Creating 3rd Partition on an Already Double Partition Drive

[craigc_]

So here the deal. I have a single hard drive in my MacBook Pro. Its made up into 2 partitions (one for os x and the other for data). I want to make the OS X partition into 2 separate partitions (so I'll have a total of 3) without erasing any data. I want to use that new partition to install windows. When I select the OS X partition, and set it to format at NTFS, it says the size cannot support the filesystem (25GB in this case). What size does it have to be then? Or should I format as FAT32?

I know FAT32 has a 4GB file size limit so I don't want to do that because I want to install some games on the Windows partition. How should I go about doing this?

 

[KingYaba]

This is a good case of when an Ubuntu live CD comes in handy. Grab the 10.04 CD and boot up in a live environment. Don't panic because Ubuntu is super easy to use. From the file menu, open up a program called GParted. With GParted you can partition, move, resize, and delete among other things. Take note of the partition names. sda1 could be your OS X drive and it'll show you how much space it's taking up.

If you're not comfortable with a live CD I think you can use Disk Utility to partition. Though, probably not a smart idea to partition the very HD you're running off of. Have a 2nd Mac by any chance?

Bootcamp isn't your friend when you're dealing with 3+ partitions on the Mac. Look up http://refit.sourceforge.net/ for a solution when you're done installing Windows.

Ignore the error on my screenshot.

Remember partition names and be patient. Resizing and moving can take a lot of time should you elect to do so.

 

[craigc_]

This is a good case of when an Ubuntu live CD comes in handy. Grab the 10.04 CD and boot up in a live environment. Don't panic because Ubuntu is super easy to use. From the file menu, open up a program called GParted. With GParted you can partition, move, resize, and delete among other things. Take note of the partition names. sda1 could be your OS X drive and it'll show you how much space it's taking up.

If you're not comfortable with a live CD I think you can use Disk Utility to partition. Though, probably not a smart idea to partition the very HD you're running off of. Have a 2nd Mac by any chance?

Bootcamp isn't your friend when you're dealing with 3+ partitions on the Mac. Look up http://refit.sourceforge.net/ for a solution when you're done installing Windows.

Ignore the error on my screenshot.

Remember partition names and be patient. Resizing and moving can take a lot of time should you elect to do so.

Very useful information and I just might give this a shot. I've used a linux live cd in the past so it wouldn't be completely new to me. Just a question though, can I boot from and OS X cd and run Disk Utility from there and then try it out?

 

[KingYaba]

Very useful information and I just might give this a shot. I've used a linux live cd in the past so it wouldn't be completely new to me. Just a question though, can I boot from and OS X cd and run Disk Utility from there and then try it out?

Yes the OS X install DVD has a live environment (sort of). Get past the initial install window and you can do things like resetting passwords, opening up a Terminal window, and using Disk Utility. There are more options but I just don't remember 'em.