

This file system is used by macOS 10.13 (released in 2017) or later. To create a volume, your drive should be in APFS file format. Similarly, if you want to run developer or public beta of a macOS version or just want a different volume to store files, you have the flexibility to do so. As a result, you can use two macOS versions on the same Mac! In this, we showed how to create a volume on Mac’s internal drive and install macOS Ventura on that second volume. Recently, we explained how to get macOS Ventura on a different volume on Mac. These will have your name or, by default, be called Macintosh HD (stores the system files) and Macintosh HD – Data (stores your data).Īny new volume you create will be listed in this left sidebar of Disk Utility. If you click the tiny arrow to expand it, you will see multiple volumes of that group. In the left sidebar, you will see the volume group with the word volumes next to it. Meanwhile, a volume is flexible and can use the free space of the APFS container as required.ĭue to the above-mentioned size flexibility of volumes, for most work, including running different macOS versions, Apple recommends creating a new volume instead of creating a new partition.

The terms partition and volume appear the same, but they are different.Ī drive partition is rigid (when creating a partition on your SSD or HDD, you have to define the size of that partition, say 80 GB, and it can’t exceed that). And every container can have several volumes. The drive can have more than one container or partition. The internal drive on your Mac running macOS High Sierra (10.13) or newer is in Apple File System (APFS) format. 9) Can’t erase or delete a volume on Mac? What’s a volume on Mac
