How to partition an Iomega external HD while keeping existing data - AND - WHERE to GET the proprietary softrware that supposedly "came with the unit" ?
Hello Again Experts:
This question is bugging me so much I'm going out of my head! Why something this simple should be so hard!!!
FIRST, the setup:
MY SYSTEM
__________________________
Model: iMac8,1, BootROM IM81.00C1.B00, 2 processors, Intel Core 2 Duo, 3.06 GHz, 4 GB, SMC 1.30f1
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS, PCIe, 512 MB
Mac OS 10.6.2 Snow Leopard
AND..the Subject of My Wrath: An Iomega UltraMax Mini (500GB) external HD, Firewire 400, USB 2.0 - which I want to partition while saving some precious data already saved on it.
MY PROBLEMS:
1.Believe-It-Or-Not!! - my Mac actually got a bad virus recently. It wrecked my system so bad I had to wipe the HD and rebuild the system. Apple Support were extremely interested in my case, as they have so few "virus" issues. I got my 15 minutes of fame. A Star Is Born. "I Feel Pretty, Oh! So Prettty!" - Not so bad, really. I am an obsessive backer-upper of data, so I lost nothing valuable. Just a matter of reinstalling OSX 6.2.1, and then some easy dragging and restoring of other stuff using Deja Vu.
But here is where this external Iomega HD comes into play. I have always used it to receive automatic complete system backups weekly produced by a very nifty app called Super Duper. The drive is bootable, so it can really come in handy when things look they're going down the garbage disposal !. It keeps an exact mirror image of my actual HD. So there are good data buried in there that I want to keep for at least medium-term future to scavenge for missing bits for my newly-built system.
BUT, I want to pick up with the automatic Super Duper backups on this external HD, and to do that - keeping the old data separate from new backups - I need to partition the HD.
Here is where my visits to the Iomega website get STOOPID! Here is my drive - http://www.amazon.com/Iomega-UltraMax-FireWire-External-33904/dp/B000W8XQS8 - If you grunge around on their website, you will discover they say that the HD came with a CD of proprietary software to manage the HD. Well, I do not remember seeing any software with the drive when I unpacked it.
No probs, I thought, I'll just go get the software download from the Iomega site. NOT!
I've searched hi and low all over Iomega.com and come up empty handed! How frustrating ! I'll give any expert here the _full 500 points_ if you can just locate the download, alone, of free software that allegedly "came with" this HD. Forget the rest of this issue - just find me the download, and You're A Genius!
I am kind of hoping that their own software might just let me partition the drive without wiping the entire thing , thus losing all data.
Am I dreaming in technicolor here?
So..there you have it....I want that mysterious "included" Iomega software, and also I need a solution to partitioning my external, bootable HD without trashing all the old data already stored on it. There must me a way !
TX
jbm4
This question is bugging me so much I'm going out of my head! Why something this simple should be so hard!!!
FIRST, the setup:
MY SYSTEM
__________________________
Model: iMac8,1, BootROM IM81.00C1.B00, 2 processors, Intel Core 2 Duo, 3.06 GHz, 4 GB, SMC 1.30f1
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS, PCIe, 512 MB
Mac OS 10.6.2 Snow Leopard
AND..the Subject of My Wrath: An Iomega UltraMax Mini (500GB) external HD, Firewire 400, USB 2.0 - which I want to partition while saving some precious data already saved on it.
MY PROBLEMS:
1.Believe-It-Or-Not!! - my Mac actually got a bad virus recently. It wrecked my system so bad I had to wipe the HD and rebuild the system. Apple Support were extremely interested in my case, as they have so few "virus" issues. I got my 15 minutes of fame. A Star Is Born. "I Feel Pretty, Oh! So Prettty!" - Not so bad, really. I am an obsessive backer-upper of data, so I lost nothing valuable. Just a matter of reinstalling OSX 6.2.1, and then some easy dragging and restoring of other stuff using Deja Vu.
But here is where this external Iomega HD comes into play. I have always used it to receive automatic complete system backups weekly produced by a very nifty app called Super Duper. The drive is bootable, so it can really come in handy when things look they're going down the garbage disposal !. It keeps an exact mirror image of my actual HD. So there are good data buried in there that I want to keep for at least medium-term future to scavenge for missing bits for my newly-built system.
BUT, I want to pick up with the automatic Super Duper backups on this external HD, and to do that - keeping the old data separate from new backups - I need to partition the HD.
Here is where my visits to the Iomega website get STOOPID! Here is my drive - http://www.amazon.com/Iomega-UltraMax-FireWire-External-33904/dp/B000W8XQS8 - If you grunge around on their website, you will discover they say that the HD came with a CD of proprietary software to manage the HD. Well, I do not remember seeing any software with the drive when I unpacked it.
No probs, I thought, I'll just go get the software download from the Iomega site. NOT!
I've searched hi and low all over Iomega.com and come up empty handed! How frustrating ! I'll give any expert here the _full 500 points_ if you can just locate the download, alone, of free software that allegedly "came with" this HD. Forget the rest of this issue - just find me the download, and You're A Genius!
I am kind of hoping that their own software might just let me partition the drive without wiping the entire thing , thus losing all data.
Am I dreaming in technicolor here?
So..there you have it....I want that mysterious "included" Iomega software, and also I need a solution to partitioning my external, bootable HD without trashing all the old data already stored on it. There must me a way !
TX
jbm4
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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I doubt that Bootit will work if the drive is partitioned in Mac format.
why would an external disk be in Mac format ??
To make it bootable.
i don't see that he mentions that - am i overlooking something?
He does say that. Go down 6 lines from the heading "My Problems".
yes he states that it is bootable, but not that it is in mac format - thanks for showing it though !
ASKER
Hi srung, and nobus:
Yes, the external is mac formatted, "journaled, & etc". That way, I can actually run my entire system from the Super Duper backups I keep on it, as if running from the Mac.
nobus, I checked out the link to Paragon, but I found only Windows software there. Did I miss something?
Looks like my REAL PROBLEM is finding some good Mac partitioning .app. Any sugggestions would be very welcome.
TX for stopping by here!
jbm4
Yes, the external is mac formatted, "journaled, & etc". That way, I can actually run my entire system from the Super Duper backups I keep on it, as if running from the Mac.
nobus, I checked out the link to Paragon, but I found only Windows software there. Did I miss something?
Looks like my REAL PROBLEM is finding some good Mac partitioning .app. Any sugggestions would be very welcome.
TX for stopping by here!
jbm4
ASKER
OH!
strung....I just noticed _your_ link to VersionTrakker's ipartition. I'll likely give it a shot and see what happens.
TX!!
jbm4
strung....I just noticed _your_ link to VersionTrakker's ipartition. I'll likely give it a shot and see what happens.
TX!!
jbm4
What you will need to do is to make an image of the drive using the disk utiliy.
- open the disk utility
- click on file>new>image>disk from folder
- select the drive containing the data
- select a location to save he image
- Once it is completed, using the disk utility again, repartition the drive and restore your image to one of the partitions.
ASKER
strung:
iPartition worked like a charm at partitioning my external HD while saving existing data. - though, as other reviewers have written online - at $56.00 (CDN) it is seriously overpriced. Still, it works so effortlessly, it might actually be worth the money!
TX
jbm4
iPartition worked like a charm at partitioning my external HD while saving existing data. - though, as other reviewers have written online - at $56.00 (CDN) it is seriously overpriced. Still, it works so effortlessly, it might actually be worth the money!
TX
jbm4
it let's you partition, resize, slide an dhandle partitions the way you want. the interface is "geeky" but never let me down !
IT IS THE VERY BEST
if you like a more modern way for handling your drive, look at this free paragon soft :
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/pm-express/