Scotch_Brawth
Level 3 (820 points)

Q: Repairing Boot Camp after creating new partition

I'm running OS X 10.8 and Windows 7 x64 Pro.

 

After properly setting up Boot Camp to dual-boot Windows on my Mac mini, I decided to test whether or not it was true that creating another partition (a data partition for OS X) would interfere with Boot Camp.  Wikipedia claims it does interfere but without citing a source, whilst the Boot Camp documentation itself only specifies that the disk must be a single partition _prior_ to setup - there's no mention of whether the disk must be _kept_ that way afterwards.

 

I opened Disk Utility, reduced the size of my OS X parition from 420GB to 80GB, and created a new partition in the unallocated space.  Here's how it looks now:

/___sbsstatic___/migration-images/190/19047693-1.png

When I attempted to proceed with the process, I did receive a warning that doing this (and I quote), "may" cause problems with Boot Camp.  Seeing as it was inconclusive, I thought I'd give it a shot - nothing ventured…

 

Of course, it borked Boot Camp, otherwise I wouldn't be posting here.  Whilst OS X boots just fine, the Boot Camp partition now no longer shows up in the Startup Manager, though it does in the Startup Disk prefPane.  If I do attempt to boot into Boot Camp, I receive the following message on a black screen:

No bootable device --- insert boot disk and press any key

The advice given to someone who had this same problem was, "fix your damaged Boot Camp volume."  But I'm at a loss as to how to do that.

 

So, anyone know how to proceed now so that I can keep my partitions as is, whilst fully restoring normal Boot Camp functionality?

Mac mini (Mid 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Jul 26, 2012 11:28 PM

by Christopher Murphy,Solvedanswer
Christopher Murphy Christopher Murphy
Level 3 (555 points)
A:

sudo gdisk /dev/disk0

 

If you get any error messages at this point, report the error messages, don't proceed further.

 

You're now in gdisk interactive mode. Menus/commands are single characters followed by return/enter. So type ? and <enter> and you'll get the main menu listing commands. Type p <enter> and it will print (display) the current GPT. Since you have 5 GPT entries, you can't use a 1 for 1 GPT to MBR scheme like Apple does. The following suggestion is safe, but all hybrid MBRs are non-standard inventions, and therefore I can't tell you how Boot Camp Assistant or Disk Utility will react to this hybrid MBR should you decide to make changes later. What I can tell you is Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X themselves have no problem with this MBR scheme.

 

r <enter>        go to the recovery & transformation menu

h <enter>        create a new hybrid MBR

5 <enter>        add partion 5 to the MBR

<enter>          accept the default MBR hex code of 07

y <enter>        set the bootable flag

n <enter>        do not protect more partitions

o < enter>       print (display) the MBR

 

You should have two entries. One type EE, one 07, with the 07 entry marked with * under Boot. If you don't, report back. If you do, write out the update partition information, and hope  a power failure doesn't occur for the next few seconds...

 

w <enter>     write partition table to disk

 

reboot. hold down option - you should be able to boot into either Mac HD, Recovery HD, or Windows.

 

I just tested this same five partition GPT and 2 partition MBR on a working system and the instructions above worked.

 

Note, so long as CSM-BIOS and thus MBR are required for Boot Camp instead of EFI booting Windows, we're stuck with flaky MBR problems, as well as the 2TB disk limitation for Windows boot disks.

 

Also, I filed bug ID 11980880 at bugreport.apple.com and referenced this thread.

Posted on Jul 28, 2012 12:35 PM

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Q: Repairing Boot Camp after creating new partition

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  • by berkeley201,

    berkeley201 berkeley201 Mar 12, 2013 1:13 PM in response to Scotch_Brawth
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2013 1:13 PM in response to Scotch_Brawth

    Dear Christopher:

     

    I have a similar problem to the original one for this thread: the Bootcamp seems to be there, but I am not able to boot into Win7.  However, I have one additional complication: I have "lost"some hard disk space on my SSD that I also would like to recover after trying to install Ubuntu on my retina Macbook.

     

    Here is the diskutil listing:

     

    /dev/disk0

       #: TYPE NAME                            SIZE IDENTIFIER

       0: GUID_partition_scheme                            *251.0 GB   disk0

       1: EFI                                       209.7 MB   disk0s1

       2: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD                         137.9 GB   disk0s2

       3: Apple_HFS Recovery HD                          650.0 MB   disk0s3

       4: Apple_HFS Mac B Stuff                           14.9 GB    disk0s4

       5: Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP         97.1 GB    disk0s5

     

    And the partition layout:

     


     

    "Mac B Stuff"is the "lost partition"that I would love to recover along with making Bootcamp bootable again. Is that possible?

     

    More info:

     

    sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

     

    Disk: /dev/disk0     geometry: 30515/255/63 [490234752 sectors]

    Signature: 0xAA55

             Starting Ending

    #: id  cyl  hd sec -  cyl  hd sec [     start -       size]

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    1: EE 1023 254  63 - 1023 254  63 [         1 -  490234751] <Unknown ID>

    2: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused     

    3: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused     

    4: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused  

     

     

    sudo gpt -r -vv show disk0

    gpt show: disk0: mediasize=251000193024; sectorsize=512; blocks=490234752

    gpt show: disk0: PMBR at sector 0

    gpt show: disk0: Pri GPT at sector 1

    gpt show: disk0: Sec GPT at sector 490234751

     

          start size  index  contents

              0 1         PMBR

              1 1         Pri GPT header

              2 32         Pri GPT table

             34 6        

             40 409600           1  GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B

         409640 269273912           2  GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

      269683552 262144        

      269945696 1269536           3  GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

      271215232 29031808           4  GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

      300247040 262144        

      300509184 189724672           5  GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7

      490233856 863        

      490234719 32         Sec GPT table

      490234751 1         Sec GPT header

     

    Help would be greatly appreciated!

     


  • by Christopher Murphy,

    Christopher Murphy Christopher Murphy Mar 12, 2013 3:23 PM in response to berkeley201
    Level 3 (555 points)
    Mar 12, 2013 3:23 PM in response to berkeley201

    4: Apple_HFS Mac B Stuff                           14.9 GB    disk0s4

     

    So you're saying you don't need any data on this partition at all, and you want to merge it with Macintosh HD, partition 2?

  • by yodayougling,

    yodayougling yodayougling Mar 12, 2013 4:16 PM in response to Scotch_Brawth
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2013 4:16 PM in response to Scotch_Brawth

    hello everyone,

     

    i had the same problem, and went through the steps on the first page, except that i substituted drive 5 for 3.

     

    before trying this process i was getting the "no bootable device-incert boot disk and bress any key" error. and when i hit alt during boot up, windows was not even an option

     

    now i can see windows as an option, but im getting the error "No operating system" when i try to launch windows.

     

    my goal is to combined the unused space with my bootcamp partition and get windows working again

     

    im not sure exactly which commands will help give you guys the most info,so here are a couple

     

    diskutil list

     

    /dev/disk0

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *250.1 GB   disk0

       1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk0s1

       2:                  Apple_HFS Mac HD                  165.0 GB   disk0s2

       3:       Microsoft Basic Data                         54.3 GB    disk0s3

     

     

    sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

     

    Disk: /dev/disk0    geometry: 30401/255/63 [488397168 sectors]

    Signature: 0xAA55

             Starting       Ending

    #: id  cyl  hd sec -  cyl  hd sec [     start -       size]

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    1: EE    0   0   2 - 1023 254  63 [         1 -  382355455] <Unknown ID>

    *2: 07 1023 254  63 - 1023 254  63 [ 382355456 -  106041344] HPFS/QNX/AUX

    3: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused     

    4: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused

     

     

    sudo gpt -r -vv show disk0

     

    gpt show: disk0: mediasize=250059350016; sectorsize=512; blocks=488397168

    gpt show: disk0: Suspicious MBR at sector 0

    gpt show: disk0: Pri GPT at sector 1

    gpt show: disk0: Sec GPT at sector 488397167

          start       size  index  contents

              0          1         MBR

              1          1         Pri GPT header

              2         32         Pri GPT table

             34          6        

             40     409600      1  GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B

         409640  322265632      2  GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

      322675272   59680184        

      382355456  106041344      3  GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7

      488396800        335        

      488397135         32         Sec GPT table

      488397167          1         Sec GPT header

     

    my next idea would be to get my hands on a Win 7 boot disk (mine is in the US with my dad) and try and repair/reinstall that way, but if there is a way to do it without the disk it would be great.

     

    thanks in advance for any help.

  • by ashlandguy2,

    ashlandguy2 ashlandguy2 Mar 12, 2013 4:34 PM in response to Scotch_Brawth
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2013 4:34 PM in response to Scotch_Brawth

    Is there a way to unsubscribe from an individual thread? I have 150+ emails from just this discussion now...

  • by berkeley201,

    berkeley201 berkeley201 Mar 12, 2013 5:32 PM in response to Christopher Murphy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2013 5:32 PM in response to Christopher Murphy

    Yes. That's what I would love to be able to achieve! I tried to place Ubuntu there, but it seems Ubunto is very hard to make work properly with the retina display, the odd mac Wifi and the mighty mouse on the Macbook, so I will not be needing the space and just want it back with the MACINTOSH HD

  • by Christopher Murphy,

    Christopher Murphy Christopher Murphy Mar 13, 2013 2:45 PM in response to berkeley201
    Level 3 (555 points)
    Mar 13, 2013 2:45 PM in response to berkeley201

    Make sure you have a backup of Macintosh HD first. Also I personally would reboot single user mode and:

     

    fsck_hfs -fy /dev/rdisk0s2

    fsck_hfs -r /dev/rdisk0s2

     

    The first does a normal check and repair. The 2nd rebuilds the catalog btree.

     

    Next issue this command, which reports resizing options, makes no changes.

     

    diskutil resizevolume /dev/disk0s2 limits

  • by berkeley201,

    berkeley201 berkeley201 Mar 13, 2013 3:58 PM in response to Christopher Murphy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 13, 2013 3:58 PM in response to Christopher Murphy

    Hi Christopher!

     

    Thanks! I tried those, but nothing much happened:

     

    sudo fsck_hfs -fy /dev/rdisk0s2

    Password:

    ** /dev/rdisk0s2

    Using cacheBlockSize=32K cacheTotalBlock=98304 cacheSize=3145728K.

    ** Root file system

       Executing fsck_hfs (version diskdev_cmds-557.3~3).

    ** Verifying volume when it is mounted with write access.

       Journal need to be replayed but volume is read-only

    ** Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.

       The volume name is Macintosh HD

    ** Checking extents overflow file.

    ** Checking catalog file.

    ** Checking multi-linked files.

    ** Checking catalog hierarchy.

    ** Checking extended attributes file.

    ** Checking volume bitmap.

       Volume bitmap needs minor repair for under-allocation

    ** Checking volume information.

    ** The volume Macintosh HD cannot be repaired when it is in use.

    ** The volume Macintosh HD could not be repaired.

     

     

    sudo fsck_hfs -r /dev/rdisk0s2

    ** /dev/rdisk0s2

    ** Root file system

    BTree rebuild requested but writing disabled

     

    sudo diskutil resizevolume /dev/disk0s2 limits

    For device disk0s2 Macintosh HD:

            Current size:  137.9 GB (137868242944 Bytes)

            Minimum size:  68.0 GB (67961167872 Bytes)

            Maximum size:  137.9 GB (137868242944 Bytes)

     

    I don't quite know what it means to login in single user mode, so I may have started off on the wrong foot. Also, after noticing that "Volume Macintosh HD cannot be repaired when it is in use"I tried to dismount it, but was not able to do so via Diskutil.

  • by Christopher Murphy,

    Christopher Murphy Christopher Murphy Mar 13, 2013 4:02 PM in response to berkeley201
    Level 3 (555 points)
    Mar 13, 2013 4:02 PM in response to berkeley201

    Single User Mode

  • by berkeley201,

    berkeley201 berkeley201 Mar 13, 2013 4:08 PM in response to Christopher Murphy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 13, 2013 4:08 PM in response to Christopher Murphy

    Hi again!

     

    I googled and tried that after I had replied. I can't make it work. I have the EFI bootloader (perhaps I should uninstall it before proceeding?), and pressing Command-s before it comes on takes me to it's shell, whereas pressing Command-S after selecting OS-X doesn't do anything.

  • by Christopher Murphy,

    Christopher Murphy Christopher Murphy Mar 13, 2013 4:34 PM in response to berkeley201
    Level 3 (555 points)
    Mar 13, 2013 4:34 PM in response to berkeley201

    I don't know what "the EFI bootloader" is reference to, maybe you mean rEFIt or rEFInd. If so, you might be able to get command-s to work if you press and hold those keys before and while you make the OS X selection.

  • by berkeley201,

    berkeley201 berkeley201 Mar 13, 2013 4:46 PM in response to Christopher Murphy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 13, 2013 4:46 PM in response to Christopher Murphy

    Christopher:

     

    Sorry I was unclear. I have rEFIt. Holding down Command-s takes me to the rEFIt shell. Holding it down while selecting the OS is not possible - the moment I press it I go back into the shell. And pressing Command-s immediately after selecting has no effect.

     

    Should I perhaps remove rEFIt?

  • by Christopher Murphy,

    Christopher Murphy Christopher Murphy Mar 13, 2013 5:34 PM in response to berkeley201
    Level 3 (555 points)
    Mar 13, 2013 5:34 PM in response to berkeley201

    I don't know that rEFInd will have any different behavior, but that is the current code base. rEFIt is no longer maintained. To remove rEFIt as the default boot entry, simply zap the PRAM with command-option-P-R at the startup chime, at the second chime switch from command-option-P-R to command-s.

  • by berkeley201,

    berkeley201 berkeley201 Mar 13, 2013 6:11 PM in response to Christopher Murphy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 13, 2013 6:11 PM in response to Christopher Murphy

    OK. I was able to get into Single User Mode zapping the PRAM. I then ran the commands above.

     

    "fsck_hfs -fy /dev/rdisk0s2" ran fine and said it did some changes to the disk.

     

    "fsck_hfs -r /dev/rdisk0s2" ran fine for a while. Then it started coughing up error messages - something about the volume Macintosh being mounted, and something about "errno=5". Then it went into some kind of panic and just started to repeat a set of 15 or so lines over and over. One line said that to reboot I had to use ëxit". But at that point exit didn't work; nothing did.

     

    So I powered off and rebooted. Nothing seems to have changed. rEFIt is still here, the partitions seem to be the same, and the machine still works.

     

    How about me just getting rid of "rEFIt"- I don't need it for the moment, no Ubuntu, just OS X and Win 7? And then running whatever commands needed to get info to see how things look?

  • by Christopher Murphy,

    Christopher Murphy Christopher Murphy Mar 13, 2013 6:23 PM in response to berkeley201
    Level 3 (555 points)
    Mar 13, 2013 6:23 PM in response to berkeley201

    "fsck_hfs -r /dev/rdisk0s2" ran fine for a while. Then it started coughing up error messages - something about the volume Macintosh being mounted, and something about "errno=5". Then it went into some kind of panic and just started to repeat a set of 15 or so lines over and over. One line said that to reboot I had to use ëxit". But at that point exit didn't work; nothing did.

     

    The problems with the file system need to be repaired. So you'll need to repeat this until it's fixed, or you're going to end up needing to repartition the drive with a single partition, and restore everything from backups.

     

    Nothing seems to have changed.

     

    These are preliminary steps to make sure the file system is healthy before doing resizing/merging partitions.

     

    How about me just getting rid of "rEFIt"-

     

    rEFIt has nothing to do with the file system problems.

  • by berkeley201,

    berkeley201 berkeley201 Mar 13, 2013 6:34 PM in response to Christopher Murphy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 13, 2013 6:34 PM in response to Christopher Murphy

    Christopher!

     

    Thanks for the quick reply!

     

    OK. So I get that I have to repeat the steps and that the errors have to be fixed. Is there something I should be looking for? Some message to take note of? Is there anything else I should do - dismount the drive (I don't know how to do that in single user mode)? Anything I should make a note of and report back?

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