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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > Need advice on paritioning 250GB external drive

Need advice on paritioning 250GB external drive
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lutetia
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Sep 15, 2008, 01:32 PM
 
Hi all,

I just bought an Iomega eGo 250-GB FireWire portable drive to back up my iBook's hard disk (30 GB) plus to store my photos and maybe hold a bootable copy of OS9. Although the specs say 250 GB, the drive actually has 232 GB out of the box.

This is my first time using an external drive, so I don't really know how to go about setting things up.

Answers to any of the following questions would be much appreciated.

1) I know I should create a 30GB partition for the iBook backup, but what about for the remaining volume? Is it best to leave it as a single large 200GB partition, or split it into two 100GB chunks? Other than the clone of my iBook, I'll mainly be storing photos (at the moment no more than around 10-12GB).

2) I don't yet have a huge iTunes collection, but if I later want to store iTunes music that doesn't fit on my internal drive, is it fine to put it in the same partition as the photos, or would it be preferable to create a separate partition?

3) If I want to install OS9 on the drive, how much space should I allot to it? Would this enable me to run legacy apps on my iBook?

4) Does it matter how I name the partitions (i.e. should the name for my iBook back-up be the same as the original volume or should it be different?)

5) As I still don't know exactly what I need, If today I decide to create only 30GB partition to backup the iBook, can I later partition the remaining space without having to start all over again?

6) Also, the drive came out of the box with Mac OS Extended format. Is this the best format or is there another that would be better?

Thanks for any advice
( Last edited by lutetia; Sep 15, 2008 at 01:42 PM. )
     
mduell
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Sep 15, 2008, 09:21 PM
 
1) Why split it?

2) Why would you need another partition? OS X has folders for organization.

3) Do you really have any OS9 apps left?

4) No. Don't confuse yourself.

5) Yes, you can always add partitions in free space even with very primitive software.
     
amazing
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Sep 16, 2008, 10:56 AM
 
I second the idea of not splitting the external HD. Use Carbon Copy Cloner to duplicate the internal HD to the external, and then use the extra space as needed. Plan on duplicate/backing up all you essentials as needed. There is software that will keep a folder sychronized with an external drive, if you should decide to go that route.

Also, even ATA 2.5" laptop drives are coming down in price. You can get a 250 GB WD2500BEVE laptop HD for $94. I installed one in my 12" PB and then installed the 60 GB from my PB into a 14" iBook. If you're good at following directions and good with loads of small screws, it's not all that hard. If you decide to try that, post back here for suggestions.
     
lutetia  (op)
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Sep 16, 2008, 03:18 PM
 
Thanks Mduell and Amazing for your replies. And thanks for the suggestion about replacing the iBook drive. I had looked into this option a year or so ago and the cost of the drive and the labour to get someone to do it were too expensive. But if it can be done at home, then maybe it's something to consider.

Well, yesterday I partitioned the external drive it into two sections, one for the bootable iBook clone, and one for all the rest. Don't ask me why I partitioned, but that's what I did.

I used Carbon Copy Cloner to make the iBook clone, using Apple Partition Map. CCC showed a message saying the clone would be bootable.

However...when all was done, I tried to test the bootable clone by rebooting my iBook in Firewire Target Mode (starting up while pressing T); All I got was the FireWire icon dancing around the screen. I tried several times with no luck.

Interestingly, I was able to boot from the clone by holding down the option key when restarting, and selecting the clone.

But it annoys me that that the first method doesn't work.

Any ideas?
     
lutetia  (op)
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Sep 16, 2008, 07:08 PM
 
Well here's the answer, thanks to a response in another forum: Firewire Target mode is only to connect two computers; to boot from my external drive, I have to hold down the option key when rebooting, then simply select the external drive as the boot drive.
     
romeosc
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Sep 17, 2008, 12:19 AM
 
Originally Posted by mduell View Post
1) Why split it?

2) Why would you need another partition? OS X has folders for organization.

3) Do you really have any OS9 apps left?

4) No. Don't confuse yourself.

5) Yes, you can always add partitions in free space even with very primitive software.

I partition 2 partitions each 10 GB larger than the Laptop you are cloning so using SuperDuper, you can use smartupdate to keep changed files! You can have 2 bootable clones on same drive that way!
     
lutetia  (op)
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Sep 17, 2008, 01:09 AM
 
Hmm, I don't understand why you would make the clones larger than the internal drive. Do you keep old versions when you update? That could lead to a lot of clutter!
     
romeosc
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Sep 17, 2008, 09:05 AM
 
Originally Posted by lutetia View Post
Hmm, I don't understand why you would make the clones larger than the internal drive. Do you keep old versions when you update? That could lead to a lot of clutter!
When using "Smartupdate" option in Superduper, it does not erase files that are not on original, it only updates what has changed, Kinda like Time Machine you have a copy of deleted files. It only takesa few minutes to make a daily or weekly clone udate.
     
lutetia  (op)
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Sep 17, 2008, 11:06 AM
 
I see... sounds like a handy feature, then.
I wonder if I can use that for my next backup? I made the first clone with Carbon Copy Cloner.
     
Guy Kuo
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Sep 17, 2008, 12:28 PM
 
Actually, SuperDuper's Smart Update DOES erase files which are not also on the source volume. Its Carbon Copy Cloner that leaves the upper level, non-existing on source files alone.

Smart Update IS very fast - usually 10 to 15 times faster than a copying all the files. It copies just the files that have changed or are new AND deletes files which no longer exist. The result is identical to copying all the files, but much much faster. I've used SuperDuper to efficiently maintain rotating backups and it is very convenient, much faster than a DIsk Utility full archive, and creates bootable clones. You just have to make sure you have the current version!

From SuperDuper itself.....

"Smart Update will copy and erase what's needed to make SuperDuper Backup identical to your selections from Leopard OSX. The result will mimic "Erase, then copy," but will typically take a fraction of the time"
     
   
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