Similar functions are available through Microsoft's Hyper-V and VMware, but Paragon's wizard is easier to use and has a wider range of options.īy default, Paragon's app saves virtual-disk backup images to Paragon's proprietary virtual disk format, but you have the option to save instead to a Hyper-V, VirtualBox, or VMware formats. And you get a well-designed wizard that copies an existing physical system to a virtual 'guest' system for use either with Hyper-V (2008 or 2012 versions), Microsoft Virtual PC, Oracle VirtualBox, or VMware Workstation or Fusion on the 'host' system. You also get a Volume Explorer that lets you extract files from physical or virtual disks-especially useful when you can't boot to your usual system but you can use the emergency drive to copy files you need. Complex, potentially destructive operations like copying one disk to another are done through well-designed wizards that anticipate your likely choices but give you plenty of chances to fine-tune the app's options. Paragon Hard Disk Manager 15 ($99.95) is the app I use all the time to manage my hard disks, and, except for one or two minor inconveniences, it always gets the job done with a minimum of anxiety and fuss-while rival programs have sometimes left me with inaccessible data and a racing heartbeatt.īasic and Advanced Features The app's range of features starts with basic partitioning-for example, resizing a partition or copying a one hard drive to another-through disk-wiping functions that use any of a half-dozen high-security erasing methods, and on to advanced backup and storage features that copy disks to 'virtual disks' or manage Windows-Server-style Hyper-V virtual machines.

Instead, you want a program that manages industry-standard features in a fast and convenient way.

What you want most from a disk manager is reliability, which means that an app like this doesn't try to dazzle you with proprietary features that may leave you with an unusable disk if you don't have a copy of the app in an emergency. Year after year, Paragon Hard Disk Manager gets our Editor's Choice award as the best disk-management utility available, and year after year, the app gets progressively better.

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