When I open disk utilities the erase button is in grey and can't be clicked... I've tried using terminal and disk utilities, I also triede in a pc but it still says that the problem is I don't have write permission. How can I erase everything for good and reformat my usb? is there a program that can do that?
also when I hit verify disk it says it needs to be repaired but still doesn't enables the repari button.
iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)
Instead of using the Erase tab, select the Partition tab and choose "1 Partition" from the drop-down menu. Then click the Apply button, and this should repartition the drive and make it available.
If you want the drive to be readable in Windows, then click the Options button and choose "MBR" (Master Boot Record) as the partition type. Then choose "FAT" as the volume format before clicking Apply.
Thanks for the attempt but partition tab makes the same problem that doesn't enables any option....
Thanks for the attempt but partition tab makes the same problem that doesn't enables any option....
Open the OS X Terminal utility and run the following command:
diskutil list
Copy and paste the output of this command to a new posting here.
/dev/disk0
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *500.1 GB disk0
1: EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1
2: Apple_HFS WESTGAR 499.8 GB disk0s2
/dev/disk1
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: FDisk_partition_scheme *8.2 GB disk1
1: DOS_FAT_32 CHIPI 8G 8.2 GB disk1s1
/dev/disk2
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk2
1: EFI 209.7 MB disk2s1
2: Apple_HFS WESTGAR EXT 999.9 GB disk2s2
Jose-Estradas-iMac:~ JEstrada$
OK, now run the following command:
diskutil partitionDisk disk1 GPTFormat HFS+ USBDisk 100%
Let me know what the output of this command is, and if afterwards you are able to access the drive in Disk Utility and erase or partition it.
still the same...:
Started partitioning on disk1
Unmounting disk
Error: 13: POSIX reports: Permission denied
Jose-Estradas-iMac:~ JEstrada$
Try the following command instead. This one uses the "fdisk" program to manage the drive instead of diskutil:
fdisk -a hfs /dev/disk1
hey i fell asleep last night sorry! haha this came up in terminal:
| Disk: /dev/disk1 | geometry: 994/255/63 [15974400 sectors] |
Signature: 0xAA55
| Starting | Ending | |
| #: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec [ | start - | size] |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 1: 0B | 0 29 22 - 994 91 57 [ | 1848 - 15972552] Win95 FAT-32 | ||
| 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 |
Jose-Estradas-iMac:~ JEstrada$
Ok try the following. In the Terminal run this command:
sudo fdisk -e /dev/disk1
You will see a prompt that looks like the following:
fdisk: 1>
At this prompt, type "auto hfs" and press Enter, and you should see the prompt now look like the following:
fdisk:*1>
Now enter the command "write," and you should see it either say "Writing MBR at offset 0" or give you the following message:
Device could not be accessed exclusively.
A reboot will be needed for changes to take effect. OK? [n]
If this message appears, type "y" and press Enter, and you will then see the "Writing MBR at offset 0" message. Now enter the command "exit" to quit the fdisk utility, and then unmount your USB drive and reattach it to the computer. At this point you should see a message stating the drive is not readable, with options to initialize, eject, or ignore the issue. Choose Initialize, and you should be good to go.
If the drive is not automatically initialized, you should at least be able to use Disk Utility to now partition and erase it for other uses. If not, then the drive may be corrupt to the point where you cannot repartition it with the Mac. In this case, you can try with a Windows PC or another system, and see if that helps restore the drive, or replace the drive.
Thanks for all the help man... but I think its sadly really gone... hahaha
I can't format a usb, it says it has no write permissions.
