Jul 02, 2020 Disk Utility in macOS High Sierra or later can erase using either the newer APFS (Apple File System) format or the older Mac OS Extended format, and it automatically chooses a compatible format for you.
- During the macOS Sierra beta, my “test machine” was partitioned with Mac OS X El Capitan on one partition and macOS Sierra beta on another. Launching Disk Utility Disk Utility can be launched several different ways. First, one can go to Finder Go Utilities, then double-click on the Disk Utility icon.
- Nov 29, 2016 Yosemite Disk Utility for macOS Sierra Note: When you launch this version two icons will appear on the dock. This is normal behavior! Debug menu is available to list all partitions and mount EFI. For the nostalgic or the crazy ones. Your favorite version of Disk Utility now works on macOS Sierra.
- Oct 12, 2017 Clone bootable Apple Mac Hard Drive from Disk Utility Mac OS Sierra 2017 - Duration: 15:48. AVME Videos 105,678 views. Preparing your backup disk in macOS High Sierra.
- Aug 16, 2019 You can adjust a setting in Disk Utility for Mac to see all device disks and drives connected to a Mac. This will make it so that you can view the containing drive (like “Apple SSD”) rather than simply the partition or volume that is accessible by the user facing part of the file system (like “Macintosh HD”).
- Using macOS High Sierra Disk Utility. Let’s take a walkthrough, in video format, of Disk Utility under macOS High Sierra. I’ll show you a real “gotcha,” the fact that Disk Utility hides.
If you've always wanted to partition your Mac's hard drive so you can run a separate operating system — including the launch of macOS Big Sur — in tandem with your current one, it's surprisingly easy to do so thanks to Apple's built-in disk utility program. Here's how to partition your Mac.
What is a disk partition?
Partitioning your Mac is basically splitting your hard drive into separate, usable systems. It makes it possible to run two separate operating systems on one device, like Windows and macOS, or two versions of macOS (like Catalina and Big Sur).
Note: If you want to run Windows on your Mac, Apple's Boot Camp assistant will automatically make a partition for you. Here's how to install Windows.
It is important to note that partitioning your hard drive also splits up your available hard drive space. Each partition will take up a portion of your usable storage. So, if you are running low on storage capacity on your hard drive, we don't recommend partitioning.
Before you start
The most important thing to do before making any changes to your hard drive is to back it up. Seriously. Back it up. Please. Time Machine is the easiest way to back up your data if you don't already have another system in place.
Second, make sure you have enough free disk space to properly run a secondary operating system. Shoot for at least 30GB free, though I recommend closer to 50GB if you have it available.
How to create a partition on your Mac
- Open Finder from your dock.
- Select Applications.
- Scroll down and open the Utilities folder.
- Double-click to open Disk Utility.
- Select your hard drive in the Disk Utility window. It will be the first drive on the list. It might be named 'Fusion,' or 'Macintosh HD.'
- Click on the Partition tab. You will be prompted to either add an APFS volume or a Partition.
- Click Partition.
- Click the Add partition button it looks like a plus (+) symbol.
- Change the size of the partition you wish to use by dragging the resize controls. The used space is represented in blue.
- Name the new partition.
- Specify which file system format you want to use. If you're running macOS 10.13 or higher, you'll want APFS. If you are running macOS 10.12 or older, you'll want Mac OS Extended.
- Click apply.
Disk Utility will check the disk and make changes. This will take several minutes.
How to switch partitions
You can switch to the new partition, install the current macOS, and then download and install macOS Catalina from there.
- Click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your screen.
- Select System Preferences from the drop-down menu.
- Select Startup Disk.
- Click the Lock Ie for mac os x. in the lower left corner of the window to unlock and make changes.
- Enter your system admin password.
- Click OK.
- Select your partition drive.
- Click Restart.
You can also restart your Mac and press the Option Key when you hear the startup chime. This will take you to the Startup Manager and you can select your drive from there.
Free Disk Utility For Mac
You will then be asked to install macOS. This will install the latest available macOS onto the partitioned hard drive. You may have to install an older version of macOS before updating it to the more recent version you want to run.
If you are testing a beta version of macOS, you'll first install whatever the current version is. Then, you can then install the macOS beta.
How to download the developer beta of macOS Big Sur
Once you've updated your partitioned Mac with macOS Catalina, you can download and install the developer beta of macOS Big Sur. You need a developer account and probably some patience. Developer betas are often a bit complicated to install. We've got a guide to help you out.
Any questions?
Do you have any questions about installing a partition or downloading a new operating system onto a partitioned drive? Let us know in the comments. If you're having trouble partitioning your hard drive, be sure to check out our forums for help!
Updated June 2020: Updated for the developer beta of macOS Big Sur.
FUSE for macOS 3.11.0 Mac OS X 10.5 or later Intel or PowerPC Released on 04 Jul 2020; SSHFS 2.5.0 Mac OS X 10.5 or later Intel or PowerPC Released on 03 Feb 2014; Recent Posts Archive. Release of FUSE for macOS 3.11.0 Posted on 04 Jul 2020. MacFUSE is no longer maintained and has been replaced by Fuse for macOS. The latest version is 3.5.4 and it's compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 and above and works on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. Jun 04, 2019 It may be either (a.) a custom version of Fuse or ( b.) it could be as simple as a forced update to the latest or specific version of Fuse, and those previous 'general release' versions do not support this version of Mac OS. Drop them a note. I'll bet you are not experiencing this alone, and there might be a simple fix on their part. Feb 04, 2015 FUSE for OS X. If there is a reference in /Applications, you can drag it to Trash or open the app and see if there is an Uninstaller. FUSE mimics the kernel’s handling of file systems and allows OS X to both interact with unsupported formats and use many other storage routines, some of which are rather creative.
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