Partitioning an existing external NTFS drive without losing data?

[greengeorge]

hi i have a lacie 250 gb external hd formatted as ntfs from my pc years, now im gonna do a leopard clean install so gotta backup my files to that drive, how can i partition it without losing the existing (100gb) data, ideally i'd like to split it into 2 partitions : one the existing ntfs, and the rest in a FAT format so i can move files between pc and mac

i tried disk utility but it seems it wont partition it without erasing the existing data, ipartition requires a payment wich isnt an option right now

help please?

 

[overanalyzer]

Disk Utility can only resize HFS+ partitions dynamically without data destruction, plus NTFS is read-only in OS X (unless you use a third-party tool, but I hear they're not great). You can use Partition Magic in Windows to resize the NTFS partition to be able to make the second partition on the drive, or you can copy the data off, repartition the drive, and then copy the data back on.

 

[McGiord]

Disk utily actually doesn't erase the data, but creates a new volume index/partition table, however the way to access the data is with 3rd party apps.
Drive Savers is the only 3rd party drive recovery service that will not void apple warranty:
www.drivesavers.com

I think that for what you want to do, you may need to copy your current data to another HDD or media, format the HDD you want to use and the copy them back.
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[overanalyzer]

Disk utily actually doesn't erase the data, but creates a new volume index/partition table, however the way to access the data is with 3rd party apps.
Drive Savers is the only 3rd party drive recovery service that will not void apple warranty:
www.drivesavers.com

Drive Savers will cost money too like iPartition. Plus you don't need data recovery since the data is perfectly fine and accessible....

And Apple's warranty doesn't apply to your Lacie drive.

 

[Neil321]

I think the term erase in disk utility is misleading as it should say format

 

[greengeorge]

Disk Utility can only resize HFS+ partitions dynamically without data destruction, plus NTFS is read-only in OS X (unless you use a third-party tool, but I hear they're not great). You can use Partition Magic in Windows to resize the NTFS partition to be able to make the second partition on the drive, or you can copy the data off, repartition the drive, and then copy the data back on.

can windows dynamically resize an nTFS drive without 3rd party programs?

Disk utily actually doesn't erase the data, but creates a new volume index/partition table, however the way to access the data is with 3rd party apps.
Drive Savers is the only 3rd party drive recovery service that will not void apple warranty:
www.drivesavers.com

I think that for what you want to do, you may need to copy your current data to another HDD or media, format the HDD you want to use and the copy them back.

i dont have any moer HDDs

Drive Savers will cost money too like iPartition. Plus you don't need data recovery since the data is perfectly fine and accessible....

And Apple's warranty doesn't apply to your Lacie drive.

are you saying that disk utility on tiger wont destroy my data?

thx for the replies everyone

 

[McGiord]

What I'm saying is that when you re-format a disk the data isn't erased, but you can't access it via Finder.
Avoid re-formatting unless you are sure where is your data and how to access it.
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[overanalyzer]

can windows dynamically resize an nTFS drive without 3rd party programs?

No, you'll need a third-party tool.

i dont have any moer HDDs

You might have to borrow one or use one on another computer....

are you saying that disk utility on tiger wont destroy my data?

No, Tiger can't resize partitions dynamically at all. Leopard can resize HFS+.

What I'm saying is that when you re-format a disk the data isn't erased, but you can't access it via Finder.
Avoid re-formatting unless you are sure where is your data and how to access it.

Right, I just meant he hasn't reformatted the drive so recovery isn't needed. And if you reformat a drive (or erase data) and start writing to it, recovery becomes far more difficult and expensive.

 

[greengeorge]

i see, by any means i would like to completely avoid reformatting, my goal is only repartitioning, but i guess its not as easy as i thought it would be

if i repartition the drive in windows what should i use?

 

[greengeorge]

oh well so much for hoping i could do this tonight and without leaving my room

 

[overanalyzer]

i see, by any means i would like to completely avoid reformatting, my goal is only repartitioning, but i guess its not as easy as i thought it would be

if i repartition the drive in windows what should i use?

I've had good luck with Partition Magic, but it's not free (though there might be a free trial...not sure).

oh well so much for hoping i could do this tonight and without leaving my room

Well you can if you have a Windows box too and you download a repartitioning tool for it online....

 

[McGiord]

Just for reference

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306496
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