Disk Utility - Resize Partition

Hmmm, not sure what you did to get what you have, but you cannot enlarge the bottom partition. You can only enlarge the top partition. My suggestion:

Delete that bottom partition. Drag the sizing gadget on the top partition all the way to the bottom. Click on the Apply button. When this is finished click in the resulting single partition then click on the Add [-] button which should automatically divide into two equally sized partitions. Click on the Apply button.

Now, this will erase whatever is on the lower partition you now have, but not the upper partition on which you have OS X installed. Be sure you have backups of your data before proceeding as a precaution.

To avoid having to do as Kappy suggests each time you decide you got the sizes wrong the last time, I recommend not partitioning the drive at all — just leave it as a single volume. There is rarely any very good reason to partition the everyday startup drive of a Mac. It just complicates backing up and causes you to bump repeatedly into storage limits that you've needlessly imposed on yourself.

There is no other solution. You can expand the top partition to fill the existing empty space between the two, but you can not expand the bottom partition upwards. This is only possible when you are partition a drive for the first time or repartitioning the entire drive, and it's not a startup drive that's currently active.

If you are willing to spend money to purchase a third-party utility, iPartition 3.4.1 ($45.00,) it can accomplish what you want, but otherwise you cannot do it in Disk Utility.

Right you can't expand the bottom partition upwards. Never could, not really odd.

But you don't have to increase the size of the top partition first. Just deleting the bottom partition and then Recreating it using all the unalocated space will include the space you took away from the top partition.

That's true for those looking to install different OS versions. But the OP does mention "the one with the OS," so it seemed safe to assume the lower partition wasn't intended to be a startup volume in this case.

May be, but the OP has stuff on that partition and prefers not to delete it. Could be another OS or just data. In any case the only solution for the OP that doesn't involved deleting a partition is simply to expand the upper partition into the existing free space and end up with unequally sized partitions.

Kappy wrote:

The OP doesn't want to delete the bottom partition if possible (which it is not) except to expand the top partition and have unequal sized partitions.

Right I understand that but to my knowledge there is no way yo expand the bottom partition upwards without first deleting it.

Not sure if there is a 3rd party partitioning programs for Mac's like there is for Windows. With those in Windows you can move space around as you like. But even with them sometimes you have to delete one of the partitions to be able to move it into another.

Well, that is always going to be the case copying from one partition on the drive to another because one r/w head can only be at one place at a time. Slower than copying between drives. Repartitioning your drive won't change this issue, but putting everything on a single drive will.

EDIT:

BTW, if you don't currently have a backup plan then I would consider making one. There is only one sure protection against drive failure - separate backups. Backup regularly and often. Multiple backups are better than one.

That is true for most computers when copying to or from a USB drive. Drive to drive, physical, installed in the system isn't to bad and partition to partition isn't to slow. Fatser if it's to a SSD or SSD to SSD internally.

That is why Apple started with Thunderbolt. The only problem is there aren't many thunderbolt drives and the ones that are available are very expensive. That will change now that Windows PC are starting to include TB. Unless like FireWire TB dies in favor of USB 3.

A lot of people coming from the Windows world don't realize how little there is to gain by partitioning the primary drive in a Mac. Sharing that information with them is a valid use of the forum even if it isn't a direct answer to their questions.

here's the story and 1 reason why it can be necessary to resize other partitions.

1 - Snow Leopard - 2Tb SSD - startup corrupted possibly through malware - hung on grey screen unable to log in (assume this for all results below)

2 - tried reboot cmd R - doesn't work on OSX10.6.8

3 - rebooted with install disk - disk utilities, repaired parent disk - OK

4 - repair disk permissions on Mac drive still greyed out after reboot, so rebooted from disk again. disk verified as OK

5 - rebooted holding shift - then rebooted, didn't repair startup

6 - rebooted install disk used fsck process - showed original startup file WAS MODIFIED but showed OK - (ended with "updating boot partitions for the volume as required" and left it for 2 days, no change and no indication of activity so powered off - one post said he'd left his like this for 36 hrs and came back and it had rebooted itself, not sure if this is reliable for all instances, could apple verify?) rebooted

7 - reset SMC

8 - rebooted with install disk - paritiioned free space for new install - installed exact same OSX, chose for bootup.

9 - tried every suggestion i could find on line to repair / recover corrupted original startup

10 - could not find way to make recovery disk to repair original startup / system

11 - started backing up essential user files to new partition, using it as bootable partition, all ok but obviously missing all personalised system and application settings crucial from original partition. also means reinstall of all programs and resetting parameters.

12 - as storage on 2nd partition increased, wanted to reduce 1st partition to reallocate unused space.

13 - did as person who posted this tried to resize top partition - this just shrinks space in 1st partition and does not free up unused space.

14 - only option i can see is to clone user files to external HD before deleting 1st partition to make 2nd (bootable) partition as entire HD space but no idea if it will even do this or just result in restricting my 2TB drive to existing size of 2nd partition.

i have CCC - surely there must be a simpler way to restore a corrupted startup file - even copying and pasting files form the new OSX to the correct folder in the old OSX, would that work? if so, which files/folders should be targeted? thanks if you can shed light on this - URGENT.

ps - disk utility; as using 2nd partition OSX to use my computer - decided to repeat second part of 6 and ;eave computer on for 3 days as at least i can use it. meanwhile - still need direction if this will not work, of maximising partition2 / minimising partiton 1 to leave just the OSX on then erasing and reformatting 1st partition or expanding 2nd partition after erasing 1. thanks