Can't resize a partition - why

[parish]

Got a 500GB USB disk that had two partitions on it. I needed more space on the second of those and no longer needed the first one. So, in Disk Utility, I deleted the first partition but now I can't expand the second partition into the free space created. The resize handle is at the bottom right only and I can't drag the partition to the top in order to expand it downwards.

Can this be done?

 

[Intell]

You can't expand a partition "up". You can only expand them "down". It has been like this since Mac OS X supported live partition editing.

 

[parish]

You can't expand a partition "up". You can only expand them "down". It has been like this since Mac OS X supported live partition editing.

But can't you move the partition to the top (start of the disk), i.e. putting the free space at the end thereby allowing it to be expanded "down"?

 

[Intell]

But can't you move the partition to the top (start of the disk), i.e. putting the free space at the end thereby allowing it to be expanded "down"?

In this situation, expanding is the same as moving. Mac OS X has never supported moving a partition. Only expanding and shrinking them.

 

[parish]

In this situation, expanding is the same as moving. Mac OS X has never supported moving a partition. Only expanding and shrinking them.

Ah, OK, thanks for the help. I was sure I'd done this before, but obviously not.

Guess I'll create a new partition in the free space, copy the contents of the existing to the new, delete the existing, and expand the new one to fill the disk.