AOMEI Partition Assistant FAQ

AOMEI Partition Assistant is a full-ranged software which provides easy hard drive partitioning management, such as resize, merge, copy partitions on your hard disk without data loss.

Posted by @AOMEI December 17, 2024 Updated By @AOMEI June 20, 2024

Install/Register/Lauching

Q: Can I uninstall Server Edition or Professional Edition and install it on another computer?

A: It depends on how many computers you have installed the software on. One license code of Partition Assistant Server Edition can be used to register the program on maximum 2 servers. And, one license code of professional edition can be used to register on maximum 2 PCs. To manage more than 2 servers or PCs, you need to buy additional license codes or use Partition Assistant Unlimited Edition which allows unlimited usage within one company.

Q: Is the license code transferrable?

A: LICENSEE is not allowed to lease, sell, rent out or pass the Software to another person in any way. Such license is non-transferable and non-assignable, except in limited circumstances. The limited circumstances include where the original computer the Software license was deployed on: (i) becomes non-functioning; and (ii) falls into disuse. In such cases, the license is transferable to a replacement computer.

In case of PC replacement or hardware exchange, you can contact our support team to reactivate the code so the code can be transferred.

Q: I want to install the new version, do I need to uninstall the old version first?

A: When you run the installer of new version, it will ask to uninstall the old version automatically before installing the new version.

Q: I get the pop-up message "AOMEI Partition Assistant has been installed in your computer. Do you want to uninstall it" when installing the program, but when I click "Yes", this message still shows up, or there is no response when I click "Yes", why is that?

A: To solve this problem, you may need to delete some Registry items. Click here for more instructions.

Q: I get a "Runtime Error (at xxx:xxx)" when installing Partition Assistant, how to solve it?

A: You may need to delete the Registry item of Partition Assistant manually, click here for more information.

Q: When I try to register the program, I receive an error message "Invalid License Code", how to solve it?

A: Please follow the steps below to check the problem:

1. Check whether or not you have typed in wrong code. To avoid typing in incorrect characters, it is better to copy and paste the key into the registration box.

2. Please don't leave any spaces in the registration box. And please make sure the internet connection is stable.

3. Disable the firewall/anti-virus software and try again.

4. If error persists, please contact support to get help.

Q: I get the error description "Load driver failed, please reinstall the program", how to solve it?

A: 1. The drivers of Partition Assistant are loaded abnormally or unsuccessfully, please uninstall the program completely, reboot computer and install again.

2. If the above solution doesn't work, you'll need to copy drivers manually. Please click here for more information.

Q: I get the error description "Sorry, no disks found. Some hard disk drives may be locked by other programs, which caused the access failure. Please close the programs and try again", how to solve it?

A: The drivers of Partition Assistant are loaded abnormally or unsuccessfully, or the disks might be obstructed by other programs, please try to reboot computer, re-install program and then run again. Please click here for more information.

Q: The program says "Loading" but gets stuck there and doesn't start up. How to solve it?

A: Please try the solutions below:

1. If there's an external disk connects to your computer, please remove it and then re-run the program.

2. Please disable BitLocker if it's on.

3. Disable the Internet connection and re-run the program.

4. If problem still exists, please send a screenshot of Disk Management to support to get help.

Q: Why a drive is not recognized in Partition Assistant?

A: Please first make sure the drive is well detected in Windows Disk Management.

If yes, please also verify if you have installed some safeguard software, such as RollBack Rx, Reboot Restore Rx, Drive Cloner and some encryption programs. These software will prevent AOMEI Partition Assistant from reading these disks and partitions. Please close/uninstall these programs and check again.

And, you can also try to connect the drive through another connector to check if it can be detected in Partition Assistant.

If the problem remains, please offer some screenshots of the disk in Windows Disk Management and in Partition Assistant. Also, please attach the "log" folder under the installation directory of Partition Assistant to AOMEI support team for further assistance.

Change Partition Size

Q: What should I do before extending my partition?

A: We highly suggest you close all other applications when running our product; If possible, we suggest you do a defragment on all of partitions.

Q: Does Partition Assistant require a reboot in order to resize the partition?

A: Partition Assistant can extend volume/partition without rebooting computer except for the following situations:

1. Shrink system partitions.

2. Shrink/resize partition containing installation directory of AOMEI Partition Assistant.

3. Shrink/resize partitions containing the page file.

4. Shrink/resize partitions containing other running programs.

Q: How do I enlarge my C partition with free space on other partitions of the same disk?

A: You can directly extend your C partition by using Partition Assistant, more details please refer to here.

Q: To resize a partition, how long will it take?

A: It depends on the amount of data. The program will prompt the estimated time after clicking the "Apply" button.

Q: While extending hardware Raid1 disk, do I need to block the raid, and then extend them one by one? A: No, you don't need to. When you extend one of Raid1 disk, others will be extended at the same time.

Q: I receive the Error Description: "The wizards only extend a NTFS partition, but detected that your partition isn't a NTFS" by using "Extend Wizard"? How to deal with it?

A: "Extend Partition Wizard" does not support any FAT or FAT 32 partitions resizing directly. To solve this problem you need to convert your partition from FAT or FAT 32 to NTFS first by using the command line (convert drive letter: /fs:NTFS) or you could resize the FAT or FAT 32 partition on the main console of Partition Assistant directly.

Q: I get the Error Description: "Sorry, the program doesn't extend this partition yet because of the free disk space insufficient. We recommend you try to extend the partition in Partition Assistant Main Console". How could I solve it?

A: This error always appears when the partition you want to extend was at the end of the hard disk, to solve this problem, you could only extend the partition on main console of Partition Assistant.

Q: What is the Error Description: If in your system there is a Bitlocker volume, you need to turn off the Bitlocker, and then you can extend the partition again. Besides, we recommend you try to extend the partition in Partition Assistant Main Console.

A: Extend Partition Wizard does not support resizing any Bitlocker volumes; therefore, you could only turn off the Bitlocker first. Learn how to deal with a bitlocker partition?

Q: I get the Error Description: The wizard does not support to extend partition on a GPT disk; you can extend the GPT partition by using Partition Assistant Main Console. How could I solve it?

A: Extend Partition Wizard does not support any GPT disk, if you want to resize partition on GPT disk, you need to resize it on main interface of Partition Assistant.

Q: In the case of double system (XP and Win9X) environment, you move/resize the partition of Win9X under the XP environment. At last, you can't start Windows9X. Why?

A: It is directly related to the characteristics of Win9X because the Win9X partition can't be resized or moved. That's why we strongly advise you don't resize/move the old Windows9X. Otherwise, it will cause a lot of problems.

Q: When I right-click partition C, the option "Split Partition" and "Create Partition" are grayed out, how to active them?

A: This situation always causes by the numbers of the primary partition. If you have four primary partitions already, to solve this problem, you need to change one of your primary partitions into logical. After that the option will be active.

Q: I want to merge two partitions, but the option is grayed out, why is that?

A: You may encounter this problem in 4 cases, click here to see the possible solutions.

Q: The space of C drive is too small, and data grows to fill with it. No more than 1 GB left. When I want to use AOMEI Partition Assistant to merge C drive and the unallocated space, it can't be ticked, how to solve it?

A: Please click here to see how to merge C drive that is less than 1GB with unallocated space.

Q: The partition was not resized after reboot, why is that?

A: You may encounter this problem in some cases, click here for more information. 

Q: I get the error message "The file \ ampa.exe is not enough, we recommend that you reinstall the software" when trying to allocate space from D partition to C partition, how to solve it?

A: The reason for this problem is the lack of ampa.exe or ampa.sys file, please reinstall AOMEI Partition Assistant to solve the issue. Besides, please check whether your anti-virus software prevents AOMEI Partition Assistant from decompressing these two files during installation.

Q: When I right-click on a partition, all options are greyed out, what could be the cause?

A: It may be caused by these three situations: 1. The partition has less than 1GB of usable space. 2. It is not an NTFS or FAT32 partition. 3. It is a BitLocker encrypted partition.

Disk Conversion

Q: After converting system disk from GPT to MBR, why is it prompts to install the Windows AIK or ADK when creating a bootable media?

A: The recovery partition (WRE partition) will fail after conversion. AOMEI Partition Assistant bootable media is based on the winre.wim file from the recovery partition, so you will be prompted to install the AIK or ADK. You can copy the "Recovery" folder in the recovery partition to the root directory of C: drive, and then try again.

Q: The program supports to convert a GPT disk that has more than 4 partitions to MBR disk, but sometimes why does it prompt that current disk cannot meet the requirement of conversion? Then, what’s the requirement?

A: It is related to conversion principle and MBR limits. To convert a GPT disk that has multiple partitions to MBR disk, the program will convert the primary partitions except the first three to logical partitions. However, such conversion has to strictly follow the structure of MBR disks, so there will be some restrictions. GPT disks can be converted to MBR disks except the following conditions:

1. If the distance between start address of a GPT partition and end address before it is less than 63 sectors (namely no extra space between two partitions) and the file system of the former partition is neither FAT32 nor NTFS, then this disk cannot be converted to MBR disk, because it is unable to adjust the size of the former partition to free up required space for the conversion. Under such circumstance, we suggest you temporarily remove the partition which is neither FAT32 nor NTFS to solve the problem.

2. The current system is on a GPT disk and there are 3 or more other partitions before or after the EFI partition, then the disk cannot be converted to MBR disks. We suggest you temporarily delete one or two partitions before or after EFI partition and then try again.

3. The current system is on a GPT disk, meanwhile the EFI partition is on the end of this GPT disk (at the right end of the disk). At this time, while converting, it needs to convert the 3 partitions at the end of the disk including EFI partition into primary partitions, and the other partitions into logical partitions in the front. If there is no at least 7.8MB unallocated space before the first partition on the disk, it cannot be converted. Such cases, it is suggested to shrink first partition on the disk from the left side to create at least 7.8MB unallocated space before the first partition, or temporarily remove the first partition on this disk. 

Q: After converting GPT disk to MBR disk, what about the MSR partition?

A: The program will delete the MSR partition while converting GPT disk to MBR disk, because the MSR partition has no effect on a MBR disk.

Q: I get the error message "There is not enough disk space when converting to GPT disk" when trying to convert disk from MBR to GPT, how to solve it?

A: This error can be encountered in two cases, click here for more information.

Partition Conversion 

Q: Can Partition Assistant convert partition from FAT to NTFS?

A: Partition Assistant allows you to convert file system from FAT to NTFS fast and safely. Of course, you can use "convert.exe C: /FS:NTFS" in command prompt line to complete the conversion. Or you can use Partition Assistant command order "partassist.exe /fmt:F /fs:ntfs /label:test" in command prompt to do this.

Q: I want to convert a partition from primary to logical, but the option is greyed out, what could be the cause?

A: The partition cannot be converted to logical in some cases, please click here for more information.

Clone

Q: After migrating OS, will the source system be deleted or not bootable? A: Migrating system won’t take any effect on source system.

Q: After migrating OS, how to change the drive letter of the system partition on the destination disk into C:? A: When you boot from the migrated partition, Windows will assign letter C to this partition automatically, you can't manually assign letter C to the partition.

Q: I get an error saying the disk signature of Disk 1 is equal to the disk signature of Disk 0 when I clone my disk, how to solve it? A: Please wipe the target disk (fill sectors with 0) before the clone operation, then you should be able to clone the disk without issues. If you don't want to wipe disk, you could try to use AOMEI Backupper to clone the disk.

Bootable Disk

Q: The bootable media can't recognize some devices.

A: Maybe it lacks related drivers in the winpe, you could add corresponding drivers when recreating the WinPE.

Q: I get the error description "The program can't start because api-ms-win-core-file-l1-2-1.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix the problem", how to solve it?

A: Errors related to api-ms-win-core-file-l1-2-1.dll can arise for a few different different reasons. For instance, a faulty application, api-ms-win-core-file-l1-2-1.dll has been deleted or misplaced, corrupted by malicious software present on your PC or a damaged Windows registry.

In the vast majority of cases, the solution is to properly reinstall api-ms-win-core-file-l1-2-1.dll on your PC, to the Windows system folder. After that, please create the boot disk again.

Q: I get the error description "A winpeshl.ini file is present, but no commands were successfully launched. This could be caused by incorrect formatting or an invalid executable name. Please consult the documentation for more information", how to solve it?

A: If you get the error in Restart Mode, you could create the WinPE manually. Or you could restart computer and create the boot disk again.

Q: I get the error description "Failed to create the bootable ISO file. The WIM file you specified may be invalid or there might be an error during the process of the creation. We suggest you to reboot computer and try once again, or read online FAQ" when creating the WinPE boot disk, how to solve it?

A: One possible reason is that your system doesn't have the Recovery Environment or the Recovery Environment has been damaged, please install ADK to solve the issue. Click here for more information.

Dynamic Disk Management

Q: My system disk is dynamic, can I extend it?

A: You'll need AOMEI Dynamic Disk Manager to accomplish this, click here for more details.

Q: I get the error description "Aomei Dynamic Disk Manager have detected system configuration has changed, please restart the computer to take effect, and run Dynamic Disk Manager again" when launching AOMEI Dynamic Disk Manager, but this message keep coming up after reboot, how to solve it?

A: You can directly close the prompt window and continue to use AOMEI Dynamic Disk Manager. Or you could edit the Registry item to solve the issue. Click here for more information.

Q: Does Partition Assistant support dynamic disk? A: The free version doesn't support dynamic disk. However, you will have AOMEI Dynamic Disk Manager/Convertor in the paid version, which can manage/convert dynamic disk.

Q: I get the error message "Some volumes will lose when converting, so the program can not convert this disk", how to solve it?

A: You may encounter this error in some cases, click here for more information.

Q: After converting a dynamic disk contained mirrored volume to basic, why does Windows Disk Management show a "Missing Disk"?

A: Because the mirrored volume consists of two dynamic disks, if you only convert one of them to basic, the "Missing Disk" will appear. However, "Missing Disk" will disappear naturally when you simultaneously convert two dynamic disks to basic. We suggest you break mirrored volume before converting.

Q: How to extend RAID0 (Striped), RAID1 (Mirrored) and RAID5 volume with AOMEI Dynamic Disk Manager?

A: For RAID1 (Mirrored) volume that consists of only two dynamic disks, it is easy and safe to extend RAID1 (Mirrored) volume with "Resize/Move Volume" if the two dynamic disks are equal in size; if not, such as 100GB disk1 and 300GB disk2, in such case, you can only extend RAID1 (Mirrored) volume to maximum 100GB. Then, in order to extend up to 300GB, you need to add another 300GB disk (hereinafter "disk3") to your system and convert disk3 to dynamic disk. After that, please use "Move Volume Slice Wizard" to transfer all mirrored volume slices on disk1 to disk3 and then extend RAID1 (Mirrored) volume to 300GB with "Resize/Move Volume". Besides, this method also applies to RAID0 (Striped) and RAID5 volume. For RAID0 (Striped) and RAID5 volume, it is easy and safe to extend RAID0 (Striped) or RAID5 volume with "Resize/Move Volume" if there is enough unallocated space on each disk where the RAID0 (Striped) or RAID5 volume locate; if not, you have to add another large enough disk to your system and convert it to dynamic disk. After that, please use "Add Drive to RAID" to extend RAID0 (Striped) or RAID5 volume. For example, the current size of RAID5 volume which consists of 3 X 100GB disks is 200GB, you can use "Add Drive to RAID" to extend RAID5 volume to 300GB by adding a new 100GB disk to RAID5 array.

Q: Why need "Move Slice" function in AOMEI Dynamic Disk Manager?

A: Every dynamic volume consists of many volume slices, for example, spanned volume has two volume slices at least and RAID5 volume needs three volume slices at least. However, system volume is so special that it consists of only simple volume which has just one single volume slice. In order to extend system volume, there must be some contiguous unallocated space before or behind C drive; if not, you can use "Move Slice" or "Move Volume Slice Wizard" to transfer volume slices located before or behind C drive to other places or disks so that there will be contiguous unallocated space to extend system volume.

Windows Data Recovery

 

Q: Can't detect your hard drive?

A: MyRecover V 2.6.0 supports file recovery for NTFS hard drives and USB drives via Fast and Deep Scan. Only Deep Scan supports non-NTFS file system data recovery. Currently, it can’t work on partitions without drive letters, dynamic volumes, unallocated space, and BitLocker encrypted partitions.

Q: What is the size of the supported hard drive by Partition Recovery? Can I recover lost partition from 4TB hard drive?

A: Partition Recovery does not have the practical size limit. You can recover partitions on a 4TB hard drive.

Q: What is the difference between Fast Search and Full Search?

A: Fast Search will scan the first sector of each partition on the hard drive. So it is faster to find out the deleted or lost partition. Full Search will deeply scan every sector of partitions on the hard drive. So it takes a long time.

Others Features

Q: The program is not responding when locking volume, how do I solve it?

A: You can forcibly terminate the program by using Task Manager, re-run Partition Assistant and redo the operations. You can press the Shift key when clicking the Apply button on toolbar to solve the issue.

Q: After the operation complete, I can't find my drive in "My computer", how to solve it?

A: This problem may cause by the missing drive letter. To solve this problem, you could launch Partition Assistant, on the main interface, right-click the partition which has no drive letter (if a partition has no drive letter it will be shown as "*") and use the feature "Change drive letter" to assign a drive letter to this partition.

Q: I get the error description "The properties of the disk or partition have changed (for example, adding or removing a USB key will modify the properties). Do you want to update the properties?", but this message keep coming up no matter I choose 'Yes' or 'No', how to solve it?

A: Please check whether you have connected an external drive that has problems, you could remove the external disk first, run AOMEI Partition Assistant again, and then connect the external disk to check the status.

Q: I get the error description "AOMEI Partition Assistant has encountered an unknown error. A folder named 'log' and a file called 'Crash2.dmp' have been generated in its installation directory" when launching Partition Assistant, how to solve it?

A: Please check whether you have connected an external drive that has problems, you could remove the external disk and run AOMEI Partition Assistant again to see the result. If problem persists, please send the log folder and Crash2.dmp file in AOMEI Partition Assistant installation directory to support@aomeitech.com to get help.

Q: Some operations require to be performed under PreOS Mode, but my PC always return to PreOS Mode after reboot, how to solve it?

A: The reason why your PC goes into PreOS Mode is because of a file named "ampa.exe" (created by Partition Assistant) in "C:\Windows". In this case, you could create a bootable media by a 3rd-party program, then boot into WinPE to delete the "ampa.exe" file. After that, you could boot into Windows normally. Or you could create a boot disk by AOMEI Partition Assistant directly to perform the operations.

If you don't have another computer to create the boot disk, try going into Safe Mode to delete "ampa.exe".  Press and hold the computer power button until it is turned off, repeat 3 or more times. After restarting, the "Recovery" interface will appear, click "View Advanced Repair Options" --> "Troubleshot"-->"Advanced options"-->"Startup Settings"-->"Restart", after rebooting, press F4 to enter into Safe Mode.

Q: The operation is stuck, can it be cancelled?

A: In some cases, you can cancel the operation. In some cases, you can't. Click here for more information.

Q: The Windows To Go I created is Home Edition, how do I create a Pro Edition of Windows To Go?

A: The program will choose the first edition of Windows ISO to create Windows To Go by default, so it will be Home Edition. If you want to have Pro Edition,  please exact the install.wim file in "sources" folder and choose the wim file to create Windows To Go. After that, you can select the Pro Edition of Windows system.

Q: After I use the "Check Partition" function to repair the partition, the program still prompts that there are errors in the partition, how can I solve it?

A: In this case, it is recommended to use the chkdsk command that comes with Windows to repair the partition.

 

General FAQs

Q: The machine is a server with hardware RAID. Does Partition Assistant Server Edition or Unlimited Edition support this? A: Yes, AOMEI Partition Assistant supports hardware RAID, including RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, etc.

Q: What's the limitation of DEMO version? A. The only limitation is DEMO version cannot execute a real operation when clicking the "Apply" button in the software. You need to buy the full version if you want to take effect the operation.

Q: Does Partition Assistant support Removable Drive?

A. Yes, it does. AOMEI Partition Assistant supports USB flash drive, PC card, SD card, etc.

Any questions, please email to support@aomeitech.com. You could also post your question in our forum, we will get back to you ASAP.