How to create partions (Leopard 10.5, MacBook)

Hi you can with Coriolis' €50 iPartition:

http://www.coriolis-systems.com/iPartition.php

This technology is not without its risks so ensure that you backup before you start.

Reinstalling (especially if you customize and, say limit yourself to English only, does not take long and is pretty rock solid, although you'll also have to update the OS after installation.

The Mac is very intuitive - if you were reasonable technical with your previous platform there is no reason why you can't be conversant with your Mac in a few days. There is so much info and help available on the internet.

Whatever you choose - good luck!

Tonga wrote:
I want to create 2 partions, one to keep the OS and the other for data. Is it possible to partion a disk in Leopard without installing everything again?

Yes, it's possible to partition "on the fly" and it can be done via the OS or with a free utility like iPartition. But it is safer to erase the disk before creating partitions.

I'd advise you to think carefully about how much data you are using now and how much you will be using, then partition accordingly.

Once you create the partitions use a utility like SuperDuper to make a bootable clone of your startup volume. It's free for cloning.

Then, you should never need your install disk again unless you want another fresh install. If you have any major issues with your system just erase it and clone the backup. And if you do want to install to a partition you can do that too.



-mj

Message was edited by: macjack

@ Macjack - iPartition costs $49.95

Ooops! Pricey too. That used to be freeware.
Thanks.



-mj

...

Message was edited b: R C-R: duplicated content posted while & was composing this post!

I have to get used to hearing to hearing the word "Norton" without flying into a rant.

I understand Norton is OK on the Windows side but it should never come in contact with the Mac OS. It mangles them. I've seen so many Macs rendered useless over the years by Symantec tools that I've built up a phobic reaction. If a Norton disk got close to my Mac I would swab the area with alcohol.

I ain't afraid of no ghosts! Except the ones named "Norton" 😉



-mj

Happens a lot 😟

Tonga wrote:
(god, this is why I will never ditch Windows...you can get everything for free and if it doesn't work..no problem)

Yes, you can get just about anything for Windows "for free" but much of it is pirated commercial software & laced with malware. Some of it you get whether you ask for it or not. (Security experts estimate that a PC without up-to-date, effective anti-virus software installed has about a 50/50 chance of being infected _during the first hour_ it is connected to the Internet!)

The effects of PC malware are a very real problem for everyone: for instance, your personal information (including email addresses & personal correspondence of your friends & associates stored on your computer) may be stolen or your PC turned into a "zombie" that as part of a "bot army" is estimated to be the source of as much as 80% of all spam.

Even if nothing that severe occurs, your PC will probably will execute a lot of useless code & become sluggish or unstable, either directly from the effects of malware or from the anti-virus software used to find & remove it. (Amazingly, some PC users even pirate anti-virus software or its updates, not realizing that this is a favorite & highly effective "vector" for infection.)

The numbers are staggering. There are about 50,000 distinct strains of malware "in the wild" that affect PC's. Some experts estimate that at any particular time, the average PC has more than a dozen individual pieces of malware on it in either an active or dormant state, mostly due to the complacency of users who have become so used to the effects of malware & the lure of "free" software that they don't realize their PC's aren't acting normally.

The bottom line is (not too surprisingly) you get what you pay for.

macjack wrote:
I understand Norton is OK on the Windows side but it should never come in contact with the Mac OS.

Probably more to the point, Norton anti-virus software or something like it is mandatory for Windows PC's because PC's are the target of so much malware & Windows historically has been so poorly protected against it in its default state.

Mac OS X is not bulletproof but it is very well designed from the ground up to be extremely resistant to malware attacks & Apple is quite diligent about patching vulnerabilities as they are discovered. The end result is that if you allow Software Update to do its thing, you probably don't need to bother with anti-virus software except as a courtesy to the PC-using world (to prevent passing malware ineffective against OS X on to PC users).

I realize PC anti-virus software makers play on fears, but the dangers are quite real & confirmed by independent sources. Overt attacks that try to "kill" your computer are mostly done by "script kitties" that just like to create chaos for its own sake, & are not much of a threat. The real problem is malware that is only effective if the infected PC continues to give the appearance that nothing is wrong.

The motive in most cases is making money, either by selling stolen information or by extortion. Individual users are not usually the direct target, just unwitting pawns in schemes that involve huge numbers of PC's. This is practical only if the individual users are unaware that their PC's have been compromised & the data shows that this happens to hundreds of thousands of them at a time.

If you aren't familiar with the concept of "zombies" or "botnets" this article should be a real eye opener. True, it is a few years old, but it covers the topic pretty well, & nothing has changed -- if anything, the problem is worse than ever, driven by wider use of high speed networks & more powerful computers.