Can't delete Boot Camp partition in Big Sur

iMac 27-inch 5K (Late 2015)


I've got my MacOS and Windows partitions backed up. I'd now like to delete the Boot Camp partition, then reinstall Big Sur then reinstall W10 20H2. It's my understanding that the Boot Camp partition should be removed with Boot Camp Assistant.


BCA doesn't see my BC partition, so I don't get the option to delete it. BCA only offers to install BC on the current MacOS partition. Here's the diskutil list output from Terminal:



How can I delete my BC partition?

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Apr 9, 2021 12:21 PM

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Posted on Apr 9, 2021 12:46 PM

If you have backups, my recommendation is to erase the whole disk, install Big Sur, and then install (or restore) Windows.

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3 replies

Apr 10, 2021 10:43 AM in response to Loner T

Loner T is correct, if everything isn't right, erase the whole disk then install Big Sur then install W10 20H2.


It took me several tries, and the system had to be restored incrementally, namely:


  1. Reinstall Big Sur via System Recovery, but not from TM backup
  2. Use BCA to create a BC partition and install Windows 10
  3. Use Migration Assistant to restore the latest TM backup
  4. Reinstall Windows docs from backups and Windows apps


Step 2 didn't finish correctly the first time because I held down the option key when BCA restarted the iMac to finish installing Windows 10, so I had to start over at step one. (I saw two W10 startup disks instead of one, and the partition layout wasn't right.)


Don't try to restore a Windows System Image using Windows tools. It will overwrite the MacOS partition.


I saved Disk Utility screenshots as well as Terminal "diskutil list" output after steps 1 - 3. Sorry for the long post, but I believe it will help others that find themselves in the same mess as me:


After Re-installing Big Sur:



After Installing Boot Camp:




And finally, after restore from TM backup:




Next step is to reinstall my Windows 10 applications and restore its documents from backup. Thanks to Loner T for their help!



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Can't delete Boot Camp partition in Big Sur

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