Mac OS X partition is not available for booting after I shrinked the Windows 7 partition

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Mac OS X partition is not available for booting after I shrinked the Windows 7 partition

I installed Windows 7 using Bootcamp on my Macbook Pro 13, Mid 2010. Everything went fine and I was able to choose what OS to log on to when I pressed "alt/option". When I logged on to Windows I shrinked the windows volume so that it should have two partitions. I did not mess around with any of the other partitions. Now when I turn the computer on the OS X partition is not available for booting, even after pressing "alt/option".

How do I recover the OS X partition? My concern is the data I have on this partition. I don't care even if I get rid of the entire Windows partition as long as the data on OS X stays intact. The machine is (or was?) running OS 10.9.3.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Aug 2, 2014 6:51 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 2, 2014 6:54 AM in response to kumasewera

Do you have backups?

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Answer 2

kumasewera Author

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Aug 2, 2014 7:06 AM in response to Allan Eckert

Unfortunately, I don't have the latest backup. The last one I made was three weeks ago and a lot has happened on this machine since?

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Answer 3

kumasewera Author

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Aug 2, 2014 10:11 AM in response to kumasewera

Oh, luckily I came across MacDrive 8 and it has enabled me to view contents of the Mac OS X partition and I was able to make the back ups of the files there. Anything I can do now to bring back the OS X partition to show again regardless of whether I lose Windows partition or not?

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Answer 4

Loner T

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Aug 2, 2014 1:01 PM in response to kumasewera

Single-disk OSX and Bootcamp will not support any additional partitions. The Windows partition should be resized in any manner.

How can a Windows partition be resized after Windows is installed?

You need to delete the Windows partition using the Boot Camp Assistant, and start over to change the size of the Windows partition. Back up your important Windows files first.

Boot Camp 5.1: Frequently asked questions

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Answer 5

kumasewera Author

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Aug 2, 2014 1:07 PM in response to Loner T

For me to delete the windows partition I need to be logged in to OS X, right? I am not able to that. I am thinking that maybe there is a way I could fix this error by doing some tricks during start up but don't know how exactly. Any further?

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Answer 6

Loner T

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Aug 2, 2014 3:36 PM in response to kumasewera

Can your post the output of

1. diskutil list

2. sudo fdisk /dev/<BootCampDisk) (of the form disk0, disk1, disk2, etc. as shown from step 1).

3. sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/<BootCampDisk) (of the form disk0, disk1, disk2, etc. as shown from step 1).

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Answer 7

Loner T

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Aug 3, 2014 5:37 AM in response to kumasewera

You will need to build an external bootable disk or flash drive. You also have the option of using Target Disk Mode -

OS X Mavericks: Transfer files between two computers using target disk mode

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Answer 8

kumasewera Author

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Aug 3, 2014 10:39 AM in response to Loner T

@Loner T, I have already transferred the files using MacDrive so I may not need to use Target Disk Mode. The only worry are the databases which I cannot backup using a file manager like MacDrive. You suggested two ways but honestly I do not know where to start. As it stands now I just need to buy a lot of airtime to download OS X from torrents sites and build an external bootable disk as per the first suggestion in your third post.

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Answer 9

Loner T

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Aug 3, 2014 10:55 AM in response to kumasewera

What happens if you power-cycle the Mac and hold Command+R? If Command+R does not work, can you try Command+Opt+R?

OS X: About OS X Recovery

If you have a Mac, you should not have to use any Torrents. It has recovery options.

There is a tool called Testdisk - http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

It is available on many OSes, so you download an appropriate version and take an image backup of OSX to an external drive.

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Answer 10

kumasewera Author

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Aug 3, 2014 11:18 AM in response to Loner T

When I attempt to recover using Command+R it initiates Internet Recovery so I abort it because I know I do not have enough airtime for Internet connection for a such a heavy task. I am working with TestDisk right now. I have another Mac (Mini). Can I create a recovery disk from this one and use it on my troubled MBP? The MBP was running OS 10.9.3 while the Mini is running 10.8.2

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Answer 11

Loner T

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Aug 3, 2014 11:34 AM in response to kumasewera

Since you have another Mac, Target Disk Mode ( http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13842 ) will let you back up the entire OSX unbootable partition.

You should be able to dd the Recovery HD from the Mini to a USB flash drive and try it. It should be formatted MAC OSX Extended Journaled.

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