When partitioning an internal hard drive, you are effectively splitting your storage space into two separate entities. It’s just an organizational trick for the computer — there is just one physical hard drive — but it might help you keep certain files separate from others or to enact tasks that effect one part of the drive but not the rest. Partitioning is a useful tool for any computer owner and something that’s quite easy to do.
Why would you want to partition a drive? Well, if you’re looking to dual-boot your device (have it run another operating system, like Linux or Windows) alongside the default Apple Mac OS on your system, then you’ll have to create a separate drive to support the other operating system. You could also use it as a Time Machine backup (which isn’t recommended as you won’t be able to restore your system if the hard drive is physically damaged) or a unique way to test out Apple’s Lion OS while still maintaining your working Snow Leopard OS.
Before we get into the partitioning steps, you should back up your computer to an external hard drive. When modifying any aspect of your computer, especially one that holds all your personal data, it’s wise to make sure you have a copy in case something goes awry.
Partitioning a Mac hard drive, stey by step
Step 1: Open Finder (either through Spotlight or the icon in the dock).
Step 2: Click on Applications (on the left)
Step 3: Scroll down and find a folder named Utilities. Double-click on it.
Step 4: Once in the folder, you’ll see an application named Disk Utility, double-click on it to launch the program.
Step 5: Find the hard drive you want to partition on the left column. It should be directly above a drive labeled Macintosh HD. Highlight it.
Step 6: Looking to the right of the column, you should see a row of tabs, one of which reads “Partition.” Click on it.
Step 7: In this new layout there’s a section labeled “Volume Scheme.” The area shaded in blue represents how much space is already taken up on your hard drive, and the white represents the free space you can use to partition. To add a partition, click the + (plus) symbol underneath this rectangular box representation of your hard drive space.
Step 8: Once the + sign is clicked you’ll see another box appear with the default label “Macintosh HD 2.” Select the box by clicking on it once, then you can change the name, what format, and how big you want the drive to be under “Volume Information.”
The format is particularly important if you intend on installing another operating system on the new partition. Some light research will tell you the best choices for your intended application.
Step 9: After you’ve set the size of the drive click “Apply” on the bottom right hand corner of the screen and then click the “Partition” button on the pop-up screen. After which, you’ll have to wait a few minutes for the computer to partition the disk.
These steps can also be applied to partitioning an external hard drive connected to your Mac computer. Just select the outside drive rather than the internal one and follow the steps above.
If for some reason you’ve decided a second partition isn’t working out for you, then simply highlight the second partition by clicking on it in the Disk Utility window and click the – (minus sign) button to remove it.
And that’s how to partition a Mac hard drive! Leave any questions below.
