"Unable to read the Windows Partition" error Boot Camp

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Level 1

4 points

"Unable to read the Windows Partition" error Boot Camp

I am trying to install Windows 10 using Boot Camp Assistant for the first time. However, when I click continue on Boot Camp Assistant, it says, "Unable to read the Windows partition. Boot Camp Assistant was unable to verify if the Windows partition contains a Windows installation. This may be because BitLocker is enabled on the partition. If so, disable BitLocker on the disk before removing Boot Camp."

I am not sure how to follow these instructions. Does anyone know how to fix this?

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 13.7

Posted on Sep 30, 2026 11:10 PM

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Answer 1

SurplusNC Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 1, 2026 6:22 PM in response to SurplusNC

Here is what it says on diskutil list if it helps:

/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *28.0 GB disk0

1: EFI EFI 314.6 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_APFS Container disk2 27.7 GB disk0s2

/dev/disk1 (internal, physical):

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk1

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk1s1

2: Apple_APFS Container disk2 759.5 GB disk1s2

3: Microsoft Basic Data 240.5 GB disk1s3

/dev/disk2 (synthesized):

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: APFS Container Scheme - +787.2 GB disk2

Physical Stores disk1s2, disk0s2

1: APFS Volume Macintosh HD - Data 265.9 GB disk2s1

2: APFS Volume Preboot 2.1 GB disk2s2

3: APFS Volume Recovery 1.2 GB disk2s3

4: APFS Volume VM 1.1 MB disk2s4

5: APFS Volume Macintosh HD 9.3 GB disk2s5

6: APFS Snapshot com.apple.os.update-... 9.3 GB disk2s5s1

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Answer 2

Oct 13, 2026 7:26 PM in response to SurplusNC

If you are able, start in Windows. To do this, start or restart the Mac while holding the Option key and click "Windows" when you see it. Log in as usual.

In the search box of your Taskbar, type "Manage BitLocker" and press Return

In the resulting Settings window, find the C: drive and click "Turn off BitLocker". Follow all prompts. This might take a while.

Restart and go back to Windows. If all was successful, open File Explorer and confirm that the lock icon was removed from C:

If the Mac still has trouble, go back to Windows and open a Command Prompt as admin. From here, type:

chkdsk c: /f

Answer Y to the prompt and hit Return. Restart in Windows so that CHKDSK can finish. Do not press or click other buttons until you're back at the Windows desktop.

If all went well at this step, go back to macOS and try running Boot Camp Assistant again.

--Nate

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