Duculetu
Level 1 (1 points)

Q: Cannot update to El Capitan due to "This disk cannot be used to start up your computer" error

Hello guys,

 

After downloading OSX El Capitan in order to update from Yosemite on an iMac 2014 I get the following "error" - "This disk cannot be used to start up your computer"

After booting up the update, I accept the terms and conditions and when I have to select between drives, I get the above mentioned error. Please note that using bootcamp I had to install Windows to dual boot (some work apps run only on windows).

I tried to verify&repair from Disk utility and tried to restart and Command-R but that didn't fix my issue.

 

I tried fiding some help here: Re: El Capitan won't install not no luck either.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks in advance.

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Oct 5, 2015 4:27 AM

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Duculetu

Q: Cannot update to El Capitan due to "This disk cannot be used to start up your computer" error

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  • by sterling r,

    sterling r sterling r Oct 5, 2015 12:44 PM in response to Duculetu
    Community Specialists
    Oct 5, 2015 12:44 PM in response to Duculetu

    Howdy Duculetu,

     

    It sounds like you are unable to install Mac OS X 10.11 due to this error message. I found an article for you that talks about that error, and how to resolve it here:

     

    Installer reports "OS X could not be installed on your computer" or "This disk cannot be used to start up your computer"

     

    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

  • by Duculetu,

    Duculetu Duculetu Oct 6, 2015 10:34 AM in response to sterling r
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Oct 6, 2015 10:34 AM in response to sterling r

    Hello sterling r, and thank you for your support. Unfortunately that didn't help me. Though the error I am receiving is noted in the link attached by you, I do all the steps mentioned but cannot resize the partition. Maybe because it is dual booting windows or something. Tried to repartition from both in mac front-end and after restart with command-r. Any ideas?

  • by Duculetu,

    Duculetu Duculetu Oct 6, 2015 1:07 PM in response to Duculetu
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Oct 6, 2015 1:07 PM in response to Duculetu

    Added some screen shots with my problem:

     

    Screen Shot 2015-10-06 at 22.56.56.png

    and

    Screen Shot 2015-10-06 at 22.57.49.png

    and

    Screen Shot 2015-10-06 at 22.58.15.png

    The screenshots are within Yosemite but if needed i can provide some from the boot menu (command-r after restart) but things look pretty similar. Unfortunately nothing worked so far.

    - Tried to verify and repair each drive;

    - Tried both from within mac desktop and after reboot+command+r;

    - Tried redownloading the El Capitan file (twice);

    - Tried cleaning the OS with Malwarebytes and manual uninstall or delete;

    - Added password to my profile (there are some problems when trying to unlock Privacy if you have a profile w/o password,

    - Unfortunately I do not have a Time Machine nor other place where I can backup so I won't be doing a fresh install very soon;

  • by sterling r,

    sterling r sterling r Oct 7, 2015 11:29 AM in response to Duculetu
    Community Specialists
    Oct 7, 2015 11:29 AM in response to Duculetu

    Thanks for the update! It does not look like there is much else to do here but erase the drive and re partition it. But I know you don't have a backup disk to use to do so, and that is what I would recommend doing. 

     

    Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac

     

    Once you have done that use Recovery Mode to erase and repartition the drive. If for some reason that does not work you may need to use Internet Recovery instead to do the erasing and partitioning:

     

    Startup key combinations for Mac

                     
    Command-Option-RStart up from OS X Recovery over the Internet.

  • by Duculetu,

    Duculetu Duculetu Oct 7, 2015 12:31 PM in response to sterling r
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Oct 7, 2015 12:31 PM in response to sterling r

    I have a 3TB fusion Drive that is divided into Mac (2TB) and Windows (1TB). I do not own a Time Machine so that option is ruled out as i cannot back up on it, and on the Windows drive backup is impossible as it requires me to format the drive. As mentioned above, i need the windows partition (at least 20GB) for work purpose but i would like very much not to have to erase mac partition or windows. Just to update.

     

     

    Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 22.27.26.png

    and

    Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 22.27.55.png

    and

    Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 22.27.41.png

  • by Duculetu,

    Duculetu Duculetu Oct 14, 2015 7:18 AM in response to Duculetu
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Oct 14, 2015 7:18 AM in response to Duculetu

    So, nothing yet? No fix or bypass? Thanks