partition map check failed because no slices were found

Hi Melophage

I have a problem similar to snavdeep's but in my case I bought a new internal hdd for my macbook pro 13" and formatted it on windows because when I tried to boot the mac with it I got a flashing icon of a file with a question mark inside right after starting the computer. Well, I did format it on my windows PC and now it shows up at mac's disk utility as a unmounted drive that I can't mount and it shows that it is a "Microsoft Reserved" partition and also that it is "Read Only" and no S.M.A.R.T.

I wrote the line commands you told snavdeep to write and it gave me back this result:

diskutil listLast login: Tue Jul 14 16:44:13 on console

MacBook-Pro-de-Ricardo:~ CASTROLOPES$ diskutil list

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk1

1: Apple_HFS 134.2 MB disk1s1

2: Apple_HFS HD-TEMPORÁRIO 998.6 GB disk1s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk1s3

/dev/disk2

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *3.0 TB disk2

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk2s1

2: Apple_HFS Backups do Time Machine 3.0 TB disk2s2

MacBook-Pro-de-Ricardo:~ CASTROLOPES$ diskutil cs list

No CoreStorage logical volume groups found

MacBook-Pro-de-Ricardo:~ CASTROLOPES$ mount

/dev/disk1s2 on / (hfs, local, journaled)

devfs on /dev (devfs, local, nobrowse)

localhost:/2j0zX-MGAtn7dycbjs1HnN on /Volumes/MobileBackups (mtmfs, nosuid, read-only, nobrowse)

map -hosts on /net (autofs, nosuid, automounted, nobrowse)

map auto_home on /home (autofs, automounted, nobrowse)

//Ricardo%20A%20C%20Lopes@AirPort%20Time%20Capsule%20de%20Liliana%20Ducatti._afp overtcp._tcp.local/Data on /Volumes/Data (afpfs, nobrowse)

/dev/disk2s2 on /Volumes/Backups do Time Machine (hfs, local, nodev, nosuid, journaled, nobrowse)

MacBook-Pro-de-Ricardo:~ CASTROLOPES$

What should I do? Thanks in advance!

Ricardo

I have 2 external 2TB LaCie Porsche P9231 USB3 Drives connected via USB2 on my iMac (early 2008) up till now faultless operation which within two weeks of each other first playing up showing the message 'partition map check failed because no slices were found' when i tried to Verify in Disk Utility they failed to repair and are now invisible to Mac or Disk Utility.

My third drive, an external 4TB LaCie Porsche P9233 USB3 Drive has now shown the same message in Disk Utility.

I have not updated System Software in a fair while, Obviously my iMac can only be upgraded so far now. The three drives were purchased over a 2 year stretch of time roughly so I would surprised of a simultaneous hardware failure.

Can you help please?

I ran the following on the only visible disk, I have nearly 4TB of data on the two 2TB I need to access.

[RPWs-iMac:~] robertwilton% diskutil list

/dev/disk0

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk0

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_HFS iMac 24 999.3 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk0s3

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *4.0 TB disk1

1: Apple_HFS RPW's 4TB 4.0 TB disk1s1

[RPWs-iMac:~] robertwilton%

and diskutil info disk1

[RPWs-iMac:~] robertwilton% diskutil info disk1

Device Identifier: disk1

Device Node: /dev/disk1

Part of Whole: disk1

Device / Media Name: LaCie P9233 Media

Volume Name: Not applicable (no file system)

Mounted: Not applicable (no file system)

File System: None

Content (IOContent): GUID_partition_scheme

OS Can Be Installed: No

Media Type: Generic

Protocol: USB

SMART Status: Not Supported

Total Size: 4.0 TB (4000787030016 Bytes) (exactly 7814037168 512-Byte-Units)

Volume Free Space: Not applicable (no file system)

Device Block Size: 4096 Bytes

Read-Only Media: No

Read-Only Volume: Not applicable (no file system)

Ejectable: Yes

Whole: Yes

Internal: No

OS 9 Drivers: No

Low Level Format: Not supported

Hi I have the same problem with my MacBook Pro Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013 OS X 10.9.5 and this diskutil list showed this:

Colettes-MacBook-Pro:~ coletteoconnell-phillipps$ diskutil list

/dev/disk0

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *121.3 GB
disk0

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB
disk0s1

2: Apple_HFS \\\ 120.5 GB
disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB
disk0s3

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *5.9 GB disk1

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB
disk1s1

2: Apple_HFS OS X Install ESD 5.5 GB disk1s2

/dev/disk2

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: Apple_partition_scheme *19.9 MB disk2

1: Apple_partition_map 32.3 KB disk2s1

2: Apple_HFS Flash Player 19.9 MB disk2s2

/dev/disk3

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *2.0 TB disk3

1: Apple_HFS 2.0 TB disk3s1

Colettes-MacBook-Pro:~ coletteoconnell-phillipps$ diskutil cs list

No CoreStorage logical volume groups found

Colettes-MacBook-Pro:~ coletteoconnell-phillipps$ mount

/dev/disk0s2 on / (hfs, local, journaled)

devfs on /dev (devfs, local, nobrowse)

map -hosts on /net (autofs, nosuid, automounted, nobrowse)

map auto_home on /home (autofs, automounted, nobrowse)

localhost:/kiOf4Jbcx3oTrl5UDc8aMX on /Volumes/MobileBackups (mtmfs, nosuid, read-only, nobrowse)

/dev/disk1s2 on /Volumes/OS X Install ESD (hfs, local, nodev, nosuid, read-only, nobrowse, mounted by coletteoconnell-phillipps)

Colettes-MacBook-Pro:~ coletteoconnell-phillipps$

I had the same problem, also with the slices error + this problem:

Re: Mediakit reports not enough space

and both solved with disk util App menu view ..all devices

snavdeep,

your question can’t be answered yet. In Finder, press Command-Shift-U to open the Utilities folder, and run Terminal in there. In the Terminal window, give it the following commands, one per line, pressing the Return key at the end of each line:

diskutil list

diskutil cs list

mount

Please include in your reply the full output from these commands.

Hi I have this problem with my external hard drive as well. I have a mid-2012 MacBook Pro, running OSX Mavericks 10.9.2

This is the output from running the diskutil commands in terminal.

diskutil list

StephMacBook:~ Mommy$ diskutil list

/dev/disk0

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *750.2 GB disk0

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD 644.3 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk0s3

4: Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP 105.0 GB disk0s4

/dev/disk2

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *4.0 TB disk2

1: Apple_HFS Brobdingnagian II 4.0 TB disk2s2

StephMacBook:~ Mommy$ diskutil cs list

No CoreStorage logical volume groups found

StephMacBook:~ Mommy$ mount

/dev/disk0s2 on / (hfs, local, journaled)

devfs on /dev (devfs, local, nobrowse)

map -hosts on /net (autofs, nosuid, automounted, nobrowse)

map auto_home on /home (autofs, automounted, nobrowse)

/dev/disk0s4 on /Volumes/BOOTCAMP (ntfs, local, read-only, noowners)

/dev/disk2s2 on /Volumes/Brobdingnagian II (hfs, local, nodev, nosuid, journaled)

StephMacBook:~ Mommy$

superfish1984,

your external drive (disk2) is missing an EFI partition. Run the following command in Terminal:

diskutil info disk2

Please include in your reply that command’s full output.

hi, I have the same problem with my external hard drive, am using macbook pro mid 2012 OS X 10.9.3

and the diskutil list shows

lilartists-MacBook-Pro:~ lilartistreem$ diskutil list

/dev/disk0

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *500.1 GB disk0

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD 499.2 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk0s3

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk1

1: Microsoft Reserved 134.2 MB disk1s1

lilartists-MacBook-Pro:~ lilartistreem$ diskutil cs list

No CoreStorage logical volume groups found

lilartists-MacBook-Pro:~ lilartistreem$ mount

/dev/disk0s2 on / (hfs, local, journaled)

devfs on /dev (devfs, local, nobrowse)

map -hosts on /net (autofs, nosuid, automounted, nobrowse)

map auto_home on /home (autofs, automounted, nobrowse)

lilartists-MacBook-Pro:~ lilartistreem$

lil_artist5,

it doesn’t look as though you’ve formatted your external disk, since it only has 134.2 MB of 1 TB allocated. Have you tried formatting it in Disk Utility yet?

I am experiencing the same problem. I was on vacation for six weeks with my computer powered down. On return, I am getting this message. The drive in question is a 3 TB Seagate Backup+ drive, connected via USB to one of the USB ports directly on the CPU. It was purchased from The Apple Store but out of warranty. It is a late 2012 Mac Mini, and I am running 10.9.2.

Disk Utility reports that it cannot verify or repair the partition because "Error: Partition map check failed because no slices were found."

However, it displays an available volume, "Seagate Backup Plus Drive," which passes "Verify Disk" with no errors. I use this volume as my Time Machine volume, and it appears to be doing backups with no problem, and backups appear to be visible.

So we have the curious situation that the system does not recognize the drive as having any file system on it, yet the file system that is or was formerly on that drive is visible, mounted, and not reporting errors.

Last login: Thu Jul 3 10:11:32 on console

daniel-smiths-mac-mini:~ Dan$ diskutil list

/dev/disk0

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *500.1 GB disk0

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD 499.2 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk0s3

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *3.0 TB disk1

1: Apple_HFS Seagate Backup Plus ... 3.0 TB disk1s1

/dev/disk2

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *250.1 GB disk2

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk2s1

2: Apple_HFS MiniStack 1 249.7 GB disk2s2

/dev/disk3

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: CD_partition_scheme *804.4 MB disk3

1: Apple_partition_scheme 700.4 MB disk3s0

2: Apple_partition_map 32.3 KB disk3s0s1

3: Apple_HFS 289.0 MB disk3s0s2

/dev/disk4

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *2.0 TB disk4

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk4s1

2: Apple_HFS WD Auxilliary Volume 1.4 TB disk4s2

3: Apple_HFS Bootable system on M... 548.7 GB disk4s3

daniel-smiths-mac-mini:~ Dan$

daniel-smiths-mac-mini:~ Dan$ diskutil info disk1

Device Identifier: disk1

Device Node: /dev/disk1

Part of Whole: disk1

Device / Media Name: Seagate Backup+ Desk Mac Media

Volume Name: Not applicable (no file system)

Mounted: Not applicable (no file system)

File System: None

Content (IOContent): GUID_partition_scheme

OS Can Be Installed: No

Media Type: Generic

Protocol: USB

SMART Status: Not Supported

Total Size: 3.0 TB (3000592977920 Bytes) (exactly 5860533160 512-Byte-Units)

Volume Free Space: Not applicable (no file system)

Device Block Size: 4096 Bytes

Read-Only Media: No

Read-Only Volume: Not applicable (no file system)

Ejectable: Yes

Whole: Yes

Internal: No

OS 9 Drivers: No

Low Level Format: Not supported

daniel-smiths-mac-mini:~ Dan$

daniel-smiths-mac-mini:~ Dan$ ls -l /volumes

total 8

drwxr-xr-x 38 root wheel 1360 Mar 11 21:00 Bootable system on MyBook

lrwxr-xr-x 1 root admin 1 Jul 3 10:11 Macintosh HD -> /

drwxrwxr-x 13 Dan staff 510 Nov 13 2013 MiniStack 1

drwxrwxr-x 24 Dan staff 884 May 8 07:37 Seagate Backup Plus Drive

drwxrwxr-x+ 21 Dan staff 782 May 8 07:37 WD Auxilliary Volume

daniel-smiths-mac-mini:~ Dan$

Daniel,

if your Seagate drive is used exclusively for Time Machine backups, and the backups are being written properly, and you can restore files from the backups without problems, then what’s the issue? Why are you trying to repair it? (Time Machine could be treating the volume as a 3 TB sparse bundle disk image, which would explain the lack of both partition map and filesystem.)

I agree and I am in no hurry to do anything. The problem seems to stall the boot-up process, because during boot it puts up a dialog box complaining and asking me whether to "ignore" or "eject."

But in general, any unexpected behavior from a disk is cause for concern. Among other things, I am reluctant to apply system updates (e.g. from 10.9.2 to 10.9.4) until I have some idea of what's going on. I think it is very strange that the partition-level tools report no file system on the disk although volume-level tools show a valid volume. I fear that the volume information may have been cached or remembered from a time when the partition data was OK and might be suddenly lost if e.g. power is cycled again or the disk is moved to a different USB port or something...

I'm torn between paying $100 for DiskWarrior versus paying only slightly more for a new disk, and putting it into service as a Time Machine volume before trying to reformat this one...

Daniel,

if you have a spare external disk, you could temporarily put it into service as a Time Machine backup destination, and see how it looks in diskutil, to see whether its partition map and filesystem are similar to or different from the Seagate disk.

This has only been happening since I installed Apple software update to 10.9.4 a few days ago. Since then, I'm having the same issues as snavdeep. My external drive (only used for Time Machine backups) doesn't show up on desktop and can't be accessed, but shows up in disk utility. Says it can't be repaired because no slices/no EFI something or other. This is what showed when I ran diskutil on terminal

any advice on what to do to get the drive back to working?

Thanks

chrisfromburkburnett,

by “can’t be accessed”, do you mean that it’s inaccessible through Finder, or that it’s inaccessible through Time Machine? When you run Time Machine, are you able to view your past backups on your external drive?