Here's the procedure: Go to System Preferences Time Machine, and turn Time Machine off Make sure that TM disk and your temporary storage disk are both plugged into your computer's USB ports Launch Disk Utility Click on 'Restore' Set the source to your old TM disk Set the destination to your. Download Easeus Partition Home, launch it then use it to delete all those non-contiguous partitions and unallocated partitions, then wipe the drive. Free partition manager software to resize partitions - EaseUS Partition.

• Partition Hard Drive Windows
• Deleting Partition Hard Drive

To create a partition or volume (the two terms are often used interchangeably) on a hard disk, you must be logged in as an administrator, and there must be either unallocated disk space or free space within an extended partition on the hard disk.

If there is no unallocated disk space, you can create some by shrinking an existing partition, deleting a partition, or by using a third-party partitioning program.

To create and format a new partition (volume)

1. Open Computer Management by selecting the Start button. The select Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.

2. In the left pane, under Storage, select Disk Management.

3. Right-click an unallocated region on your hard disk, and then select New Simple Volume.

4. In the New Simple Volume Wizard, select Next.

5. Enter the size of the volume you want to create in megabytes (MB) or accept the maximum default size, and then select Next.

6. Accept the default drive letter or choose a different drive letter to identify the partition, and then select Next.

7. In the Format Partition dialog box, do one of the following:

8. • If you don't want to format the volume right now, select Do not format this volume, and then select Next.

   • To format the volume with the default settings, select Next.

9. Review your choices, and then select Finish.

Note: When you create new partitions on a basic disk, the first three will be formatted as primary partitions. Beginning with the fourth, each one will be configured as a logical drive within an extended partition.

To format an existing partition (volume)

Warning: Formatting a volume will destroy any data on the partition. Be sure to back up any data you want to save before you begin.

1. Open Computer Management by selecting the Start button. The select Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.

2. In the left pane, under Storage, select Disk Management.

3. Right-click the volume that you want to format, and then select Format.

4. To format the volume with the default settings, in the Format dialog box, select OK, and then select OK again.

Notes:

• You cannot format a disk or partition that is currently in use, including the partition that contains Windows.

• The Perform a quick format option will create a new file table, but will not fully overwrite or erase the volume. A quick format is much faster than a normal format, which fully erases any existing data on the volume.

Partitioning a disk on a Mac is an effective way to organize your data into different categories. However, the main concern is that most external hard drives and USB keys come formatted for Windows, which is primarily for PCs. By default, a Mac runs a different file system, so it may bring issues while partitioning your disk on Disk Utility.

Hard drive partitioning is a common issue discussed in many tech forums. In a thread on Apple’s support forum, users complain that their Mac Disk Utility partition grayed-out while trying to partition their external hard drives.

Probably, you just bought your external hard drive and are eager to use it on your Mac. But somehow, you cannot access the Mac Disk Utility partition, so you can’t write data to the drive.

Partition Hard Drive Windows

Fear not, we have a solution to this problem. In this post, we will guide you through a step-by-step process on how to restore a grayed-out Disk Utility partition. Many Apple users who have faced Partition grayed out in Mac issues eventually partitioned their external hard drives with the help of these fixes.

Why Partition Grayed Out in Mac (Plus Solution)

Problem 1: Sometimes, you cannot access the Mac Disk Utility partition because your hard drive doesn’t have sufficient space.

Solution: If you want to go ahead with the partitioning task, you need to create more space on your hard drive. In other words, you have to erase the data on your drive to create additional space. You can then format your hard drive using GUID Partition Table. After that, go ahead with your partitioning plans.

Important Note: Before formatting your hard drive, back up your most important files. Needless to say, the process will get rid of all the data on the disk, so you risk losing your files for good.

Problem 2: As mentioned earlier, external drives are usually not compatible with macOS, which may bring issues when you want to partition. In most cases, users choose the wrong partitioning option, and as a result, the Partition option in Disk Utility remains grayed out.

Solution: The right way you should follow when selecting a partition option is to choose the drive name within the list provided under Internal or External (depending on the device you want to partition). Your hard drive will be available on the left side of the Disk Utility pane.

How to Restore Grayed Out Disk Utility Partition: Format Your Hard Drive to Work with Mac

To format your external disk to be compatible with macOS, connect your hard drive to the Mac and follow these steps:

1. Open Disk Utility by going to Applications, then select Utilities > Disk Utility.
2. Choose the drive name within the list provided under ‘External’. If your hard drive is connected, it will show in the left panel of the Disk Utility. Highlight the disk and click the Erase button in the top toolbar.
3. Wait for a window asking you to select the file system you want to use to format your external drive to pop up. For your case, you will select ‘Mac OS Extended (Journaled)’. But if you have plans to use your disk for both PC and Mac, then a better option is ‘ExFAT’. You can also rename your hard disk here to your desired name.
4. Wait for the formatting process to complete. The process usually takes less than a minute, but it depends on the size of your hard disk.
5. When done, confirm if the formatting was successful by right-clicking the icon for your disk on the desktop and then choosing Get Info. The information is available under Format.

If it reads “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)”, congratulations, you successfully restored the grayed-out Disk Utility and your hard disk is now compatible with macOS.

Partitioning Your Hard Drive on Mac

Now that you have prepared your hard drive to work with Mac, the next step is to partition it on your Mac by following these steps:

1. Launch the Disk Utility app on your Mac and highlight the hard drive icon under ‘External’ (for external hard drives). If you choose any other drive, the partition option will become unclickable.
2. Now click Partition on the top toolbar. A window that has partition information will pop up. On the left side of the window, look for the name and the volume size of your hard drive. The next step is to click add(+) button on the bottom of the window to create partitions on your disk. Allocate the desired volume size to each partition.
3. Hit the Apply button and wait for a window asking you to verify your choices. Confirm the changes by clicking the Partition button.
4. Wait for the process to complete. You can confirm if the process was successful on your desktop. You will see additional disk icons show

Pro Tip: If the main reason for partitioning your hard drive is to install Windows, Apple recommends that you use Boot Camp Assistant instead of Disk Utility. You should, however, note that you cannot use Disk Utility to erase a partition generated using Boot Camp Assistant.

Deleting Partition Hard Drive

What Else Can You Do to Resolve Common Mac Issues

If you are like many users, partitioning a hard drive on Mac may not be the only challenge you have had with your computer. Mac users have also reported slow performance, random freezes, and space issues. The best way to guarantee the best performance for your Mac is to scan and clean the computer. Outbyte MacRepair helps you to optimize your Mac for peak performance by checking for and cleaning up junk files, unnecessary apps, and other space hogs that may affect your Mac’s memory.

We hope the above solutions helped you to restore the grayed-out Disk Utility partition. As always, we would love to hear your success story. Share it in the comment section. Also, let us know if you experienced challenges during the partitioning process.