Can I add space into the startup volume partition?

Hey everyone,

very new here, in fact, my very first post..

Question.
Because of a complicated procedure i went to trying to get windows installed on bootcamp, I ended up with mac OSX 10.5.2 in a 99GB partition and the rest 366GB or so marked as free space.

I really dont want to reinstall my Mac OSX because it takes time to reinstall all the programs and I'm just lazy, but I want to incorporate the "free space" into the mac partition if possible.


Is there a way to add the free space into the startup volume so i dont have 366GB of free space lying around? (w/o uninstalling the OSX already installed in the startup volume..)

thanks, cheers

Open up Bootcamp and use the restore to a single partition option.

hm, maybe im missing something, but I opened bootcamp assistant, and there is no option for restoring to one partition...

I just clicked "next" and now im looking @ creating a partition for windows, and its dividing up the 99 GB into two partitions... im afraid to go on, so I'll wait for clarification..

Where is the option to restore to a single partition?

thanks in advance

irjoe said:

hm, maybe im missing something, but I opened bootcamp assistant, and there is no option for restoring to one partition...

I just clicked "next" and now im looking @ creating a partition for windows, and its dividing up the 99 GB into two partitions... im afraid to go on, so I'll wait for clarification.. Where is the option to restore to a single partition?

Click to expand...

Open the Boot Camp assistant and select "Create Partition". When that dialog appears, select "Restore". Even though it does not specifically say restore to a single partition, it will do just that. After the reboot, OS X will be restored to the entire hard drive.

Regards.

sorry.. i think i worded my question wrong.

the 366GB or so of "Free space" is literally that, free space.. the HD is not partitioned into two separate drives, but one drive that takes about 99GB and the rest just empty nothingness that has been assigned nothing.

But i followed chscag's advice and clicked "Create partition". Bootcamp went forth and made 5GB worth of partition out of the 99GB for windows, but thats not what I wanted, so I went back to bootcamp and restored partition to one.. (which was what you were probably referring to.)

The problem still remains, there only 1 partition, which is 99GB but i want to add the 366GB of unassigned "free space" into the start up volume.

I tried going into disk manager, and the partition looks like I cant drag and expand the partition any bigger (only smaller than the 99GB)

thanks again,
cheers

hey sorry to double post, but im still at a loss on this, anyone got a clue?
help a (newb)rotha out

The only other choice you have is to completely erase the hard drive and re-install OS X along with applications. Unless... you don't mind spending money on a third party application which can seamlessly do what you're asking:

Coriolis Systems :: Products :: iPartition

If you know anything at all about using Linux, you might be able to use the free GParted tool to do the same thing:

GParted -- Live CD/USB/PXE/HD

Warning though.... Using the GParted Live CD is not for someone unfamiliar with partitioning and merging partitions.

Always backup before doing anything!

Regards.

quick question before i jump into this then, how do i completely erase the hard drive and make it into one single partition?

It sounds pretty easy as ive reformatted PC's as long as I can remember, but this will be the first time on a mac (done correctly) and I dont want to fail in something so simple

Do i need to use the disk utility?

thanks again!

As I understand it, the Leopard version of Disk Utility can resize partitions on-the-fly, although I haven't tried it.

i tried doing that, and its true for most cases, but not when part of the Hard Disk is not assigned to anything...

For example, i could partition and resize the current startup volume, but not the rest..

irjoe said:

quick question before i jump into this then, how do i completely erase the hard drive and make it into one single partition?

It sounds pretty easy as ive reformatted PC's as long as I can remember, but this will be the first time on a mac (done correctly) and I dont want to fail in something so simple

Do i need to use the disk utility?

Click to expand...

If you'd rather use the first method I mentioned, then you have to boot the machine with your Leopard DVD 1 and run Disk Utility. After booting, cancel your way out of the installation routine and choose Disk Utility from the top menu. Highlight the hard drive and use the erase function. Then format the entire drive as one partition using HFS+.

After that, continue to install Leopard and applications from the DVD set.

As cw107 mentioned, the Leopard Disk Utility can resize partitions on the fly, however, it can not merge partitions nor am I sure it can resize non-destructively as I have never tried it.

Consider using iPartition if you don't mind spending $$$. The whole process will be a lot easier. Or, if you're daring and am willing to reinstall everything anyway, use the Linux GParted boot disk I pointed out to you.

Regards.

So finally I just erased everything and partitioned to a fresh new drive... although i know everything hardwares still the same, i just cant help but to feel that fresh cleanness of an empty desktop

thanks for the help guys, much appreciated.

OK, great to hear you're back in business. If you need help creating a new Boot Camp partition, give a holler.

Regards.