Partition Identifiers
| Identifier / type | Contents / file system | Name (typical)* | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple_Boot | bootloader | MOSX_OF3_Booter, eXternal booter | This boot partition is used by Mac OS X when the file system on the main partition is not an Open Firmware conforming HFS partition, such as in a software RAID configuration or when using a HFS+ case-sensitive or a UFS file system. |
| Apple_Boot_RAID | bootloader | Raid Partition | |
| Apple_Bootstrap | NewWorld bootblock | Although it is a general Open Firmware (New World) boot partition, it is specifically used by yaboot. It must be HFS formatted, so that it can be accessed by Open Firmware. | |
| Apple_Driver | device driver | Macintosh | Mac OS classic drivers partition |
| Apple_Driver43 | SCSI Manager 4.3 device driver | Macintosh | Mac OS classic drivers partition |
| Apple_Driver43_CD | SCSI CD-ROM device driver | Macintosh | Mac OS classic drivers partition |
| Apple_Driver_ATA | ATA device driver | Macintosh | Mac OS classic drivers partition |
| Apple_Driver_ATAPI | ATAPI device driver | Macintosh | Mac OS classic drivers partition |
| Apple_Driver_IOKit | I/O Kit driver | Macintosh | Mac OS classic drivers partition |
| Apple_Driver_OpenFirmware | Macintosh | ||
| Apple_Extra | unused | This identifier masks an unused partition map entry. | |
| Apple_Free | free space | Extra | This identifier masks free space as a partition map entry. |
| Apple_FWDriver | FireWire device driver | Macintosh | Mac OS classic drivers partition |
| Apple_HFS | Hierarchical File System | Apple_HFS | While normally a HFS or HFS+ volume for Mac OS and Mac OS X, it can also contain an MS-DOS formatted file system (File Allocation Table, which can be accessed by Mac OS and Mac OS X). |
| Apple_HFSX | HFS Plus | This partition contains a HFS+ volume without a HFS wrapper. HFSX was introduced with Mac OS X 10.3 and is only used in special cases, like case sensitive HFS+. HFSX is the standard partition type on Intel-based Macs (which use GUID instead of APM). | |
| Apple_Loader | SecondaryLoader | ||
| Apple_MFS | Macintosh File System | This partition is used by Mac OS for the Macintosh File System (MFS), which was introduced with the Macintosh 128K in 1984. | |
| Apple_Partition_Map | partition map | Apple | The partition map is also a partition of its own. It can vary in size depending on how many partitions it may contain. |
| Apple_Patches | patches | Patch Partition | Mac OS classic patch partition |
| Apple_PRODOS | ProDOS | ProDOS file system | |
| Apple_RAID | RAID | Apple_RAID_OfflineV2 | This identifier marks a Mac OS X partition used in a software RAID configuration. It normally contains the same filesystems a regular Mac OS X installation would have, like HFS/HFS+ or UFS. The separate boot partition Apple_Boot is mandatory. |
| Apple_Rhapsody_UFS | Unix File System | This partition contains a Unix File System (UFS) used by the Apple Rhapsody operating system (a development name marking the transition from OPENSTEP to Mac OS X) and is also used by Mac OS X Server 1.0 through 1.2 v3. | |
| Apple_Scratch | empty | This identifier marks an empty partition. | |
| Apple_Second | Second stage bootloader | ||
| Apple_UFS | Unix File System | This partition contains a Unix File System (UFS) and is used by Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server (Version 10.0 and newer) and various Unix-like operating systems. | |
| Apple_UNIX_SVR2 | A/UX, Unix | Originally introduced for A/UX (Apple Unix operating system based on System V Release 2, hence SVR2) on the 68k, it was later reused for MkLinux which used the Extended file system. It is the standard partition identifier for many Unix-like operating systems, including Linux and NetBSD. It may contain any file system suitable for the installed operating system. If bootable, a file system that can be read by the Open Firmware bootloader from Apple_Bootstrap (e.g. yaboot) must be used. | |
| Apple_Void | ISO9660 padding | A dummy partition map entry to ensure correct partition alignment on bootable media. | |
| Be_BFS | Be File System | This partition contains a Be File System (BFS) and is normally used by BeOS. |
Read more about this topic: Apple Partition Map