Josh99Ralla
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Q: Can't format former Boot Camp partition

So I stupidly erased my Boot Camp partition using Disk Utility rather than in the Boot Camp Assistant. And now I the partition is stuck as free space and i can't change it. When i select the free space in Disk Util, I can change it to Mac OS Extended and ExFAT as usual, but when I press apply, the progress bar appears for a brief second and disappears. Then it acts as if I never pressed apply; when I close the window, it says that I have unsaved changes. The free space does not appear as a drive in the left sidebar.

 

I have tried reinstalling OS X, I've tried returning to a time machine backup, I've verified and repaired the disk, but nothing has worked.

I'm left with 67GB of space unusable on my macbook now.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Oct 11, 2014 9:36 AM

by Loner T,Solvedanswer
Loner T Loner T
Level 7 (23,898 points)
Safari
A:

If you are restoring a full TM backup, it will erase and restore the entire disk. Please try and post if you get any errors when you attempt a restore. If you want to test whether it works or not...

 

You can erase the  disk using...

diskutil eraseDisk

Usage:  diskutil eraseDisk format name [APM[Format]|MBR[Format]|GPT[Format]]

        MountPoint|DiskIdentifier|DeviceNode

Completely erase an existing whole disk.  All volumes on this disk will be

destroyed.  Ownership of the affected disk is required.

Format is the specific file system name you want to erase it as (HFS+, etc.).

Name is the (new) volume name (subject to file system naming restrictions),

or can be specified as %noformat% to skip initialization (newfs).

You cannot erase the boot disk.

Example: diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ UntitledUFS disk3

 

 

You can format the disk using...

 

diskutil reformat

Usage:  diskutil reformat MountPoint|DiskIdentifier|DeviceNode

Completely erase an existing volume with the same name and format as the

original.  Ownership of the affected disk is required.

You cannot erase the boot volume, nor can you reformat any device which

does not have a valid file system (instead use diskutil eraseVolume).

Posted on Oct 12, 2014 9:57 AM

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Josh99Ralla

Q: Can't format former Boot Camp partition

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  • by Josh99Ralla,

    Josh99Ralla Josh99Ralla Oct 11, 2014 9:40 AM in response to Josh99Ralla
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 11, 2014 9:40 AM in response to Josh99Ralla

    I should mention that I have a 256GB HD, 67.17GB was the windows partition and Mac HD is 183.49GB. I am able to partition Mac HD to make it 2 partitions with no problem.

    Here's a couple screenshots out of Disk Utility:

     

    Screen Shot 2014-10-11 at 9.37.04 AM.pngScreen Shot 2014-10-11 at 9.37.17 AM.png

  • by Csound1,Helpful

    Csound1 Csound1 Oct 11, 2014 9:42 AM in response to Josh99Ralla
    Level 9 (50,439 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 11, 2014 9:42 AM in response to Josh99Ralla

    You must erase the hard drive and start over. Make a backup first. Format your HDD to 1 partition (MacOS Extended (Journaled))

     

    Never use DU to do anything to a Boot Camp partition.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Oct 11, 2014 5:01 PM in response to Josh99Ralla
    Level 7 (23,898 points)
    Safari
    Oct 11, 2014 5:01 PM in response to Josh99Ralla

    You may have a lingering MBR problem, since the GPT was modified but not the corresponding MBR. Bootcamp Windows uses a Hybrid MBR, if you did not install Windows using EFI boot. What version of Windows did you have before delete was executed? 

     

    Please post the output of the following commands from OS X Terminal. Enter your password as necessary.

     

    diskutil list

    sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0

    sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

  • by Josh99Ralla,

    Josh99Ralla Josh99Ralla Oct 11, 2014 5:43 PM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 11, 2014 5:43 PM in response to Csound1

    Thanks! That worked!

    But now.. I have a new problem. Not sure if I should post elsewhere but I'll keep it here:

     

    After formatting, I started up Internet Recovery since Recovery Mode didn't work for some reason. I went to restore from a time machine backup. Once it started, it gave me an alert about "Time Machine was unable to erase this disk" or something along those lines. It told me to restart and try again, so naturally I did. But when I booted it, It doesnt detect the Macintosh HD Partition. It shows its parent disk, but not the partition. I've tried mounting via terminal but i can't get that working. So basically I have a laptop with no hard drive. Heeelp! D:

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Oct 11, 2014 6:24 PM in response to Josh99Ralla
    Level 7 (23,898 points)
    Safari
    Oct 11, 2014 6:24 PM in response to Josh99Ralla

    Run Internet Recovery (Command+Opt+R) and then run Disk Utility. Do you see an internal disk at all? If you erase just the Macintosh HD, it does nothing to any other partitions and cleaning up the lingering partition is what you want to achieve. You need to have a full backup of OS X and all your data, and erase the entire drive, not just a single volume.

  • by Josh99Ralla,

    Josh99Ralla Josh99Ralla Oct 11, 2014 8:34 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 11, 2014 8:34 PM in response to Loner T

    I can see the disk Macintosh HD, but not the volume inside it. I cannot see any volumes inside Macintosh HD. I cannot erase the drive because it is basically saying that there are no volumes inside it. Sorry if my wording is confusing. Screen: http://imgur.com/1QonRYZ

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Oct 12, 2014 2:49 AM in response to Josh99Ralla
    Level 7 (23,898 points)
    Safari
    Oct 12, 2014 2:49 AM in response to Josh99Ralla

    Click on the disk and format it as a single partition and Mac OS X Extended Journaled and restore from the latest TM backup.

  • by Josh99Ralla,

    Josh99Ralla Josh99Ralla Oct 12, 2014 7:37 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 12, 2014 7:37 AM in response to Loner T

    I can't. I can't format, partition, restore, anything. Veryfiying or Repairing Disk does nothing. Screen: http://imgur.com/40TF5Yw

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Oct 12, 2014 8:12 AM in response to Josh99Ralla
    Level 7 (23,898 points)
    Safari
    Oct 12, 2014 8:12 AM in response to Josh99Ralla

    You are running Beta OS, as indicated by the "Logical Volume" at the bottom of the screen. The LVG has no LVs in it. To verify quit Disk Utility and start OS X Terminal and post the output of diskutil cs list.

     

    If you are trying to re-install Mavericks on this setup, it will not work. You will need to delete the LVG using diskutil cs commands from OS X Terminal. Here is the Man page of diskutil coreStorage

     

    diskutil cs

    Usage:  diskutil [quiet] coreStorage|CS <verb> <options>,

            where <verb> is as follows:

     

         list                     (Show status of CoreStorage volumes)

         info[rmation]            (Get CoreStorage information by UUID or disk)

         convert                  (Convert a volume into a CoreStorage volume)

         revert                   (Revert a CoreStorage volume to its native type)

         create                   (Create a new CoreStorage logical volume group)

         delete                   (Delete a CoreStorage logical volume group)

         rename                   (Rename a CoreStorage logical volume group)

         createVolume             (Create a new CoreStorage logical volume)

         deleteVolume             (Delete a volume from a logical volume group)

         encryptVolume            (Encrypt a CoreStorage logical volume)

         decryptVolume            (Decrypt a CoreStorage logical volume)

         unlockVolume             (Attach/mount a locked CoreStorage logical volume)

         changeVolumePassphrase   (Change a CoreStorage logical volume's passphrase)

     

    diskutil coreStorage <verb> with no options will provide help on that verb

  • by Josh99Ralla,

    Josh99Ralla Josh99Ralla Oct 12, 2014 8:55 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 12, 2014 8:55 AM in response to Loner T

    This is what I get from terminal:

     

    -bash-3.2# diskutil cs list

    CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

    |

    +-- Logical Volume Group 892BA2E0-214C-40F2-AB50-4B7F6272053E

        =========================================================

        Name:         Macintosh HD

        Status:       Online

        Size:         250140434432 B (250.1 GB)

        Free Space:   249804881920 B (249.8 GB)

        |

        +-< Physical Volume DAC078CA-0481-4AF3-80C9-3B750255825B

            ----------------------------------------------------

            Index:    0

            Disk:     disk0s2

            Status:   Online

            Size:     250140434432 B (250.1 GB)

  • by Loner T,Helpful

    Loner T Loner T Oct 12, 2014 9:06 AM in response to Josh99Ralla
    Level 7 (23,898 points)
    Safari
    Oct 12, 2014 9:06 AM in response to Josh99Ralla

    Are you trying to install Mavericks on the disk, or are you planning to re-install Beta OS?

     

    If you notice you have no Logical Volume in your LVG. I suggest you delete the LVG, which should show you the underlying disk.

     

    This is how you can delete the LVG. I am using the LVG UUID that came from your output...

     

    diskutil cs delete 892BA2E0-214C-40F2-AB50-4B7F6272053E

     

    Here is the man page entry

     

    diskutil cs delete

    Usage:  diskutil coreStorage delete lvgUUID|lvgName

    Delete a CoreStorage logical volume group. All logical volumes will be removed.

    Ownership of the affected disks is required.

     

    Here is an example of a working CS setup...

     

    diskutil cs list

    CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

    |

    +-- Logical Volume Group 57578357-3715-48A5-AB8A-4107AF12F7FB

        =========================================================

        Name:         OSY-MBP13

        Status:       Online

        Size:         128200753152 B (128.2 GB)

        Free Space:   1424523264 B (1.4 GB)

        |

        +-< Physical Volume 4D897085-0793-48CC-A00F-58572A56B043

        |   ----------------------------------------------------

        |   Index:    0

        |   Disk:     disk0s2

        |   Status:   Online

        |   Size:     128200753152 B (128.2 GB)

        |

        +-> Logical Volume Family 11EBF920-AA4B-4EC6-AC7F-7CC70E69883C

            ----------------------------------------------------------

            Encryption Status:       Unlocked

            Encryption Type:         None

            Conversion Status:       NoConversion

            Conversion Direction:    -none-

            Has Encrypted Extents:   No

            Fully Secure:            No

            Passphrase Required:     No

            |

            +-> Logical Volume 8A0116D5-7E1E-44D8-B2A0-8D4E4D48298D

                ---------------------------------------------------

                Disk:                  disk1

                Status:                Online

                Size (Total):          126423908352 B (126.4 GB)

                Conversion Progress:   -none-

                Revertible:            Yes (no decryption required)

                LV Name:               OSY-MBP13

                Volume Name:           OSY-MBP13

                Content Hint:          Apple_HFS

  • by Josh99Ralla,

    Josh99Ralla Josh99Ralla Oct 12, 2014 9:10 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 12, 2014 9:10 AM in response to Loner T

    I did what you said, and now its giving me a volume in disk utility!

    However, this is what shows up now in terminal:

     

    -bash-3.2# diskutil cs list

    No CoreStorage logical volume groups found

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Oct 12, 2014 9:35 AM in response to Josh99Ralla
    Level 7 (23,898 points)
    Safari
    Oct 12, 2014 9:35 AM in response to Josh99Ralla

    You can run diskutil list.

     

    From the Disk Utility, you can create volumes, but you should not need to. Did you try restoring your TM backup? Do you get an error when you do?

  • by Josh99Ralla,

    Josh99Ralla Josh99Ralla Oct 12, 2014 9:47 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 12, 2014 9:47 AM in response to Loner T

    Attempting to parition the drive returns the error "Unable to unmount disk" once the process begins. I haven't tried restoring yet.

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