Strange Partition Problem - Disk Utility will not let me resize

[FortunesFool]

I've looked and cannot find the solution for this issue.

Originally I had 2 partitions on the internal 500gb hd in my MBP, one was 455gb the other was 10gb that I used to mess around on. I do not remember what format the small partition was in last, it may have been FAT32.

Goal: I wanted to delete the small partition and consolidate into one partition. My OSX partition is formatted macos extended.

Actions: I went to Disk Utility and deleted the small partition by selecting it and clicking "-." There was grey space where the partition used to be. No problems here.

Problem: Most of the options in Disk Utility are greyed-out. I cannot select a different partition scheme. When I try to resize the partition either by dragging it to cover the grey space or by manually typing in a larger size, there is no way to apply the changes. The "Apply" button is continually greyed-out (See Image). If I try to resize the partition and then close the window, Disk Utility alerts me that I have an operation in progress and that unsaved changes will be lost.

In short: Disk Utility is not letting me resize my main OSX Partition, it appears that I do not have appropriate permissions to make this change - I am the only user/admin of this machine.

TIA

 

[spinnerlys]

It is not possible do resize partitions with Disk Utility without data getting lost.
As you try to resize the partition with Mac OS X on, Disk Utility doesn't even let you (and doesn't warn you, that all data will be deleted), as this is the boot volume.

You have to try third party software and maybe have an extra Mac where you can boot from and connect the current drive.

Try MacUpdate with the search terms "partition resize" and you will have some options.

 

[plinden]

It is not possible do resize partitions with Disk Utility without data getting lost.

Not true with Leopard. It has non-destructive repartitioning. I've done this several times.

To the OP, your startup disk looks almost full. It may be that Disk Utility needs more space than what's available to move things around during resizing.

Do you have your install disk handy? Try booting with it and using Disk Utility on it. Also try clearing up some space.

 

[ElectricSheep]

Non-destructive partition resizing can only be done with disks that are formatted with a GUID Partition Table (GPT). You're disk was formatted with the legacy Apple Partition Table (APT) scheme, and you will not be able to resize your partitions without erasing the disk.

 

[spinnerlys]

Not true with Leopard. It has non-destructive repartitioning. I've done this several times.

To the OP, your startup disk looks almost full. It may be that Disk Utility needs more space than what's available to move things around during resizing.

Do you have your install disk handy? Try booting with it and using Disk Utility on it. Also try clearing up some space.

Thank you. I was thinking of Tiger.

 

[FortunesFool]

Non-destructive partition resizing can only be done with disks that are formatted with a GUID Partition Table (GPT). You're disk was formatted with the legacy Apple Partition Table (APT) scheme, and you will not be able to resize your partitions without erasing the disk.

Nuts. How would I go about formatting the disk with a GPT? I don't recall seeing that option anywhere when I did it originally.

I do have a few spare 500gb drives hanging out to which I could clone my startup disk, but I only have eSATA enclosures for them and you can't boot from that (at least with the eSATA card that I have).

Are there any programs other than disk utility that can resize boot-disk APT partitions non-destructively?

 

[Inconsequential]

Clone the drive.
Restore the partition on the main drive.
Reinstall OS X.
Copy everything back over.
Fix permissions.
Everybody is happy.

(Note: It *can* work with some fiddling!)