How to partition a 300GB hard drive?

I have two 300GB drives I plan to mirror.
Now how many partitions and of what sizes do I create given 300GB size?
Should I put everything except swap under / ?
Do I need a separate partition for /tmp, /var, /usr, /opt and so on?

etcetera wrote:
I have two 300GB drives I plan to mirror.
Now how many partitions and of what sizes do I create given 300GB size?That's up to the administrator.
Should I put everything except swap under / ?That's what I do, but others might prefer other setups.
Do I need a separate partition for /tmp, /var, /usr, /opt and so on?No. But that doesn't mean that they might not be useful in some cases.
Darren

Similar Messages

How to partition 120 GB hard drive MacBook for OSX+Win (BC+Par.)? Fat/NFTS?

After many happy years with my PowerBook G4 12" (I will miss it definitely, as compact and cute as it is ;-() I'll now switch to a new MacBook 2.16 GHz with 2 GB RAM and a 120 GB hard drive.
I will have to use Windows (not yet sure if XP or Vista), as I need special software not available for the Mac, so my choice will be Parallels, so that I can work in Os X and at the same time use those Windows Apps I need.
However, I also want to be able to boot Windows-only with BootCamp, so I already learned I have to install Windows on its own partition.
So my question is:
How shall I partition the hard drive?
* If I have one big partition for OSX + documents and the rest (maybe 30 or 40 GB) for Windows, I won't be able to access my documents from Windows, right?
* So I would have to keep the data I want to access from within Windows on a PC formatted partition (if I don't want to pay for a software like MacDrive)?
Or can Windows running in Parallels read from a HFS partition?
* Does this mean: if I want to access (read and write) my documents in OSX and Windows, I have to keep them on a Fat32 partition?
-> This could be the partition where Windows is installed (but I'm not sure if I feel comfortable with that solution) of I would need a 3rd partition (Fat32) for data which would cause quite a big "segmentation" of the hard drive.
How did you resolve this problem?
Unfortunately, I don't see that I could really "separate" data I only have to access from Windows and those I only want to access in OS X, so in my opinion for me they all have to be in one place.
Looking forward to your comments,
Martin
MacBook 2.16 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB HD (white) Mac OS X (10.4.9)

You should probably ask all your Boot Camp quesitons in the Boot Camp discussions:
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1165
And your Parallels questions in the Parallels forums:
http://forums.parallels.com

How to partition my second hard drive in my Macbook to use as data with both Mac Mountain Lion and bootcamp Windows 7

Hi guys
So this is my dilemma...
I have a 13" macbook pro, I have just installed a 128GB SSD and am using that as the main boot drive and the bootcamp. I have split that hard drive in half (64gb each), one half is for OS X and the other half for Windows 7, no data is being stored on the SSD.
I have also replaced the Super drive with the original 500GB Sata drive and am wanting to use that as my Data drive. I want to partition that drive as 400GB for OS X data and 100GB Windows 7 Data (windows is only going to be used for work which wont be using too much storage.
Lets call the SSD as the OS drive and the 500GB as the Data drive...
Now i have currently formatted the Data drive in Disk Utility as MSDOS (FAT) so that both OS X and Windows can read data from it. I am not really fussed with the Mac being able to read what is on the Windows partition or vice versa but i do want to be able to store files larger than 4GB.
In the Windows bootcamp i have formatted the data drive partition as NTFS and that seems to work but I now cannot store files in the Mac partiton that are larger than 4GB, how to i get both HFS and NTFS to work on one physical hard drive to remove the 4GB limitation?
I hope i have explained the situation clearly enough.
Thanks
Ash

FAT32, what Mac/OS X/Apple calls MSDOS FAT, can only store files smaller then 4GBs in size. That is the limit of FAT32. So all you need to do is format the partition you want to use for the Mac "Mac Extended (journaled)" (If you can on a MBR partition table drive, Not sure) or exFAT.
But be aware that Apple's implementation of exFAT is flawed and Windows may not be able to read a exFAT partition formatted by OS X.
Everytime I have tried to format a drive exFAT on a mac and nthen move it to a Windows computer, that is Win 7 that natively support exFAT, Windows could not read the drive.
Good Luck

[Solved] how to partition my external hard drive?

I just got a new 750gb external hard drive and want to create 2 partitions on it with arch, but
sudo cfdisk /media/Iomega \HDD \750GB/
just tells me
"Opened disk read-only - you have no permission to write".
So how can I create an ext4 partition with 450 gb and another fat32 partition with 300 gb on it?
thanks for the help in advance
deF
Last edited by deF291 (2011-02-24 05:51:33)

okay I tried it but in my browser (thunar) the device is still mounted under /media/Iomega[...] and the previous files that were on the hdd from the beginning are still there..
sudo fdisk /dev/sdb10 says
Disk /dev/sdb10: 750.0 GB, 750021214208 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91184 cylinders, total 1464885184 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb10p1 * 63 878900084 439450011 83 Linux
/dev/sdb10p2 878900085 1464870959 292985437+ 86 NTFS volume set
but sudo fdisk -l says
Disk /dev/sdb: 750.2 GB, 750156374016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91201 cylinders, total 1465149168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000
Disk /dev/sdb doesn't contain a valid partition table
why didn't cfdisk write my partitions? or if it did, why can I see but not access them oO
/e: mount says
/dev/sdb10 on /media/Iomega HDD 750GB type hfsplus (ro,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=hal)
Last edited by deF291 (2011-02-23 12:41:38)

How to put a recovery partition on the hard drive

How can I create a recovery partition on the hard drive of my laptop. I had to reinstall the whole system, and tried to use the HP recovery software they sent me but it quit when it was about three quarters the way finished. I had to use a copy of windows 8 to put the system back on my laptop. After I got it all straighten out, I updated it to windows 8.1 and it seems like the computer runs a lot faster with windows 8.1 on it. Now I need to find away to install a recovery partition on my hard drive.
Thank You
Garry Crist

When requesting assistance, please provide the complete model name and/or product number of the HP computer in question. HP/Compaq makes thousands of models of computers. Without this information it may be difficult or impossible to assist you in resolving your issue.
The above requested information can be found on the bottom of the computer or inside the battery compartment. Please do not include the serial number. Please enter the model/product information into HP's Online Consumer Support page and/or post it here for our review.
A Recover partition is something the factory places on the computer. It is an image of the factory installation and the software required to restore the computer to a factory like state using that image. You will not be able to create a Recovery partition on your computer unless you use the HP Recovery Discs to return the computer to a factory like state. Please note the HP Recovery Discs and the resulting HP Recovery partition will only contain an image of Windows 8 that cannot be updated to reflect the installation of Window 8.1.
My suggestion is to use the Windows "System Image Backup" utility to create an exact image of the Windows 8.1 partition as it currently is. If your computer developes an issue or you need to replace the hard drive, all you have to do is "restore" the image to the computer. You will need to use an external USB hard drive or other media to store the image. Please see Windows 8.1 Tip: Use System Image Backup for instructions on creating and storing a "Windows - System Image Backup."
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Please click the white KUDOS star to show your appreciation
Frank
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How can I partition my external hard drive supporting mac OS in one partition and windows OS in another?

Hello everyone, how can I partition my external hard drive supporting mac OS in one partition and windows OS in another?

OK. Start with:
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to two (2). Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Click on the Erase tab in DU's main window. Select one of the two partitions, preferably the first one, change the Format type: to MSDOS then click on the Erase button.

How do I partition my external hard drive without losing data?

How do I partition my external hard drive without losing the data already on it? I've been using it with Time Machine on my old computer, but want to use it as a regular drag-and-drop type back up on my new computer. Is there any way to basically split the hard drive so I can still access the Time Machine backups on my old computer, but also be able to use it with my new mac? Thanks!

If you reformat the drive all data is lost.
The only way to save the data is to copy it somewhere else during the reformat.
Drag & drop will not backup things correctly.
I suggest you set up partition for each Mac and then point Time Machine to each of the partition for each of the Macs.

How can I partition an external hard drive with data in it? When I select the drive, the partition option is grayed out.

I am having a problem partitioning an external hard drive with data in it.
When I select the partition, everything is grayed out. I can't add a a partition for some reason. When I asked this question to other people, they told me to select my partition "io" to do it from there.
As you can see, I can't seem to partition it form there either. I ran the Verify Disk utility but the volume came out okay.
Any ideas as to what the problem would be?
Thanks!
Luis

Select the main hard drive entry (topmost one.) Click on the Partition tab. Shrink the existing partition by grabbing the sizing gadget in the bottom right corner and pushing up until you free up enough space for your second partition. Be sure you do not shrink to less than the space currently occupied by your files. Click on the Add[+] button to create a new partition in the free space. Click on the Apply button and wait until the partitioning is completed.

Partitioning a single hard drive?

Before anybody gives me a hard time about asking a repetitive question about partitioning let me explain. I know their are several threads on the forum that say this or that about partitioning but I would like to know some definite opinions. I've just got one Western digital 300gb hard drive on ide 1 (maybe I'll add another hard drive later) with windows XP loaded as the operating system.
1.Do you guys think it is good idea to partition this hard drive?
2. When would you partition?
3. How would you seperate the partitions for example would you make a 10 gig partition for the hard drive, etc.
4. What are the advantages of partitioning?
Thanks for any feedback.

:Don't worry! I will never hammer someone for asking a question .First of all, Yes I think you should PARTITION a HDD that is as BIG as yours!!. But keep in mind the BEST time to do it is BEFORE OS installation. That does not mean that it is BAD to do it after with a 3'RD party program ie. PARTITION MAGIC..ect... How big,and how many partitions is totally up to you,(as long as you are within space paramaters)..I myself would CUT that size drive into at least 2 150GB partitions.But it also depends on what you are going to put on it ...You can have 100GB for the WIFE, 100GB for PICS or DVDS, AND 50GB for the OS and the rest for GAMES!!! This is what you have to decide....Sean REILLY875

HT201250 What does it mean to "partition" an external hard drive? Is it something that I want to do?

What does it mean to "partition" the external hard drive? Is it something I want to do? How do I save files from another hard drive to the new one? I have to reformat the old one as it was not set up correctly. The drive I have is Seagate but not specifically for MAC, so I have to format it.. never have done this before. Don't know the jargon. I read that Time Machine will back up automatically but I want to take files from the old drive to the new one. Do I have to take them to the computer first and then to the new drive? I need more memory on my computer. It's way too cluttered and congested. HELP!

Whoa! Slow donw. TRhere's a lot here. I would suggest you buy a good book on computers in general or macs in particular, one is "OSX the missing manual".
What does it mean to "partition" the external hard drive?
It means you take one large drive and make it into more than one volume. This means that it might show up as 2,3 or 4 inde[pendenmt drives. Each one could have, for example, a different operating system on it. Its a good thing to do if you want to use a drive for several purposes
Is it something I want to do?
beats me, you didnt way what you're trying to accomplish. Sorta like sking "should i turn left?" Depends on where you want to go.
How do I save files from another hard drive to the new one?
See advice n book above. Copy them in finder. Copy them in unix. Use a backup or sync utility. No different from Windows in that respect.
I have to reformat the old one as it was not set up correctly. The drive I have is Seagate but not specifically for MAC, so I have to format it.. never have done this before. Don't know the jargon.
Hook it up. Run disk utility. Partition 1 or more partions. GUID map. Format each partition Mac OS extended, Journaled. for more, read book, above. Seriously - we could give you more tips, but you really should learn enough to be comnfident.
I read that Time Machine will back up automatically but I want to take files from the old drive to the new one. Do I have to take them to the computer first and then to the new drive?
I have no idea what you are asking.
I need more memory on my computer. It's way too cluttered and congested. HELP!
What kind of memory and why? RTAM? Hard drive space? Explain. By the time you are done explaining, i suspect you will have ansered your own question.
Good luck,
Have you read the PDF manual for your cmputer?
Have you used a search engine to look for info, for example, in two seconds i got this from google and wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_partitioning
Grant

I have an IMAC and I'm running OSX 10.9.2. I'd like to store my Aperture /IMovie Libraries to an external hard drive. In addition, I'd like to partition the external hard drive so that Time Machine can use it to both back up my IMac and the externa

I have an IMAC and I'm running OSX 10.9.2. I'd like to store my Aperture /IMovie Libraries on an external hard drive. In addition, I'd like to partition the external hard drive so that Time Machine can use it to both back up my IMac and the external library drives. Is this possible? Can I set up a RAID 5 format for redundancy?

I'd like to store my Aperture /IMovie Libraries on an external hard drive.
That is fine and recommended.. use the fastest disk you can afford.. ie Thunderbolt>USB3>FW800>USB2.
In addition, I'd like to partition the external hard drive so that Time Machine can use it to both back up my IMac and the external library drives.
Let me be clear.. you want to partition the one disk.. use it for TM and move your files to the external disk.. and then backup to the same disk.. You can do it.. but that is not a backup.. that is an experiment in how long you can get away with running files and backups on the same disk before you lose everything.. like Russian Roulette.. pull the trigger enough times and laws of probability will do you in.
You must have backups on a different disk .. otherwise it is pointless.
Can I set up a RAID 5 format for redundancy?
No.. you can buy special USB and Thunderbolt external drives that support RAID..
BUT that is still not a backup.. let me show why.. you make a silly move and corrupt your file in aperture.. it is not that rare.
Raid will corrupt all copies of the files.. it is replicated across all disks.
Delete a photo it is deleted across all disks.. you have no recovery.
Alway, always consider RAID system one disk.. backup onto another disk.. and if the photos or movies are at all important to you.. ie your family .. make another copy and store in a relatives house.. There is no such thing as too much redundancy.

HT1635 How do I know which Hard Drive to get for my MacBook 2006? The old Hard Drive is a Toshiba (MK8034GSX) S/N Z6APT2XUT 9H5 EC. A?

How do I know which Hard Drive to get for my MacBook 2006? The old Hard Drive is a Toshiba (MK8034GSX) S/N Z6APT2XUT 9H5 EC. A?

I've put a 250gb 7200rpm drive in an Early 2006 with no problems.
For a new hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE
Or OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Here are instructions on replacing the hard drive in a MacBook with a removable battery. http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=45088
To transfer your current hard drive I like the free application Carbon Copy Cloner. It makes a bootable copy of everything on your hard drive http://www.bombich.com/index.html You'll need a cheap SATA external hard drive case. Put the new drive in the case then format and partition the new drive and clone your old drive to the new one. Check that it's set up right by booting up from the external drive. Then replace your old hard drive with the new one and put your old one in the external case.
Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/HDE-SATA-Hard-Drive-Enclosure/dp/B001AAVA08/ref=pd_bxgy_pc _text_b
If you don’t have the tools to open up the MacBook OWC has a set for $5
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TOOLKITMHD/

How do i know which hard drive to buy to replace my macbook 13"

how do i know which hard drive to buy to replace my macbook 13"

Any 2.5" form factor SATA drive will work.
For a new hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE
Or OWC for regular hard drives and SSDs http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Here are instructions on replacing the hard drive in a MacBook with a removable battery. http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=45088
Here are video instructions on replacing the hard drive on the Aluminum Unibody
http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_13_unibody/
Here are video instructions on replacing the hard drive on the White Unibody http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_13_09_unibody_hd/
To transfer your current hard drive I like the free application SuperDuper. It makes a bootable copy of everything on your hard drive http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html You'll need a cheap SATA external hard drive case. Put the new drive in the case then format and partition the new drive and clone your old drive to the new one. Check that it's set up right by booting up from the external drive. Then replace your old hard drive with the new one and put your old one in the external case.
Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NexStar-2-5-Inch-External-Enclosure/dp/B002JQNXZC/r ef=pd_cp_pc_0
If you don’t have the tools to open up the MacBook OWC has a set for $5
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TOOLKITMHD/

Partitioning an external hard drive for Mac and PC

I want to partition an external hard drive (3TB) into 3 even partitions. I want to use one for PC storage, one for Mac storage and the last for Mac backup. Is this possible and how do I do it?

Drive Partition and Format
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
7. Re-partition the drive to create the three partitions. The one you wish to use on a PC you should format MSDOS (FAT).
When you connect the drive to your PC it should have no problem reading the partition set up for a PC. Now while on the PC you may wish to consider reformatting that partition using ExFAT (if supported on your PC.) This format is more compatible with both OS X and NTSF supporting long file names and other FAT filesystem irregularities.

Advice on how to format an external hard drive for a MacBook Air

I have an external USB hard drive plugged into a 64GB MacBook Air. How should I format the hard drive so that when I run out of room on the small 64 GB SSD drive on the MacBook Air, it will start putting some iTunes or other files onto the external hard drive? I only put iTunes and other small music files on the MacBook Air in order to save room. I do have iTunes set for iCloud.

You cannot format a drive so that files will be automatically put on that drive when you run out of room on another drive. Transferring the files must be done specifically by you. You will need to learn how to manage free space on the SSD because 64 GBs is a bit small for much more than OS X.
Drive Partition and Format
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.

How to partition a 300GB hard drive?

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