Am I correct that I can partition an external hard drive using Disk Utility without losing the data on the drive? I'm pretty sure, but want to confirm. Is there anything in particular I need to do to make sure I don't lose the data?
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Partition Hard Drive -- Don't Lose Data?
- Thread starter Hrothgar
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Your are only partly correct (and only in some cases):
https://www.howtogeek.com/212836/ho...artition-wipe-repair-restore-and-copy-drives/
This article in the link warns you that many of the things you do with Disk Utility are destructive. As far as I know partitioning a drive is in most cases one of them. Always backup your drive before partitioning! Don't take the risk.
In my experience partitioning a drive is one of the most risky things you can do data wise. Losing that data is the biggest risk of a partitioning operation. Re-partitioning will destruct your data in a lot of cases. Deleting a partion wil destruct your data for sure. Making a new partition will (in some cases, but not always) keep your data. It depends of course what you are doing to your existing partition(s). You don't give any information on how you want to partition the disk. But the risk of losing data is too big to ignore.
Conclusion: I can't repeat it enough: backup your data and partition the disk afterwards. Don't take the risk (even if you use a disk utility program that claims it will keep your data).
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