RE: [TCLUG:15708] Killing Dual Boot question

["Carl Patten" <cpatte@trimodalinc.com>]

I skipped PartitionMagic 4.0 and went straight from 3.0 to 5.0.  3.0 could
move Linux partitions but not re-size them.  5.0 can.  5.0 can also convert
FAT16 to FAT32 _and vice-versa_, which is something NT won't do.

> How does PartitionMagic compare to FIPS?

Technically, they do about the same thing, namely letting you change/resize
partitions without losing any data.  fips is free, PM 5.0 costs moola.

The last time I tried FIPS, which was about 6 months ago, it didn't work on
drives greater than 8 gig, and the resize I tried on a smaller drive failed.
Hence I don't trust it.  A lot of people do.  Your mileage may vary.

PartitionMagic 5.0 is GUI, runs in DOS/Windows but supports Linux
partitions, lets you see all your changes ahead of time, and recovers even
if someone yanks the power cord in the middle of a partition change.  This
literally happened to me a month ago.  Maybe I'm turning into a conservative
old fart, but if a tool saves my butt, I stick with it!

The Mandrake 7.0 Linux distribution comes with DiskDrake, which is a similar
tool to PartitionMagic.  Never looked at it though.  PowerQuest originally
supplied PartitionMagic and BootMagic with Mandrake 6.0, so I'm not sure if
DiskDrake is a PowerQuest project or a Mandrake clone.

GNU parted looks to be similar to fips.  Haven't tried this one either.

The thing is, though, if you're getting into partitions, FDISK is the first
tool you should learn.  The partition knowledge you get from it is
applicable across multiple operating systems, and often it's the only tool
you have available in a recovery situation.

I'll have to disclaim responsibility for data loss arising from my advice,
but to make up for it, here's some handy links.

FIPS: http://www.igd.fhg.de/~aschaefe/fips/
GNU Parted: http://www.gnu.org/software/parted/
Linux Mandrake: http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/
PartitionMagic: http://www.powerquest.com/partitionmagic/index.html

--
Carl Patten
NOT speaking for Trimodal Inc.