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User profile for user: Davvido
Davvido Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

Error: -9899: The partition cannot be resized.

+Error: -9899: The partition cannot be resized. Try reducing the amount of change in the size of the partition.+

I get this error everytime I try to resize selected partition. It is 340 GB volume with 115 GB of free space. I tried to make it 250 GB and I got this error. Then I tried to make it 300 GB (only 40 GB smaller - it would have much free space after that) and again - I got this error. This is external HD connected by FireWire. Neither Disk Utility nor "diskutil resizeVolume" was able to resize it. I checked the volume - there is nothing to repair. What else can I do? How can I resize it?

MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2009), Mac OS X (10.6.6), iPhone 4 (iOS 4.2.1)

Posted on Feb 3, 2011 3:47 AM

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11 replies
User profile for user: Pondini
Pondini
User level: Level 8
38,863 points

Feb 4, 2011 4:09 PM in response to Davvido

Davvido wrote:
Erasing free space didn't help.


No, that just writes zeros to the empty space.

Partitions must occupy contiguous physical space on the disk. Most likely, that partition has been near full at some point, then things were deleted, leaving plenty of empty space, but the remaining files scattered over it.

You have two options:

  • Copy the data elsewhere, erase the partition, then copy the data back.
  • Use a 3rd-party app, such as iPartition, that can move things around. As noted prominently there, back up first in case something goes wrong.
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User profile for user: Pondini
Pondini
User level: Level 8
38,863 points

Feb 5, 2011 7:36 AM in response to Davvido

Davvido wrote:
I don't have another drive


I guess that also means you don't have backups? Please consider getting an external HD for backups. They've gotten much less expensive in the last few years.

When (not if) your internal HD fails (they all do, sooner or later), or something else awful happens to your Mac, you risk losing everything on it.

Preferably, get one that's 2-3 times the size of the data on (or anticipated to be on) your internal HD. Use it for this purpose, then to make regular backups.

You already have the +Time Machine+ app, integrated into OSX, to do backups. For info, review the [Time Machine Tutorial|http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#timemachinebasics] and perhaps browse [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum).

Or, keep a "bootable clone." I use CarbonCopyCloner, many use the similar SuperDuper. [CarbonCopyCloner|http://www.bombich.com> is donationware; [SuperDuper|http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html] has a free version, but you need the paid one (about $30) to do updates instead of full replacements, or scheduling.
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User profile for user: Pondini
Pondini
User level: Level 8
38,863 points

Feb 6, 2011 10:05 AM in response to Davvido

Now I'm really confused.

Do you mean you're trying to reduce the partition so you can make a second one?

If so, and the partition has ever been near full, it's just not going to work without either copying the data off or using something like iPartition to move things around (and I'd be skeptical of that: be certain it understands the structure of Time Machine backups.)

Your best bet may be to simply reformat the drive the way you want it, and let Time Machine start fresh on the new setup.
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User profile for user: russtman
russtman
User level: Level 1
4 points

Apr 20, 2014 6:09 PM in response to Davvido

While you are resizing your partition, do tail -f /var/log/kernel.log or run the Console app and select kernel.log.


This will tell you why the resize is failing.


Unfortunately, it will only give you the inode number for the file or directory that is preventing the resize.


To find the file name corresponding to this inode, you can use the find command from the terminal:


$ cd /Volumes/<volume you are trying to resize>

$ find -x . -inum <the inode number from kernel.log>


Once you find the file, copy it to a different volume if you want to save it, and delete it.

Then rerun the resize operation and it should succeed. If it doesn't, repeat the above procedure until you are successful.


See also: http://superuser.com/questions/72896/cannot-resize-os-x-partition/291378

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User profile for user: bjfar
bjfar
User level: Level 1
0 points

May 16, 2015 3:22 PM in response to russtman

This seemed to be working for me, I removed a few files iterating through this procedure, however after a while I ended up with this in the disk utility log file instead:


May 17 00:06:47 macbook kernel[0]: hfs_reclaimspace: 40% done...

May 17 00:07:15 macbook kernel[0]: hfs_reclaimspace: 50% done...

May 17 00:08:04 macbook kernel[0]: hfs_reclaimspace: 60% done...

May 17 00:08:33 macbook kernel[0]: hfs_reclaimspace: 70% done...

May 17 00:09:19 macbook kernel[0]: hfs_reclaimspace: 80% done...

May 17 00:09:58 macbook kernel[0]: hfs_reclaimspace: 90% done...

May 17 00:10:59 macbook kernel[0]: hfs_reclaimspace: relocated 2926441 blocks from 14687 files on "Macintosh HD"

May 17 00:10:59 macbook kernel[0]: hfs_truncatefs: didn't reclaim enough space on Macintosh HD (error=1)


What next?

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Error: -9899: The partition cannot be resized.

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