HT201456: Boot Camp 5.1: Frequently asked questions

Learn about Boot Camp 5.1: Frequently asked questions
AlexB123

Q: I want to get rid of a Boot Camp partition

Hello!

 

I want to get rid of a Boot Camp partition, as i want to go all out with mac stuff instead of windows aswell, but for some reason, it keeps saying 'An error occurred while restoring the disk to a single partition.' Please help me, as i really want to use the full hard drive instead of having less of it for the different partitions.

 

By the way, this is with the latest Mac Mini (i5, 4gb ram not i7)

 

Thanks!

 

Regards,

 

Alex

Mac mini, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on Apr 14, 2013 11:52 AM

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Q: I want to get rid of a Boot Camp partition

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Kappy,Helpful

    Kappy Kappy Apr 14, 2013 11:56 AM in response to AlexB123
    Level 10 (271,406 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 14, 2013 11:56 AM in response to AlexB123

    Use Boot Camp Assistant to remove the partition. If it can't or you did not use it to remove the partition - usually why you would get that error - then you will need to repartition the entire drive.

     

    Try using Disk Utility to repair the hard drive, then try removing the partition one more time. If you aren't successful, then backup your data and repartition the drive.

     

    Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions - Lion/Mountain Lion

     

    Boot to the Recovery HD:

     

    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.

     

    Repair

     

    When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported then click on the Repair Permissions button. When the process is completed, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.

  • by AlexB123,

    AlexB123 AlexB123 Apr 14, 2013 12:02 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 14, 2013 12:02 PM in response to Kappy

    I used it to get rid of the windows partition. All i would love to do is get rid of the windows partition and just have 1 partition which is the main hard drive for my mac like it originally was. How would you just be able to do this?

     

    Thanks for the reply though

  • by The hatter,

    The hatter The hatter Apr 14, 2013 1:48 PM in response to AlexB123
    Level 9 (60,935 points)
    Apr 14, 2013 1:48 PM in response to AlexB123

    Sometimes you still need to restart to Recovery

     

    And sometimes you need to wipe the hard drive and restore, which is why you have backups like TimeMachine and even Disk Utility RESTORE or other means to clone.

     

    If you made no other changes and use Boot Camp Assistant to set it up and to remove the partition if t here is a problem then you might be better off anyway with a full restore.

     

    Repair the RAW drive and the Mac volume when you are in Disk Utility in Recovery Mode

  • by AlexB123,

    AlexB123 AlexB123 Apr 14, 2013 1:54 PM in response to The hatter
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 14, 2013 1:54 PM in response to The hatter

    What happens if i haven't backed anything up? What will i recover?

  • by The hatter,

    The hatter The hatter Apr 14, 2013 2:30 PM in response to AlexB123
    Level 9 (60,935 points)
    Apr 14, 2013 2:30 PM in response to AlexB123

    you can start backing up now.

     

    you can't recover what you don't have on other media now can you.