remove a partition

I'm still not real clear on the current configuration, but here's is an historical perspective:

You started out with a single 1 TB partition. Then you added a 2nd 60 GB partition. That was the beginning of your issue, becuase the only way that you would have been able to enlage that 2nd partition would have been to erase and delete it, so that 1st partition recovered the space, then you would have to create a new larger than 60 GB partition. In other words, there was no way that the 2nd partiton could have been enlarged short of removing it and adding it back as a larger partition.

Now, where do you go from here?

1. You should have an external drive, preferably one at least 1 GB in size.

2. Decide whether you're still going to use the original 1st partition with Snow Leopard, yes or no?

3. Which OS X version do you intend to use as your main version?

4. In your final vision of your internal drive, how many partitions do you want?

I have erased the unwanted partitions using the disk utility, but I cannot fine a way to totally eliminate the partitions. How do I accomplish totally eliminate them leaving a drive without any partitions.

Use Disk Utility and repartition your drive into 1 partition. You select the actual drive not any partitions underneath. Then click on Partitions. From there, select the partition you want to delete and click the minus sign. When you select a partition it should turn blue. Disk Utility in El Capitan is very confusing.

I assume your partition pie chart might show 3 partitions. Select one at a time and click the minus sign. After all 3 are deleted, DU might show 1 partition as Untitled which should be all the space on your external drive.

If I click on the minus sign on my major partition that contains the data I want to save will I lose the data, or simply remove the partition leaving the data on the drive in an untitled section that I can rename.

You can't delete the OS partition when you're in it and you certainly don't want to when you boot from an external source unless you're going to reinstall everything. Once you delete a partition, all your data is gone.

Would you make a Disk Utility screen shot so people can see what you are seeing? Make sure you cover any personal information using Preview. Post the screen shot in a Reply using the camera icon or you can drag the screen shot into a reply. Copy and paste doesn't work.

Screen shots

When you create a new partition, that new one defaults to a label of Untitled. As you delete partitions, the frees space gets merged in with the next partition in line. For example, I have Macintosh HD and then I created 1 partition as Untitled. When I deleted Untitled, the free space automatically merged with Macintosh HD and all I saw in Disk Utility was a blue pie chart labeled Macintosh HD. So, if you delete all partitions, I think DU will label a single partition as Untitled. You can always label it whatever you want BEFORE you click Apply. Hope this make sense.

The partitions can only be deleted in the reverse order that they were created. Meaning, if you have three partitions, the last one added can be deleted, followed by the 2nd one. You won't be able to delete the 2nd one before deleting the 3rd, and you won't be able to delete the first one as long as the 2nd one is present.

I didn't know that, but it didn't help -- the partition in question is the last to be created.

I have managed to create and delete a fourth partition why trying to resize the unwanted partition....

Should I open a new ticket?

The third of three.

Initially I my 0.5TB was one partition, for Snow Leopard.

I optimistically gave 60 GIG to Yosemite, and then upgraded Yosemite to El Cap.

I then tried to increase the size of that second partition by dragging the handle in the pie chart, but that created the unwanted partition.

I've tried erasing it (even though it was never used), mounting, un-mounting, but the 'minus' button is never enabled, but is always greyed-out.

Please do a backup, preferably 2 on 2 separate drive so you don't lose your data.

I have done that, but the minus symbol is greyed-out/disabled.

Any ideas?

Which numbered partition is the one that you're referencing as unwanted?