Cylisse

Q: Can I remotely partition my hard drive through Target Disk Mode without erasing it?

I have a 2005 iBook G4, 1.33GHz with 512MB of RAM and a 40GB hard drive. It's currently running Tiger(10.4.11), and I want to be able to dual boot that and Debian(or some other Linux that still supports PowerPC), but I'm not really sure how to partition it. The Tiger Disk Utility doesn't allow me to partition the main hard drive while it's still running, right? Would I be able to plug it into my MacBook Pro(running El Capitan) through Target Disk Mode and then partition it from that Mac? Would this method still keep all of the original data on the computer? I don't really have any way of backing it up, so I'd prefer not to do something that would likely erase it(and lose the wonderful Tiger install).

 

Also, completely random unimportant question, is there a way to change or remove the Apple logo in the corner of the menu bar(in the same computer)?

Thanks!

Posted on Apr 15, 2016 7:01 PM

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Q: Can I remotely partition my hard drive through Target Disk Mode without erasing it?

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  • by theratter,Apple recommended

    theratter theratter Apr 15, 2016 7:13 PM in response to Cylisse
    Level 4 (3,907 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 15, 2016 7:13 PM in response to Cylisse

    Partitioning is a destructive process. You can add another partition by shrinking the existing one without erasing the data already on the drive. Partitioning requires that you boot from the installer disc that came with the computer.

     

    To resize the drive do the following:

     

    1. Open Disk Utility and select the drive entry (usually, mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left list.

     

    2. Click on the Partition tab in Disk Utility's main window. You should see the graphical sizing window showing the existing partitions. The portion in blue represents the used space on a partition.

     

    PartitionTableinDU.png

     

    3. In the lower right corner of the sizing rectangle for each partition is a resizing gadget. Select it with the mouse and move the bottom of the rectangle upwards until you have reduced the existing partition enough to create the desired new volume's size. The space below the resized partition will appear gray. Click on the Apply button and wait for the process to finish.  (Note: You can only make a partition smaller in order to create new free space.)

     

    4. Click on the Add [+] button below the sizing window to add a new partition in the gray space you freed up. Give the new volume a name, if you wish, then click on the Apply button. Wait for the process to finish.

     

    You should now have a new volume on the drive.

     

    It would be wise to have a backup of your current system as resizing is not necessarily free of risk for data loss.  Your drive must have sufficient contiguous free space for this process to work.

  • by Cylisse,

    Cylisse Cylisse Apr 15, 2016 8:00 PM in response to theratter
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 15, 2016 8:00 PM in response to theratter

    In the partition menu everything's greyed out except the partition scheme option and it says "This disk contains the startup volume and can't be partitioned."

    Sorry, I got the terms wrong, but yeah, I meant add a partition. Can I add a partition to it from my MacBook Pro through Target Disk Mode, or will this erase it, or make it not bootable?

  • by theratter,Apple recommended

    theratter theratter Apr 15, 2016 8:23 PM in response to Cylisse
    Level 4 (3,907 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 15, 2016 8:23 PM in response to Cylisse

    You cannot do it on a startup volume. You can boot the computer from an installer DVD if ones is required on your model or if it has a Recovery HD from which you can boot, then you can use it. If you have neither then you can use Target Disk Mode. Connect the two computers using a Firewire cable or, if both support it, a Thunderbolt cable. Boot the computer you wish to modify into TDM. Boot the other computer normally. The computer in TDM will have its disk appearing on the Desktop of the computer booted normally. Then follow my previously posted instructions but you will select the disk icon of the TDM mounted disk in Disk Utility.

  • by Cylisse,

    Cylisse Cylisse Apr 15, 2016 8:44 PM in response to theratter
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 15, 2016 8:44 PM in response to theratter

    Ok, that's what I was wondering, I'll try that, thanks.

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Apr 16, 2016 12:09 PM in response to Cylisse
    Level 6 (14,249 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 16, 2016 12:09 PM in response to Cylisse

    Also, with the diminished resources of the G4 and OS X in those models, a fair amount

    of free unused capacity of hard drive space should be left due to the excess demand of

    the OS X to automatically use that space as Virtual Memory. Even if you add another 1GB

    in physical RAM under the keyboard to bring the Mid 2005 iBook G4 to its total 1.5GB RAM

    the drive will be spinning along read/writing temp swap files on demand.

     

    A partitioned 'small capacity hard drive' such as the claimed 40 GB stock HDD in iBook G4

    such as your (which I have, also) would leave nothing for OS X and its Virtual Memory.

     

    You may be able to find a fair externally enclosed FireWire drive unit with AC power adapter

    from perhaps OWC; it could run another OS from the external with the supported chipset a

    few of the better enclosures allow Macs to boot from there. I have several external FW drives;

    for use among other PPC earlier Mac computers; mostly for full system clone backups.

     

    If using a much newer Mac and Target Disk Mode to format and ready an older PPC Mac

    with old ATA IDE, PATA drives, be careful to use their supported format version.

     

    Some later systems with different hardware could have their main boot drive partitioned

    while in use. This feature became possible with later configurations, perhaps SATA or intel

    based Mac. I've never partitioned a main HDD where the system lives, but have cloned

    a main system aside, so as to completely re-format &/or partition the main hard drive.

    {Older versions of clone utilities can be found among SuperDuper downloads; Carbon Copy

    Cloner can be hard to find old versions on the maker's site. I still have the originals.}

     

    Good luck & happy computing!