If you are looking for a simple, and free application for basic drive related tasks Partition Wizard v11 free edition is certainly worth the download. It works, it works well… and the newer interface is a heck of a lot more user-friendly than previous versions. The same holds true for the paid version. Albeit this version is more orientated towards the more advanced users/builders/etc. who know what they need to do and don’t want to waste time with the kludgey ‘Microsoft way’. Quiet honestly the new version 11 is just as big a value as the version 8 was back in its day. It offers a ton of options, a clean, clear pathway from point A to Z… and costs noticeably less than what other companies are asking for their version.
For those interested in paying for this software one recommendation we would make however is to pay the upfront cost of an additional $20 so as to get future ($39 a pop) version for ‘free’. Conversely, since it is such a steep price increase from Pro to Pro Ultimate… we would be hesitant to recommend it over the cheaper Pro version. The only two things the Pro Ultimate edition offers over the noticeably cheaper ‘Pro’ version is data recovery, and installation on 3 PCs instead of just one… and lifetime upgrades are included in the $99 asking price (as it should be for that asking price). Right now there are a ton of inexpensive data recovery applications that will also try and recover your data and do not cost $40-60 for the privilege. So to us the Pro Ultimate is a hard pass. This does not mean the Pro Ultimate version is ‘bad’ it just means it lacks value at its existing price point. So to us the decision would be between free and the paid Pro versions only.
With that said there is still a few minor quirks that first times users will have to get used to. The most obvious is that nothing is actually implemented when you click on a given command. Instead it is queued and only when you hit a second button will actually carry out your wishes. This is both a good thing and a bad. It is good in that it gives you a ‘sober second thought’ before potentially nuking data you are trying to recover. On the other, it is quirky and we can see novices mistaking assuming it is a ‘one click’ interface… and not actually hitting ‘apply’… and then being PO’ed when “the program doesn’t work”.
The other minor nit pick is the free version contains all the advanced features and options of the paid version… they just do not work. The only two features really included in the free version is a benchmarking tool, and a space analyzer. With so many features not working, this can cause frustration in those looking for a simple way to actually fix a ‘broken’ partition. This certainly is… quirky and is how MiniTool has been doing things for as long as we can remember… but honestly it is one thing that should be fixed. Release a cut down version without any ‘deactivated’ features included as the ‘free’ version and keep the trialware ‘full’ version available for those who want to ‘test drive’ the full program before they buy. This would be a more optimal configuration and one that would not annoy potential buyers with non-working options.
Even with these issues taken into account the new version 11 of the venerable Partition Wizard application is everything you could ask for in a ‘simple’ partition management application. For professionals it all but demands to be on your ‘troubleshooter’ USB thumb drive. For enthusiasts it all but demands to be installed on your system, and for novices it is one of the more reasonable software options available. One that will not let you down, and one that you an rely upon to get you out of trouble without (m)any worries over nuking your data. Put simply this app should be what Microsoft includes for free with Windows 10. Since they do not this is an app worthy of your hard-earned money. It may just save you Terabytes worth of data someday. To us peace of mind is worth the upfront cost MiniTool is asking.
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The Review
MiniTool Partition Wizard Free & Pro v11
If you are looking for a simple, and free application for basic drive related tasks Partition Wizard v11 free edition is certainly worth the download. It works, it works well… and the newer interface is a heck of a lot more user-friendly than previous versions.
