Update partitions that weren't there before

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JK213 Author

Level 1

52 points

Update partitions that weren't there before

Hey.

Recently I noticed that there's two partitions names ''update'' in my disk utility, which weren't there before.

Even when I erase the disk it shows in High Sierra.

I am on a MacBook Pro 2018 15''.

Are they showing on yours too or is it something I need to look into?

Thank you in advance.

JJ

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Nov 26, 2020 9:57 AM

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Answer 1

raina_b22

Community Specialist

Dec 4, 2020 9:01 AM in response to JK213

Hi JK213,

Thanks for reaching out here in the Apple Support Communities. We see from your screenshot that you have two partitions named Update on your Mac. You've erased the Mac in High Sierra, but still see these items.

We're glad to help.

Check out this article for how to run Disk Utility First Aid on the Macintosh HD from macOS Recovery:

Repair a disk using Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support

If they still appear after running First Aid, some more information might help:

Do you use BootCamp to run a Windows partition on this Mac?
Do you have any software that acts like a virtual Machine for other software?
Were you having any issues with your Mac that prompted you to check it in Disk Utility?

Take Care.

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

60,284 points

Dec 4, 2020 5:18 PM in response to JK213

If you installed Big Sur, then the "Update" volume is normal (I'm not sure if it was possibly added in a later Catalina as well). When you "erase" the disk, you most likely only erase the boot/data volumes. In order to get rid of all these volumes you should instead erase the entire physical drive. Newer versions of Disk Utility since macOS 10.13 hide the physical drives from view. You need to click on "View" within Disk Utility and select "Show All Devices" before the physical drive appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. It is unfortunate Apple made this change to Disk Utility as it is very confusing to users.

https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/erase-and-reformat-a-storage-device-dskutl14079/mac

FYI, the "Update" volume is what the macOS installer uses now (and most likely it is used when updating macOS with security patches as well).

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Update partitions that weren't there before

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