Can't reclaim disk space on MacOS Mojave

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Level 1

4 points

Can't reclaim disk space on MacOS Mojave

Hi, I had my drive partitioned so I could use Windows. When trying to increase space on the Windows partition and messing about with the partitions, I managed to delete 285gb which I think was the Mac partition, so of the 500gb only 215gb is able to be used and shows as available space.

Here's what diskutil list shows in terminal:

On Disk Drill it shows unallocated space:

I had to reinstall Mac OS again by the way, I think I deleted the entire Mac part of the drive but I still don't know why I can't get the rest of the space.

I haven't set up bootcamp again - do I need to do so to reclaim the unallocated space?

Thanks

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.12

Posted on Jul 3, 2021 8:55 AM

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Answer 1

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 4, 2021 8:31 AM in response to JodiM120

Boot into Internet Recovery - About macOS Recovery on Intel-based Mac computers - Apple Support
Erase your whole internal disk, not just Macintosh HD
Restore your Mac from a backup - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 4, 2021 8:17 PM in response to JodiM120

Click on the View and choose Show All Devices.

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Answer 3

JodiM120 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 3, 2021 9:04 AM in response to JodiM120

i’ve just realised what I’ve done.

I installed Mac OS on the Boot Camp drive as there was no other disk available in recovery mode.

don’t know if this makes any difference to the solution

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Answer 4

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 3, 2021 9:30 AM in response to JodiM120

Can you post teh output of

diskutil list

in the current state?

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Answer 5

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 3, 2021 10:09 AM in response to JodiM120

Post the output of

sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0

sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

What is the year/model of your Mac (do not post the serial number)?

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Answer 6

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 4, 2021 1:12 PM in response to JodiM120

If you are willing to erase the whole disk and re-install Mojave, it is an option. I suggest staying away from Big Sur.

Mojave can be downloaded from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-mojave/id1398502828?mt=12.

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Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 3, 2021 10:44 AM in response to JodiM120

You will need to disable SIP in Local Recovery temporarily to see valid results.

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Answer 8

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 3, 2021 11:02 AM in response to JodiM120

Can you Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support?

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Answer 9

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 4, 2021 10:12 AM in response to JodiM120

After you erase the whole disk, use

What is the year/model of your Mac (do not post the serial number)?

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Answer 10

JodiM120 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 4, 2021 9:38 AM in response to Loner T

Sorry, I thought it was complete but it isn't. It's taking ages but it is the first time it has been backed up anyways.

So I assume I erase the whole internal disk in Disk Utility, and I'll need to reinstall macOS first?

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Answer 11

JodiM120 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 4, 2021 1:09 PM in response to Loner T

I have a macbook pro, 2017.

I'm having issues with this hard drive - knocked it and it isn't working now despite being brand new.

Is there a way to do this without backing up to time machine? I lost everything already when I messed about with the drives so I don't have any data I want to hold onto.

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