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Mac with duplicate disk partitions?

Since I update to Big Sur I noticed in Utility Disk I can Visualise a Container Disk1 with other elements that correspond to the same tab. Maybe I made a mistake on the installation or I did something out of the normal with my disk. Is it possible to merge the information of the disk or restore to how it should be without any alteration?

I would love if someone could explain to me what I am seeing in disk utility.

What is Container Disk1?

What is Ab Licona?

What is Ab Licona - Data?

What is Ab Licona - Data - Data?


It is imperative to not lose my personal information

Thanks!!!

:)


MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.2

Posted on May 17, 2021 12:47 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 17, 2021 4:50 PM

Yes, you made a common mistake when installing the new OS. You selected the "Ab Licona - Data" volume as the destination when you should have selected "Ab Licona". "Ab Licona" was the system volume for macOS 10.15 Catalina while the "Ab Licona - Data" was Catalina's volume for your user account(s) and data. With the error the Big Sur system volume is now "Ab Licona - Data" while the Big Sur user account(s) and data are contained on the "Ab Licona - Data - Data" volume.


Beginning with macOS 10.15 Catalina macOS split the macOS system area and the user account area into separate APFS volumes.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210650


Before doing anything you should make sure you have a backup of your data from before you upgraded to Big Sur and a separate backup of any data that has changed since the upgrade. In theory you should be able to delete the "Ab Licona" volume using Disk Utility:

https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/add-erase-or-delete-apfs-volumes-dskua9e6a110/mac


After deleting that APFS volume you can rename the other two APFS volumes to reflect how they were named before upgrading to Big Sur. You need to use Disk Utility to rename the system volume. Within Disk Utility Control-click or Right-click on the "Ab Licona - Data" volume and name it "Ab Licona" or whatever you prefer. Doing this should also rename the other remaining APFS volume to "Ab Licona - Data". It is unfortunately that the Finder cannot be used to do this unless Big Sur fixed this oversight.


If this doesn't work, then you will need to perform a clean install of Big Sur by first erasing the whole physical drive before restoring from a backup. Unfortunately Disk Utility now hides the physical drive from view since macOS 10.13+ so you must click "View" within Disk Utility and select "Show All Devices" so that the physical drive appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. Erase the physical drive as GUID partition and APFS (top option). I recommend creating a bootable macOS Big Sur USB installer just to be safe in case Recovery Mode/Internet Recovery Mode causes you problems.


2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 17, 2021 4:50 PM in response to Aliconac

Yes, you made a common mistake when installing the new OS. You selected the "Ab Licona - Data" volume as the destination when you should have selected "Ab Licona". "Ab Licona" was the system volume for macOS 10.15 Catalina while the "Ab Licona - Data" was Catalina's volume for your user account(s) and data. With the error the Big Sur system volume is now "Ab Licona - Data" while the Big Sur user account(s) and data are contained on the "Ab Licona - Data - Data" volume.


Beginning with macOS 10.15 Catalina macOS split the macOS system area and the user account area into separate APFS volumes.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210650


Before doing anything you should make sure you have a backup of your data from before you upgraded to Big Sur and a separate backup of any data that has changed since the upgrade. In theory you should be able to delete the "Ab Licona" volume using Disk Utility:

https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/add-erase-or-delete-apfs-volumes-dskua9e6a110/mac


After deleting that APFS volume you can rename the other two APFS volumes to reflect how they were named before upgrading to Big Sur. You need to use Disk Utility to rename the system volume. Within Disk Utility Control-click or Right-click on the "Ab Licona - Data" volume and name it "Ab Licona" or whatever you prefer. Doing this should also rename the other remaining APFS volume to "Ab Licona - Data". It is unfortunately that the Finder cannot be used to do this unless Big Sur fixed this oversight.


If this doesn't work, then you will need to perform a clean install of Big Sur by first erasing the whole physical drive before restoring from a backup. Unfortunately Disk Utility now hides the physical drive from view since macOS 10.13+ so you must click "View" within Disk Utility and select "Show All Devices" so that the physical drive appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. Erase the physical drive as GUID partition and APFS (top option). I recommend creating a bootable macOS Big Sur USB installer just to be safe in case Recovery Mode/Internet Recovery Mode causes you problems.


Mac with duplicate disk partitions?

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