Disk Utility cannot unmount disk
I am trying to reinstall snow lepord on a macbook pro. When I go to repartition the drive it fails and tells me that it cannot unmount the disk. Any ideas?
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.7)
I am trying to reinstall snow lepord on a macbook pro. When I go to repartition the drive it fails and tells me that it cannot unmount the disk. Any ideas?
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.7)
It isn't required. The mount command only makes the filesystem read/write. However, fsck does not require the filesystem be read/write in order to fix the drive.
But, it doesn't hurt anything to do so.
PRAM also didn't help
Then what you can do is boot from the installer DVD, use DU to erase the internal drive, install OS X from scratch then restore your files from the backup you have.
While you are free to re-setup the drive you can create any new partitions you want (if you want any.)
When I go to erase the disk I get "Disk erase failed with the error: Could not unmount disk"
Any other ideas?
Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Got to step 3 and when I hit partition it gives me "Partition failed with the error: Could not unmount disk"
I think you have a defective drive assuming you are following the instructions correctly.
That's what I was affraid of just didn't wan't to give up on it.
@Kappy you can not "fix" mean write something to drive without mount it w
check yourself - boot single and read some last 2-3 strings - there it is
@hoosler your mac should be able to boot in target mode
read here instructions http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/helpdesk/boot-a-sick-mac-into-target-disk-mode- for-troubleshooting/293
try to repair/repartition target drive from other mac
also read this: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1661
Well, not to start a battle over this but I'm afraid neither Apple nor Unix seem to agree.
its simple - just try it and you'll see.
look:
"
If fsck found issues and has altered, repaired, or fixed anything, it will display this message:
***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
"
file system can not be modified while r-only mounted
looks like error or not exact description.
@hoosier also you can give a try with a Disc Warrior or Drive Genius
Any free software to try? Target mode gave me the same error that the disc could not be unmounted
download some fresh Ubuntu live cd, boot from it and repartition internal HD to anything MBR,
then boot from install DVD and repartition into GUID, 1 partition (you should set GUID in options)
The problem I was having was with a Toshiba 500GB external USB 2.0 drive. The symptom was that the Mac OS X Disk Utility could see the drive but trying to format it would hang indefinitely at "Unmounting Drive".
I formatted the disk with the built in disk format and partitioning tools in Windows 7. Then I could mount and unmount on the Mac OS X Disk Utility. Maybe using utilities in Linux would also work. After this I was able to format the disk in Mac OS X and use the drive for time machine.
How my problem started: Hooking up the drive to the WNDR3800 router seemed to mess it up and my Mac coul no longer reaad the disk correctly. Foratting it in a Windows env was the only way I could get it to work again on my Mac.
It is pretty easy that you just need to right click on the disk that "unable to unmount" >>>select reveal that file in finder >>> then reject the disk ( remember to quit DU) >>> then reopen DU again >>> and now you are done, you can remove the partition as usual
Cheers
Disk Utility cannot unmount disk