Shrinking & expanding hfs partitions

jsalmi · 01-15-2013, 09:06 AM

I've got a simple external raid 0 device which I cut into 2 partitions. I've moved all data from the smaller partition the larger, and would like to eliminate the smaller partition & grow the larger to use all available space.

Within Disk Utility I see that I can shrink the first partition to shrink the now empty partition to nothing, but I've not hit the Apply button. If I were to apply the changes, will I be able to grow the 2nd partition to use the newly available space?

A bit of thought about whether to partition the device or not would have saved me this effort, but I was a bit too excited about the new toy and made some uneducated guesses as to how much space I'd need for which data.

Thanks in advance.

anthlover · 01-15-2013, 08:58 PM

Do you have your Data backed up, always a good idea? Resizing does not always work, you you usually warned prior to anything bad happening, but there are no guaranties.

jsalmi · 01-16-2013, 08:15 AM

No I don't, as I don't have enough space elsewhere to back up this quantity of data.

hayne · 01-16-2013, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsalmi


	No I don't, as I don't have enough space elsewhere to back up this quantity of data.

Then I hope this data isn't too valuable to you.
Unbacked up data is temporary data.

DeltaMac · 01-16-2013, 01:11 PM

If you want to try to use Disk Utility to grow the space on your partition to take up the rest of the space on your external, then there's nothing stopping you from trying.
That process always has some risk to it, and sometimes you may end up needing to reformat.
If the data is only on that RAID 0 set, then you risk it all.
But - you would already know that, because RAID 0 has ZERO value as part of a backup plan - it has no redundancy; a glitch in a single volume might lose everything.
'Tis more important, I think, to have a full backup of a RAID 0 set, even more important than backup of just a single hard drive.

jsalmi · 01-16-2013, 05:09 PM

It might just be time to build that freenas box I've been thinking about...

And I typo'ed - the guardian maximus is RAID 1, not RAID 0.

anthlover · 01-16-2013, 05:39 PM

If it is Raid 1 then you sort of have a back up. If it is Raid 1, you can take out one of the two drives from the Raid and put it on the side.

Ideally this would not be the way you did your back ups. If your data matters you should always have multiple separate physical drive back ups and an off site to say crash plan or similar.

I would then test and see if the single drive shows up with the Data and vice versa. Then what I would do is either try the repartitioning or restore wipe the drive and restore it from the other. Now the only complication is controlling what happens to your array when you put the drive back, etc.

Do you have any additional cases to put a drive in?

jsalmi · 01-29-2013, 09:16 AM

Just to close the loop on this one, I was able to move all of my data to other devices on my network, reformat the raid 1 device to a single partition and copy the data back to the 4 tb partition.

Funny how the pocketbook opens up a bit when one needs a bit of additional storage, and now I've got a couple more portable storage devices "just in case".

Thanks for the input.

01-15-2013, 09:06 AM	#1
jsalmi Triple-A Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Down by the river Posts: 190	Shrinking & expanding hfs partitions I've got a simple external raid 0 device which I cut into 2 partitions. I've moved all data from the smaller partition the larger, and would like to eliminate the smaller partition & grow the larger to use all available space. Within Disk Utility I see that I can shrink the first partition to shrink the now empty partition to nothing, but I've not hit the Apply button. If I were to apply the changes, will I be able to grow the 2nd partition to use the newly available space? A bit of thought about whether to partition the device or not would have saved me this effort, but I was a bit too excited about the new toy and made some uneducated guesses as to how much space I'd need for which data. Thanks in advance.

01-16-2013, 05:39 PM	#7
anthlover Hall of Famer Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,651	Hmm well If it is Raid 1 then you sort of have a back up. If it is Raid 1, you can take out one of the two drives from the Raid and put it on the side. Ideally this would not be the way you did your back ups. If your data matters you should always have multiple separate physical drive back ups and an off site to say crash plan or similar. I would then test and see if the single drive shows up with the Data and vice versa. Then what I would do is either try the repartitioning or restore wipe the drive and restore it from the other. Now the only complication is controlling what happens to your array when you put the drive back, etc. Do you have any additional cases to put a drive in? Last edited by anthlover; 01-16-2013 at 05:43 PM.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread:

01-15-2013, 08:58 PM	#2
anthlover Hall of Famer Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,651	Do you have your Data backed up, always a good idea? Resizing does not always work, you you usually warned prior to anything bad happening, but there are no guaranties.

01-16-2013, 08:15 AM	#3
jsalmi Triple-A Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Down by the river Posts: 190	No I don't, as I don't have enough space elsewhere to back up this quantity of data.

01-16-2013, 01:11 PM	#5
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,934	If you want to try to use Disk Utility to grow the space on your partition to take up the rest of the space on your external, then there's nothing stopping you from trying. That process always has some risk to it, and sometimes you may end up needing to reformat. If the data is only on that RAID 0 set, then you risk it all. But - you would already know that, because RAID 0 has ZERO value as part of a backup plan - it has no redundancy; a glitch in a single volume might lose everything. 'Tis more important, I think, to have a full backup of a RAID 0 set, even more important than backup of just a single hard drive.

01-16-2013, 05:09 PM	#6
jsalmi Triple-A Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Down by the river Posts: 190	It might just be time to build that freenas box I've been thinking about... And I typo'ed - the guardian maximus is RAID 1, not RAID 0.

01-29-2013, 09:16 AM	#8
jsalmi Triple-A Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Down by the river Posts: 190	Just to close the loop on this one, I was able to move all of my data to other devices on my network, reformat the raid 1 device to a single partition and copy the data back to the 4 tb partition. Funny how the pocketbook opens up a bit when one needs a bit of additional storage, and now I've got a couple more portable storage devices "just in case". Thanks for the input.