How to create a partition on Mac. Go to Finder from the Menu Bar at the top and select Applications on the right. Open the Utilities folder and start the Disk Utility app. Select your current hard-drive from the Disk Utility (it should be the first one from the list and would usually be named Macintosh HD or Fusion ). @DavidAnderson Thank you for the response, I would be very grateful for the help on how can I create this EFI partition. I think I tried something related to this abbreviation, but would be grateful for your help, maybe this time it will work. The step after you have told your Mac how many partitions you want is to say how you want each partition formatted. A partition to used for a Mac only is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system (also known as HFS+) A partition used for both Mac and Windows you format as an ExFAT file system. Select And Give Each Partition A Name.
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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.
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. Mac mini usb not working.
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. How do i save image 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:
How to uninstall fl studio 20 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.
How To Make A Windows Partition On Mac
Creating a separate partition or volume on your Mac can be useful for different tasks as this allows you to designate a part of your hard-drive where you can install new software without allowing it to affect the rest of your system. In most cases, creating disk partitions and volumes is used by early adopters and beta testers of new macOS versions who want to install the beta version of the OS without removing the current stable version.
This is the recommended way of trying out beta macOS versions as it will keep them separate from the rest of your system and if there are any problems with them, this won't affect the partition/volume where the current stable version of the OS is installed. This way of testing macOS beta versions also makes it easier to uninstall them afterward, once you decide you have tested enough.
Difference between a partition and a volume
Partitions and volumes are very similar and can be used for the same thing but there are some key differences that one must consider before deciding which of the two they are going to make.
What is a partition?
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.
How To Make A Windows Partition On Mac
Creating a separate partition or volume on your Mac can be useful for different tasks as this allows you to designate a part of your hard-drive where you can install new software without allowing it to affect the rest of your system. In most cases, creating disk partitions and volumes is used by early adopters and beta testers of new macOS versions who want to install the beta version of the OS without removing the current stable version.
This is the recommended way of trying out beta macOS versions as it will keep them separate from the rest of your system and if there are any problems with them, this won't affect the partition/volume where the current stable version of the OS is installed. This way of testing macOS beta versions also makes it easier to uninstall them afterward, once you decide you have tested enough.
Difference between a partition and a volume
Partitions and volumes are very similar and can be used for the same thing but there are some key differences that one must consider before deciding which of the two they are going to make.
What is a partition?
Creating a new disk partition on your Mac practically splits your hard-drive into two separate parts (partitions) that could have different macOS versions or even different OS types (for example macOS and Windows) installed on them. The amount of storage available on these partitions is predetermined by the user when they are partitioning the hard-drive and cannot be changed unless a new partitioning is performed.
How To Make A Partition On Mac
Once you partition your hard disk, the overall storage space on your Mac will be separated between the new partitions according to how much storage you have assigned to each partition. If you are intending to create a separate partition for the purposes of installing a macOS beta version or the Windows OS on it, make sure that you assign to it enough free storage space. It is recommended that you assign at least 50 GB of storage to the new partition.
If your Mac has an HFS+ file system (Macs manufactured before macOS Catalina), it is advisable to create a new partition if you want to test macOS beta versions.
What is a volume?
A volume is also a designated data container within your hard-drive, but it is stored within the same partition instead of being a new one. You can still install a different macOS version on it and this will not affect/replace the current stable macOS version that you are using. The advantage here is that you won't have to worry about assigning enough HDD space to the volume like it is when you're creating a new partition because the volume would expand the storage space that it uses from the current partition if need be, making it a more flexible option.
How To Make A Guid Partition On Mac
For example, if you install macOS Big Sur beta on one of your volumes, that volume would expand to accommodate the new macOS version, leading to a redistribution of the storage space within the partition. Of course, you still need to have the needed free storage space on your Mac as a whole to contain the new macOS version.
For Macs with APFS file system, Apple recommends creating a new volume within your current partition when attempting to install a separate macOS version in addition to your current one.
Always back up!
Every time you are about to make any significant changes in your system, it is best if you back up the data on your Mac to make sure that nothing gets lost in the process. Even though creating a new partition/volume is a safe process, mistakes can always happen, so it's best to be prepared. There are different ways you could create a backup of your Mac and one of the easiest one is to use Time Machine. You can learn how to back up your Mac using Time Machine on this page (LINK).
How to create a partition on Mac
- Go to Finder from the Menu Bar at the top and select Applications on the right.
- Open the Utilities folder and start the Disk Utility app.
- Select your current hard-drive from the Disk Utility (it should be the first one from the list and would usually be named Macintosh HD or Fusion).
- Select the Partition tab and click on the Partition button.
- Select the Plus button to add a new partition.
- Use the slider to change the size of the partitions so that the one where you want to install another OS or macOS version has enough space for the installation.
- Give a name to the new partition and choose a system format type. If your current macOS version is 10.13 or higher, it is recommended that you go with APFS. If your current macOS version is 10.12 or older, it is recommended to pick Mac OS Extended.
- Select the Apple button and wait patiently for the process to complete without interrupting it.
Partition Drive Mac Os
How to create an APFS volume on Mac
- Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities and open the Disk Utility app.
- Select your current APFS drive from the sidebar (it should be named Macintosh HD by default if it hasn't been changed).
- Type a name for the volume and pick an APFS format. It is recommended that you go with APFS.
- If you want, you can set size limits for the new volume so that it can't go below or above certain size parameters. This can be useful if you want to make sure that the volume will never exceed a certain amount of storage space that it can use. To set size limits, click on Size Options.
- Next, enter a Reserve Size value – this will be the minimum storage space that will be available for this volume at all times.
- Enter a Quota Size value to set the maximum amount of disk space that can be used by this volume at any time. Make sure that this value is at least 40-50 GB to ensure that you can install the beta macOS version that you want to test (if this is the reason you are creating the volume).
- Finally, click on OK and then on Add to create the new volume with the parameters you've chosen.
How to switch between partitions/volumes
After you create a new partition/volume and install a different version of the macOS on it or an entirely different OS, you can switch between the different partitions/volumes on your Mac and use the different operating systems or macOS versions that are on your Mac.
- Go to the Apple menu (top-left side of the screen) and select the System preferences option.
- Open Startup Disk and then select the Padlock icon in the bottom-left part of the window.
- You will be asked to provide your admin password so do that and select OK.
- Select the OS you want to use after the restart and click on the Restart button.
After the restart, your Mac will boot with the OS/macOS version you have chosen from the Startup Disk window. If you want to test a macOS beta version, this is the one you must pick for the restart.
Installing macOS beta version
If you are interested in trying out a macOS version that is still in its beta state, you could do that so long as you have a developer Apple ID account. If you wish to learn more about how you can test beta macOS versions, visit this page and read the instructions provided there.
