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Multiple Hard Drives Set up On 1 Macbook pro?

G

gPaul

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 24, 2008
21
0
Hello, I just bought a used mackbook pro and the guy said he deleted everything and erased it all and reinstalled leopard, but a lot of space on the hard drive is taken up with files that I can't find. It is weird though, when I go to the specs the hard drive is divided into three separate hd's, each with some space. This is how it is listed:


FUJITSU MHW2120BH:

Capacity: 111.79 GB
Model: FUJITSU MHW2120BH
Revision: 00810013
Serial Number: NZ0ST742GTKR
Native Command Queuing: Yes
Queue Depth: 32
Removable Media: No
Detachable Drive: No
BSD Name: disk0
Mac OS 9 Drivers: No
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified
Volumes:
Macintosh HD:
Capacity: 49.88 GB
Available: 24.23 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk0s2
Mount Point: /Volumes/Macintosh HD
UserData:
Capacity: 61.47 GB
Available: 47.53 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk0s3
Mount Point: /

I don't think the guy knew much about Macs, so he may of made a mistake when deleting everything. What I think he did was was just reinstall leopard without really deleting everything else. So what I need to do is just delete everything and get it all back to 1 hard drive. How would I do this? I can remove all files from computer, because none of it is mine. So basically I want it restored to factory settings with leopard installed I think?
 
archesdevil said:
Just reformat drive with disk utility.
Click to expand...

What about the space taken up by files that aren't there? I am thinking the guy was trying to do a erase and reinstall, but didn't erase and the files are still on the computer. Is this a possibility?? And would it make a difference?
 
If you are worried, the best thing you can do is to... reinstall Leopard, then reformat to Mac OSX securely.
 
gPaul said:
What about the space taken up by files that aren't there? I am thinking the guy was trying to do a erase and reinstall, but didn't erase and the files are still on the computer. Is this a possibility?? And would it make a difference?
Click to expand...

When you reformat the thing, they will disappear. However, the files will still be recoverable, so just reformat it into however many partitions (even just one) you want. Then "erase empty space" on the thing afterwards (you can do this after you have everything installed and ready.
 
archesdevil said:
If you are worried, the best thing you can do is to... reinstall Leopard, then reformat to Mac OSX securely.
Click to expand...

Ok, well mainly what I was wondering is what is the extra space that is being taken up? Is it just that all hard drives are separate, or is there actually some files on the hard drive?
 
gPaul said:
Ok, well mainly what I was wondering is what is the extra space that is being taken up? Is it just that all hard drives are separate, or is there actually some files on the hard drive?
Click to expand...
The space is taken up by "virtual hard drives" the one hard drive was basically split up into sections that the computer views as different drives. After a reinstall of leopard the computer will see just the one drive. By the looks of it though there may be data on both of the "virtual drives" you currently have
 
gPaul said:
Ok, well mainly what I was wondering is what is the extra space that is being taken up? Is it just that all hard drives are separate, or is there actually some files on the hard drive?
Click to expand...

No, the guy partitioned the harddrive so the system sees them as separate harddrives.
When you reformat the drive, it will delete these partitions and the files will go away. The data will still be there (as in recoverable), but you will have full use of the entire drive.
 
you will need to boot with the CD to format the hard drive, or use another mac.
 
Boot into your OS X Restore DVD.

Click Tools-->Disk Utility on top.

Select your HDD (not the partitions), and select the Partition tab.
In scheme select '1 partition' and size it to fit the whole HDD. Call it whatever you want. Default is 'Macintosh HD'. This should take no more than a minute or so.

Click Apply and then it will be repartitioned. When it's done, without exiting Disk Utility, go to the Erase tab. Select 'Security Options' ; Zero Out Data ; hit Apply. Then hit 'Erase'. Rename the disc to what you want. This process will take an hour or two depending on your HDD capacity. Go excercise, eat, sleep, whatever.

When it's done, exit Disk Utility and reinstall OS X by continuing the installation.
 
Wait, actually I am about to erase and install but when I get to the select a destination portion it comes up with two hard drives, Macintosh HD and UserData. If I install to Macintosh HD will it delete all the **** on UserData too? Because it says user data has 20 GB taken up on it...
 
alphaod said:
Boot into your OS X Restore DVD.

Click Tools-->Disk Utility on top.

Select your HDD (not the partitions), and select the Partition tab.
In scheme select '1 partition' and size it to fit the whole HDD. Call it whatever you want. Default is 'Macintosh HD'. This should take no more than a minute or so.

Click Apply and then it will be repartitioned. When it's done, without exiting Disk Utility, go to the Erase tab. Select 'Security Options' ; Zero Out Data ; hit Apply. Then hit 'Erase'. Rename the disc to what you want. This process will take an hour or two depending on your HDD capacity. Go excercise, eat, sleep, whatever.

When it's done, exit Disk Utility and reinstall OS X by continuing the installation.
Click to expand...
Thank you, this seems to be working.
 
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