Manage Mac partitions | Limitations Disk Utility as a Partition Manager

Mac hard drive partitioning is good for many reasons. The best part of this process is that it is easy to organise data onto separate partitions rather than managing it on a single logical storage unit. Besides convenience in managing files, you get the benefit of performing much faster defragmentation and scanning than earlier. Mac users take frequent backups of data stored on the hard drive. Isolating data files and programs through partitioning may help you conveniently manage and plan your backup tasks. Further, hard drive partitioning allows configuring a multi-boot system by giving you the choice to install a different operating system on each individual partition on your drive.

Getting deeper into the subject, hard drive partitioning is not limited to dividing the available space into separate sections, but a wide range of operations performed on these partitions to meet the changing data storage requirements. At any point in time, you may require adding a new partition to your drive for keeping your sensitive business data. Sometimes, you need to delete a partition that is no longer needed or reformat a volume showing consistent erratic behaviour. In such situations, you require an efficient partition management tool in order for carrying out these tasks safely on your Mac.

Apple provides an inbuilt tool 'Disk Utility' that helps you perform basic partitioning tasks, such as adding, deleting, formatting, or resizing a partition. The functionality of the tool may vary with the version of Mac OS X. With Disk Utility, it is easy to manage partitions without losing data. However, there are a few downsides of using this tool. Disk Utility does not incorporate advanced partitioning features, such as hiding or revealing partitions, roll back options, etc. Additionally, you cannot use Disk Utility to increase the size of a volume in case there is no or insufficient free space between this volume and the next partition on your drive.

There are a plethora of professional Partition Managers in the market that incorporate basic as well as advanced partitioning features. These competent tools can be used to effectively manage your hard drive volumes, including the boot volume. You can meticulously plan all partitioning operations and roll back any unwanted changes, if needed. Further, you can safely resize Mac partitions by reorganising free space on your drive. These advanced Mac hard drive partitioning tools are compatible with the latest Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.