Paragon Updates Hard Disk Manager to V14

Paragon Software Group announced the release of Paragon HDD Manager (HDM) 14 Suite and Professional editions.

It is a data management tool for Windows users to maintain and administer PCs and work stations with minimal effort over their life cycle. It’s compatible with the Windows 8 interface, offering a Metro-style express launcher and a ribbon-based launcher. HDDs can be partitioned and data can be backed up using backup routines no matter whether they are in physical or virtual environments. It supports dynamic drives and presents users with a solution for HDD management.

Providing support for Windows BitLocker, it allows users to protect data not only from accidental loss but also from unauthorized access. It delivers faster data protection than the native Windows feature, as well as data recovery of BitLocker encrypted partitions.

It introduces the pVHD format optimized for storing backups of virtual and physical machines. Users have the option to backup data either as PBF files or in the new pVHD (Paragon Virtual HDD) format. pVHD is handling incremental chains, data dedupe and synchronization. With pVHD, backups may be up to four times smaller than the original objects. This introduction has also made incremental imaging work ten times faster and with greater stability compared with the traditional PBF format, thus allowing backup to network storage.

The software allows data transfer to SSDs. It offers source partition size reduction and the option of excluding some data from the transfer. Previously not allowed, the contents of a 512-byte HDD can be copied or restored to a 4K HDD.

It offers uEFI support under Windows, WinPE, and Linux, including a uEFI-compatible backup capsule. P2V Assistant also supports physical uEFI configurations allowing users to migrate from physical systems to virtual environments with just a few clicks.

“HDD Manager has been helping Windows users manage and backup their storage for almost 15 years. HDM 14 keeps pace with current practices through full support for Windows 8.1, faster backup to network, and features to assist migration to solid state drives,” says Konstantin Komarov, CEO, Paragon. “Paragon Software looks forward to meeting its customers’ evolving storage management needs in the years ahead,” he added.

Features:

Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 R2 compatibility

Redesigned user interface, including Windows 8-style GUI

BitLocker support – for volume backup, restore, copy, hide/unhide, delete (available in the Professional editon only)

Windows Storage Spaces support – Manage large storage pools

Windows 8.1 compatible Adaptive Restore

pVHD backup container format – The company’s proprietary image format is an approach for desktop virtualization and DR. The platform-independent format helps reconstuct a Windows or Linux-based PC, including partition layout, partition data, and boot data. An image can be mounted as a virtual HDD for use with a VM. Images can be converted to VHD, VHDx, or VMDK formats

Updated Universal Image Mounter (UIM) – Enables mounting of pVHD and PBF backup images (full and incremental) to browse their contents and retrieve data via the software or from Windows. Also provides a way to mount archives as virtual HDDs or virtual partitions for use with VMs.

WinPE 4.1 based recovery environment

Two ways to create WinPE-based recovery environment: either create a ‘white label’ WinPE recovery environment using AIK/ADK or build your private recovery media using Windows recovery image.

Updated WinPE Recovery Media Builder – prepares either Linux- or WinPE-based bootable environment on a flash drive or in an ISO file without requiring the Windows ADK or WAIK be installed

uEFI support in Windows, WinPE, and Linux, including uEFI compatible backup capsule

Updated Linux-based recovery environment – based on SUSE 12.3, with an updated user interface and support for modern hardware configurations including uEFI and legacy BIOS computers