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How to change a partition?

I have already partitioned my 1TB external drive for 2 partition 600GB for the TM partition 1 and 400GB for partition 2.I do have stuff on both of them and just now I realized that I like to increase partition 1 TM to 750GB and have partition 2 250GB.Can this be done easily,I am pretty bad when it comes to MacsI just came over from Windows.

imac 24-inch

Posted on Dec 10, 2009 11:10 AM

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14 replies

Dec 10, 2009 11:16 AM in response to cyclistgeorge

cyclistgeorge wrote:
I have already partitioned my 1TB external drive for 2 partition 600GB for the TM partition 1 and 400GB for partition 2.I do have stuff on both of them and just now I realized that I like to increase partition 1 TM to 750GB and have partition 2 250GB.Can this be done easily,I am pretty bad when it comes to MacsI just came over from Windows.


greetings my fellow cyclist 😉

take a look @ iPartition

Dec 10, 2009 11:17 AM in response to cyclistgeorge

you can only adjust the size of a partition using disk utility without erasing it by dragging its *lower right corner* up or down. this limits what you can do without erasing partitions. open Disk Utility. is the TM partition the top one on the drive? then the best you can do is delete the lower partition, adjust the size of the TM partition and then recreate the second partition in the remaining free space. of course this will wipe all the data on the second partition so if you want to keep it you'll have to copy it somewhere else first..

Dec 10, 2009 11:24 AM in response to cyclistgeorge

V.K. has answered the question you asked perfectly, however I'd like to ask you another question: What is on that second partition? If there's important data there, note that you will need to have it backed up somewhere else, not to the first partition. If backups are stored on the same physical drive, even if on a separate partition, then both originals and backups will be lost in the case of a failure.

You may already be aware of this, but I've encountered many people here who aren't, so I thought I should cover this base. If this is news to you, you may want to read my [Mac Backup Guide|http://www.reedcorner.net/thomas/guides/backups> for more information on appropriate backup strategies.

Dec 10, 2009 11:48 AM in response to Jolly Giant

Jolly Giant wrote:
iPartion claims to be able to

+Repartition without reformatting+

+Want to change the size of a partition that’s currently full of data? iPartition supports non-destructive resize of HFS+ (including case-sensitive and journaled), FAT and NTFS partitions.+

not true ?

true but I was only talking about disk utility. I should have mentioned ipartition too but then I saw that you've done it already. as mentioned, ipartition is not free and the kind of resizing it does involves moving a lot of actual data on the drive. the much simpler method used by disk utility does not. as such it's much safer, MUCH quicker and more reliable. but it's certainly tru that ipartition does offer more flexibility that disk utility. i prefer cloning (or just copying) to another drive in such sitiations as a much safer and free alternative and would not pay money for ipartition but sometimes it may be the best option.

Dec 10, 2009 11:50 AM in response to Jolly Giant

Jolly Giant wrote:
iPartion claims to be able to

+Repartition without reformatting+

+Want to change the size of a partition that’s currently full of data? iPartition supports non-destructive resize of HFS+ (including case-sensitive and journaled), FAT and NTFS partitions.+

not true ?


True, but their FAQ #1 starts with this:

*1. How safe is iPartition?*

*We should start by saying that we strongly recommend that you back-up any valuable data before using any disk utility . . .*


If you're going to copy the data off somewhere anyway, why not just copy it, change the partitions as V.K. says, and copy the data back? (not to mention saving the $45)

Dec 10, 2009 11:50 AM in response to Jolly Giant

The internal HD is a likely candidate. Additionally, I suspect that the TM backup contains the stuff resident on the second partition, so it wouldn't be necessary to save the data elsewhere. Finally, an additional ext HD allows for a bootable backup/clone and another place to backup the data.

In any case, most users prefer to use the built-in tools. That's what prompted my reply.

Dec 10, 2009 11:51 AM in response to V.K.

V.K. wrote:
Jolly Giant wrote:
iPartion claims to be able to

+Repartition without reformatting+

+Want to change the size of a partition that’s currently full of data? iPartition supports non-destructive resize of HFS+ (including case-sensitive and journaled), FAT and NTFS partitions.+

not true ?

true but I was only talking about disk utility. I should have mentioned ipartition too but then I saw that you've done it already. as mentioned, ipartition is not free and the kind of resizing it does involves moving a lot of actual data on the drive. the much simpler method used by disk utility does not. as such it's much safer, MUCH quicker and more reliable. but it's certainly tru that ipartition does offer more flexibility that disk utility. i prefer cloning (or just copying) to another drive in such sitiations as a much safer and free alternative and would not pay money for ipartition but sometimes it may be the best option.


i'm +all Apple+ most of the times. just trying to give the OP options ... 😉

Dec 10, 2009 12:02 PM in response to V.K.

V.K. wrote:
i'm +all Apple+ most of the times. just trying to give the OP options ... 😉

by all means. I don't have any problems with mentioning ipartition as an option although some caveats as those mentioned above might be in order when recommending it.


absolutely ! i expect the OP to study what the developer published on the site i linked.

c'mon guys ... i mean the OP no harm

Dec 10, 2009 1:36 PM in response to Pondini

Thanks for all the replies.I don't know why I partitioned the external drive in this config.but I suppose its inexperience.I have never had external drive before let alone partitioning it.But my iMacs internal drive is 640GB and the external LeCie is 1TB.Since the TM partition is 600GB I could almost put the whole of my internal drive on that.I don't think I'll fill that up using the partition 2 for a;; things to store( photos etc.)I don't want to mess around with re-partitionong again last I screw-up something.Thanks anyways.

How to change a partition?

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