Prepare a computer for Linux or just organise files
Platform : Windows 98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows XP Server, Linux
Type: freeware
Manufacturer: GParted
Size: 52.1MB
Rating: 4
Verdict:
A very useful utility, and not just when using Linux
System Requirements:
Nothing Special
Most hard disks supplied with Windows appear as just that, a single disk.
Linux requires that the hard disk is split into several sections called
partitions and sometimes this must be done before installation. Gparted is a
utility for Linux and this download is a Live CD version so a working
installation of Linux is not required.
There are also advantages to splitting disks in Windows. As the software
supplied with Windows cannot resize partitions Gparted has a place for Windows
users as well.
Reboot the computer with this disk in the drive and a special version of
Linux runs. This is quite safe as it will only access the hard disks when told
to do so. It should work with the hardware in the computer without any
intervention but it is possible to change options to work with particularly old
or new hardware.
It can detect and create all kinds of disk partitions: FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS
for Windows, and ext2, ext3, linux-swap, reiser4 and reiserfs for Linux.
Partitions can be created, deleted, renamed and resized. Jobs are added to a
queue and only performed when asked. An attempt to resize a NTFS partition on a
test computer did fail although the GParted website says this is possible.
As it is a working version of Linux, there are some other utilities including
a simple text editor and a file manager. There is even a Tetris game for lighter
moments.
Don't forget that even though this is a very simple program to use, working
with the partitions of a disk is a risky business with a risk of destroying the
data held on the disk. Always make a full backup before editing partitions.