Partitioning Scheme

ultimanine · 05-01-2003, 08:39 PM

Hi there...

I'm wondering if anyone has a reasonable partition scheme that they'd like to share with me, I'm looking for some ideas. As it is, I have a 60 GB HD. My Applications folder is about 2 GB in size, my Users folder is running at about 35 GB, system files take up about 3 GB, and i have the DevTools installed. I also had fink stuff installed, but got rid of it because I wasn't really using it.

Any ideas? I get worried over the prospect of making one of my partitions too small and then leaving myself in a bind.

tlarkin · 05-01-2003, 09:19 PM

Which ever volume is your boot volume (the one the OS is loaded on), should usually have about 2Gig of free space on it. If you are using the disc burn built in software it requires free disk space to burn cds, at least 850+mbytes. If you are burning DVD's I would recomend keeping about 5 to 6 gig open on your start up volume. If you have a volume you just dump data on, like documents music etc you dont need much free space on that volume. For applications I would say about at least a gig free for optimum performance.

Jacques · 05-02-2003, 10:14 AM

Why partition?

It's really not needed any longer, unless you have an old iMac (the first iMacs have a firmware bug, the entire bootable OS needs to be in the first 8 gigs of HD space).

djn1 · 05-02-2003, 12:59 PM

Quote:


	Originally posted by Jacques Why partition?

Because if you don't have a secondary drive booting from another partition is much easier, and often more convenient, than booting from an installation CD. You can also use the secondary partition to backup any data.

I have two 80GB internal drives. The first has a 60GB main partition (system, users etc), there's a 2GB partition that's shared on the network, and a 10GB partition that's used for various things. My second drive has a 2GB partition for my swapfiles, a 6GB partition I use as a scratch disk, and a 66GB partition that I use for nightly backups (and also keep a backup of my main system). I also have an external FW drive that I backup to every week or so.

mervTormel · 05-02-2003, 01:14 PM

there are many advantages to partitions:

flexibility
hosting other OSes
scratch space
separation of data from non-data
backups
on the fly workspaces
a partition's filesystem failure doesn't affect other partitions

i can't regale you with the tales where a partition has come in handy personally and for other users, because it would be too large a tale.

as for number and sizing of partitions, it's difficult to advise. examine your needs. give OSX 5GB and go from there.

tlarkin · 05-02-2003, 01:25 PM

Partitions do come in handy, especially when setting up a RAID, if you use applications that will take advantage of a scratch disk they also come in handy. Just remember if you are burning dvd's you want about 5 gig of free space on your start up volume, since it will write an image before it burns it.

Jacques · 05-02-2003, 01:38 PM

I can see a few reasons, my memory is joggled. In my particular setup, partitions aren't needed - but I can see how they'd be useful.

I wonder why the M$ world has Partition Magic but the Mac has never had a similar app, it would be nice to adjust the borders without losing data.. ?

tlarkin · 05-02-2003, 01:51 PM

Quote:


	Originally posted by Jacques I wonder why the M$ world has Partition Magic but the Mac has never had a similar app, it would be nice to adjust the borders without losing data.. ?

Actually, there is an Application called PDISK that runs on the mac which is similar to partition magic. However, if there is a current version of PDISK that runs on OS X I am not aware of it.

mervTormel · 05-02-2003, 02:11 PM

Code:

$ whatis pdisk
pdisk(8)                 - Apple partition table editor

not for the faint of heart. and i believe it is data-destructive when used to resize partitions.

yellow · 05-02-2003, 03:04 PM

About Partition Magic.. I've always been fearful of apps that partition disks already in use. That's scary!!

Jacques · 05-02-2003, 03:08 PM

Quote:


	Originally posted by yellow That's scary!!

It probably repositions a few files and adjust the map, to keep things inside of the appropriate borders - seems possible to me.

--

In any case, this kind of tool has never existed for Mac - better to back up, reformat, then restore.

tlarkin · 05-02-2003, 04:27 PM

I have not used PDISK since OS 8.1 and I cannot remember if it kills the data on the drive. However, I know it does not initalize the drive when you use it. I guess if anyone has used PDISK recently correct me if I am wrong. Here is what I got from a google search of "PDISK".

http://cantaforda.com/cfcl/eryk/linux/pdisk/pdisk.html

dakini · 05-03-2003, 04:53 PM

I'm pretty sure any partition resized with pdisk will have its data destroyed. There was a utility for OS9 that could create resizable partitions, I think it was called Hard Drive Toolkit (?). But unfortunately I know of no OSX analogue for Partition Magic.

macmath · 05-04-2003, 09:28 AM

If I remember correctly, live partitioning with Hard Disk Toolkit could only be done if the drive were originally formatted with FWB Hard Disk Toolkit.

[Edited to say that perhaps it was that you could not do live partitioning unless you had the HardDisk Toolkit drivers installed, and these drivers were not installable over an Apple formatted disk without reformatting. At any rate, I tried using the live partitioning long ago and I could not carry it out for one of these two reasons.]

Moreover, it was common with major OS updgrades that you might have to update/upgrade your version of HardDisk Toolkit before installing the OS upgrade or risk losing data. I never felt the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.

I'm not sure whether or not they have an OS X version or not.

tlarkin · 05-05-2003, 11:16 AM

Another software package is APS power tools, it lets you mount and initalize HD's in different partition schemes. I have a copy of this here at work but I have never really used it. So if anyone has any input on it let me know.

05-01-2003, 08:39 PM	#1
ultimanine Prospect Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 19	Partitioning Scheme Hi there... I'm wondering if anyone has a reasonable partition scheme that they'd like to share with me, I'm looking for some ideas. As it is, I have a 60 GB HD. My Applications folder is about 2 GB in size, my Users folder is running at about 35 GB, system files take up about 3 GB, and i have the DevTools installed. I also had fink stuff installed, but got rid of it because I wasn't really using it. Any ideas? I get worried over the prospect of making one of my partitions too small and then leaving myself in a bind.

05-02-2003, 01:14 PM	#5
mervTormel League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 5,536	there are many advantages to partitions: flexibility hosting other OSes scratch space separation of data from non-data backups on the fly workspaces a partition's filesystem failure doesn't affect other partitions i can't regale you with the tales where a partition has come in handy personally and for other users, because it would be too large a tale. as for number and sizing of partitions, it's difficult to advise. examine your needs. give OSX 5GB and go from there. __________________ On a clear disk, you can seek forever.

05-02-2003, 02:11 PM	#9
mervTormel League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 5,536	Code: $ whatis pdisk pdisk(8) - Apple partition table editor not for the faint of heart. and i believe it is data-destructive when used to resize partitions. __________________ On a clear disk, you can seek forever.

05-03-2003, 04:53 PM	#13
dakini Prospect Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: USA Posts: 37	pdisk I'm pretty sure any partition resized with pdisk will have its data destroyed. There was a utility for OS9 that could create resizable partitions, I think it was called Hard Drive Toolkit (?). But unfortunately I know of no OSX analogue for Partition Magic.

05-04-2003, 09:28 AM	#14
macmath MVP Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Elsewhere Posts: 1,497	Hard Disk Toolkit If I remember correctly, live partitioning with Hard Disk Toolkit could only be done if the drive were originally formatted with FWB Hard Disk Toolkit. [Edited to say that perhaps it was that you could not do live partitioning unless you had the HardDisk Toolkit drivers installed, and these drivers were not installable over an Apple formatted disk without reformatting. At any rate, I tried using the live partitioning long ago and I could not carry it out for one of these two reasons.] Moreover, it was common with major OS updgrades that you might have to update/upgrade your version of HardDisk Toolkit before installing the OS upgrade or risk losing data. I never felt the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. I'm not sure whether or not they have an OS X version or not. Last edited by macmath; 05-04-2003 at 02:31 PM.

05-01-2003, 09:19 PM	#2
tlarkin League Commissioner Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 11,352	Which ever volume is your boot volume (the one the OS is loaded on), should usually have about 2Gig of free space on it. If you are using the disc burn built in software it requires free disk space to burn cds, at least 850+mbytes. If you are burning DVD's I would recomend keeping about 5 to 6 gig open on your start up volume. If you have a volume you just dump data on, like documents music etc you dont need much free space on that volume. For applications I would say about at least a gig free for optimum performance.

05-02-2003, 10:14 AM	#3
Jacques All Star Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: New York, NY Posts: 972	Why partition? It's really not needed any longer, unless you have an old iMac (the first iMacs have a firmware bug, the entire bootable OS needs to be in the first 8 gigs of HD space).

05-02-2003, 01:25 PM	#6
tlarkin League Commissioner Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 11,352	Partitions do come in handy, especially when setting up a RAID, if you use applications that will take advantage of a scratch disk they also come in handy. Just remember if you are burning dvd's you want about 5 gig of free space on your start up volume, since it will write an image before it burns it.

05-02-2003, 01:38 PM	#7
Jacques All Star Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: New York, NY Posts: 972	I can see a few reasons, my memory is joggled. In my particular setup, partitions aren't needed - but I can see how they'd be useful. I wonder why the M$ world has Partition Magic but the Mac has never had a similar app, it would be nice to adjust the borders without losing data.. ?

05-02-2003, 03:04 PM	#10
yellow Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 10,677	About Partition Magic.. I've always been fearful of apps that partition disks already in use. That's scary!!

05-02-2003, 04:27 PM	#12
tlarkin League Commissioner Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 11,352	I have not used PDISK since OS 8.1 and I cannot remember if it kills the data on the drive. However, I know it does not initalize the drive when you use it. I guess if anyone has used PDISK recently correct me if I am wrong. Here is what I got from a google search of "PDISK". http://cantaforda.com/cfcl/eryk/linux/pdisk/pdisk.html

05-05-2003, 11:16 AM	#15
tlarkin League Commissioner Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 11,352	Another software package is APS power tools, it lets you mount and initalize HD's in different partition schemes. I have a copy of this here at work but I have never really used it. So if anyone has any input on it let me know.