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Can anybody explain this Bootcamp Disk Utility disk/container/partition hierarchy, please?

I recently bought a second hand 2015 MacBook Air 11" with a pre-installation of OS 12.6.8 Monterey.


I already have more than enough Macs but wanted to run OBD2 diagnostic software so needed something small to run Windows so using Bootcamp, I installed Windows 10.


After running Windows for a while without much trouble, it installed some updates after which, when I booted into Windows, I had to choose between two different versions of Windows 10. I found a solution to this, deleting one of the versions in the boot options of Windows 10 advanced settings but was curious how this might look from Mac OS perspective and found the Disk Utility disk/container/partition hierarchy shown in the enclosed screenshot.


Having been unable to find anything like this in any image searches for Bootcamp Disk Utility, I'm a bit concerned that something isn't right so would be very grateful for any information or advice.


Earlier Mac models

Posted on Aug 24, 2023 6:24 AM

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Posted on Aug 24, 2023 1:24 PM

Looks like you somehow renamed your macOS Data volume as "Windows Air". You should rename the volume using Disk Utility so it matches the name of your other macOS system volume...just make sure to add " - Data" to the end of the name so it clearly shows as different from the main system volume. I believe Monterey still had that naming convention. Unfortunately Apple makes this so confusing & difficult.


For example, the original factory configuration would have the following layout:

Apple SSD

Container disk1

Macintosh HD

Macintosh HD - Data


I'm only showing the parts you have expanded in your screenshot.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 24, 2023 1:24 PM in response to Alf Megson

Looks like you somehow renamed your macOS Data volume as "Windows Air". You should rename the volume using Disk Utility so it matches the name of your other macOS system volume...just make sure to add " - Data" to the end of the name so it clearly shows as different from the main system volume. I believe Monterey still had that naming convention. Unfortunately Apple makes this so confusing & difficult.


For example, the original factory configuration would have the following layout:

Apple SSD

Container disk1

Macintosh HD

Macintosh HD - Data


I'm only showing the parts you have expanded in your screenshot.

Aug 24, 2023 7:50 AM in response to Alf Megson

Link below on setting up Bootcamp for windows 10


Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant - Apple Support (CA)


Link below on Removing a Partition created by Bootcamp and is the only sure way to get it right.


Doing otherwise may require Reformatting the Entire Drive to gain back the Unused / Unallocated space.


Remove Windows from your Mac using Boot Camp - Apple Support (CA)


Aug 24, 2023 8:13 AM in response to Alf Megson

I'm not very familiar with BOOTCAMP, but I'm pretty sure it is installed in a partition (which is called a Container on APFS). You don't have a second container. You just have an APFS Volume. A Volume is more of a virtual separation but behaves like a disk. Volumes share the storage space allocated to the Container.


The Windows Air volume at the bottom is the extra bit in your setup. I don't believe it is possible to convert a container to a volume, so I don't know what happened to your BOOTCAMP partition.

Aug 24, 2023 9:30 AM in response to Alf Megson

I'm just backing up the Mac side via TM before removing Windows. I said disk/container/partition because the bottom Windows volume looks like a partition rather than a container (when clicked, it says 60.68GB 31.41GB free) but the other volume looks like a container (it says 190GB shared by 5 volumes).


I wouldn't choose to use Windows - I have probably spent less than a few days using Windows since 1984 - but as I said, I need to run Forscan OBD2 software and there is nothing available for Macs. However, I have installed Windows via Bootcamp before thinking it might be useful and all there was was another partition and nothing nested under the main Mac volume.

Aug 24, 2023 12:34 PM in response to Alf Megson

I don't use BootCamp, but from what I've seen posted on these forums...the "Windows Air" entry within the Container seems wrong. Usually BootCamp creates a separate partition by splitting the Container. The "Windows Air" item at the very bottom seems to be the correct item and represents a separate partition.


I don't know why you have a "Windows Air" volume within the macOS Container...doesn't make sense unless it is some new Bootcamp feature perhaps for shared storage between macOS & Windows? I have seen Disk Utility report all sorts of weird layouts even just for a simple macOS installation where the entries will be duplicated or even out of order.


Your best option is to perform a clean install of macOS by erasing the whole physical SSD (Intel Macs only) and starting over. People really should do this whenever they acquire a used computer since who knows what the previous owner has done to the drive layout or even macOS itself.


Aug 24, 2023 1:26 PM in response to PRP_53

P. Phillips wrote:

IMHO the solution to getting it back to “Normal “ in the shortest amount of time is a compete Reformat of the the Entire Drive.

It would remove any Partitions and Start a fresh

Definitely agree especially if a clean install was not performed after acquiring the used computer. If a clean install was previously performed, then my later suggestion to rename the "Data" volume should be sufficient.


Seems we were writing our posts at the same time.

Aug 24, 2023 2:47 PM in response to HWTech

That seems to make the most sense though I have no idea how it happened. A moment of carelessness, no doubt, and perhaps a little unfamiliarity with an OS newer than Catalina - though Monterey isn't that different but the Bootcamp process was a lot less hassle.


Anyway, thanks for the response everybody, hopefully, I can put everything back together again from here.

Can anybody explain this Bootcamp Disk Utility disk/container/partition hierarchy, please?

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