Why might I want to "partition" my external hard drive?

A) I purchased an external hard drive simply as an insurance measure. Should I consider partitioning it? Can you provide an everyday-type example where it would come in handy? If I partition, does making "one" partition mean that I've made two volumes?
B) How do I actually back up my documents to the external drive? Do I drag the file or folder to the hard drive icon?
Thank you!!!
iBook   Mac OS X (10.4.3)   G4

DDDS - There are different reasons for a hard drive. I bought my second hard drive because not only is it, at 128 Gb, almost twice as big as my startup drive (the one that contains the operating system), but it frees up my other hard drive from doing extra work while running OS X and applications.
To really boil it down, imagine a diner where the chef is the waiter, too. Now, using my two hard drives the way I do, it's like getting a waiter so that the chef doesn't do all the work. Download a video file to one hard drive means the hard drive with the operating system and applications on it doesn't have to continually go back to writing the video file when it's not being asked to do other things.
To answer your questions:
A) Partitioning is good for a couple of common reasons: you have a PC and a Mac you use and you want part of the drive to be accessible on one computer. Maybe you have kids and you want their stuff on a totally different volume.
For each partition, you have a volume. If you have your operating system on a hard drive, there are actually other partitions (ever heard of the boot partition?) but they are hidden and generally are of no concern to the average user.
The partitioning is done in Disk Utility and as far as I know, involves reformatting the drive (so it would be safe to assume you cannot save other data on there while creating a partition at the same time)
B) When you attach a drive, your system will mount it. (loading the volume(s)) it'll appear on your desktop like any other hard drive (usually with an icon to represent how it's connected) and yes, you just drag files over.
Plug in the Firewire or USB cable, THEN turn on the power, and ALWAYS eject the volumes completely before unplugging the drive.

Similar Messages

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • HT201250 Do I need to partition my external hard drive if I'm using Time Machine and other storage?

    I never used Time Machine before.  I was storing select files on my external hard drive as well as using my libraries (IPhoto, ITune, IMovies) directly off of the external hard drive.  That hard drive is giving me problems, so I bought a new one.  I want to set up Time Machine on this one, but I also want to keep my active libraries on it.  Do I need to partition the external hard drive?

    You can partition the new drive, just don't make one of the partitons a TimeMachine drive, save a TM for a entire drive with more space than the boot drive as it saves "states" thus requires more room than most people expect.
    I highly advise one drive to one drive for backups, and not placing too many backup eggs in one vulnerable hardware basket basically.
    Drives are cheap, data is not. Hardware can fail just as often as software, so you need a multiple backup and storage stragedy to protect even against theft and fire.
    Most commonly used backup methods

  • I connected my external hard drive to my new imac to put all of the information from my macbook onto it. i have been working on the macbook now and want to reconnect the external hard drive so my imac is updated with the work. How is that done?

    I connected my external hard drive to my new imac to put all of the information from my macbook onto it. I have been working on the macbook now and want to reconnect the external hard drive so my imac is updated with the work. How is that done? or is it possible?

    As I said, I don't use Time Machine, so it'd be best to wait for an "expert" answer, but, with my very limited knowledge, I'd say: probably not - so, for now, I'd suggest you read up on Time Machine:
    http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Home.html
    http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=search&src=support_site.home.search&local e=en_US&q=time%20machine
    And, you might be attracting more knowledgeable answers if you were to post this question in the Time Machine Forum (part of the Snow Leopard forums).

  • Want to use an external hard drive for my photos, iMovie, music and documents for use on my MacBookPro and iMac, can I do it and how?

    I want to use an external hard drive to store my photos, imovie, music and documents, how can i do....Thanks

    There are very good external drives available...I bought one when I got this MBP in September from OWC, http://www.macsales.com  they are Mac specialists.  Bought their 2 TB Mercury Elite Pro since it was eSATA, Firewire 800/400, and USB interface...use the Firewire 800 now.  Partitioned into a 1.5 TB partition for Time Machine backups and 500 GB for extra storage.  Both show up on the desktop, you just set the destination for you application to be the external drive volume you want to use.
    If you want to discuss further, just ask what you want to know.

  • I have some stuff i want to put on external hard drive when i drag the file or files it just puts them back

    i have some stuff i want to put on external hard drive when i drag the file or files it just puts them back

    Did you format the external disk on Windows? If you did this, probably the external disk is formatted in NTFS. OS X can't write on this format, so it's normal that it doesn't allow you to copy the files.
    In this case, you have three possibilities:
    1. Install Paragon NTFS. This program allows you to write on NTFS partitions.
    2. Copy the hard drive content to your internal disk and format the external disk with Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Do it only if you are going to use the external disk only with OS X.
    3. The same as the last one but formatting it with exFAT. This filesystem is compatible with Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 8) and OS X (10.6.5 and newer), so you can write and read files on external disks formatted with it on Windows and OS X, but you may have problems on Linux

  • Can I partition an external hard drive to run windows games on my Macbook Pro

    I want to play windows games on steam but I am not sure if I want to partition my Macbooks hard drive. I heard you could partition external hard drives but didn't know if you could run games on that external hard drive. I have a lot of files on my computer and don't want to take time to move my files to the external hard drive, so can I buy the external hard drive and then partition it to run window games or do I have to partition my actual default hard drive?

    Hi! If your macbook doesn't have a cd drive you need to have Windows 7 but an ISO image, you can't just copy the contents of the copy into a USB and expect it to work. There are many tutorials on internet on how to obtain an ISO image from an installation disc, for example: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/software-tools/a/create-iso-image-file.htm As for "just download Windows 7" (i suppose you mean free download) this is not the right place to ask, believe me. Try searching Windows 7 ISO on google, but be careful with what you download and form where, also you are going to download the Windows drivers from the Bootcamp program, try reading this manual to give yourself a better idea: http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1636/en_US/boot_camp_install-setup_ 10.8.pdf

  • 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.

  • Partition of external hard drive for backup different computers

    I have a macbook(40Gig) and an iBook(80 Gig); I want to make an external hard drive to backup.
    1. Is this possible to partition the external drive into two to make a bootable backup for both laptops?
    2.If so how big the external drive should be?
    Many thanks

    1. Is this possible to partition the external drive into two to make a bootable backup for both laptops?
    Yes. Set up a partition for each on the external and then clone a bootable copy of your current drive to the appropriate partition.
    2.If so how big the external drive should be?
    At least 40 + 80 = 100 GB. You're probably going to end up with an even bigger drive. I'd set up partitions to roughly match each of your computer drives in size (so 40 GB and 80 GB), then another for any extra. Having them match size makes it easy when cloning. Don't forget that if you store files on the extra you will also need to back those up on yet another drive.
    Cloning And Backup Tools
    A bootable clone is an exact copy of your drive which is capable of booting your computer. Making a copy of your computer which is capable of actually starting the computer requires special copying procedures. Some people just back up data files but if you have problems you have to reinstall all your operating system and all your applications. With a bootable clone you just start up from the backup drive and clone back everything.
    To copy files from one hard drive to another hard drive you can use:
    [CarbonCopy Cloner|http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html] (donationware)
    [SuperDuper|http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html] (shareware)
    [IBackup|http://www.grapefruit.ch/iBackup/index.html] (free)
    The Restore function of Disk Utility included in OS X. [Kappy's directions|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8799711#8799711]
    [Tri-Backup (commercial)|http://www.tri-edre.com/english/tribackup.html] (payware)
    [Silverkeeper|http://www.lacie.com/silverkeeper> (free) - version 2 has some issues (references: [1|http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/backup/index.html#d12jan2009],
    [2|http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/backup/index.html#d13jan2009]) and it is recommended Tiger users stick with 1.1.4.
    [Kappy's Backup Software Recommendations|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9065665#906 5665]
    [Overview of Mac OS X Backup Programs|http://8help.osu.edu/1247.html]

  • Partition of External Hard Drive

    I am trying to partition an external hard drive into three partitions - one for the time machine backups, one for miscellaneous storage and one for storage of files that I can share with a PC. I was able to partition the drive successfully but all three partitions are in the Mac OS Extended (journaled) format. I understand that I need to change the format of the part I want to share with the PC into FAT but when I click on that drive, I don't have the option. I tried looking under the "erase" tab but the only options are: Mac OS Extended (journaled); Mac OS Extended; Mac OS Extended (case sensitive journaled) and Mac OS Extended (case sensitive). Now, if I look at the entire hard drive (not clicking on one of the partitions), the option is there. I could erase the entire thing using the MS DOS (FAT) option, but I don't want to do that. How can I format only one of the partitions in the MS DOS (FAT) format?

    I think it's because of the drive's Partition Map Scheme. In Disk Utility, select the drive in the left side bar. Look at the bottom of the window, and find Partition Map Scheme. If it is Apple Partition Map, you will not be able to format it as MS-DOS (FAT).
    The way to fix this is to go to the Partition tab. For Volume Scheme, select 3 Partitions (even if it already is 3 partitions). Click on the Options... button. In the window that opens, select either GUID Partition Table or Master Boot Record. GUID Partition Table would be best for use on the Mac, as long as the PC is OK with it (I'm not sure). Now, when you return to the Partition tab, you should be able to select MS-DOS (FAT) for one partition while keeping the others formatted for Mac.

  • If I wanted to connect an external hard drive to my iPad, what can I use? Do I have to use the Mac mini??

    If i wanted to connect an external hard drive to my iPad, what can I use? Or would I have to purchase a Mac mini?

    Sorry, I DO NOT RECOMMEND the camera connection kit for what you are asking!
    I was trying to say that as I have the connection kit (bought for camera use so no loss for me)
    I often WISH it could do more.
    So sorry for the confusion.
    The camera connection kit only allows you to send photos and video (that are correctly formatted I might add) to the photos app.
    Other people have had success with it connecting to keyboards, but that us not so useful.

  • Partitioning My External Hard Drive - need some help

    Greetings,
    Recently, i have bought an external hard drive, then enclosed it with a casing and connected it through firewire 800 on my iMac 20" 2.0Ghz late 2007 model. what i want is , on my external hard drive, i partitioned it into two, then one partition for my mac, and the other is for windows. wherein windows partition can also be read/write from my mac, and vice versa on my windows;
    am looking for a suggestion on how to make the other partition, the windows partition to be read/write from my mac, and can also be read/write on my windows;
    Really appreciate any help; thank you in advance.
    Message was edited by: jeanepaul_

    Greetings,
    Thank you for your reply. i can't seem to do this Disk utility>externalHD>"Erase">MS-DOS(FAT). for MS-DOS(FAT) option seems to be not available on windows partition; is this something in relation that i have formatted my externalHD into mac os extended(journaled) then partitioned it to two?
    thank you again..

  • Hello, I need help to retrieve deleted information to partition an external hard drive. What should I do?

    Hello, I need help to retrieve deleted information to partition an external hard drive. What should I do?

    I'm not about the question, and giving you the right answer requires me to ask a few more questions.
    Do you want to retrieve deleted information for future usage, or to completely delete a partition? The latter is straightforward: simply erase the partition. The former is more complicated: it's very difficult, even using available commercial software, to recover deleted information. If the data is important, you may want to contact a professional like DriveSavers. It won't be cheap.

Maybe you are looking for