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In simple words, a disk partition can be defined as the Mac can be dividing into different partitions, and all the partitions have their specific space that you can use. You can also transfer the essential files and documents in one partition and lock it, and the other partition can be used for other general tasks.
If you want to manage your Mac hard drive by creating different partitions, then this article is the right place for you. It is a full guide of how to partition a hard drive on Mac. Let’s check it out.
Clean hard drive free download — Hard Drive Upgrader, Hard Drive Inspector Professional, Erase Your Hard Drive, and many more programs. Jun 25, 2015 Here are some general tips to keep your Mac’s hard drive trim and slim as possible. You should never, EVER let a conputer hard drive get completely full, EVER! With Macs and OS X, you shouldn’t let the hard drive get below 15 GBs or less of free data space. If it does, it’s time for some hard drive.
Before Partitioning A Mac: Backup and Clean it Up First!
The very primary step before moving towards partition hard drive on Mac, you must backup and clean up the internal hard drive of Mac. First thing to do is to backup your files on Mac using Time Machine. If anything goes wrong in the partition process, you still have the backup files.
Wine is an open source program for running Windows software on non-Windows operating systems. While it’s most often used on Linux, Wine can run Windows software directly on a Mac, too–without requiring a Windows license or needing Windows running in the background. Our expert buying guide — updated to include the new Parallels Desktop 15 — rounds up the best virtualisation and virtual machine software packages to help you run Windows apps and games on your Mac. Malware research software such as ZeroWine runs Wine on Linux in a virtual machine, to keep the malware completely isolated from the host system. An alternative to improve the security without the performance cost of using a virtual machine, is to run Wine in an LXC container, like Anbox software is doing by default with Android. VMware Fusion: Powerfully Simple Virtual Machines for Mac. VMware Fusion gives Mac users the power to run Windows on Mac along with hundreds of other operating systems side by side with Mac applications, without rebooting. Fusion is simple enough for home users and powerful enough for IT professionals, developers and businesses. Instead of simulating internal Windows logic like a virtual machine or emulator, Wine translates Windows API calls into POSIX calls on-the-fly, eliminating the performance and memory penalties of other methods and allowing you to cleanly integrate Windows applications into your desktop. Latest Releases. Wine virtual machine software for mac.
Then you need to clean up your Mac and prepare for disk partition, so if any other unwanted program that might become the reason for virus or interruption can easily remove. As for Mac cleaning, you can use the Mac cleaning tools to do that, but for effective results, use iMyFone Umate Mac Cleaner. This app is a great chioce for cleaning up your Mac before partitioning a hard drive, for it can do the cleaning task efficiently and thoroughly. The main cleaning features of it are as follow:
- Clean Up Junk: It can easily clean up to 40+ types of junk files in one go with Quick Clean & Deep Clean mode.
- Delete large files: It can quickly delete large files that over 50MB within one click.
- Delete duplicate files: It can delete the duplicate files from your Mac without any problem to reclaim more available space.
- Uninstall apps and remove extensions: It will allow you to uninstall unused apps and remove those unnecessary extensions in a flash.
The app is super easy to use that you can use it to get a cleaner Mac with simple clicks. Now, here are the steps to follow if you want to use this fantastic app for junk cleaning from your Mac.
- Download the app and launch it on your Mac.
- Then you need to choose a feature that you need, after that, click on the Scan button.
- Just preview and then select all the unneeded items to clean up, all can be done in a few minutes.
Click here to get the detailed guide to know this Mac cleaning tool better and use it completely clean up your Mac.
Here We Go! How to Partition A Hard Drive on Your Mac?
For disk partition, there are twp types: Volume and Partition. Before creating a new partition, you need to confirm your Mac’s operating system. For different macOSs, there are different operations when it comes to disk partition. We will list several ways below to help you determine how you go about partitioning your Mac.
For macOS High Sierra & Later Versions: Create A Volume
A new word here, Volume, is a storage container that a Mac can read. It include CDs, DVDs, SSDs and hard drives. If you are running macOS High Sierra or later versions on your Mac, then you can create a new volume. The term ‘partition’ is used in those Macs running lower versions.
So, here is the question: how to create a volume on Macs that are running macOS High Sierra or later versions? These later macOSs use a new file system — Apple File System (APFS). For those Macs using the APFS, you can use Disk Utility in MacOS to create a new volume. Below are the steps to follow.
- Open Disk Utility on your Mac.
- Click the drop-down menu and choose ‘Show All Devices’ option. Then select the disk you want to add the new volume to and hit the ‘+’ button to add a new volume.
- Next, name your new volume and set it up accordingly by clicking on ‘Size’ Option. Then fill in the ‘Reserve Size’ and ‘Quota Size’ options.
- At last, you must click on ‘Add’ button to confirm your request.
For macOS Sierra & Lower Versions: Create A Partition
As mantioned above, for Macs that are running lower verisons, you can partition its hard drive. There are two methods that can create a partition on Mac. One is using Disk Utility and the other is using Boot Camp. Just keep reading!
Method 1: Use Disk Utility to Partition A Hard Drive on Mac
The first way to do the disk partition on Mac is to use Disk Utility, which can repair and partition disk drive spaces from your Mac. Next, let’s follow the procedure of Mac disk utility partition:
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- Open Disk Utility application on your Mac.
- Next, you need to choose Mac’s internal hard drive.
- Then click Partition option and click the add partition button: ‘+’.
- Now a new partition will show up, and you can change the size as indicated by what you need. Then give this new partition a name as you like.
- At last, you must click on ‘Apply’ button to confirm your request.
- You can also click on ‘Revert’ button to remove the partition on Mac.
When the process is done, you will have a new hard drive with available space. Just transfer anything you want and keep them in the new partition.
Method 2: Use Boot Camp to Partition A Hard Drive on Mac
As we mentioned above, you can run different operating systems on your Mac after partitioning a hard drive. So if you want to run Windows on another drive, this way is very helpful to get it done. Boot Camp is a pre-installed application in the later version of Mac. You can launch it and follow the steps below.
- Open Application > Utilities > Boot Camp Assistant.
- Click on “Create or remove a Windows partition” option and hit “Continue” button.
- Then select a hard drive on your Mac for disk partition.
- Next, confirm the size of the partition for running Windows OS.
- At last, hit the Partition button and that is done.
Extra Tip: How to Resize or Delete Your Partition?
After talking about how to partition hard drive on Mac, we will guide you more extra tips in the next part. Let’s check them out!
To Resize A Partition: Click on the ‘Partition’ option in Disk Utility and click the ‘+’ or ‘-’ button to change the size of your partition.
To Delete A Partition: Click on the ‘Partition’ tab in Disk Utility, then click the ‘-’ sign and hit ‘Remove’ option to delete a partition.
What Are The Benefits and Risks of Partitioning A Mac?
Here are some of the benefits and risks of partitioning a hard drive on Mac that you must consider before going to do that. Let’s check them out:
Benefits of Partitioning A Mac:
1. You can run more operating system
The main benefit that the Mac partition provides to you is, it will allow you to run two operating systems smoothly. You can also use the two different versions of one OS that means you can run on the two different partitions of the same device.
2. You can manage and format hard drive separately
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The disk partition on Mac os x can allow you to manage both partitions in different ways. If you want to use another volume of the mac, it will require double space so, make a wise decision and select the right option according to the available space.
3. It will give you a private space
And you can enjoy the separated space for your essential documents, and the other partition can be used for general tasking. In this way, your essential data will be safe and sound, and no one can use it. The separate partition will allow you to use the Mac without any disturbance.
Risks of Partitioning A Mac:
When you partition your hard drive on Mac, a main risk of that is data loss. Actully you can avoid this by backing up your disk before partitioning your Mac. But if you forgot to backup your disk and lost some files after partitioning, don’t worry. You can use Mac Data Recovery Tool to recover all the lost data on your Mac.
Conclusion
That’s all on how to partition a Mac. You can easily follow the steps we listed above to do the disk partition by yourself. And remember to clean up your Mac before making a partition, the best choice for cleaning junk file on your Mac is to use Umate Mac Cleaner. Get started now! First, clean up your Mac and then create a partition on it.
Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra and later* can save space by storing your content in iCloud and making it available on demand. When storage space is needed, files, photos, movies, email attachments, and other files that you seldom use are stored in iCloud automatically. Each file stays right where you last saved it, and downloads when you open it. Files that you’ve used recently remain on your Mac, along with optimized versions of your photos.
* If you haven’t yet upgraded to macOS Sierra or later, learn about other ways to free up storage space.
Find out how much storage is available on your Mac
Choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then click Storage. Each segment of the bar is an estimate of the storage space used by a category of files. Move your pointer over each segment for more detail.
Click the Manage button to open the Storage Management window, pictured below. This button is available only in macOS Sierra or later.
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Manage storage on your Mac
The Storage Management window offers recommendations for optimizing your storage. If some recommendations are already turned on, you will see fewer recommendations.
Store in iCloud
Click the Store in iCloud button, then choose from these options:
- Desktop and Documents. Store all files from these two locations in iCloud Drive. When storage space is needed, only the files you recently opened are kept on your Mac, so that you can easily work offline. Files stored only in iCloud show a download icon , which you can double-click to download the original file. Learn more about this feature.
- Photos. Store all original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud Photos. When storage space is needed, only space-saving (optimized) versions of photos are kept on your Mac. To download the original photo or video, just open it.
- Messages. Store all messages and attachments in iCloud. When storage space is needed, only the messages and attachments you recently opened are kept on your Mac. Learn more about Messages in iCloud.
Storing files in iCloud uses the storage space in your iCloud storage plan. If you reach or exceed your iCloud storage limit, you can either buy more iCloud storage or make more iCloud storage available. iCloud storage starts at 50GB for $0.99 (USD) a month, and you can purchase additional storage directly from your Apple device. Learn more about prices in your region.
Optimize Storage
Click the Optimize button, then choose from these options.
- Automatically remove watched movies and TV shows. When storage space is needed, movies or TV shows that you purchased from the iTunes Store and already watched are removed from your Mac. Click the download icon next to a movie or TV show to download it again.
- Download only recent attachments. Mail automatically downloads only the attachments that you recently received. You can manually download any attachments at any time by opening the email or attachment, or saving the attachment to your Mac.
- Don’t automatically download attachments. Mail downloads an attachment only when you open the email or attachment, or save the attachment to your Mac.
Optimizing storage for movies, TV shows, and email attachments doesn’t require iCloud storage space.
Empty Trash Automatically
Empty Trash Automatically permanently deletes files that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days.
Reduce Clutter
Reduce Clutter helps you to identify large files and files you might no longer need. Click the Review Files button, then choose any of the file categories in the sidebar, such as Applications, Documents, Music Creation, or Trash.
You can delete the files in some categories directly from this window. Other categories show the total storage space used by the files in each app. You can then open the app and decide whether to delete files from within it.
Learn how to redownload apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books.
Where to find the settings for each feature
The button for each recommendation in the Storage Management window affects one or more settings in other apps. You can also control those settings directly within each app.
- If you’re using macOS Catalina, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Apple ID, then select iCloud in the sidebar: Store in iCloud turns on the Optimize Mac Storage setting on the right. Then click Options next to iCloud Drive: Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders setting. To turn off iCloud Drive entirely, deselect iCloud Drive.
In macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Options next to iCloud Drive. Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders and Optimize Mac Storage settings. - In Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud. Store in iCloud selects iCloud Photos and Optimize Mac Storage.
- In Messages, choose Messages > Preferences, then click iMessage. Store in iCloud selects Enable Messages in iCloud.
- If you’re using macOS Catalina, open the Apple TV app, choose TV > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Files. Optimize Storage selects “Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.”
In macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes, choose iTunes > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Advanced. Optimize Storage selects “Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.” - In Mail, choose Mail > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Accounts. In the Account Information section on the right, Optimize Storage sets the Download Attachments menu to either Recent or None.
Empty Trash Automatically: From the Finder, choose Finder > Preferences, then click Advanced. Empty Trash Automatically selects “Remove items from the Trash after 30 days.”
Other ways that macOS helps automatically save space
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With macOS Sierra or later, your Mac automatically takes these additional steps to save storage space:
- Detects duplicate downloads in Safari, keeping only the most recent version of the download
- Reminds you to delete used app installers
- Removes old fonts, languages, and dictionaries that aren’t being used
- Clears caches, logs, and other unnecessary data when storage space is needed
How to free up storage space manually
Even without using the Optimized Storage features of Sierra or later, you can take other steps to make more storage space available:
- Music, movies, and other media can use a lot of storage space. Learn how to delete music, movies, and TV shows from your device.
- Delete other files that you no longer need by moving them to the Trash, then emptying the Trash. The Downloads folder is good place to look for files that you might no longer need.
- Move files to an external storage device.
- Compress files.
- Delete unneeded email: In the Mail app, choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail. If you no longer need the email in your Trash mailbox, choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items.
Learn more
- The Storage pane of About This Mac is the best way to determine the amount of storage space available on your Mac. Disk Utility and other apps might show storage categories such as Not Mounted, VM, Recovery, Other Volumes, Free, or Purgeable. Don’t rely on these categories to understand how to free up storage space or how much storage space is available for your data.
- When you duplicate a file on an APFS-formatted volume, that file doesn’t use additional storage space on the volume. Deleting a duplicate file frees up only the space required by any data you might have added to the duplicate. If you no longer need any copies of the file, you can recover all of the storage space by deleting both the duplicate and the original file.
- If you’re using a pro app and Optimize Mac Storage, learn how to make sure that your projects are always on your Mac and able to access their files.
