Help me re-partition a 2 TB WD My Passport

[gogreen1]

I have a 2TB WD My Passport that I initially partitioned into three volumes. I no longer use one of those volumes, so I'd like to delete it and divide its space between the two remaining volumes. I assume I can do that in disk utility. How do I do that? Thanks.

 

[chscag]

If the WD drive has data on it that you need to keep, the first thing to do is copy that data to another drive to back it up.

Then you can use Disk Utility to erase the drive and reformat it. That gives you a large single partition of 2TB. After that, you can then partition it evenly to two partitions.

The following Apple Support Article describes the process:

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

 

[pm-r]

Then you can use Disk Utility to erase the drive and reformat it.

If the OP has a partition situation where Disk Utility will not allow the needed partitioning easily or without erasing the drive, I would suggest using iPartition.app instead, which will allow you to do almost anything you want with the partitions providing there is some available space for it to do its thing, which cannot be done using Disk Utility.

I have used it several times with very satisfying results, but it is highly recommended to have a backup before you start mucking about with any re-partitioning.

I believe iPartition was free to use when I last used it, and you can download it from here:

iPartition for Mac, iPartition makes it easy to create, destroy, resize or format partitions on your hard disks, whether internal, external, fixed or removable....

iPartition makes it easy to create, destroy, resize or format partitions on your hard disks, whether internal, external, fixed or removable.

macdownload.informer.com

- Patrick
=======

 

[chscag]

Without knowing which version of macOS @gogreen1 is running, iPartition may or may not work since it's a 32 bit app which is no longer being updated.

 

[Rod]

gogreen1, my assumption is that to change partition sizes on an external HD (EHD) you need to erase the drive completely then re partition it using Disk Utility.
Obviously even 1Tb of data is going to be difficult to offload temporarily during that process.
I don't know of another option for current macOS short of purchasing or borrowing another EHD to store your data temporarily while you reformat your existing EHD.

 

[ferrarr]

As long as the data on the drive (all partitions) has been backed up, see this,

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

 

[IWT]

That link, Bob, doesn't seem to be working.

Ian

 

[ferrarr]

Thanks Ian, I just edited it. It should work now. I hope.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Without knowing which version of macOS @gogreen1 is running, iPartition may or may not work since it's a 32 bit app which is no longer being updated.

It's not a 32-bit app. It's 64-bits. The last version of it was anyway. However you are right that development ended. I don't know myself if it will work, but I suspect it should. Randy might know. It was developed by the same guy who did iDefrag, which also ceased development but definitely does work still. I would suggest getting it from the developer's site though. He still maintains it as a "museum:.

Coriolis Systems

coriolis-systems.com

 

[IWT]

Thanks Ian, I just edited it. It should work now. I hope.

Perfect, thanks.

Ian

 

[pm-r]

Thanks Ian, I just edited it. It should work now. I hope.

It's working here:

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

- Patrick
=======

 

[gogreen1]

Thanks, all, for the comments and suggestions. I think I'm just going to erase the drive and create 2 partitions.

 

[pm-r]

It's not a 32-bit app. It's 64-bits. The last version of it was anyway.

That's what my iMac says as well for the version of iPartition I have installed, it's 64-bit:



PS: Why does it need to be developed further when it has always worked well for me, at least with HFS Plus drives but I don't know about APFS formated drives.


- Patrick
=======

 

[chscag]

PS: Why does it need to be developed further when it has always worked well for me, at least with HFS Plus drives but I don't know about APFS formated drives.

Neither iDefrag or iPartition work with APFS formatted drives. And iDefrag should not be used on SSDs.

And.... as "Life" pointed out in post #9 iPartition is a 64 bit app. I do have a registered copy of iDefrag but never purchased iPartition.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Neither iDefrag or iPartition work with APFS formatted drives. And iDefrag should not be used on SSDs.

Bingo. I think iDefrag won’t even recognize an APFS volume, by design. Same for SSDs. But the increasing shift to SSDs along with the introduction of APFS are what lead to development on these apps ceasing. I still use iDefrag on a very high capacity HDD formatted using HFS though.