inaccessible volume in the hard drive

Did you create the partition using BootCamp, or with Disk Utility, originally?

Not sure about Linux, but if a partition was made using BootCamp for Windows
it is possible to use BootCamp to re-integrate the unused partition to the main
drive and use the space without reformatting or reinstalling, or moving clones.
BootCamp has its own utility and for intended purposes, should do.

The ability to partition and change partitions, otherwise, should be available
in Disk Utility; though it may require you to do a reinstall or save/move clones.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

BootCamp has its own Utility, it is used for partitioning and other duties
for the second operating system, which would occupy its own partition.

So, if that were used to make the partition in question, it would be the
tool to use to un-do the action and re-integrate it (or make it go away).

Otherwise, you may wish to get and use a suitable externally enclosed
hard disk drive capable of being used as a Boot Disk for your OS X
volume in your computer and then get and learn how to use a Clone
Utility so as to make a complete computer drive backup of that Mac's
internal hard disk drive, then when you go to erase/zero/reformat the
computer's drive and have no partitions on it, you could bring content
back into the computer from a Clone, previously and safely stowed
away on the externally enclosed hard disk drive.

Carbon Copy Cloner by Bombich Software is a good (freerunning) item.
There are others, found easily by a google search; another goes by the
name Super Duper. You use the clone utility to move bootable OS X
volumes since drag & drop will not work. Saves much time, to clone.

see: 'Bombich Software: Carbon Copy Cloner'
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html

Further BootCamp details would be best found by seeing if the Mac's
own Help Viewer can locate database info on the topic for you. My old
PPC Macs are pre-BootCamp, so they'll never see or need to use it.

see: 'unpartitioning mac harddrive with bootcamp utility' - google:
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=unpartitioningmac+harddrive+with+bootcamp+utility&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&aqi=&oq=unpartitioni ng+mac+harddrive+with+bootcamputility&fp=9b1c6ebfff7f9103

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

PS: another search for relevancy may include topic words ' using boot camp to install linux ' -google.

{ edited to add links }

Great work K, BTW, your Homepage can't be found here! 🙂

{My home page gives this site's editor fits. says the link to a page creator
google pages site is too long for it to fit, that it exceeds the characters! To
see my old scenic images: http://in.a.small.town.googlepages.com/home }

In any event, glad to be of help in this matter; and I don't have to time
or peace I once did to spend on researching my answers before posting.

Used to be some 6-7 years ago, in an online forum far-far-away, I had
over 3,000 helpful posts; until that little place was hacked into oblivion.

Then, I had issues with a certified Special Deals computer bought
online through the company store, so spent half a year sorting it out
while under AppleCare extended warranty. So, I have lost some steam.
And 144 Macs later, I only have six. Five work; one may be parts.

Good luck & happy computing, in any event... even if you hafta abacus! 🙂