Get it
If you've already added the repository, just run:
sudo apt install partitioner
First-time setup (add repository)
curl -fsSL -o /tmp/colaapps-archive-keyring.gpg \
https://colaapps.com/repo/colaapps-archive-keyring.gpg &&
sudo install -D -m 0644 /tmp/colaapps-archive-keyring.gpg \
/etc/apt/keyrings/colaapps-archive-keyring.gpg
sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/colaapps.list > /dev/null <<'EOF'
deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/colaapps-archive-keyring.gpg] https://colaapps.com/repo stable main
EOF
sudo apt update
sudo apt install partitioner
The first two commands install the ColaApps signing key, so apt verifies every index it
downloads. Needs curl. Debian and Ubuntu.
Added ColaApps before, with [trusted=yes]? That turns
signature checking off — run the block above again, it overwrites the old line.
About
Partitioner is a Windows disk tool from TobiVision Inc. that moves partitions on a GPT disk, so that free space scattered across the disk can be combined into one large block. Windows' own Disk Management cannot do this: it can only extend a partition into free space directly next to it. Partitioner 0.1.0 is available as a free download from ColaApps.
Overview
Partitioner solves a specific, common problem. Over time a disk can end up with unallocated space in two or more places, separated by partitions such as a recovery partition or a data partition. Because Windows can only grow a partition into the free space immediately after it, those separate gaps can never be joined with the built-in tools, and the space is effectively wasted.
Partitioner shifts the partitions in between toward the start of the disk, which leaves the free space as one contiguous region at the end. That region can then be used to create a new partition or to extend an existing one with Windows' normal tools.
Features
Partitioner shows each disk as a proportional bar of colored partitions and hatched free space. To move a partition, the user drags it; it snaps to fill the free space next to it, and a live preview shows the disk as it will look after the change. Several moves can be staged one after another before anything is written.
- Nothing changes on the disk until the user applies the staged moves, and moving partitions on a real disk requires an explicit confirmation.
- A progress bar follows the move while the data is copied.
- Partitioner updates the partition table only after the data has been copied, and it keeps a backup of the table before every change.
- An interrupted move can be resumed. If a disk disconnects partway through (for example, an external drive on a USB adapter), Partitioner remembers where it was and offers to resume when the disk is connected again.
- A repair function restores a disk's partition table records so Windows recognizes the disk again if it ever shows as uninitialized.
- Volumes in use are never forced offline; Partitioner asks for programs using a volume to be closed instead.
A command-line version is included for scripted use and for inspecting a disk without changing it.
How it fits
Partitioner is part of TobiVision's line of native Windows tools, alongside the Shott screenshot tool and the Hitman remote-access tool, and like them it is distributed through ColaApps, TobiVision's software store. It works entirely on the user's own computer, needs no account and sends nothing anywhere.
Availability
Partitioner 0.1.0 is available now for Windows from ColaApps at colaapps.com/apps/partitioner. It supports GPT disks and moves partitions; resizing partitions (growing or shrinking them) is not part of this version. It runs with administrator rights, because moving partitions requires direct access to the disk.
Moving partitions rewrites large parts of a disk. As with any partition tool, back up important data before applying a move, and do not move the partition Windows is running from.
Company
Partitioner is made by TobiVision Inc., the software company in Royal Oak, Michigan, founded by Tobias Hagenbeek. TobiVision also makes the Architecta code editor, the Shott screenshot tool and the Hitman remote-access tool.