface Overview .................................................................................................................................... 23

General Layout ...................................................................................................................................................................... 23

Main Menu ........................................................................................................................................................................... 24

Tool Bar ................................................................................................................................................................................. 27

Virtual Operations Bar .......................................................................................................................................................... 27

Common Tasks Bar ............................................................................................................................................................... 28

Disk Map ............................................................................................................................................................................... 29

Explorer Bar .......................................................................................................................................................................... 30

Partition List .......................................................................................................................................................................... 31

Properties Bar ....................................................................................................................................................................... 32

Legend Bar ............................................................................................................................................................................ 33

Status Bar .............................................................................................................................................................................. 33

Settings Overview ...................................................................................................................................... 33

General Options .................................................................................................................................................................... 33

Backup Image Options .......................................................................................................................................................... 35

General Copy and Backup Options ....................................................................................................................................... 35

CD/DVD/BD Recording Options ............................................................................................................................................ 36

Hot Processing Options ......................................................................................................................................................... 37

Partitioning Options .............................................................................................................................................................. 37

E-Mail Options ...................................................................................................................................................................... 38

Operation Dependency Options ........................................................................................................................................... 39

Virtual Mode Options ........................................................................................................................................................... 39

File System Conversion Options ........................................................................................................................................... 40

Log Files Options ................................................................................................................................................................... 41

Viewing Disk Properties ............................................................................................................................. 41

Viewing Image Properties .......................................................................................................................... 42

Using the Restore Wizard ..................................................................................................................................................... 42

Data Backup and Rescue ............................................................................................................................ 44

Creating Backup Images ........................................................................................................................................................ 44

Restoring System and Data ................................................................................................................................................... 47

Boot Management ..................................................................................................................................... 50

Partition Management ............................................................................................................................... 51

Basic Partitioning Operations ............................................................................................................................................... 51

Advanced Partitioning Operations........................................................................................................................................ 60

Changing Partition Attributes ............................................................................................................................................... 71

Hard Disk Management ............................................................................................................................. 74

Converting Dynamic MBR to Basic ....................................................................................................................................... 74

Converting GPT to Basic MBR ............................................................................................................................................... 75

Converting Basic MBR to GPT ............................................................................................................................................... 76

Updating MBR ....................................................................................................................................................................... 77

Changing Primary Slot ........................................................................................................................................................... 77

Extra Functionality ..................................................................................................................................... 78

View Partition/Hard Disk Properties ..................................................................................................................................... 78

Volume Explorer ................................................................................................................................................................... 79

File Transfer Wizard .............................................................................................................................................................. 80

Mount Partition .................................................................................................................................................................... 82

Downgrade NTFS Version ..................................................................................................................................................... 83

Change SID ............................................................................................................................................................................ 83

Defragment MFT ................................................................................................................................................................... 84

Compact MFT ........................................................................................................................................................................ 85

Test Surface .......................................................................................................................................................................... 85

Check File System Integrity ................................................................................................................................................... 86

Edit/View Sectors .................................................................................................................................................................. 86

Send Log Files ........................................................................................................................................................................ 87

View Logs .............................................................................................................................................................................. 88

Typical Scenarios ................................................................................................................. 89

Backup Scenarios ....................................................................................................................................... 89

Backing up a hard disk or partition to external media (CD/DVD) ......................................................................................... 89

Backing up a hard disk or partition to a network drive ........................................................................................................ 91

Backing up a dual boot Mac to an external USB drive.......................................................................................................... 93

Recovery Scenarios .................................................................................................................................... 95

Fixing MBR after a boot virus attack ..................................................................................................................................... 95

Correcting BCD (Boot Configuration Data) ........................................................................................................................... 96

Fixing Windows startup ability ............................................................................................................................................. 97

Restoring a system partition from external media (CD/DVD) ............................................................................................ 100

Restoring a system partition from a network drive ............................................................................................................ 103

Restoring a system partition from a local drive .................................................................................................................. 106

Restoring a dual boot Mac from an external USB drive ..................................................................................................... 108

Copying of data from the corrupted system disk to another hard disk ............................................................................. 111

Burning of data from the corrupted system disk to CD/DVD ............................................................................................. 113

Copying of data from a backup to the corrupted system partition .................................................................................... 115

Restoring separate files and folders from a backup ........................................................................................................... 118

Resize Scenarios ....................................................................................................................................... 122

Creating a new partition to detach operating system from the rest of data ..................................................................... 122

Increasing size of a system partition by taking unused space of an adjacent partition ..................................................... 124

Increasing size of a system partition by taking unused space from any other ................................................................... 126

Increasing size of a system partition by taking unused space of an adjacent logical partition .......................................... 130

Separating OS from media data .......................................................................................................................................... 131

Merging a system partition with an adjacent logical partition........................................................................................... 133

Shrinking a system partition to increase size of a data partition ....................................................................................... 135

Resizing partitions of Apple Boot Camp ............................................................................................................................. 137

Creating Dual Boot Systems ..................................................................................................................... 139

For Windows computers ..................................................................................................................................................... 139

Using 2.2TB+ HDD as internal data storage in Windows XP ....................................................................... 149

Extra Scenarios for WinPE ........................................................................................................................ 151

Adding specific drivers ........................................................................................................................................................ 151

Configuring network ........................................................................................................................................................... 152

Saving log files ..................................................................................................................................................................... 155

Troubleshooter .................................................................................................................. 157

Glossary ............................................................................................................................. 159

Our company is constantly releasing new versions and updates to its software, that's why images shown in this manual may be different from what you see on your screen.

Introduction

Paragon Partition Manager™ 12 Server is an integrated set of powerful tools that is specially designed to tackle most of the problems you might face while using Windows desktops and servers. A highly intelligent program engine together with built-in advanced recovery facilities make it possible to securely carry out partitioning operations of any complexity, optimize performance of NTFS file system, etc. without fear to lose precious data.

In this manual you will find the answers to many of the technical questions, which might arise while using the program.

What’s New in Partition Manager 12

 Split Partition Wizard helps you separate OS and data or different types of data by splitting one partition to two

different partitions of the same type and file system.

 GPT Loader, a special system driver to allow use of all space of modern ultra high capacity drives (larger than

2.2TB) on systems that don't support it.

 WinPE traceroute/ping utility to get detailed information on particular routes and measure transit delays of

packets across an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

 Convert NTFS <> HFS file systems without reformatting.  Support of Windows 8.  Support of Windows Small Business Server 2011.  Support of the restart-free installation.

Product Components

In order to cope with different tasks, the product contains several components:

 Windows based set of utilities is the crucial part of the product. With the help of an easy to use launcher you

may find and run tasks of any complexity in the field of data and system protection, hard disk partitioning and cloning, etc.

 Linux/DOS based recovery environment is a multi-platform bootable media that enables to run utilities under

Linux or PTS DOS, and that way to get access to your hard disk for maintenance or recovery purposes. Both platforms have their strong sides, for instance Linux can boast support of FireWire (i.e. IEEE1394) or USB devices. It enables to burn CD/DVD discs. However there can be some difficulties with detecting new hardware. DOS in its turn has no problems of that kind but is limited in features. The Linux/DOS recovery environment requires no installation and can be of great help when the system fails to boot. Besides it offers a Windows XP like environment.

 WinPE based recovery environment. Especially for keen followers of Windows, our product offers the option to

prepare a WinPE based bootable media. Unlike the Linux/DOS recovery environment it can boast an excellent hardware support and the same interface as the Windows version can. However its system requirements are much tougher.

Features Overview

This chapter dwells upon key benefits and technical highlights of the product.

Features

Let us list some of the features:

User Friendly Fault Minimizing Interface

 Graphical representation of the data to gain a better understanding.  A handy Launcher to easily find and run the required tasks.  Comprehensive wizards to simplify even the most complex operations.  Resize partitions directly on the Disk Map with the drag-and-drop technique.  A context sensitive hint system for all functions of the program.  Previewing the resulting layout of hard disks before actually executing operations (so-called virtual

operations).

Backup Facilities

 Available location for backup images:

- Backup to local mounted partitions.

- Backup to local unmounted (without drive letter assigned) partitions.

- Backup to an external mounted storage to provide for a higher level of data protection and system independence.

- Backup to external media (CD/DVD) to guarantee a high level of data protection as long as the backup media is kept secure.

- Backup to a network drive to stand a better chance of success in case of a hard disk failure.

 Back up separate partitions or entire disks.

Restore Facilities

 Restore an entire disk, separate partitions or only files you need from the previously created backup image.  Restore with Shrink to restore a backup image to a free block of smaller size taking into account only the

amount of actual data of the image.

Boot Management Facilities

 Boot Manager Setup Wizard to easily manage several operating systems on one computer.

Partition/Hard Disk Management Facilities

 Basic functions for initializing, partitioning and formatting hard disks (create, format, delete). Instead of the

standard Windows disk tools, the program supports all popular file systems.

 Express Create Partition Wizard to create a new partition in the most appropriate place of a hard disk, format it

to NTFS and then make it available in the system by assigning a drive letter.

 Split Partition Wizard helps you separate OS and data or different types of data by splitting one partition to two

different partitions of the same type and file system.

Boot Corrector is only available for the bootable recovery environment.

 Merge Partitions Wizard to consolidate the disk space, which originally belongs to two adjacent partitions

(NTFS, FAT16/FAT32), into a single, larger partition.

 Redistribute Free Space Wizard to increase free space on one partition by up-taking the on-disk unallocated

space and the unused space of other partitions.

 Express Resize Partitions Wizard to increase free space on one partition by up-taking the unused space of an

adjacent partition of a hard disk (including partitions of Apple Boot Camp).

 NTFS hot resize upward to enlarge an NTFS partition (system, locked) without rebooting Windows and

interrupting its work.

 Convert a file system (FAT16/32, NTFS, Apple HFS) without reformatting.  Mount a partition (assign a drive letter) of any file system type to make it available for your operating system.  Modify file system parameters (make active/inactive, hide/unhide, etc.).  Install New OS Wizard to make a system ready to install a new operating system.  Undelete Partitions Wizard to recover an accidentally deleted partition.

File System Optimization Facilities

 MFT defragmentation and shrinking to improve performance of NTFS.

Auxiliary Facilities

 GPT Loader is a special system driver to allow use of all space of modern ultra high capacity drives (larger than

2.2TB) on systems that don't support it.

 Conversion of basic MBR disks to basic GPT to enjoy all benefits of the newest partitioning scheme with

minimal effort.

 File Transfer Wizard to make such operations as transferring of files/directories or burning of them to CD/DVD

as easy and convenient as possible. Providing access to Paragon backups as regular folders, it may also help to replace corrupted data from a previously created image in case of an operating system failure.

 Volume Explorer is a handy tool when you have different file systems on the disk, whether they contain an

operating system or just data. Volume Explorer will let you explore a file system of any type and provide access to the necessary files and directories regardless of their security attributes.

 Recovery Media Builder to create a bootable recovery media on a CD, DVD disc, or flash memory, which can

later be used to boot and recover your computer in case of an operating system failure. Moreover, with its help you can save data from partitions of your hard disk directly to compact discs or burn ISO-images. The utility supports various formats of laser discs: CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R, DVD+R double layer, Blu-ray and can handle multi-session burning.

 Network Configuration Wizard to establish a network connection on a bootable recovery media either to save a

backup of a partition/hard disk or just several files on a network computer or retrieve a previously made backup from a network computer for recovery purposes.

 Boot Corrector to fix most of the system boot problems that can be a result of a human factor, program error or

a boot virus activity.

Unfortunately, support of non-Roman characters for the HFS+ file system is unavailable at the moment. The company is about to implement it in the nearest future.

Supported Technologies

Along with using innovative technologies from outside, Paragon has developed a number of its own original technologies that make its products unique and attractive for customers:

 Paragon Hot Backup™ technology to back up locked partitions and hard disks under Windows NT+ family

operating systems providing both high operating efficiency as well as low hardware requirements.

 Paragon Power Shield™ technology to provide data consistency in case of a hardware malfunction, power

outages or an operating system failure.

 Paragon UFSD™ technology to browse partitions of any file system including hidden and unmounted, modify

and copy files and folders, etc.

 Paragon Hot Resize™ technology to enlarge NTFS partitions (system, locked) without rebooting Windows and

interrupting its work.

 Paragon Restore with Shrink™ technology to restore a backup image to a free block of smaller size taking into

account only the amount of actual data of the image.

 Paragon Smart Partition™ technology to securely perform hard disk partitioning operations of any complexity.  Paragon BTE™ technology to set tasks for execution during the system restart, thus saving from the need to use

a bootable media when modifying system partitions.

 Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to provide the copy/backup infrastructure for the Microsoft

Windows XP/Vista/7/Server 2003/2008 operating systems. It offers a reliable mechanism to create consistent point-in-time copies of data known as shadow copies. Developed by Microsoft in close cooperation with the leading copy/backup solution vendors on the market, it is based on a snapshot technology concept.

 Microsoft Dynamic Disk (simple, spanned, striped, mirrored, RAID-5) to offer more management flexibility

without the partition limitation of basic disks. Dynamic storage can be particularly beneficial for large-scale businesses when dealing with many physical hard disks involving complex setup.

 GUID Partition Table (GPT). It is the next generation of a hard disk partitioning scheme developed to lift

restrictions of the old MBR. GPT disks are now supported by Windows Vista/7, Server 2008, Mac OS X and Linux.

Supported File Systems

 Full read/write access to FAT16/FAT32 partitions.  Full read/write access to NTFS (Basic Disks) under Windows, Linux and PTS DOS. Compressed NTFS files are also

supported.

 Full read/write access to Ext2FS/Ext3FS/Ext4FS partitions.  Limited read/write access to Apple HFS+ partitions.

Supported Media

 Support of both MBR and GPT hard disks (2.2TB+ disks included)

It is recommended to use Internet Explorer 5+ or any compatible browser.

 IDE, SCSI and SATA hard disks  SSD (Solid State Drive)  AFD (Advanced Format Drive)  Non-512B sector size drives  CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD+R double layer and also Blu-ray discs  FireWire (i.e. IEEE1394), USB 1.0, USB 2.0, USB 3.0 hard disks  PC card storage devices (MBR and GPT flash memory, etc.)

Getting Started

In this chapter you will find all the information necessary to get the product ready to use.

Distribution

Paragon Partition Manager 12 is distributed in two ways:

 Boxed package from Paragon Software GmbH and resellers  Downloadable package over the Internet at the company’s web-site

Distributive CD

The boxed package includes a distributive CD that is in fact a bootable recovery environment with auto-run of the Windows installation, thus it can be used as a ready-made solution. But if you’re going to run the Windows components, you need to install them first (see Installation).

If you want to download an update/upgrade of the product, it will be in form of the downloadable installation package as described in Online Distribution).

Online Distribution

Partition Manager 12 purchased over the Internet will be in form of an MSI package. After installing the product you can launch the Recovery Media Builder to prepare a recovery media.

Registration

Paragon Software GmbH provides a wide range of online services through its web-portal - www.paragon-

software.com/support/:

 Registration of new users;  Registration of purchased products for registered users;  Available around-the-clock downloading center, where registered users can get product updates/upgrades as

well as all the necessary documentation;

 Downloadable free demo versions and open documentation for all users.

Service

Contact

Visit Paragon Software web site

www.paragon-software.com

Registration & updates web-service

www.paragon-software.com/support

To register as a new user

To register as a new user, please do the following:

1. Run an Internet browser and visit the page: www.paragon-software.com/my-account/;

2. Click Create of the Create a Paragon Account section;

3. Fill out a registration form;

4. Click Register.

The most important field in the form is an E-mail address, as it serves as a login to enter the system. Besides your access password will be sent to this address as well.

To register a new product

If you are a registered user and would like to register Partition Manager 12, please do the following:

1. Run an Internet browser and visit the page: www.paragon-software.com/my-account/;

2. In the Email field of the Authorization section, enter an E-mail used for registration;

3. In the Password field enter a password received after registration;

4. Click Sign in;

5. If the user name and password are valid, you will get to your account;

6. Click Register new product of the Products section;

7. Enter your product serial number in the Serial Number field. You can find it in the product box or obtain from

your reseller. Click Next;

8. On the next page you will be asked to provide some additional data. Also you will need to decide whether you

want to get confirmation on registering the product by E-mail or not. Click Next, and then click Finish.

That is all. The product is now registered.

How to Download Updates/Upgrades

Downloading of updates/upgrades can be fulfilled in the following way:

1. Run an Internet browser and visit the page: www.paragon-software.com/my-account/;

2. In the Email field of the Authorization section, enter an E-mail used for registration;

3. In the Password field enter a password received after registration;

4. Click Sign in;

5. If the user name and password are valid, you will get to your account;

6. Select My Downloads of the Products section to see what updates are available for you;

7. Select the desired update and click Download.

Contacting Paragon Software GmbH

If you have any questions about the company products, please do not hesitate to contact Paragon Software GmbH.

Knowledge Base & Technical Support

kb.paragon-software.com

Pre-sale information

sales@paragon-software.com

During the installation additional free space (up to 1GB) will be required.

System Requirements

For the Windows installation package

 Operating systems:

- Windows 2000 Professional (32 bit only)

- Windows XP (32 and 64 bit)

- Windows Server 2003 (32 and 64 bit)

- Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit)

- Windows Server 2008 (32 and 64 bit)

- Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit)

- Windows 8 (32 and 64 bit)

- Windows Server 2008 R2 (64 bit only)

- Windows Small Business Server 2011

 Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher  Intel Pentium CPU or its equivalent, with 300 MHz processor clock speed  128 MB of RAM (256+ recommended)  Hard disk drive with 250 MB of available space  SVGA video adapter and monitor  Keyboard  Mouse

For the Linux bootable environment

 Intel Pentium CPU or its equivalent, with 300 MHz processor clock speed  256 MB of RAM  SVGA video adapter and monitor  Keyboard  Mouse

In case there is some previous version of the program installed on the computer, the program will offer the user to uninstall it first.

Do not install the program on network drives. Do not use Terminal Server sessions to install and run the program. In both cases, the program functionality will be limited.

For the WinPE bootable environment

 Intel Pentium III CPU or its equivalent, with 1000 MHz processor clock speed  At least 512 MB of RAM  SVGA video adapter and monitor  Keyboard  Mouse

Additional requirements

 Network card to send/retrieve data to/from a network computer  Recordable CD/DVD drive to burn data to compact discs  External USB hard drive to store data.

Installation

To install Paragon Partition Manager 12, please do the following:

1. Run Setup Application. Click on the *.MSI file. This application will guide you through the process of the

program installation. The setup utility is compiled with the InstallShield SDK, hence it contains the standard user interface and set of installation steps.

2. Starting Setup. The Welcome page informs that the application is being installed. Click the Next button to

continue.

3. Confirm License Agreement. The License Agreement page displays the Paragon License Agreement. Read the

agreement and then select the appropriate option to accept. If you do not agree with any conditions stated there, the installation process will be interrupted. By clicking the Print button, the License Agreement may also be printed out.

4. Provide Registration Information. On the Registration page you are to provide your product key and serial

number.

5. Provide Customer Information. On the Customer Information page you are to provide the standard

information, i.e. a user name and an organization. Besides you need to decide whether to make the program available for all users of this computer (if several) or only for the current one.

6. Select an Installation Folder. The Destination Folder page allows you to choose a folder where the program will

be installed. By default, the installation folder will be created as:

C:\Program Files\Paragon\Paragon Partition Manager 12. To select another folder, click the Change… button.

After you have selected the required folder, click the Next button to continue.

The program provides wide opportunities in the field of hard disk structure modification, so just to be on the safe side, please make a backup of your data before carrying out any operation.

7. Confirm Installation. On the Ready to Install the Program page click the Install button to start the installation or

the Back button to return to any of the previous pages and modify the installation settings.

8. Copying Files. The Copying Files page shows the overall progress of the installation. Click the Cancel button to

abort the setup.

9. Finishing the Installation. The Final page reports the end of the setup process. Click the Finish button to

complete the wizard.

First Start

To start Paragon Partition Manager 12 under Windows, please click the Windows Start button and then select Programs > Paragon Partition Manager™ 12 > Paragon Partition Manager™.

The first component that will be displayed is called the Express Launcher. Thanks to a well thought-out categorization and hint system, it provides quick and easy access to wizards and utilities that we consider worth using on a regular basis. With its help you can also start up the traditional launcher, the help system or go to the program’s home page.

To know more on how to handle the product’s interface and accomplish typical operations,

please consult the Windows Components chapter.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Building Recovery Media

Recovery Media Builder can help you accomplish the following operations:

 Prepare the Linux/DOS recovery environment (included in the installation package) on external media (CD, DVD,

or flash memory) to boot and run utilities under Linux or PTS DOS, and that way to get access to your hard disk for maintenance or recovery purposes (strongly recommended);

 Prepare a custom Linux/DOS recovery environment by adding any data you like to the standard image;  Prepare a bootable recovery environment from any ISO image;  Create from the master CD the Linux/DOS recovery environment on a CD/DVD disc, or flash memory.

Below you can find how to build our Linux/DOS based recovery environment on a thumb drive:

1. Plug in a thumb drive of at least 250 MBs in size. Please note all data on that drive will be deleted.

2. In the Main Menu: select Tools > Recovery Media Builder…

3. On the Wizard's Welcome page, click the Next button.

4. Select the Flash Memory option.

5. Select the Typical option.

Please use Boot Media Builder to prepare the WinPE recovery environment, which you can get here: www.paragon-software.com/my-account/.

Recovery Media Builder can help you prepare our recovery environment either on a

CD/DVD disc or a thumb drive.

To automatically boot from the recovery media please make sure the on-board BIOS is set up to boot from CD/USB first.

By default the Normal Mode will be automatically initiated after a 10 second idle period.

6. Select the required thumb drive from the list of flash memory devices available in the system at the moment (if

several).

7. You will have to confirm the operation.

Booting from the Linux/DOS Recovery Media

The Linux/DOS recovery environment can be used to boot your computer into Linux or PTS DOS to get access to your hard disk for maintenance or recovery purposes. It also has the PTS DOS safe mode, which may help in a number of nonstandard situations such as interfering hardware settings or serious problems on the hardware level. In this case, only basic files and drivers (such as hard disk drivers, a monitor driver, and a keyboard driver) will be loaded.

Startup

To start working with the Linux/DOS recovery environment, please take the following steps:

1. Start up the computer from our Linux/DOS recovery media.

2. Launch a boot mode you need (Normal, Safe, Low-Graphics Safe) in the Boot menu.

3. Click on the required operation to start. Hints on the selected at the moment item will help you make the right

choice.

4. Consult the help system by pressing ALT+F1 to know more on the subject.

While working with the recovery environment you might experience some inconvenience caused by possible video artifacts. It is just a result of changing video modes and in no way will affect the program functionality. If this is the case, please wait a bit and everything will be OK.

Boot menu

The Boot menu contains the following commands:

 Normal Mode. Boot into the Linux normal mode. This mode uses the full set of drivers (recommended);  Safe Mode. Boot into the PTS DOS mode. This mode can be used as an alternative of the Linux normal mode if it

fails to work properly;

 Low-Graphics Safe Mode. Boot into the PTS DOS safe mode. In this case, only the minimal set of drivers will be

included, like hard disk, monitor, and keyboard drivers. This mode has simple graphics and a simple menu;

 Floppy Disk. Reboot the computer from a system floppy disk;  Hard Disk 0. Boot from the primary hard disk;  Find OS(s) on your hard disks. The program will scan hard disks of your computer to find any bootable operating

system.

To move within the menu, please use the arrow keys of the computer keyboard.

Normal Mode

When the Normal mode is selected, the Linux launch menu appears:

If you are going to use network resources, first launch the Network Configuration Wizard to establish a network connection.

The Linux/DOS recovery environment assigns drive letters to partitions the way it is done in DOS, i.e. one after another, primary partitions at first. Thus mounted partitions may have different drive letters from Windows.

 Partition Manager (enables to run wizards and dialogs, to specify program settings, to visualize the operating

environment and the hard disk configuration);

 Restore Wizard (allows restoring hard disks and partitions);  Express Resize Wizard (enables to increase free space on one partition by up-taking the unused space of an

adjacent partition);

 File Transfer Wizard (allows coping files/folders to another disk or a partition as well as recording them to

CD/DVD);

 Boot Corrector (helps to correct the Windows System Registry without Windows being loaded);  Network Configurator (enables to establish a network connection under Linux);

 Log Saver (helps to collect and send the necessary log files to the Technical Support);  View the mounted partitions (the list of all mounted partitions will be displayed);

 Eject CD/DVD;  Command Line (allows experienced users to execute any operation);  Reboot the computer;  Power off the computer.

To move within the menu, please use the arrow keys of the computer keyboard.

Please use Boot Media Builder to prepare the WinPE recovery environment, which you can get here: www.paragon-software.com/my-account/.

To automatically boot from the recovery media please make sure the on-board BIOS is set up to boot from CD/USB first.

Safe Mode

When the Safe mode is selected, the PTS DOS launch menu appears. It has nearly the same functionality as for the Normal mode except for the Network Configurator and Log Saver commands. Besides due to certain limitations of the PTS DOS environment, there is no possibility to burn CD/DVD discs.

Low Graphics Safe Mode

When the Low Graphics mode is selected, the PTS DOS launch menu appears. It has the same functionality and looks similar to the Safe mode but graphically simpler.

Booting from the WinPE Recovery Media

The WinPE recovery environment can be a real alternative to the Linux/DOS recovery environment. Providing nearly the same level of functionality it offers an excellent hardware support and the same interface as the Windows version does.

Startup

To start working with the WinPE recovery environment, please take the following steps:

1. Start up the computer from the WinPE recovery media.

2. Once it has been loaded, you will see the Universal Application Launcher. In general it enables to run

components of the product, load drivers for undefined hardware or establish a network connection.

The WinPE based recovery environment offers excellent hardware support. However in

case it doesn’t have a driver for your disk controller, your hard disks will be unavailable.

Please consult the Adding specific drivers scenario to know how to tackle this issue.

3. Click on the required operation to start. Hints on the selected at the moment item will help you make the right

choice.

4. Consult the help system by pressing ALT+F1 to know more on the subject.

Basic Concepts

This chapter explains terms and ideas that show how the program works. To understand these helps to obtain a general notion of the operation performance and makes it easier for the user to operate the program.

Dynamic Disks

As you probably know, MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista/Server 2003/2008 support four primary partitions per physical hard disk, one of which can be extended. Certainly there is the possibility to create logical drives within the extended partition. Such types of disks are called basic. Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003/2008 follow the same strategy: You can have a maximum of four primary partitions, one of which can be an extended partition with logical drives. However, these operating systems also introduce a new disk configuration type - dynamic disk - which must be understood to effectively configure and manage hard disks.

Dynamic disk is a physical disk that doesn't use partitions or logical drives. Instead, it contains only dynamic volumes. Regardless of what format you use for the file system, only Win2K computers can access dynamic volumes directly.

It is strongly recommended not to modify the hard disk configuration with Windows Disk Manager. Otherwise it may lead to unexpected consequences, right up to BSOD and inability to boot in Windows XP/Vista. Please use our program to correctly update both MBR and GPT.

However, computers that aren't running Win2K can access the dynamic volumes remotely when connected to the shared folders over the network.

Dynamic disks can co-exist on a system with basic disks. The only limitation is that you cannot mix Basic and Dynamic disks on the same hard drive.

There are five types of dynamic volumes: simple (uses free space from a single disk), spanned (created from free disk space that is linked together from multiple disks), striped (a volume the data of which is interleaved across two or more physical disks), mirrored (a fault-tolerant volume the data of which is duplicated on two physical disks, and RAID-5 volumes (a fault-tolerant volume the data of which is striped across an array of three or more disks).

With dynamic storage, you can perform disk and volume management without the need to restart Windows.

Limitations:

 Dynamic disks are not supported on portable computers.  Dynamic disks are not supported on Windows XP Home Edition-based computers.  You cannot create mirrored volumes or RAID-5 volumes on Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP

Professional, or Windows XP 64-Bit Edition-based computers.

Thus, the dynamic disk is a new way of looking at hard disk configuration. Dynamic disks offer you more management flexibility without the partition limitation of basic disks. Dynamic disks can contain an unlimited number of volumes, but they cannot contain partitions or logical drives. Dynamic storage can be particularly beneficial for large-scale businesses when dealing with many physical hard disks involving complex setup.

GPT versus MBR

GUID Partition Table (GPT) is the next generation of a hard disk partitioning scheme developed to lift restrictions of the old MBR. Being a part of the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) standard proposed by Intel to replace the outdated PC BIOS, it offers a number of crucial benefits:

 Up to 128 primary partitions for the Windows implementation (only 4 in MBR);  The maximum allowed partition size is 18 exabytes (only 2 terabytes in MBR);  More reliable thanks to replication and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) protection of the partition table;  A well defined and fully self-identifying partition format (data critical to the platform operation is located in

partitions, but not in un-partitioned or hidden sectors as this is the case with MBR)

Apple Boot Camp

Boot Camp is a special utility to help you set up a dual boot system (Mac OS X and 32-bit Windows XP/Vista) on Intelbased Macs. It enables to securely re-partition your hard disk (resize an existing HFS+ partition to create a separate partition for Windows) and then launch the installation process. With Boot Camp all the necessary drivers will be at your disposal. Moreover after Windows has been installed it will serve as a boot manager to choose what operating system to start up.

64-bit Support

The bulk of software today is written for a 32-bit processor. It can meet the requirements of almost any end user. However that is not the case when dealing with servers processing large amounts of data with complex calculations of very large numbers. That is where 64-bit architecture comes into play.

It can boast improved scalability for business applications that enables to support more customer databases and more simultaneous users on each server. Besides a 64-bit kernel can access more system resources, such as memory allocation per user. A 64-bit processor can handle over 4 billion times more memory addresses than a 32-bit processor. With these resources, even a very large database can be cached in memory.

Although many business applications run without problems on 32-bit systems, others have grown so complex that they use up the 4 GB memory limitation of a 32-bit address space. With this large amount of data, fewer memory resources are available to meet memory needs. On a 64-bit server, most queries are able to perform in the buffers available to the database.

Some 32-bit applications make the transition to the 64-bit environment seamlessly others do not. For instance, systemlevel utilities and programs that provide direct hardware access are likely to fail. Our program offers a full-fledged support of the 64-bit architecture providing fault-tolerant work for such system dependent modules as Hot Processing.

Drive Partitioning

As you probably know a hard drive is to be split into one or more partitions, since it cannot hold data until it is carved up and space is set aside for an operating system. Until recently most PCs used to have just one partition, which filled the entire hard disk and contained an OS. The situation has changed however, thanks to new cost-effective high capacity hard drives, thus opening up numerous possibilities for PC users, such as editing video, archiving music, backing up CD images, etc. Huge increase in space is great, but it poses a number of problems, most important of which are effective data organization and speed.

Large drives are always going to take longer to search than smaller volumes, and an operating system is going to have its work cut out both finding and organizing files. It is for this reason that many people decide to invest in multiple hard drives, but there is an easy solution – drive partitioning. Partitioning lets you divide a single physical drive into a number of logical drives, each of which servers as a container with its own drive letter and volume label, thus enabling the operating system to process data more efficiently. Besides partitioning makes it possible to organize data so that it is easy to find and manage. You can set aside, for instance, 40 GB of a 160 GB hard drive for the OS, 70 GB for storing video and another 50 GB for your favorite music collections to provide transparent data storage.

It is also worth mentioning to that with a hard drive properly partitioned, such routine operations as files defragmentation or consistency check will not be that annoying and time-consuming any more.

By detaching the OS from the rest of the data you can tackle one more crucial issue – in case of a system malfunction, you can get the system back on track in minutes by recovering it from a backup image located on the other partition of the hard drive.

But that is not all drive partitioning may be used for. If you are willing to play games in Windows while browsing the Internet in Linux, 100-percent sure that no virus will attack your PC, drive partitioning is a necessity. In order to run several OSs on a single hard drive you are to create a corresponding number of partitions to effectively delineate the boundaries of each OS.

Windows Components

In the given section you can find all the information necessary to successfully work with the Windows version of the product.

1. Main Menu

2. Tool Bar

3. Virtual Operations Bar

4. Common Tasks Bar

5. Explorer Bar

6. Disk Map

7. Partition List

Interface Overview

This chapter introduces the graphical interface of the program. The design of the interface precludes any mistake being made on the part of the user. Most operations are performed through the system of wizards. Buttons and menus are accompanied by easy understandable icons. Nevertheless, any problems that might occur while managing the program can be tackled by reading this very chapter.

General Layout

When you start the program, the first component that is displayed is called the Launcher. It enables to run wizards and dialogs, to specify program settings, to visualize the operating environment and the hard disk configuration.

The Launcher’s window can be conditionally subdivided into several sections that differ in their purpose and

functionality:

8. Properties Bar

9. Legend Bar

10. Status Bar

MENU ITEM

FUNCTIONALITY

Tools

View Log Files

View logs on the carried out operations

Send Log Files

Compress and send the log to the Paragon Support Team

Log Saver

A wizard will help you collect and send logs to the Paragon Support Team

Setup Boot Manager…

Manage several operating systems on one computer

Recovery Media Builder…

Restore the system even when the current operating system cannot boot anymore

File Transfer Wizard…

Transfer data from any media

Settings...

Edit the general settings of the program

Exit

Exit the program

Changes

Undo `the last virtual operation`

Cancel the last virtual operation on the List of Pending Operations

Redo `the last virtual operation`

Cancel the last undo virtual operation on the List of Pending Operations

View Changes…

Display the List of Pending Operations

Apply Changes

Launch the real execution of virtual operations

Discard All Changes

Cancel all virtual operations on the List of Pending Operations

Reload Disk Info

Refresh the current information about disks

Wizards

Express Create Partition…

Create an NTFS partition and make it ready for work

Create Partition…

Create a partition of any file system

A number of panels offer similar functionality with a synchronized layout. The program enables to conceal some of them to simplify the interface management.

All panels are separated by vertical and horizontal expandable sliders, allowing the user to customize the screen layout.

Main Menu

The Main Menu provides access to the entire functionality of the program. The available functions are as listed below:

Format Partition…

Format a partition of any file system

Delete Partition…

Delete a partition of any file system

Express Resize Partitions…

Increase free space on one partition by up-taking the unused space of an adjacent partition

Undelete Partitions…

Recover an accidentally deleted partition

Merge Partitions…

Merge adjacent partitions of NTFS, FAT or FAT32 file systems

Split Partition Wizard…

Separate OS and data or different types of data by splitting one partition to two different partitions of the same type and file system

Redistribute Free Space…

Redistribute available disk space of existed partitions

Install New OS…

Make your system ready to install a new operating system

Back up Disk or Partition…

Create a sector-based archive of an entire hard disk or separate partitions

Restore…

Restore an entire hard disk, separate partitions, or files from the backup image

Hard Disk

Convert to Basic…

Convert a dynamic MBR disk containing simple volume(s) into a basic MBR disk

Convert to Basic MBR hard

disk…

Convert a basic or a dynamic GPT disk containing simple volume(s) into a basic MBR disk

Convert to GPT hard disk

Convert a basic MBR disk into a basic GPT disk

Update MBR

Update MBR (Master Boot Record) of the selected hard disk

Change Primary Slots…

Modify the primary partitions enumeration for the selected hard disk

Change SID…

Change SID (Security Identifier) value of any found Windows installation

Edit/View Sectors…

View/edit sectors of the selected hard disk

Properties…

Get in-depth information on the properties of selected hard disk

Partition

Create Partition…

Create a partition

Format Partition…

Format a partition

Delete Partition…

Delete a partition

Move/Resize…

Move/Resize the selected partition

Convert File System…

Convert file system of the selected partition

Assign Drive Letter…

Assign drive letter to the selected partition

Remove Drive Letter…

Remove drive letter for the selected partition

Hide Partition…

Make the selected partition unavailable for the operating system

Unhide Partition…

Make the selected partition available for the operating system

Mark Partition as Active

Make the selected partition bootable by default

Mark Partition as Inactive

Make the selected partition non-bootable by default

Change Volume Label…

Change volume label of the selected partition

Change Cluster Size…

Change cluster size of the selected partition

Change Serial Number…

Change serial number of the selected partition

Downgrade NTFS version…

Decrease version of the selected NTFS partition

Change Partition ID…

Change identifier of the selected partition

Change SID…

Change SID (Security Identifier) value of any found Windows installation

Make Partition Primary…

Make the selected partition Primary

Make Partition Logical…

Make the selected partition Logical

Defragment MFT…

Defragment MFT (Master File Table) of the selected NTFS partition

Compact MFT…

Shrink MFT (Master File Table) of the selected NTFS partition

Test Surface…

Test surface of the selected partition/block of free space

Check File System

Integrity…

Check the selected partition for possible file system errors

Edit/View Sectors…

View/edit sectors of the selected partition

Properties…

Get in-depth information on the properties of selected partition

View

Layouts

Manage the Launcher layout with several predefined profiles

Toolbar

Manage the Tool Bar representation: show / hide standard and navigation buttons, text labels and large icons

Status Bar

Display the Status Bar

Common Tasks Bar

Display the Common Tasks Bar

Disk Map Legend

Display the Disk Map legend

Properties and Commands

Display the Explorer Bar

Disk Map Location

Select whether the Disk Map will be located on the top of the main window or at the bottom

Help

Open the Help system (you can also do it by pressing F1)

About

Open the dialog with information about the program

The Main Menu contents available at the moment may vary depending on the selected object.

BUTTON

FUNCTIONALITY

Create an image of a hard disk or partition

Increase free space on one partition by up-taking the unused space of an adjacent partition

Collect and send logs to Support

Switch to Express launcher

Open the Help system

BUTTON

FUNCTIONALITY

Cancel the last virtual operation on the List of Pending Operations

Cancel the last undo virtual operation on the List of Pending Operations

Display the List of Pending Operations

Launch the real execution of virtual operations

Cancel all virtual operations on the List of Pending Operations

Tool Bar

The Toolbar provides fast access to the most frequently used operations:

Virtual Operations Bar

The program supports previewing the resulting layout of hard disks before actually executing operations (so-called virtual mode of execution). In fact, when the virtual mode is enabled, the program does not accomplish operations immediately, but places them on the List of Pending Operations for later execution.

The Virtual Operations Bar enables to manage pending operations.

Virtual mode is an effective way of protection from any troubles, since no operations will be executed until clicking the Apply button for confirmation, thus giving a second chance to weigh all pros and cons of this or that particular operation. The program politely reminds the user that there are unsaved changes by showing the following window:

Basic Partitioning Tasks

Starting the Express Create Partition Wizard to create an NTFS partition and make it ready for work.

Starting the Create Partition Wizard to create a partition of any file system.

Starting the Format Partition Wizard to format an existing partition to one of the file systems supported by the program.

Starting the Delete Partition Wizard to delete a partition of any file system.

Advanced Partitioning Tasks

Starting the Express Resize Partitions Wizard to redistribute free space between two adjacent partitions.

Starting the Merge Partitions Wizard to merge adjacent partitions of NTFS, FAT, FAT32 file systems.

Starting the Redistribute Free Space Wizard to redistribute available disk space of existing partitions.

Starting the Undelete Partitions Wizard to recover accidentally deleted partitions.

Backup Tasks

Starting the Sector Backup Wizard to create an archive of a hard disk or separate partitions.

Starting the Restore Wizard to restore a hard disk, separate partition, or files from the backup image.

Common Tasks Bar

The Common Tasks Bar is located on the left side of the main window. It is intended for easy access to the program's wizards.

The bar contains several tabs. Each tab includes a separate button bar which can be folded by clicking it.

Tools

Starting the File Transfer Wizard to transfer data from any media. Besides it provides access to Paragon backups as regular folders to browse through their contents or copy required files.

Starting the Boot Manager Setup Wizard to easily manage several operating systems on one computer.

Starting the Install New OS Wizard to install a new operating system.

Starting the Log Saver Wizard to collect and send logs to Support.

Help and Documentation

Launching the help system (you can also do it by pressing F1).

Opening the page which contains information about the program. This page will be displayed in the Explorer Bar.

Disk Map

The Disk Map is displayed in the Explorer Bar when the Disk View tab is selected. It is located either at the top or at the bottom of the window, depending on the state of the Disk Map Location option (Main Menu: View > Disk Map Location).

As the name infers, the Disk Map displays the layout of physical and logical disks. Physical disks are represented with rectangle bars that contain small-sized bars. These small-sized bars represent logical disks. Their color depends on the file system of the appropriate partition.

Large-sized bars display the following information about physical disks:

 Manufacturer,  Model.

Small-sized bars display the following information about logical disks:

 Serial number,  Drive letter,  Total size,  File system.

Furthermore, it is possible to estimate the used disk space by looking at the size of the bar’s shaded area. The program offers to choose from several types of the disk layout scaling. It’s done especially to increase the program usability. For instance, if you’ve got a high capacity hard drive containing both very large (more than 100 GB) and rather small (less

than 10 GB) partitions, you can select the logarithmic type to make all partitions readable, otherwise (selecting the

The drag-and-drop functionality is not available when the logarithmic type of the disk layout is selected.

You can switch between these components by clicking tabs on the left side of the Explorer Bar.

linear type) you won’t be able to see small partitions at all, but thing strips. On the other hand, if the proportional disk

layout is critical for you, the linear type is exactly what you need.

Nevertheless there’s a compromise solution – linear scaling with the minimal limit to small partitions. So if a partition is too small it will remain readable.

Just click on the arrow icon on the top right side of the Disk Map to select the desired scaling type.

Disk Map is synchronized with the Explorer Bar. Thus by selecting a disk on the Disk Map, the Explorer Bar will automatically display detailed information on it.

Explorer Bar

The Explorer Bar is located in the center of the main window which emphasizes its importance. The bar displays reference information including:

 The help system  General information on the product including its name, version and a list of helpful links  Detailed information about disks selected on the Disk Map  Volume Explorer utility  Disk Editor utility

According to these categories the Explorer Bar has several tabs:

 Disk View, which offers the user the following options:

- Partition List to get a clear-cut picture of the current state of the system hard disks/partitions

- Disk Editor to view/edit sectors of the selected partition/hard disk

- Volume Explorer to browse and export contents of the selected partition/hard disk

- Properties to view detailed information on the selected partition/hard disk in the bright graphical form

 Help, which contains the program help and general information on the product.

You can access the desired information by clicking on the appropriate tab.

BUTTON

FUNCTIONALITY

Return to the previously browsed page

Open the next browsed page

Stop loading the current page

Refresh the contents of the current page

The Explorer Bar is a fully-functional embedded HTML browser, which offers the possibility to address, for example, the company's website to look through important technical notes or download the latest updates without having to close the program.

The program help is also HTML-oriented. You can read it and follow external links from to get additional information.

To easily navigate through browsed pages, the program provides the following functionality:

Partition List

The Partition List is another helpful tool that enables you to get a clear-cut picture of the current state of the system hard disks/partitions. Partitions are sorted according to their starting position. For every item of the list there is the possibility to call the context-sensitive popup menu with available operations. Besides, the program provides detailed information on all hard disks/partitions found in the system including the following properties:

- Name,

- Volume label (if exists),

- Partition type (Primary/Extended /Logical),

- File system type,

- Size,

- Amount of used and unused (free) space,

- Start/End cylinder,

- Start/End head,

- Start/End sector

- Free size in sectors/bytes

- Active/Inactive attribute

- Hidden/Unhidden attribute

You may customize outlook of the Partition List by clicking on the arrow icon on the top right side of the panel.

By marking a checkbox opposite the required item you can choose whether to display it or not. Besides, you can change its order by pressing the Move up or Move down buttons.

If you don’t need the Disk Map, please click the shown below icon to disable it:

Properties Bar

The Properties Bar provides information on the selected at the moment partition/hard disk:

For a hard disk

 Model,  Serial number,  Type of hard disk (basic or dynamic),  Total size (in GB),  Information on geometry of the disk (amount of sectors per track, heads and cylinders).

For a partition

 Drive letter assigned to the disk,  Volume label (if available),  Type of the logical disk,  File system (represented by the color of the graph and the selected bar),

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To get a detailed description to any setting, control, or field of the program just click the hint button and then the object you need.

 Total size, used space and free space (in GB or MB).

Besides you can modify practically any partition property by clicking on the required value.

Legend Bar

The Legend Bar explains the color scheme used for disk and partition presentation. You can hide (or show) the bar with the appropriate Main Menu item: View > Disk Map Legend. When it is activated it can be found at the bottom of the

Explorer Bar.

The program distinguishes between the following types of known file systems:

- FAT16/32

- NTFS

- Linux Ext2/3/4

- Apple HFS

Status Bar

This is the bottom part of the main window. The Status Bar displays menu hints, for each item the cursor points to.

The user can hide (or show) the bar with the appropriate Main Menu item: View > Status Bar.

Settings Overview

The Settings dialog is available from the Main Menu: Tools > Settings. All the settings are grouped into several sections, which functions are described in the following paragraphs. The list of sections is placed on the left side of the dialog. By selecting a section from the list, you can open a set of options.

General Options

This section contains a set of general options that will be taken into account during any operation carried out with the program:

 Partition Alignment mode. There are three options you can choose from:

- Legacy. DOS and Windows OSes before Vista required that partitions had to be aligned to the “disk cylinder”

or 63 sectors to address and access sectors correctly. It was OK, until 4K hard drives came into scene. When partitions are aligned this way on this type of disk, each logical cluster is linked to two physical 4K clusters, thus resulting in a double read-write operation.

- Vista. Since Windows Vista, operating systems do not use the archaic CHS (cylinder/head/sector) addressing

scheme, but the Logical Block Addressing (LBA), where sectors are addressed continuously over the whole disk drive. It is optimal for both, 512B and new 4K disk drivers.

- Inheritance. Select the option to disable automatic alignment of partitions.

 Check FS integrity policy. Accomplishment of any data-sensitive operation (resize, move, merge, redistribute,

change cluster size, etc.) is potential with data loss. To minimize this risk, it’s recommended to check integrity of your file system before this type of operations, despite the fact that it’s quite time consuming. We offer you several options to let you choose, which is best for you:

- Always. Maximum protection, but minimal performance. The file system integrity will be checked each time

it’s necessary to guarantee the maximum protection for the on-disk data.

- Once. Standard protection with acceptable performance. The file system integrity will be checked for each

volume only once just before accomplishing data-sensitive operations.

- Never. No protection, but maximum performance. If you’re not 100% sure your disk is rock solid, please do

not use this option.

 Data Loss Protection mode. To guarantee safety for your information when a data-sensitive operation has been

abruptly interrupted as a result of a computer reset, or a power outage, there are several techniques, that correspond to the options below:

- Do not protect. No protection, but maximum performance. If you’re not 100% sure you’re completely safe

from a power outage, or an accidental reset of your computer, please do not use this option.

- Reset. Standard protection with acceptable performance. Maintaining a special journal, our program

enables to automatically complete a data-sensitive operation interrupted by an accidental reset of your computer from our bootable recovery media, thus reviving the corrupted partition.

- Power loss. Maximum protection, but minimal performance. Besides journaling, our program will also

disable cache of your disk when accomplishing data-sensitive operations to avoid data loss even in case of a power outage.

Splitting images enables to tackle problems caused by a maximum file size limitation of some file systems.

Backup Image Options

This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account during backup/restore operations:

 Control archive integrity. Mark the checkbox to guarantee that all backup images created with the program are

100 percent flawless. If you decided not to control the archive integrity, the backup operation would take about 3-5% less time.

 Set image file names automatically. Mark the checkbox to make the program automatically set a file name for

every volume of a complex backup image. Otherwise you will need to do it manually during the backup operation.

 Compression level. From the pull-down list you can select the desired compression level for backup images that

will be used by default.

 Enable image splitting. Mark the checkbox to automatically split every backup image to volumes of a particular

size.

 Maximum split size. With the spinner control you can specify a maximum size for backup volumes.

General Copy and Backup Options

This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account during copy and backup operations:

 HDD raw processing. Mark the checkbox to copy/back up a hard disk in the sector-by-sector mode, thus

ignoring its information structure (e.g. unallocated space or unused sectors of existing partitions will be processed as well). This can help to avoid problems with hidden data created by certain applications or the system administrator. However, it will take more time to accomplish the operation.

 Partition raw processing. Mark the checkbox to copy a partition in the sector-by-sector mode to successfully

process unknown file systems. However it is not recommended to enable this option when working with supported file systems as it takes more time to accomplish the operation.

 Skip OS auxiliary files. Mark the checkbox to skip OS auxiliary files (like pagefile.sys, hiberfil.sys, etc.), thus

reducing the operation time and the resulted size of the backup image.

 Automatic BCD Update. Unmark the checkbox to suppress automatic update of BCD (Boot Configuration Data)

after copy/restore operations.

CD/DVD/BD Recording Options

This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account during CD/DVD/BD burn operations:

 Burn every CD/DVD/BD to the end. By default, the program does not create ISO 9660 compliant burning

sessions, as it processes data on-the-fly and can only estimate the resulted session size. That’s why no third party tool will get access to the recorded data. To tackle the issue, mark the checkbox to make the program create a standard Disk-at-Once session. It may slow down the burning process, as every CD/DVD/BD will be recorded up to the end, no matter how much actual information to contain.

 Recording speed. The user may define how fast a CD/DVD/BD will be recorded (minimum, normal and

maximum). Besides there is an automatic mode when the program will set the most appropriate speed for every CD/DVD/BD.

 Bootable ISO image. That’s the image to be placed together with the backup data. By default, the program

offers its own bootable ISO image, which contains a Linux/DOS recovery environment. However, the user is free to use any bootable ISO image.

 CD/DVD/BD boot capability. The program enables to choose whether any recorded CD/DVD/BD will be

bootable, or only the first one for a session, or without that function at all.

 Folder where the ISO image is to be placed. When the user decides not to physically burn a CD/DVD/BD, but

create an ISO image file, this very folder will be used to contain these images.

Hot Processing Options

In this section you may configure the hot processing mode:

 Enable hot processing. Mark the checkbox to enable the so called hot data processing mode that is specially

designed to process data without restarting your operating system.

 Hot processing technology. From the pull-down list you can select the required hot processing technology.  Always use hot processing. Select the option to process partitions without making them locked. Thus you will

be able to keep working with them as usual.

 Use hot processing only when partition is locked. Select the option to use the hot processing only when

partitions are locked and cannot be processed without restarting the computer. Please keep in mind, that once you start any operation on a partition in this mode, it will automatically be locked by the program, thus you won't be able to keep working with it as usual.

 Hot processing temporary drive. Here you can select a disk drive that will be used to store the temporary hot

backup data (by default – C:).

 Attempts to start VSS. Here you can set how many attempts to start Microsoft VSS the program is to do before

automatically rebooting the system and accomplishing the operation in a special boot-up mode.

 Timeout between attempts (in seconds). Here you can set a time period between different attempts to start

Microsoft VSS.

 Switch between hot processing technologies. Mark the checkbox to automatically switch between Paragon Hot

Processing and Microsoft VSS if one of them is unavailable at the moment.

Partitioning Options

This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account during partitioning operations:

 Request confirmation before partition deletion. Mark the checkbox to activate an additional security

mechanism. Thus when going to delete a partition you will be automatically requested to enter its label.

 Request confirmation when converting FAT16 to FAT32. Mark the checkbox to automatically request

confirmation before converting FAT16 to FAT32. There are a number of situations when this kind of conversion is the only way out to accomplish the operation. For instance, you are going to migrate your system to a larger hard disk with the proportional resize of existing partitions, what is very convenient. As a result you can get original FAT16 partitions go beyond the 4GB limit. Thus without conversion to FAT32, this operation will in no way be possible to accomplish. The same goes for any copy hard disk/partition or restore hard disk/partition operation involving an extra upsizing.

E-Mail Options

This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account during the Send log files and Send e-mail notification operations:

 Outgoing mail server (SMTP). To send messages by using the built-in mail client, it is necessary to have access to

a computer running an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server. All outgoing messages are first sent to the SMTP server, which in its turn delivers them to the required recipients. The address may be represented as a traditional Internet host name (e.g.: mail.com) or as an IP numeric address (e.g. xxx.xxx.xxx.xx).

 User e-mail address. Specify an e-mail address that has been assigned by the Internet Service Provider or

organization's e-mail administrator.

 My outgoing server requires authentication. Activate the option to allow the program to make authentication

on the server before sending messages.

- User name. Enter the name that will be used to log in to the e-mail account.

- Password. Enter the password that will be used to access the mail server.

When you’re ready with the settings, click on the Send test e-mail button to check if everything is OK.  Send e-mail notification on apply. Specify an e-mail to send notifications on the carried out operations.

- Send mail in HTML format. Activate the option to create messages in the HTML format instead of plain text.

- Send complete report after applying operations. Activate the option to create an in-depth report on the

By clicking the link at the bottom of the window you can jump to the Operation

Dependency Options.

You won't be notified if an operation requires the system restart.

carried out operations and send it after performing the last operation.

- Send graphical view of the disk sub-system before and after apply. Activate the option to allow the program to attach two pictures of the disk layout made before and after the operation is completed.

Operation Dependency Options

This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account when the Send e-mail notification on apply function is enabled. By marking/unmarking a checkbox opposite the required operation you can choose whether to receive an email notification on its completion or not.

Virtual Mode Options

In this section you may configure the virtual mode:

 Allow virtual mode. Mark the checkbox to enable the virtual mode. It is an effective way of protection from any

troubles, since no operation will be executed until confirmation, thus giving you a second chance to weigh all pros and cons of this or that particular operation.

We strongly recommend you to enable this mode.

An incorrectly chosen time zone might lead to inability to launch certain software.

An incorrectly chosen codepage will certainly result in corruption of non-English file names.

 Close progress dialog automatically. Mark the checkbox to automatically close the progress dialog after

accomplishing operations.

File System Conversion Options

This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account when converting FAT and NTFS file systems. By default, the program takes locale (regional) settings from the system. Problems might occur however because of different standards for file names and file time stamps (Created, Modified and Last Access Time) of NTFS and FATxx file systems.

To tackle problems of that kind you can manually set:

 Time zone to use during the convert operation. NTFS keeps file timestamps in GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

while FAT uses a fixed local date and time. The program takes proper account of these differences and enables to adjust timestamp values.

 Language for file names to use during the convert operation. NTFS stores file names in Unicode while

FAT/FAT32 uses ANSI to save short file names (also called the DOS aliases). The codepage information is required for the correct conversion of non-English file names from Unicode to ANSI and vice versa.

 Request confirmation of settings before NTFS < - > FAT/FAT32 conversion. Mark the checkbox to automatically

display the local settings dialog to check and modify (if necessary) the default parameters before launching the convert file system operation.

We strongly recommend you not to choose the Minimal option, as in case of having

problems with the program, our Support Team won’t be able to study operation logs, thus

help you out.

Log Files Options

In this section you can specify a storage life span for the stubact.log file:

 Infinite not to empty the file ever;  Minimal to have the file emptied all the time;  Custom to set a certain storage life span for the file. Please note, once the defined period has been expired, the

file will be emptied.

Viewing Disk Properties

The main tool to view in-depth information on the properties of hard disks is the Disk Map. It represents the actual state of the computer’s hard disks.

Generally the hard disks are represented on the map by rectangular bars, which also contain small-sized bars. The smallsized bars represent logical disks (partitions). When you select a large-sized bar, the Explorer Bar displays information about the disk in a bright, graphical form.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

The model and serial number of the disk serve as the title of the browsed page. The disk layout is shown in form of a circular graph, where the color of a sector corresponds to a file system of an appropriate partition. On the right you may see a table, which contains the following information:

 Type of hard disk (basic or dynamic),  Total size (in GB),  Information on geometry of the disk (amount of sectors per track, heads and cylinders).

Below there is a list of available wizards. If you click a corresponding record the appropriate wizard will be started. All

default values for the operation parameters will correspond to the disk’s settings. The list of wizards contains a detailed

description of tasks that can be performed by the wizard. This nullifies the possibility of selecting the wrong wizard.

When you select a small-sized bar (i.e. corresponding to a logical disk) the Explorer Bar will display information on it as well. The page title will contain a drive letter, which is assigned to the disk. The disk layout graph will be colored in accordance with the volume ratio of the used space to the free space (the light colored sector). The table on the right will contain the following information:

 Volume label (if available),  Type of the logical disk,  File system (represented by the color of the graph and the selected bar),  Total size, used space and free space (in GB or MB).

Below there is a list of wizards, which may be called for this disk. All default values of parameters will correspond to the disk settings.

Viewing Image Properties

General information on backup archives can be obtained with the following tools:

Using the Restore Wizard

 In the Main menu: select Wizards > Restore…

At first, the wizard displays the Welcome page – simply click the Next button at the foot of the dialog window.

The next page refers to Browse for Archive. Here you can find the required image in the browser-like window.

The section below (i.e. Archive File Details) displays a short description of the selected image, including:

 Information on a type of the archive contents (whether it is sector-based or file-based),  Whether the archive is compressed or not,  Whether the archive is password protected or not,  The date, when the archive was created.

Moreover, on this page you’ve got the possibility to create new folders, delete existing files/folders or map network

drives by clicking the appropriate buttons.

The next page (i.e. What to restore) displays detailed information about the contents of the archive.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

If you want to restore the image contents, click the Next button. In order to cancel, click the Cancel button.

Data Backup and Rescue

In this chapter you will find all the information necessary to establish a reliable data protection system.

Creating Backup Images

Depending on a type of information you need to protect and the way this information should be processed, the program offers a number of handy backup wizards. To make your job with the program as easy and convenient as possible, all backup wizards share similar work algorithm. By going through steps of the wizard, you configure all the necessary settings to launch the backup operation. To minimize the possibility of making any mistake, the wizard provides auxiliary information on every single option. Moreover you can get an in-depth description to any setting, control, or field of the wizard just by clicking the hint button and then the object you need.

Backup Wizard Startup

 In the Main Menu: select Wizards > Back up a Disk or Partition…

Backup Wizard Setup

The wizard offers the following steps to accomplish the backup operation:

The program automatically calculates size of the future archive and informs the user about space available on the selected destination.

 The object to back up. You can back up either an entire disk or separate partitions of the disk (primary,

extended or logical). In case of backing up an entire disk, you’ve got the possibility to include into the image

such disk elements as the Master Boot Record (MBR) and the first track of the hard disk. This can be very helpful for serious disk recovery procedures.

 Backup destination. The wizard allows saving backup archives to local or network drives, to physical partitions

(without drive letters assigned), or burning them to CD/DVDs. You need to select a destination, taking the estimated archive size and available space on the backup destination into account.

 Name and location of the resulted image. Provide a file name for the new image and its exact location. The

program automatically offers an easy to understand name containing the date and the time of the archive creation, which can anyway be modified.

 Archive Comment. You can add some additional description to the archive that will later help to distinguish it

from the others.

Checking archive integrity enables to guarantee that all backup images created with the program are 100 percent flawless. Nevertheless if you decided not to control the archive integrity, the backup operation would take about 3-5% less time.

Splitting images enables to tackle issues caused by a file size limitation of some file systems.

In addition, there is the possibility to make further detailed settings (although the default values will do in most cases). To activate the advance mode, you need to mark the appropriate option on the second page of the wizard. When it is marked, the next page enables to define:

 Whether the archive integrity will be controlled.

 Whether image file names will be set automatically in complex archives.  Compression level for the backup image (including the No compression variant).  Whether the archive will be split (if yes, you can set the maximum size for the archive files).

 Whether the archive will be protected by password.  Whether the selected disk (or the selected partition) will be copied in the sector-to-sector mode (including

unused sectors as well).

 Whether the OS auxiliary files (pagefile.sys, hyberfil.sys) will be included in the backup image.  Recording speed when the user wants to burn the backup image onto CD/DVDs.  ISO image folder where the archive that is to be recorded on a disc, is placed.  Whether the operation will be performed without rebooting the system. The program needs to reboot the

system in order to have exclusive access to processing data. In a Windows environment this is difficult to achieve because even when all the other applications are closed, the system service programs are still running. However, there is a way to avoid rebooting. The mode of processing the backup operation without rebooting is named Hot Processing. You can also define specific parameters for the Hot Processing mode.

Result

After the backup operation is completed you receive an image of the selected object. This image is placed into the specified destination, its features defined by the wizard.

Available operation scenarios:

 Backing up a hard disk or partition to external media (CD/DVD)

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

To know more on the subject, please consult the Viewing Image Properties chapter.

 Backing up a hard disk or partition to a network drive  Backing up a dual boot Mac to an external USB drive

Restoring System and Data

The program includes a convenient and reliable restore wizard. With its help you can restore all types of backup images created with the program. It provides easy to understand instructions to configure and perform all the necessary settings. Moreover you can get an in-depth description to any setting, control, or field of the wizard just by clicking the hint button and then the object you need.

Startup

 In the Main Menu: select Wizards > Restore…

Setup

The wizard offers the following steps to accomplish the restore operation:

 A backup image to be restored. The Browse for Archive page enables to find a backup image you need. The

section below (i.e. Archive File Details) will also display a short description of the selected image.

Moreover, on this page you’ve got the possibility to create new folders, delete existing files/folders or map

network drives by clicking the appropriate buttons.

File Backup Restore

 Data to restore. You’ve got the option to restore not only the entire archive, but separate items of it (the so

called selective restore functionality) by marking checkboxes next to the data items you need.

 A place to restore. From the pull-down list you can choose whether to restore contents of the backup image to

its original location or specify some other one.

Besides if you select the Original location option, you can additionally define whether to replace already existing files during the restore operation (good for recovering presumably corrupted files) or leave them intact (good for recovering accidentally deleted files).

Sector Backup Restore

 Data to restore. You’ve got the option to restore not only the entire archive, but separate items of it (the so

called selective restore functionality) by marking checkboxes next to the data items you need.

If you select separate files or folders to restore, the wizard will continue working as though you’ve got to do with a file backup.

 A place to restore. Selecting the destination, please note - all contents on the disk selected for restoring

purposes will be deleted during the operation.

To help you get a clear-cut picture of the operation outcome, the program allows inspecting the resulted disk layout.

Restoring Partition:

 Size of the restored volume and free space before and after it on the disk.

 Drive letter assignment after restore. The pull-down list contains vacant drive letters that can be associated

with the restored partition.

Restoring Hard Disk:

 Copy data and resize partitions proportionally. If this option is activated, the program proportionally changes

the size of partitions keeping their relative order intact. The option can be useful when restoring to a larger hard disk.

 Perform surface test. Define whether the surface test will be accomplished during the operation or not.

All contents on the disk selected for restoring purposes will be deleted during the operation.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Result

The wizard will restore the archived data, and make it available to use in the operating system.

Available operation scenarios:

 Restoring a system partition from external media (CD/DVD)  Restoring a system partition from a network drive  Restoring a system partition from a local drive  Restoring a dual boot Mac from an external USB drive  Restoring separate files and folders from a backup

Boot Management

Our program enables to easily manage several operating systems on one computer with the help of the Boot Manager Setup Wizard. Among the key features of the wizard the following should be mentioned:

 Up to 16 operating systems on one PC;  Secure adding/removing of the Boot Manager startup record to/from the MBR;  Auto Boot option to automatically start up the previously chosen OS after a certain time period;  Hiding of any primary partition except selected at the moment.

Startup

 In the Main menu: select Tools > Setup Boot Manager…

Setup

The wizard offers the following steps to accomplish the operation:

 Boot menu options. In this section you can switch between the following modes:

- Normal mode. Choose this mode to display the boot menu every time the computer starts up and define a timeout on the expiry of which the program will automatically select the previously chosen item of the menu.

- Hidden mode. Choose this mode not to display the boot menu until pressing a hot key. For this mode you should define a hot key used to enable the Boot Manager and a time period in seconds the startup message will be displayed.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

 Deactivating/Configuring the Boot Manager. These two options will only be available once the wizard has been

completed and launched again. Select the Deactivate option to remove the Boot Manager from the MBR (Master Boot Record) or Configure to modify the previously set parameters of the startup process.

Result

After the Boot Manager Setup Wizard is completed the program updates the original record in the MBR to get control of the booting process and to be able to display the boot menu.

Available operation scenarios:

 Creating Dual Boot Systems

Partition Management

In this chapter you will find all the information necessary to carry out partitioning operations supported by the program.

Basic Partitioning Operations

Here you can learn how to accomplish basic partitioning operations (create, format, delete).

Creating Partitions

The program provides the ability to create a new partition within a block of un-partitioned space.

Restrictions

1. Do not use the Create Partition function in order to undelete the last deleted partition.

2. The program allows creating new partitions only within blocks of un-partitioned space. It cannot convert a free

space on an existing partition to a new partition.

3. The program cannot create new partitions on Dynamic Disks.

Express Create Partition Wizard Startup

 In the Main menu: select Wizards > Express Create Partition…

Create Partition Wizard Startup

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.



The number of available methods depends on your disk layout.

To learn more on the way the wizard works, please click the corresponding link on the first page of the wizard.

 In the Main menu: select Wizards > Create Partition…

Dialog Startup

1. Select a block of free space on the Disk Map;

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition > Create Partition.

Express Create Partition Wizard Setup

Thanks to a highly intelligent work algorithm, the wizard requires minimal involvement in the operation, thus you only need to choose a method you find the most suitable to create the partition (if several available), which actually differ in the amount of space to allocate. For easy perception, you can see the resulted disk layout on the disk map by selecting this or that mode.

Create Partition Wizard Setup

The wizard offers the following steps to accomplish the operation:

 Partition destination. Select a hard disk (if the computer has several hard disks) and then choose position for

the future partition on the disk: at the end (preferable), at the beginning or somewhere in the middle between other partitions.

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By default, the program allows you to create a new partition only as the last primary or as the last logical drive within the extended partition. However, by activating the advance mode on the first page of the wizard you can remove this restriction that in its turn might result in some boot problems.

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If a partition to resize is locked and cannot be processed, the wizard makes the system reboot to create the partition and then automatically boots the system again. (The rebooting mechanism is different for different versions of Windows.)

 Partition size. There is no restriction on size of the future partition, merely depending on space available on the

hard disk.

If there is not enough free space in one block, the wizard enables to redistribute free space, joining all free space blocks together into one united block and moving partitions when necessary. If the total amount of free space is still not enough, it is possible to split a fragment of space from one of the existing partitions, thus resizing it.

You can also choose whether the future partition will be primary or logical by marking the appropriate checkbox.

 Partition properties. On the next page of the wizard you can set a number of additional parameters:

- Partition type. From the pull-down list select a file system the newly created partition will be formatted to, otherwise the partition will remain unformatted (so that it will not be ready to use).

- Volume label. Enter a label for the selected partition in this textual field. It is an irrelevant parameter usually used for drive identification.

- Surface test level. Define the level of the surface check to make the program find bad and unstable sectors and mark them unusable in the file system metadata.

Dialog Setup

Initially the program suggests some consistent values for all parameters. In most cases, you can just press the Yes button to confirm the operation.

 Define whether the partition will be Primary, Extended or Logical. You can choose the desired partition type

from the pull-down list. As a matter of fact, the available alternatives fundamentally depend on the selected block of free space - within the Logical free space, only Logical partitions can be created; Within the Primary free space, both Primary partitions or the Extended Partition can be created.

 Partition Size. Define the size (in Mb) of the new partition.  Free space before. Define the position (in Mb) of the new partition relative to the beginning of the block of free

space.

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Partition size and position may also be defined by using the drag-and-drop technique. To do that, just carry out the required operation on the Disk Map. The virtual operations are to be available.



Number of available options depends on the selected file system type.

 Free space after. Define the amount of trailing free space (in Mb) at the end of the new partition.

 File system for new partition. From the pull-down list select a file system the newly created partition will be

formatted to, otherwise the partition will remain unformatted (so that it will not be ready to use).

 Volume label. Enter a label for the selected partition in this textual field. It is an irrelevant parameter usually

used for drive identification.

 Drive letter assignment. The pull-down list contains vacant drive letters that can be associated with the newly

formatted partition.

In addition, there is the possibility to make further detailed settings (although the default values will do in most cases). To activate the advance mode, you need to click the More options button at the foot of the dialog page. Depending on the chosen file system, the following options become available:

 Use OS built-in routine. Mark the option to restrict the available values according to the used OS.  The amount of sectors per cluster. Define the Cluster Size for the formatted partition with this spinner control.

Result

After the operation is completed you receive a fully functional partition.

Available operation scenarios:

 Creating a new partition to detach operating system from the rest of data

Formatting Partitions

Any partition should contain some file system to be used for keeping data. The process of installing a file system is commonly known as formatting. A huge variety of file systems have been developed these days.

Supported File Systems

The program provides the ability to format partitions of the following file systems:

- FAT12 & FAT16

- FAT32

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

- HFS+

- NTFS

- Ext2

- Ext3

- Ext4

- Linux Swap v. 2

Wizard Startup

 In the Main menu: select Wizards > Format Partition…

Dialog Startup

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map;

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition > Format Partition.

Wizard Setup

The wizard offers the following steps to accomplish the operation:

 Partition to format. Select a hard disk (if the computer has several hard disks) and then the required partition to

format.

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As a result of this operation contents of the selected partition will be lost. 

Number of available options depends on the selected file system type.

 Partition properties. On the next page of the wizard you can set the following partition parameters:

- Partition type. From the pull-down list select the desired file system type. In fact, the program displays only those file systems that can correctly be placed to the selected partition, taking its capacity into account.

- Volume label. Enter a label for the selected partition in this textual field. It is an irrelevant parameter usually used for drive identification.

- Drive letter assignment. The pull-down list contains vacant drive letters that can be associated with the newly formatted partition.

In addition, there is the possibility to make further detailed settings (although the default values will do in most cases). To activate the advance mode, you need to mark the appropriate option at the foot of the page. When it is marked, the next page enables to define:

 Use OS built-in routine. Mark the checkbox to restrict the available values according to the used OS.  The amount of sectors per cluster. Define the Cluster Size for the formatted partition with this spinner control.

Dialog Setup

Initially the program suggests some consistent values for all parameters. In most cases, you can just press the Format button to confirm the operation.



Number of available options depends on the selected file system type.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

 File system. From the pull-down list select the desired file system type. In fact, the program displays only those

file systems that can correctly be placed to the selected partition, taking its capacity into account.

 Volume label. Enter a label for the selected partition in this textual field. It is an irrelevant parameter usually

used for drive identification.

Result

After the operation is completed you receive a fully functional partition formatted to the specified file system.

Deleting Partitions

Wizard Startup

 In the Main menu: select Wizards > Delete Partition…

Dialog Startup

In order to start the operation you should take the following steps:

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.



As a result of this operation contents of the selected partition will be lost.

Launcher

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map;

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition > Delete Partition.

Wizard Setup

The wizard offers the following steps to accomplish the operation:

 Partition to delete. Select a hard disk (if the computer has several hard disks) and then the required partition to

delete.

 Merge free blocks. As a result of the operation you may get several blocks of the unallocated space on the hard

disk. So choose whether to merge them all and place at the beginning of the disk or at the end by selecting the required operation from the pull-down list.

Dialog Setup

Initially the program suggests you just to remove references to the selected partition from the Partition Table.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

 Enter the volume label to confirm deleting. To confirm deletion of the selected partition, enter its Volume

Label. The current volume label is displayed above.

 Do not ask volume label next time. Mark the option to inhibit confirmation next time you start the dialog.

Result

By default, the operation takes only a fraction of a second. However, the program waits until Windows completes the modification of the disk layout.

Advanced Partitioning Operations

Here you can learn how to accomplish advanced partitioning operations.

Merging Partitions

The Merge Partitions Wizard enables to consolidate the disk space, which originally belongs to two adjacent partitions (or additionally separated by free blocks), into a single, larger partition. The order, in which two partitions have been chosen, is important since all contents of the second selected partition will be placed in a folder on the resulted joined partition.

The program provides the ability to merge only NTFS, FAT16 or FAT32 partitions.

Startup

 In the Main menu: select Wizards > Merge Partitions…

Setup

The wizard offers the following steps to accomplish the operation:

 Adjacent partitions to merge. Click on the left partition of the pair of partitions you need to merge, as the right

one will be selected automatically. During the operation all contents of the right partition will be placed in a folder on the resulted joined partition. By default, the program offers an easy-to-understand folder name, which can be customized however.

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If a system partition is the right one of the selected pair, Windows OS will become unbootable after the merge operation is over.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Result

After the operation is completed the disk space of the two adjacent partitions will be consolidated.

Redistributing Unused Space between Partitions

Express Resize Partitions Wizard

The Express Resize Partitions Wizard enables to easily increase free space on one partition by up-taking the unused space of an adjacent partition of your hard disk.

Startup

 In the Main menu: select Wizards > Express Resize Partitions…

Setup

The wizard offers the following steps to accomplish the operation:

 Adjacent partitions to resize. Click on the left partition of the pair of partitions you need to redistribute the

unused space between, as the right one will be selected automatically.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

 Resulted size of partitions. Redistribute the unused space between the partitions with the slider or manually by

entering the required value.

Result

After the operation is completed the unused space between the specified partitions will be redistributed according to your needs.

Available operation scenarios:

 Increasing size of a system partition by taking unused space of an adjacent logical partition  Resizing partitions of Apple Boot Camp

Redistribute Free Space Wizard

The Redistribute Free Space Wizard helps to increase free space on one partition by up-taking the on-disk unallocated space and the unused space of other partitions. By default, the wizard adds to the target partition all existing blocks of the free space. Besides you can specify partitions to act as a space donor. The wizard will automatically recalculate positions of the partitions and move their contents to new locations.

Startup

 In the Main menu: select Wizards > Redistribute Free Space…

Setup

The wizard offers the following steps to accomplish the operation:

 Partition to enlarge. Select a partition, the size of which will be increased at the expense of other partitions.

Blocks of the free space (if any) will be automatically added to the target partition.

 Partition to donate. Choose any partition(s) (not only adjacent) to donate free space.

 Partition size. By default, the program leaves 50% of the unused space on a partition and removes another 50%

to add it to the target partition. However, the size to take can be customized by moving the slider or by manually entering the exact value.

Result

After the operation is completed free space of the specified partition will be increased by up-taking the on-disk unallocated space and the unused space of other partitions.

Undeleting Partitions

When simply deleting a partition (without additional wiping) disk management software only removes references to it in the Partition Table, thus leaving the possibility to recover it later.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

To know more on the available search methods, please use the context sensitive hint system.

The program enables to find and recover these partitions. A restored partition will be fully functional, as long as other partitions were not created, moved or exceeded the disk space occupied by that partition. That is why the program offers this function only for blocks of free space.

The operation can be accomplished with the Undelete Partition Wizard.

Startup

 In the Main Menu: select Wizards > Undelete Partitions…

Setup

The wizard offers the following steps to accomplish the undelete partition operation:

 Free blocks to scan for lost partitions. Choose a free block from a tree-like list of available hard disks.

 Search method. By default, the wizard selects the fastest search method for your operating system. In most

cases that will do to find any accidentally deleted partition. However if you're under Windows XP for instance (the Conventional Search option is selected), but the deleted partition you're looking for has been created with the Disk Management utility under Vista, the wizard won't be able to find this partition, unless you manually select the appropriate option (Quick Search for Partitions Created by Vista or Later OS). Moreover if the wizard still fails to find the partition you need, you can select the Thorough Search option to scan every single sector in the specified search area to get the most accurate results.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

 File system filter. By default, the wizard will search for all known file systems. However, by clicking on the

appropriate option on the second page of the wizard, you can specify only those file systems you need.

 A partition to undelete (if several). By default, the program searches records of any deleted partition ever

existed on the selected block of free space. So you can get several partitions to choose from.

Most likely the required partition will be found first. If so, you may abort the search operation by pressing the Stop search button.

Result

After the operation is completed you receive a fully functional partition.

Installing a New Operating System

Getting your computer ready to install a new operating system, especially when it is going to be an additional OS in the system, is a rather complicated task that implies quite a number of operations, from allocating space to create a new partition (resize, redistribution of free space) to formatting of the newly created partition to a particular file system and checking its surface for bad sectors to avoid possible data loss. Operating systems today are being supplied with basic tools of partitioning that only enable to create a partition (in case there is enough unallocated space on the disk) and then format it to the specified file system type. Our program offers a handy Install New OS Wizard to easily carry out all the necessary operations to install a new operating system.

Startup

 In the Main menu: select Wizards > Install New OS…

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Only primary partitions can be used to install an operating system. 

To avoid any possible problems, the new partition will in no way be created as the first partition of the disk which already contains at least one partition.

Setup

The wizard offers the following steps to accomplish the operation:

 Partition to install a new operating system. The program offers two ways of installing a new OS, i.e. to create a

new primary partition for it or use an existing one.

- In case the first option has been marked, the wizard enables to specify:

A hard disk (if several) where a new partition will be created. Thanks to an advanced program engine it is possible to use unallocated space of the disk (if any) and unused space of existing partitions to create a new partition;

And its size. If there are blocks of the free space on the disk, the wizard will merge them all and allocate the resulted space for a new partition in the first place. If not, it will take 50% of the unused space of an adjacent partition. However, the size to take can be customized by moving the slider.

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Your computer may fail if any other OS has already been installed on the selected partition.

- In case the second option has been marked, the wizard enables to choose an existing primary partition to install a new operating system.

 Partition properties.

- Partition type. From the pull-down list select the desired file system type. In fact, the program displays only file systems that can be correctly placed to the selected partition, taking its capacity into account.

- Drive letter assignment. The pull-down list contains vacant drive letters that can be associated with the newly formatted partition.

- Surface test level. Define the level of the surface check to make the program find bad and unstable sectors and mark them unusable in the file system metadata.

 OS Label. Enter a label for the selected partition in the textual field. It will later be used for the drive

identification.

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The program will update your MBR, so most likely you won’t be able to start up any of the

previously installed operating systems. Please launch the Boot Manager Setup Wizard after the installation has been completed to fix this issue.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Result

As the final step the wizard will offer you to insert a distributive CD/DVD of the new operating system and restart the computer to launch the installation procedure.

Available operation scenarios:

 Creating Dual Boot Systems

Moving/Resizing Partition

The Move/Resize Partition function allows you to resize or change location of any partition without destroying its data.

In order to move/resize a partition you should take the following steps:

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main menu: Partition > Move/Resize Partition…

3. Define parameters of the operation.

 Volume size. Define size (in Mb) of the modified partition.  Free space before. Define the partition position (in Mb) relative to the beginning of the available range of

disk space.

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Partition size and position may also be defined by using the drag-and-drop technique. To do that, just carry out the required operation on the Disk Map. The virtual operations are to be available.

When resizing a FAT16 partition beyond the 2GB limit (maximum file system size), the partition will automatically be converted to FAT32.

The program enables to enlarge NTFS partitions (system, locked) without rebooting Windows and interrupting its work, providing 100 percent guarantee that your data is kept intact.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

 Free space after. Define the amount of trailing free space (in Mb) at the end of the available range of disk

space.

 Sector to sector move. Mark the checkbox to move the partition in the sector-by-sector mode to process its

unused space as well. This can help to avoid problems with hidden data created by certain applications or the system administrator. However, it will take more time to accomplish the operation.

4. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Available operation scenarios:

 Increasing size of a system partition by taking unused space from any other  Shrinking a system partition to increase size of a data partition

Converting File System

With our program you can change type of the used file system without destroying its data. While performing the operation, it first checks the current file system for consistency and then verifies whether the on-partition data meet the requirements of the desired file system or not. After having passed the testing, the program re-organizes the file system metadata and user files.

The program enables to convert the following file system types:

- FAT16/32 <> NTFS

- NTFS <> HFS

In order to convert a file system you should take the following steps:

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main menu: Partition > Convert file system…

3. Initially the program suggests some consistent values for all parameters. In most cases, you can just press the

Convert button to confirm the operation.

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The cluster size value is expressed in sectors per cluster. To get it in Kbytes, please divide it into half.

You may only decrease the current cluster size.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

 New file system. From the pull-down list choose a file system you would like to convert to. Actually the

program only displays variants available for the operation, taking into account the current parameters of the selected partition and limitations of the used file system.

 New cluster size. Define the cluster size for the partition. This parameter can have a profound effect on the

overall performance. In a nutshell, larger clusters waste more space, but generally provide for slightly better performance, because of less fragmentation. So be particularly careful with it.

 Surface test level. Define the level of the surface check to make the program find bad and unstable sectors

and mark them unusable in the file system metadata.

4. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Changing Cluster Size

Cluster size is one of the crucial parameters of any file system. Its value implicitly affects the performance of the files input-output activity since it defines the size of the file system metadata. Besides, the so-called waste space factor also depends on the cluster size.

In order to change the cluster size of a partition you should take the following steps:

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main menu: Partition > Modify > Change Cluster Size…

3. Define the cluster size for the partition. This parameter can have a profound effect on the overall performance.

In a nutshell, larger clusters waste more space, but generally provide for slightly better performance, because of less fragmentation. So be particularly careful with it.

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The Cluster Size value is expressed in Sectors Per Cluster. To get the Cluster Size in Kbytes, divide it into half.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

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The Make Primary > Logical option is only available when the selected partition is adjacent to the extended partition and vice versa.

The Make Primary > Logical option of the system partition will result in inability to boot the operating system.

4. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Making Logical/Primary

The program allows you to include a primary partition in the extended partition, or exclude a logical partition from the extended partition, without partition duplication.

In order to change a partition type you should take the following steps:

1. Select a primary or logical partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main menu: Partition > Modify > Make Partition Logical/Primary.

3. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Changing Partition Attributes

This chapter explains how you can change partition attributes (Active flag, Hidden flag, Volume Label, etc.).

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

There can only be one active partition on a hard disk, otherwise your operating system will fail to boot.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

It is strongly recommended not to hide the system partition. Otherwise your operating system will fail to boot.

Mark Partition Active/Inactive

The program enables to set an active/inactive flag for primary partitions of a hard disk. By default, an operating system will boot only if its partition is active or bootable.

In order to mark a partition active/inactive you should take the following steps:

1. Select a primary partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition > Mark Partition as Active/Inactive.

3. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Hide/Unhide Partition

The program allows you to hide/unhide primary and logical partitions. By default, an operating system does not mount hidden partitions, thus preventing access to their contents.

In order to hide/unhide a partition you should take the following steps:

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition > Hide/Unhide Partition.

3. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Set Label of a Partition

The Partition Label is a small textual field (up to 11 characters) that is located in the partition's boot sector. It is detectable by any partitioning tool and is used for notification purposes only.

In order to change a partition label you should take the following steps:

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition > Modify > Change Volume Label.

3. Enter a label for the selected partition.

4. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Change Partition ID

Partition ID is a file system identifier. It is saved in the Partition Table and is used to quickly detect a partition of the supported type. By manually changing its value, you can manipulate accessibility of partitions.

In order to change a partition ID you should take the following steps:

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition > Modify > Change Partition ID…

3. Set a new ID for the selected partition.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

 Predefined ID. Select from the pull-down list the required ID.  Enter ID manually. With the spinner control set the required ID value. It has to be a 1-2 digit hexadecimal

number.

4. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Change Serial Number of a Partition

FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS file systems include the Serial Number parameter. A partition's serial number is saved in the boot sector. Its value is generated while formatting.

The program enables to modify the serial number parameter for FAT16, FAT32, or NTFS partitions without reformatting.

In order to change a serial number you should take the following steps:

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition > Modify > Change Serial Number.

3. Enter a new serial number for the selected partition. It should contain 8 hexadecimal figures (0..9 or A..F). The

operation cannot proceed until you enter all 8 symbols.

4. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Hard Disk Management

In this chapter you will find all the information necessary to carry hard disk operations supported by the program.

Converting Dynamic MBR to Basic

The program allows you to convert a dynamic MBR disk containing simple volumes into a basic one while keeping its contents intact.

In order to convert a dynamic MBR disk into basic you should take the following steps:

1. Select a dynamic MBR disk containing simple volumes on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Hard Disk > Convert to Basic…

3. Set the required number of primary partitions if necessary. According to the DOS partitioning scheme a hard

disk can have up to four Primary partitions. If there is an Extended partition on the disk, only three primary partitions are allowed. That is why if a dynamic disk contains several simple volumes the program enables to

The program can only process dynamic disks containing solid simple volumes (without extension).

choose the number of primary partitions. The rest of them if any will automatically be converted to logical disks within the Extended partition.

Converting GPT to Basic MBR

The program allows you to convert a basic or a dynamic GPT disk containing simple volumes into a basic MBR disk while keeping its contents intact.

In order to convert a basic or a dynamic GPT disk into a basic MBR disk you should take the following steps:

1. Select a basic or a dynamic GPT disk containing simple volumes on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Hard Disk > Convert to Basic MBR Hard Disk…

3. Set the required number of primary partitions if necessary. According to the DOS partitioning scheme a hard

disk can have up to four Primary partitions. If there is an Extended partition on the disk, only three primary partitions are allowed. That is why if a GPT disk contains several volumes the program enables to choose the number of primary partitions. The rest of them if any will automatically be converted to logical disks within the Extended partition.

The program can only process dynamic GPT disks containing solid simple volumes (without extension).

The program can only convert basic MBR disks.

Converting Basic MBR to GPT

The program allows you to easily convert a basic MBR disk into a basic GPT disk while keeping its contents intact. The operation is quite safe for the on-disk data, but you should know that only 64-bit Windows OSes since Vista are able to boot from this type of disks. So if you’ve got a 32-bit Windows OS accommodated on a disk you’d like to convert to GPT, it won’t start up after the operation is over.

In order to convert a basic MBR disk to a basic GPT you should take the following steps:

1. Select a basic MBR hard disk on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Hard Disk > Convert to GPT hard disk.

3. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Updating MBR

The program enables to overwrite the current bootable code in the MBR (Master Boot Record) by the standard bootstrap code. This can help to repair a corrupted bootable code of a hard disk resulted from a boot virus attack or a malfunction of boot management software.

In order to update MBR of a hard disk you should take the following steps:

1. Select a hard disk on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Hard Disk > Update MBR.

3. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Changing Primary Slot

Different operating systems apply different approaches to enumeration of the primary partitions.

In Linux:

In Linux, every partition has a special symbolic name that encodes a hard disk containing a partition, and a partition itself. Partitions are addressed and accessed by using their symbolic names. Symbolic names are automatically generated by Linux in accordance with the order of hard disks in BIOS and the order of partition records in the Partition Table. Thus changing enumeration of the primary partitions can lead to changing of paths to some important resources.

In DOS:

The last versions of MS-DOS use a rather sophisticated algorithm for a drive letter assignment. A drive letter, which is assigned to a partition, depends on the order of records in the Partition Table. Thus changing enumeration of the primary partitions affects the drive letters assignment. In early versions of MS-DOS, it could even lead to the unavailability of a partition.

The program provides the ability to change enumeration of the primary partitions. This feature will allow you to fix problems concerning an inappropriate order of partitions.

In order to modify enumeration of the primary partitions you should take the following steps:

1. Select a hard disk on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Hard Disk > Change Primary Slot.

3. In the opened dialog you can see the current enumeration of the primary partitions of the selected hard disk in

the Partition Table. To help you distinguish partitions from one another, the program provides the following parameters for every partition:

- Slot

- Volume

- Partition type

- File system

- Partition size

- Volume label

There are two buttons on the right to move the selected partition up and down within the primary part of the Partition Table.

4. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Extra Functionality

This chapter describes the supplementary functionality available in the program.

View Partition/Hard Disk Properties

The program enables to obtain in-depth information on the properties of hard disks and partitions. Besides the general information, such as capacity, used space or file system type it provides the possibility to get info on hard disk geometry, cluster size, exact partition location, etc.

To get properties on a partition/hard disk, please do the following:

1. Choose a partition/hard disk on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition/Hard Disk > Properties…

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

In the opened dialog information will be grouped according to its properties, thus by clicking tabs you can get information you need.

Volume Explorer

Volume Explorer is a special tool to browse and export contents of the local mounted/unmounted volumes formatted to FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, Ext2FS, Ext3FS, Ext4FS file systems. Besides it enables to access Paragon backups as regular folders to explorer their contents or to retrieve certain files.

To launch the Volume Explorer you should click Disk View tab in the Explorer Bar and then choose Volume Explorer:

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Call the popup menu for the selected file/folder (right click of the mouse button) to export it to some other location (local or network drive, etc.).

Available operation scenarios:

 Restoring separate files and folders from a backup

File Transfer Wizard

File Transfer Wizard is designed to make such operations as copying of separate files/directories or burning of them to CD/DVD as easy and convenient as possible. It may be of particular use in case of a system malfunction, caused either by a virus attack or files corruption, in order to get the system back on track again. Besides it provides access to Paragon backups as regular folders to browse through their contents or copy required files.

Startup

 Select in the Main Menu: Tools > File Transfer Wizard.

Setup

The wizard offers the following steps to accomplish the transfer operation:

 Place to look for files/directories. Select a source disk from the pull-down list in the left pane of the page. The

program enables to process both mounted and unmounted (without drive letter assigned) partitions. Besides it is possible to map a network drive.

Files/directories deleted from the Clipboard remain intact on source disks.

 Object(s) of operation. Choose files/directories you want to copy and place them to Clipboard by pressing the

Add button. To delete a file/directory from the Clipboard, select it in the Clipboard pane and press the Remove button. You can also create a new folder, rename or irreversibly delete existing files/directories of the left pane by pressing the appropriate buttons.

 Destination to store the object(s). The File Transfer Wizard allows copying data to local or network drives, to

physical partitions (without drive letters assigned), or burning them to CD/DVDs. Choose the way the data will be stored.

 Revision of changes. The Transfer Summary page provides structurally divided information on all the actions

made in the wizard. Check the changes and come back to any step of the wizard (if necessary) by following the required hyperlink.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Result

After the operation is completed the required data will be placed into the specified destination.

Available operation scenarios:

 Copying of data from the corrupted system disk to another hard disk  Burning of data from the corrupted system disk to CD/DVD  Copying of data from a backup to the corrupted system partition  Restoring separate files and folders from a backup

Mount Partition

The program enables to assign or remove drive letters of existing formatted partitions.

Assign Drive Letter

In order to mount a partition you should take the following steps:

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition > Assign Drive Letter…

3. Specify a drive letter for the selected partition. Initially the program suggests some consistent value for this

parameter. So you may just press the Yes button to confirm the operation.

However you can manually define the required letter by selecting it from the pull-down list of available drive letters.

4. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Remove Drive Letter

In order to un-mount a partition you should take the following steps:

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Modifying drive letter of the system partition will result in inability to boot the operating system.

After having processed partitions with installed software, some programs may not run properly.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition > Remove Drive Letter.

3. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Downgrade NTFS Version

With our program you can decrease version of an existing NTFS partition. This feature can be particularly useful when, for instance, dealing with different versions of the Windows NT family operating systems.

In order to start the operation you should take the following steps:

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main menu: Partition > Modify > Downgrade NTFS Version…

3. Decrease version of the selected NTFS partition by selecting the one you need from the pull-down list.

4. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Change SID

SID - Security Identifier is a binary structure that is associated with some object in the system and is used to distinguish between user access privileges in workgroup local networks. By default, the SID Changer searches Windows installations and then changes SIDs in the found Windows instances to automatically generated random SID values.

To change SID of the desired Windows installation you should take the following steps:

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

The SID changer utility can be applied only to NT and Win2k installations.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

1. Select a hard disk/partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition/Hard Disk > Modify > Change SID…

3. By default, the utility searches for a BOOT.INI file to extract information on a Windows installation and then

performs modifying of the found SID by an automatically generated random value. However you can manually set a directory to search for a Windows installation.

Defragment MFT

The MFT (Master File Table) is an NTFS system file that contains in-depth information on files, including size, time and date stamps, permissions, and data contents. In the course of time the MFT file can also be fragmented, thus slowing down the speed at which data is accessed.

The program enables to defragment the MFT file.

In order to start the operation you should take the following steps:

1. Select an NTFS partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main menu: Partition > Defragment > Defragment MFT…

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

3. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Compact MFT

The program enables to re-write MFT (Master File Table) in a more compact way to increase the access speed to files on NTFS partitions.

In order to start the operation you should take the following steps:

1. Select an NTFS partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main menu: Partition > Defragment > Compact MFT…

3. Initially the program suggests some consistent values for all parameters. In most cases, you can just press the

Yes button to confirm the operation.

 Compact records. Mark the option to re-write MFT records and shift them to the head of the table.  Truncate MFT after compacting. Mark the option to remove table rows emptied during the operation.

The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Test Surface

The program enables to test surface of existing partitions and blocks of free space for bad or unstable sectors. If found any it automatically marks them unusable in the file system metadata, thus minimizing the risk of data loss.

In order to start the surface test you should take the following steps:

1. Select a partition or a block of free space on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition > Test Surface…

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

3. From the pull-down list choose the level of the surface check.

4. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Check File System Integrity

The program allows you to check integrity of a file system. It can be used to detect possible file system errors before performing any operation on a partition.

To start the system integrity check you should take the following steps:

1. Select a partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition > Check File System Integrity

3. The operation will be performed immediately after confirmation.

Edit/View Sectors

With the built-in Edit/View Sectors tool the program enables to view/edit sectors on existing partitions/hard disks providing the possibility to directly access and modify sectors, save and restore sectors from specified files, navigate through the system metadata, etc.

In order to edit/view sectors of a hard disk/partition you should take the following steps:

1. Select a hard disk/partition on the Disk Map.

2. Select in the Main Menu: Partition/Hard Disk > Edit/View Sectors.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Careless use of the Edit Sectors function may result in the irreversible data corruption.

Send Log Files

The program enables to simplify the procedure of sending support requests to the Paragon Support Team. In case of having difficulties with handling the program, you, with the help of this very function, can address the company support engineers and provide them with all the information they need such as the disk layout, performed operations, etc. in order to tackle the encountered problem. Information of that kind is stored in Log files.

In order to send log files to the Paragon Support Team you should take the following steps:

1. Call the Send Log Files dialog in the Main Menu: Tools > Send Log Files;

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Log files do not contain any confidential information on the operating system settings or the user documents.

The Send Log Files function is only available when outgoing mail server (SMTP) and the user e-mail address are properly set. To learn more about it please consult the Settings

Overview chapter.

2. Provide a customer name and a product serial number;

3. Give a detailed description on the encountered problem.

By clicking the Send button the built-in mail client will generate a template request with attached compressed log files and then send it to the Paragon Support Team.

View Logs

With a handy dialog you can study logs on any operation carried by the program. To make this job as easy as possible, all the information is structurally divided, besides there is the possibility to see the disk layout before and after an operation, what is very convenient.

In order to view logs on carried out operations select in the Main Menu: Tools > View Log Files

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Typical Scenarios

This chapter lists a number of the most frequently used scenarios that may be accomplished with the program. You can find here useful recommendations and descriptions of operations.

Backup Scenarios

Backing up a hard disk or partition to external media (CD/DVD)

To back up an entire hard disk or a separate partition and then burn the resulted image to CD/DVD, please do the following:

1. Click the Back up a Disk or Partition item of the Wizards menu.

2. On the Wizard's Welcome page, click the Next button.

3. On the next page, mark the appropriate option opposite a hard disk’s name or a partition’s name depending on

the chosen task.

You’ve got the option to modify the default backup settings by marking the appropriate

checkbox on this page.

Please take into account the Estimated archive size value. It can give you a hint about the number of CD/DVD discs required for the operation.

4. On the Backup Destination page, select the Burn the data to CD or DVD option.

5. Select a recordable device on the list of available CD/DVD devices and edit the archive name, if necessary.

This operation can also be accomplished with our recovery media.

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

You’ve got the option to modify the default backup settings by marking the appropriate checkbox on this page.

6. Add comments to your backup describing its contents.

7. On the Backup Summary page review all parameters of the operation and modify them if necessary. Click the

Next button to start the backup process.

Backing up a hard disk or partition to a network drive

To back up an entire hard disk or a separate partition and then place the resulted image to a network share, please do the following:

1. Click the Back up a Disk or Partition item of the Wizards menu.

2. On the Wizard's Welcome page, click the Next button.

3. On the next page, mark the appropriate option opposite a hard disk’s name or a partition’s name depending on

the chosen task.

4. On the Backup Destination page, select the Save data to local/network drives option.

Please take into account values of the parameters Estimated archive size and Space available on backup destination - if the archive size exceeds the available space, another network drive needs to be selected.

5. Map a network disk to place your backup image to:

- Call the Map Network Drive dialog by clicking the appropriate button;

- Click the standard browse button [...] to browse for the required network share or manually enter a path to

it;

- Define a letter from the pull-down list of available drive letters;

- Mark the checkbox to make this connection permanent. Otherwise it will only be available for the current

Windows session;

- Click the Connect as user button at the foot of the dialog page to specify a user name and password to

access the selected network share if necessary.

6. Edit the archive name if necessary.

7. Add comments to your backup describing its contents.

8. On the Backup Summary page review all parameters of the operation and modify them if necessary. Click the

Next button to start the backup process.

This operation can also be accomplished with our recovery media.

Recovery Media Builder can help you prepare our recovery environment either on a

CD/DVD disc or a thumb drive.

To automatically boot from the recovery media please make sure the on-board BIOS is set up to boot from CD/USB first.

Backing up a dual boot Mac to an external USB drive

To back up a dual boot Mac (Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista/7) and then place the resulted image to an external USB drive, please do the following:

1. Start up the computer from our Linux/DOS recovery media.

2. Connect an external USB drive to the computer.

3. Restart the computer. It will be automatically started up into the Linux recovery environment (Normal Mode),

since it’s the only mode that provides support for Mac computers.

4. In the Linux launch menu select Partition Manager.

5. Launch the Backup Wizard by selecting in the Main Menu of the program: Wizards > Backup Wizard.

6. On the Wizard's Welcome page, click the Next button.

7. On the What to back up page, select your Mac hard disk.

8. On the Backup Destination page, select the Save data to any local drive or a network share option.

Please take into account values of the parameters Estimated archive size and Space available on backup destination - if the archive size exceeds the available space, another drive needs to be selected.

9. Select an external USB drive as a backup destination.

10. Edit the archive name if necessary.

11. Add comments to your backup describing its contents.

12. On the Backup Summary page review all parameters of the operation and modify them if necessary. Click the

Next button to start the backup process.

This operation can also be accomplished under Windows.

Recovery Media Builder can help you prepare our recovery environment either on a

CD/DVD disc or a thumb drive.

To automatically boot from the recovery media please make sure the on-board BIOS is set up to boot from CD/USB first.

By default the Normal Mode will be automatically initiated after a 10 second idle period.

Recovery Scenarios

Fixing MBR after a boot virus attack

Let’s assume that the MBR (Master Boot Record) of your hard disk has been corrupted as a result of a boot virus attack, thus your system fails to boot.

To fix the MBR of your hard disk, please do the following:

1. Start up the computer from our Linux/DOS recovery media.

2. In the boot menu select Normal Mode to use the Linux recovery environment (more preferable) or Safe Mode

to use the PTS DOS recovery environment (in case you’ve got problems with Linux). Moreover you’ve got the

option to boot into the Low-Graphics Safe Mode (PTS DOS safe mode) to cope with a serious hardware incompatibility. In this case, only the minimal set of drivers will be included, like hard disk, monitor, and keyboard drivers. This mode has simple graphics and a simple menu.

3. In the Linux launch menu select Boot Corrector. You can find it in PTS DOS as well.

4. On the Wizard's Welcome page, select the Correct the Master Boot Record (MBR) option.

5. On the next page choose the required hard disk from the pull-down list (if several) and then select the Update

the MBR executable code option.

Please use Boot Media Builder to prepare the WinPE recovery environment, which you can get here: www.paragon-software.com/my-account/.

To automatically boot from the recovery media please make sure the on-board BIOS is set up to boot from CD/USB first.

6. Confirm the operation.

7. After the operation is completed click the Report button to see a well informative summary page. The program

also enables to store the resulted report. To do that, just press the Save button and choose the exact location in the opened dialog.

8. Click the Finish button to close Boot Corrector.

9. Reboot the computer.

Correcting BCD (Boot Configuration Data)

To automatically correct Windows BCD, please do the following:

1. Start up the computer from the WinPE recovery media.

Recovery Media Builder can help you prepare our recovery environment either on a

CD/DVD disc or a thumb drive.

To automatically boot from the recovery media please make sure the on-board BIOS is set up to boot from CD/USB first.

2. Launch Boot Corrector.

3. On the Wizard's Welcome page, click the Next button.

4. Select Correct boot parameters… to let the wizard fix BCD in all found Windows installations.

5. The wizard will ask you to confirm the operation. Apply the changes to complete.

After completing the operation close the wizard, and then reboot the computer.

Fixing Windows startup ability

Let’s assume that due to an unknown reason your Windows fails to complete the startup procedure. At first everything seems quite OK, you can see the standard startup messages on the screen, but at some moment it hangs up.

To fix your Windows startup ability, please do the following:

1. Start up the computer from our Linux/DOS recovery media.

2. In the boot menu select Normal Mode to use the Linux recovery environment (more preferable) or Safe Mode

to use the PTS DOS recovery environment (in case you’ve got problems with Linux). Moreover you’ve got the

By default the Normal Mode will be automatically initiated after a 10 second idle period.

3. In the Linux launch menu select Boot Corrector. You can find it in PTS DOS as well.

4. On the Wizard's Welcome page, select the Search for Windows installations to correct option.

5. On the next page choose the required Windows installation from the list of found installations (if several), then

select the Edit the Boot.ini file option. If you’re not sure which installation you need, please use the Properties button to get more info on the selected item.

6. Examine the file – maybe that’s where the problem is. If it contains a mistake, correct it by using the appropriate

buttons.

7. If the Boot.ini file does not contain any mistake, please return to the Correct Windows Installations page to

correct drive letters in the Windows System Registry.

8. On the next page choose a hard disk from the pull-down list (if several), then the required partition. If you’re not

sure which installation you need, please use the Properties button to get more info on the selected item.

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9. Click the Edit Letters button to correct an existing drive letter or assign a new one in the Windows System

Registry.

10. Once you’ve assigned the appropriate drive letter, close the dialog, then click the Apply button.

11. Confirm the operation.

12. After the operation is completed click the Report button to see a well informative summary page. The program

also enables to store the resulted report. To do that, just press the Save button and choose the exact location in the opened dialog.

13. Click the Finish button to close Boot Corrector.

Restoring a system partition from external media (CD/DVD)

Let’s assume that your computer fails to boot because of a virus attack or corruption of some system critical files. But you’ve got a backup of your system partition on a bootable DVD disc. That’s just enough to easily get your system back

on track again.

To restore your system partition from a backup image located on CD/DVD when the current OS is down, please do the following:

Paragon Partition Manager - 12 Server User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual