- Partition External Drive Mac
- How To Partition A Hard Drive Mac For Linux
- Hard Drive Partition Software
- Partition Hard Drive For Time Machine
Tap on “Revert to un-partition hard drive” option on Mac. Once you’ve successful partitioned your Mac’s hard drive, you can use it like an all new hard drive or internal SSD, store any data you like, upload anything you like! So fellas, here was a quick guide on how to partition a hard drive on Mac. How to Partition a Hard Drive or SSD on Mac (With Boot Camp) You can also partition your Mac or SSD with Boot Camp if you want to run a Windows OS on the device. Boot camp has a handy app called Boot Camp Assistant for partitioning hard drive space so each partition created will.
- When there are several partitions on your hard drive, and you need one bigger than the other on a particular drive to handle more data in it, you need to know methods to use to resize partitions on Mac. In this article, we'll talk about rules of resizing partition for Mac and how to backup data before resizing partition.
- In a previous tutorial, we covered how to format a hard drive using Disk Utility.
In simple words, a disk partition can be defined as the Mac can be dividing into different partitions, and all the partitions have their specific space that you can use. You can also transfer the essential files and documents in one partition and lock it, and the other partition can be used for other general tasks.
If you want to manage your Mac hard drive by creating different partitions, then this article is the right place for you. It is a full guide of how to partition a hard drive on Mac. Let’s check it out.
Partition External Drive Mac
Before Partitioning A Mac: Backup and Clean it Up First!
The very primary step before moving towards partition hard drive on Mac, you must backup and clean up the internal hard drive of Mac. First thing to do is to backup your files on Mac using Time Machine. If anything goes wrong in the partition process, you still have the backup files.
How To Partition A Hard Drive Mac For Linux
Then you need to clean up your Mac and prepare for disk partition, so if any other unwanted program that might become the reason for virus or interruption can easily remove. As for Mac cleaning, you can use the Mac cleaning tools to do that, but for effective results, use iMyFone Umate Mac Cleaner. This app is a great chioce for cleaning up your Mac before partitioning a hard drive, for it can do the cleaning task efficiently and thoroughly. The main cleaning features of it are as follow:
- Clean Up Junk: It can easily clean up to 40+ types of junk files in one go with Quick Clean & Deep Clean mode.
- Delete large files: It can quickly delete large files that over 50MB within one click.
- Delete duplicate files: It can delete the duplicate files from your Mac without any problem to reclaim more available space.
- Uninstall apps and remove extensions: It will allow you to uninstall unused apps and remove those unnecessary extensions in a flash.
The app is super easy to use that you can use it to get a cleaner Mac with simple clicks. Now, here are the steps to follow if you want to use this fantastic app for junk cleaning from your Mac.
- Download the app and launch it on your Mac.
- Then you need to choose a feature that you need, after that, click on the Scan button.
- Just preview and then select all the unneeded items to clean up, all can be done in a few minutes.
Here We Go! How to Partition A Hard Drive on Your Mac?
For disk partition, there are twp types: Volume and Partition. Before creating a new partition, you need to confirm your Mac's operating system. For different macOSs, there are different operations when it comes to disk partition. We will list several ways below to help you determine how you go about partitioning your Mac.
For macOS High Sierra & Later Versions: Create A Volume
A new word here, Volume, is a storage container that a Mac can read. It include CDs, DVDs, SSDs and hard drives. If you are running macOS High Sierra or later versions on your Mac, then you can create a new volume. The term ‘partition’ is used in those Macs running lower versions.
So, here is the question: how to create a volume on Macs that are running macOS High Sierra or later versions? These later macOSs use a new file system - Apple File System (APFS). For those Macs using the APFS, you can use Disk Utility in MacOS to create a new volume. Below are the steps to follow.
- Open Disk Utility on your Mac.
- Click the drop-down menu and choose 'Show All Devices' option. Then select the disk you want to add the new volume to and hit the '+' button to add a new volume.
- Next, name your new volume and set it up accordingly by clicking on 'Size' Option. Then fill in the 'Reserve Size' and 'Quota Size' options.
- At last, you must click on 'Add' button to confirm your request.
For macOS Sierra & Lower Versions: Create A Partition
As mantioned above, for Macs that are running lower verisons, you can partition its hard drive. There are two methods that can create a partition on Mac. One is using Disk Utility and the other is using Boot Camp. Just keep reading!
Method 1: Use Disk Utility to Partition A Hard Drive on Mac
The first way to do the disk partition on Mac is to use Disk Utility, which can repair and partition disk drive spaces from your Mac. Next, let's follow the procedure of Mac disk utility partition:
- Open Disk Utility application on your Mac.
- Next, you need to choose Mac's internal hard drive.
- Then click Partition option and click the add partition button: '+'.
- Now a new partition will show up, and you can change the size as indicated by what you need. Then give this new partition a name as you like.
- At last, you must click on 'Apply' button to confirm your request.
- You can also click on 'Revert' button to remove the partition on Mac.
When the process is done, you will have a new hard drive with available space. Just transfer anything you want and keep them in the new partition.
Method 2: Use Boot Camp to Partition A Hard Drive on Mac
As we mentioned above, you can run different operating systems on your Mac after partitioning a hard drive. So if you want to run Windows on another drive, this way is very helpful to get it done. Boot Camp is a pre-installed application in the later version of Mac. You can launch it and follow the steps below.
- Open Application > Utilities > Boot Camp Assistant.
- Click on “Create or remove a Windows partition” option and hit “Continue” button.
- Then select a hard drive on your Mac for disk partition.
- Next, confirm the size of the partition for running Windows OS.
- At last, hit the Partition button and that is done.
Extra Tip: How to Resize or Delete Your Partition?
After talking about how to partition hard drive on Mac, we will guide you more extra tips in the next part. Let's check them out!
To Resize A Partition: Click on the 'Partition' option in Disk Utility and click the '+' or '-' button to change the size of your partition.
To Delete A Partition: Click on the 'Partition' tab in Disk Utility, then click the '-' sign and hit 'Remove' option to delete a partition.
What Are The Benefits and Risks of Partitioning A Mac?
Here are some of the benefits and risks of partitioning a hard drive on Mac that you must consider before going to do that. Let’s check them out:
Benefits of Partitioning A Mac:
1. You can run more operating system
The main benefit that the Mac partition provides to you is, it will allow you to run two operating systems smoothly. You can also use the two different versions of one OS that means you can run on the two different partitions of the same device.
2. You can manage and format hard drive separately
The disk partition on Mac os x can allow you to manage both partitions in different ways. If you want to use another volume of the mac, it will require double space so, make a wise decision and select the right option according to the available space.
3. It will give you a private space
And you can enjoy the separated space for your essential documents, and the other partition can be used for general tasking. In this way, your essential data will be safe and sound, and no one can use it. The separate partition will allow you to use the Mac without any disturbance.
Risks of Partitioning A Mac:
When you partition your hard drive on Mac, a main risk of that is data loss. Actully you can avoid this by backing up your disk before partitioning your Mac. But if you forgot to backup your disk and lost some files after partitioning, don't worry. You can use Mac Data Recovery Tool to recover all the lost data on your Mac.
Conclusion
That's all on how to partition a Mac. You can easily follow the steps we listed above to do the disk partition by yourself. And remember to clean up your Mac before making a partition, the best choice for cleaning junk file on your Mac is to use Umate Mac Cleaner. Get started now! First, clean up your Mac and then create a partition on it.
The timing of this post is perfectly apt. Since now most and most users are inclining to Mac. But, the only query that is forcing you to halt and think again as per an analysis of several discussions is relevancy of partitioning the hard drive of your Mac system.
Indeed, you are using Windows since a long time and are well-versed with it partitioning requirements and demands. But, when it comes to Mac, you are still having a second thought. The reason being both operating systems are quite different.
A few days back, in a post in a Mac forum, a reader said: I am used to Windows OS. But, recently, owing relatively high demand of Mac, I have just switched to it. I am well-aware about Windows partitioning tactics. But, its Mac, how do I do? Or Do I really need to partition my Mac hard drive? In case, if yes, then is it good?
If you are also in such a dilemma, and this query is triggering your mind to rethink, then you have landed at the right platform. Have a look at our thoughts on Mac hard drive partitioning.
A Comprehensive Guide to Mac Hard Drive Partition
What is Mac Partitioning?
In one line, Partitioning Mac Hard Drive is a process to split your disk into separate and useable logical disks.
What does Partitioning Do?
Partitioning informs your Mac to treat different partition or logical disks as a separate drive.
Is Mac Hard Drive Partition a Viable or Smart Choice?
It is one of the prime questions that entangles you when partitioning comes into pictures. Here are top reasons why you should do it on Mac.
- To Easily Run Multiple Versions of OS on One Mac
There are scenarios where you need to run more than one version of macOS. In such case, it is a perfect option as it offers you the option to divide your disk and access them all on one system easily from a different partition. Instead of forcing you to buy a separate system for each. For this, you simply have to go to the System Preferences < Startup Disk pane, choose the desired Partition, and click on Restart.
- Access BootCamp Partition
Sometimes, you might require accessibility of both the operating systems: Mac and Windows. In such cases, having two separate system is not a smart option when you can easily both on Mac using BootCamp Assistant.
- Repair Disk Issues
Start-Up Disk Errors can happen anytime, anywhere and with anyone. To resolve start-up volume disk errors, the solution is to run a repair program from another volume (a bootable DVD or external hard drive). But, if you already have a partition on your main disk that includes a repair utility and a bootable copy of macOS, the repair job will be quite easy. The reason being, you won’t require any secondary media as it is already there on your main disk.
- Flexibility to share Photo library
Sometimes, you might require sharing Photo Library between more than one user accounts. For this, you need an external disk as you need to move it to the partition where there’s no ownership. Obviously, you cannot do it on the main startup volume. But, if you have separate partitions on the internal disk, you can do it as those partitions does not have ownership
- Manage Backup Efficiently
Apple comes with an inbuilt backup feature—Time Machine to facilitate this need. In case, you have more than one partition on your disk, you can easily backup over there. This will not only offer you ease and convenience in backing up but also helps you to reduce the unnecessary cost of buying a different hard drive.
- System Failure Won’t Impact your Stored Data
In present digitized era, system failure is quite common. In case you have a single partition to store your data and system files and a system failure happen then, as consequence everything will vanish. But, on contrast, if you have separate partitions for both, then certainly you will not lose your data as system files and other data are separate.
- Enhanced Performance
It is quite logical to say that, a drive works in complete synchronization when it has fewer data in comparison when it has large chunks. So, when you have different partitions, automatically you have short stroking i.e. reduced reading head repositioning delays. As a consequence, improved performance
- Easier and Better Data Organization
When you have more than one partition on the hard disk drive, you can easily organize the data as per convenience. As a consequence, you won’t face any mess, reduced reading head repositioning delays, and lastly most importantly data loss.
Point to Remember!
Make sure to back up your data prior partitioning the drive else you will end up losing data.
How to Create a Partition on Mac?
It is a quite simple. Using below-stated process, you can easily partition mac hard drive.
Steps are:
- Go to Dock and open Finder
- Choose Applications
- Next, open the Utilities
- Next, double-click and open Disk Utility
- Now, choose your Hard Drive
- Click on Partition followed by Plus (+) button
- Next, using the Resize Controls, set the Partition Size.
- Lastly, name the Partition and click Apply.
But, what in case if you do not need the created partition anymore?
Answer: Delete the Partition
How to Delete a Partition?
Similar to installation, it is also quite easy.
Steps are:
- Click and open Finder
- Choose Applications
- Click and open Utilities Folder
- Next, open Disk Utility by double-clicking on it
- Next, choose the Partition that you do not require anymore
- Click Erase
- Lastly, click Done
What if you end up deleting a Partition without taking a backup? Or, what if you end up deleting a wrong Partition?
Don’t worry! Count on third-party recovery software like Stellar Mac Data Recovery. A recommended solution by technocrats dealing with file recovery for Mac since a long time.
How do Stellar Mac Data Recovery help in Recovering Deleted Partition?
The recovery steps of this software are very easy to understand and use. These are as follows:
- Connect your Drive to Mac
- Launch the software
- Select your drive to recover your data
- Next, Search lost and deleted volumes or partitions from the drive
- Start Scan to search deleted Partition
- Preview Files
- Lastly, choose the Recoverable Files and Click Recover to save it to the desired location
Hard Drive Partition Software
Any Questions
Partition Hard Drive For Time Machine
If you still have any unanswered queries and are looking forward to its solution. Connect with us in the comments section; we will be pleased to serve you.