Multiple Macintosh HD Data volumes after Catalina reinstall

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Multiple Macintosh HD Data volumes after Catalina reinstall

I initialized Macintosh HD volumes of my iMac 21.5 late 2013 with Mac OS Catalina, then reinstalled OS by Recovery utility. Now I've volumes Macintosh HD, Macintosh HD Data on system/... directory and another Macintosh HD Data

Had somebody same problem? If yes, did solve it?

iPhone 14, iOS 26

Posted on Jul 25, 2026 9:42 AM

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Answer 1

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SpiderMac

Level 4

1,584 points

Jul 25, 2026 9:49 AM in response to giuseppe221

Starting with macOS Catalina, Apple uses the APFS file system, splitting the drive into two linked volumes: Macintosh HD (system) and Macintosh HD - Data (user files). An improper or interrupted initialization causes duplicate volumes or abnormal directory paths.

This is a known issue that can be fixed with a clean installation:

Restart your Mac in Recovery Mode by holding down Command (⌘) + R.
Open Disk Utility, click View, and select Show All Devices.
Select the main physical disk at the very top of the sidebar and click Erase, choosing APFS format and naming it Macintosh HD.
Quit Disk Utility and select Reinstall macOS: the system will automatically recreate the correct volume structure.

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