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User profile for user: LoganOath
LoganOath Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Macbook Pro Partition Corrupt???

SSD info:

Crucial MX500 2.5" 500GB SATA III 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) CT500MX500SSD1


I have a 2012 15” MacBook Pro that I’ve upgraded over the years with RAM, and more recently a 500gb SSD. A few years back I created a 160gb partition to run a newer version of OS X so I could try some updated apps without losing the old ones. This required booting into the “new” side of the disk on startup (holding alt/option and selecting where to boot) default was “old” side.


The other day I fired up the computer and it wouldn’t allow me to choose where to boot from, and only the old side seems to work. Checking Disk Utility shows that my old partition previously named MAC NEW has been changed to disk0s4 and is unmountable, can’t be verified, repaired, etc.



I’ve tried from Terminal as well with no luck. I tried Testdisk but that is way over my head.

I’ve downloaded and run the DMDE software and the scan does show the partition with its correct name… see second photo.



What are the next steps? Is DMDE able to simply restore this partition or is there more to be done? Will DMDE identify the problem that caused this to happen? What do I do with the files after copying from a virtual machine?


I’m happy to send terminal outputs, just point me in the right direction.


Any help is appreciated. Sorry for poor photos and formatting. Current OS X is too old for a newer version of chrome and it won’t even let me sign into this webpage properly so I’m posting from mobile.




MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Oct 23, 2023 7:24 PM

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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
User level: Level 9
60,284 points

Oct 24, 2023 9:47 PM in response to LoganOath

Your first screenshot is from a really old version of macOS 10.11 or earlier which is unable to recognize the new drive layout & APFS file system used by later versions of macOS 10.13+. This is why you are only seeing "disk0s4" with the older OS.


In order to attempt to fix the boot issue of the newer macOS 10.13+ OS will require you to boot into macOS 10.13+. You have two options. One is to try booting into Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R to see if you can access the online macOS 10.15 Catalina installer so that you can attempt to use Disk Utility First Aid to repair the APFS Container. Unfortunately with some Macs, no matter which keys you use to access Internet Recovery Mode you will only be able to access the online installer for the version of macOS which originally shipped with the Mac (or the oldest installer available online). Or two, create a bootable macOS 10.15 Catalina USB installer using the instructions in this Apple article so that you can run First Aid on the APFS Container:

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support


Within Disk Utility for macOS 10.13+ you will need to click "View" and select "Show All Devices" before the hidden Container appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. Run First Aid on the hidden Container which will also automatically scan & repair all of the APFS volumes within that hidden Container. Even if First Aid says everything is "Ok", click "Show Details" and scroll back through the report to see if any unfixed errors are listed. If there are any unfixed errors listed ("warnings" theoretically can be ignored), then it will require a clean install of macOS to fix it....assuming the APFS volume still cannot be mounted or booted.


I highly recommend you create a macOS 10.15 USB installer while you still can boot the older macOS partition since many people have reported that it is no longer possible to reinstall macOS through recovery mode since it appears Apple may have turned off the servers for the online installers. People seem to be able to boot into Internet Recovery Mode, but the OS install part errors out with being unable to connect to the recovery servers....if I understand the situation correctly. Plus, the only reliable way of creating a bootable macOS USB installer is by using a Mac compatible with the OS installer you want to create.


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User profile for user: MartinR
MartinR
User level: Level 7
21,575 points

Oct 25, 2023 7:12 AM in response to HWTech

HWTech wrote:

many people have reported that it is no longer possible to reinstall macOS through recovery mode since it appears Apple may have turned off the servers for the online installers.


That appears to have been a temporary problem a few weeks ago. In the past 2 weeks I have been able to download macOS installers from How to download and install macOS - Apple Support without any problems. And I have not seen much of any further complaints about downloading the installers.


As for Recovery Mode & Internet Recovery Mode, maybe that is still stuck. I do not normally use the recovery modes, so I haven't tested those methods. It's worth trying it again.


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Macbook Pro Partition Corrupt???

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