Time machine full and delete another partition?

[zalle]

Hello guys, I need some help here:

I have a 6GB external drive. My Time Machine is in there, as a separate partition, unfortunately it's too small (300GB). There is also another partition, which I don't know what it is. It's called disk4s4.

What should I do with this?

Thanks for your ideas.

 

[zalle]

Hello guys,

I'm sure you've been there before.

Should I just delete the 2 partitions and make a 700GB partition for Time Machine?

 

[Brian33]

It might be possible to delete the disk4s4 partition, and then expand the Time Machine partition to use up the freed space. I'm not sure how to do it, though, and it might take Terminal commands(?).

But maybe not -- if you delete the disk4s4 in Disk Utility, maybe it will let you drag the existing TM partition larger? It might. In any case, deleting the disk4s4 seems safe enough (assuming you don't care what's on it).

If that didn't work, then I would delete both the disk4s4 and the existing TM partition and then create a new bigger one for TM from that free space. However, note that this will delete all the data on the TM partition! If it is your only backup... well, that's a little risky, too...

 

[gilby101]

What macOS version?

Apart from the TM backup, is there anything else of importance on the disk?

The output of Terminal command diskutil list would be useful. (Just the sections pertaining to this disk)

 

[zalle]

It's Big Sur.

I don't know where that 458GB partition came from... It does not show up in the desktop, and the other 2 do.

I didn't delete it yet because I was afraid it could be a part of Big Sur...?

 

[Brian33]

It is on an external drive, so I don't think it would be part of Big Sur or macOS.

IF that partitioni has been formatted with a filesystem, you should be able to use Disk Utility to mount it (select it in the left sidebar, and click the "mount" button. You might have to turn on View-->Show all Devices first). If successful, you can browse the files and see what's on there.

However, the fact that DU is displaying "disk4s4" (and not a volume name) makes me think that the partition is not formatted at all. (If it's not formatted with a filesystem, it can't have any files on it.)

It would be good to get others' opinions, though!

 

[MacCheetah3]

I am baffled at what would have created the unexplained/unrecognized partition, especially with an “unknown” format and a Unix disk identifier as a label. Nevertheless, you should be able to erase it.

Partition a physical disk in Disk Utility on Mac

In Disk Utility on your Mac, add, delete, erase, or enlarge a partition on a storage device.

support.apple.com

If you’re willing to forget about previous backups, I would recommend wiping the entire drive and starting anew — erase in Disk Utility and re-select in Time Machine settings/preferences.

Back up your files with Time Machine on Mac

Use Time Machine to back up your entire Mac, including music, photos, and documents.

support.apple.com

 

[zalle]

So, guys, thanks for your help.

I managed to delete the extra partition. Created a new 700GB APFS partition for Time Machine.

I also deleted the 297GB old TM partition, but I cannot erase it. The "-" sign is greyed out in disk utility.