Two partition HDD on new MBP

[sbandol]

Hi guys,

I'm waiting for a new MacBook Pro to arrive and i was wondering if its possible to format the HDD in 2 partitions(as i know then MBP is coming with 1 partition by default).So...

1. Is it possible to make this without loosing data (or reinstalling MAC OS X)?
3. If its possible is there any risk to do this?
2. Which are the benefits and disadvantages in case of one partition vs 2 partitions?

Sorry for my english , but is not my native language.

Thank you!

 

[AliensAreFuzzy]

Hi guys,

I'm waiting for a new MacBook Pro to arrive and i was wondering if its possible to format the HDD in 2 partitions(as i know then MBP is coming with 1 partition by default).So...

1. Is it possible to make this without loosing data (or reinstalling MAC OS X)?
3. If its possible is there any risk to do this?
2. Which are the benefits and disadvantages in case of one partition vs 2 partitions?

Sorry for my english , but is not my native language.

Thank you!

1. With Leopard, this is possible by using Disk Utility
2. There is some risk to doing this, but if you do it before putting any data on it, the worst that can happen is that you have to reinstall OS X
3. If you want to do boot camp, you have to have multiple partitions, but other than that, there really isn't a whole lot of advantage to two partitions on a laptop.

 

[sbandol]

MAC OS X crash

Thank you for reply ,

What about the case "Kernel panic" or another MAC OS X failure, if i have just one partition i will loose all my data reinstalling MAC OS X , but if i have 2 partitions i will not .

 

[Ryox]

1.It is possible but I think you will need to reinstall the OS. Do it as soon as you get your MBP it should be fine since you wont have anything on there anyway.

2.No its all in the disks that come with your Mac.

3.In the older days when fragmentation was an issue 2 smaller partitions made it easier to sort.
You can manage 2 partitions. Have one partitions for programs and one for files etc...

 

[MacBookJoePro]

Thank you for reply ,

What about the case "Kernel panic" or another MAC OS X failure, if i have just one partition i will loose all my data reinstalling MAC OS X , but if i have 2 partitions i will not .

The "Kernel Panic" only affects the partition with the OS on it. Since the OS will only be running from one partition then that partition will only be affected. I would recommend getting an external HDD and use time machine to back things up. That way if you need to restore your MBP then your can restore from your Time machine backup and literally leave off from where you started.

-JoE

 

[sbandol]

partition size

In order to not open other tread , i will ask here :

What shall be the size of MAC OS X home partition (OS + application + additional system data), i mention that all other stuff (movies, photos etc...) will be stored on other partition (same HDD).

In addition i will make a boot camp partition for WIN (aprox 40G)

 

[creator2456]

How much media do you have? Answer that and add some too it.

 

[FreAk6767]

Actually, I was thinking of doing 2 partitions too, if the Mbp penryn arrives eventually... lol

But in my case, it's more like 2 partitions= 2 OSX.

I was thinking of one install of OSX Leopard with regular stuff, and One install of Osx Leopard that would only handle Logic Studio Pro. That way, Logic doesnt get craps from any freeware and hazardous install i would do, more and more files with times, corrupted permissions, plugins problems, etc..

Or is it just to much hassle for minimum good results?

 

[jinxer5000]

I have the same question. I've just gotten a new MBP and was wondering how much since and how difficult to create a 2nd partition is.

I'm a designer and was thinking about creating one partition that was all Apps and such and the 2nd being where I keep all my files. Make sense? Is it worth it?

 

[aaronw1986]

I have the same question. I've just gotten a new MBP and was wondering how much since and how difficult to create a 2nd partition is.

I'm a designer and was thinking about creating one partition that was all Apps and such and the 2nd being where I keep all my files. Make sense? Is it worth it?

Don't really see the point. If the drive fails, you will still loose everything.

 

[kuebby]

Actually, I was thinking of doing 2 partitions too, if the Mbp penryn arrives eventually... lol

But in my case, it's more like 2 partitions= 2 OSX.

I was thinking of one install of OSX Leopard with regular stuff, and One install of Osx Leopard that would only handle Logic Studio Pro. That way, Logic doesnt get craps from any freeware and hazardous install i would do, more and more files with times, corrupted permissions, plugins problems, etc..

Or is it just to much hassle for minimum good results?

There's no reason to do that, it won't run any better, and restarting your computer to switch between them will be a big pain.

 

[chrisbeebops]

Unless you need 2 different partitions (Bootcamp partition, multiple instances of OS X, other OS's), there is absolutely no benefit to having multiple partitions. Keeping everything on the drive as 1 partition will eliminate headaches later when you need to readjust partition sizes.

If you need to resize your partition and make a new one, you can easily do this with Disk Utility. If you are resizing your boot partition, then do this from Disk Utility on the Leopard installation DVD. You can usually do this using Boot Camp Assistant without booting the DVD, but my computer usually locks up mid-way and I end up rebooting in order to repair the disk.

 

[Sweetfeld28]

There really is no reason?

Yes if your hard drive fails, you will lose everything. However, Lets just say that you have family photos, videos, music, and other important apps installed. Then, all of the sudden you get Kernel Panics, a Faulty OS install, or something else.

Then, Later you think to yourself, wouldn't it be great if i could just reinstall OS X, and keep my other data. Then yes, having two partitions would be a good idea. This is what i have done for the past couple of years, and has saved me on multiple occasions.

My Setup: Factory 80gb for just my OS, and other stupid apps which i don't care about. My important data is on other 500gb drive, which contains some designs, school work archive, iPhoto photos, and my 60gbs of music;and another 84gbs of compressed videos. I am also planning on buying another HD to replace my 80gb, which would then act as my time machine backup, and OS. [partitioned]

 

[MacBookJoePro]

There really is no reason?

Yes if your hard drive fails, you will lose everything. However, Lets just say that you have family photos, videos, music, and other important apps installed. Then, all of the sudden you get Kernel Panics, a Faulty OS install, or something else.

Then, Later you think to yourself, wouldn't it be great if i could just reinstall OS X, and keep my other data. Then yes, having two partitions would be a good idea. This is what i have done for the past couple of years, and has saved me on multiple occasions.

My Setup: Factory 80gb for just my OS, and other stupid apps which i don't care about. My important data is on other 500gb drive, which contains some designs, school work archive, iPhoto photos, and my 60gbs of music;and another 84gbs of compressed videos. I am also planning on buying another HD to replace my 80gb, which would then act as my time machine backup, and OS. [partitioned]

You go use the Archive and install when installing a new operating system. I believe that saves all user data while restore critical files.

-JoE