Geoffrey Dyson

Q: partition not available (greyed out)

I just bought a new Mac Mini, and after having partitioned the hard disk once, the partitioning function has disappeared.  It is still there in Disk Utilities, but it is greyed out.  Is this normal.  Is there any way to make it usable again?

Posted on Jan 23, 2015 8:10 AM

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Q: partition not available (greyed out)

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  • by Japib,

    Japib Japib Jan 23, 2015 8:18 AM in response to Geoffrey Dyson
    Level 4 (2,798 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 23, 2015 8:18 AM in response to Geoffrey Dyson

    try repairing the drive in the Disk Utility, then restart your Mac.

  • by keg55,

    keg55 keg55 Jan 23, 2015 8:23 AM in response to Geoffrey Dyson
    Level 6 (8,434 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 23, 2015 8:23 AM in response to Geoffrey Dyson

    Can you provide a screen shot of the issue in Disk Utility?

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Jan 23, 2015 2:31 PM in response to Geoffrey Dyson
    Level 9 (72,465 points)
    iTunes
    Jan 23, 2015 2:31 PM in response to Geoffrey Dyson

    Do you have Boot Camp installed?

  • by Geoffrey Dyson,

    Geoffrey Dyson Geoffrey Dyson Jan 23, 2015 3:05 PM in response to keg55
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jan 23, 2015 3:05 PM in response to keg55

    here it is

     

    disk utility.jpg

  • by Geoffrey Dyson,

    Geoffrey Dyson Geoffrey Dyson Jan 23, 2015 3:09 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jan 23, 2015 3:09 PM in response to Eric Root

    Repairing the disk has not rectified the situation and Boot Camp is not installed.  Thanks for the ideas, but that's not it.

  • by keg55,

    keg55 keg55 Jan 23, 2015 3:36 PM in response to Geoffrey Dyson
    Level 6 (8,434 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 23, 2015 3:36 PM in response to Geoffrey Dyson

    You have a Logical Volume Group (LVG) and with that type of format, you can only add 1 additional partition which is your Macintosh HD2. This is normal for an LVG.

     

    If your Mac Mini's drive is NOT a Fusion Drive, you can delete the Macintosh HD2 Logical Partition and that space will be merged into the Macintosh HD Logical Partition above it. If you do this then you can revert the LVG into its native type without any data destruction by doing the following. THEN you would be able to partition more than just 2.

     

    • Back up your system first
    • Open Disk Utility.
    • Select the Macintosh HD2 partition and click the '-' to delete it. The free space should automatically merge in with the Macintosh HD.
    • After you see a single Logical Partition (Macintosh HD), open Terminal from /Application/Utilities.
    • Type diskutil cs list and make sure you see what I have BOLDED toward the bottom of the Example (Revertible:  Yes). Ignore the unlock and decryption required in my Example as my Logical Partition is FileVault 2. If you have encrypted your Macintosh HD, you will need to turn OFF FileVault 2 before you revert it.
    • Identify the Logical Volume (See BOLD Disk:  disk2 in the Example).
    • Last, still in Terminal, type diskutil cs revert <Logical Volume>. Using my Example, diskutil cs revert disk2

     

    Example

    CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

    |

    +-- Logical Volume Group AF848A3F-9304-4563-9F2A-D9476DEC7F54

        =========================================================

        Name:         Macintosh HD

        Status:       Online

        Size:         250140319744 B (250.1 GB)

        Free Space:   24576 B (24.6 KB)

        |

        +-< Physical Volume F34DBC61-2D5F-4154-AD63-8B9B62BD095F

        |   ----------------------------------------------------

        |   Index:    0

        |   Disk:     disk0s2

        |   Status:   Online

        |   Size:     250140319744 B (250.1 GB)

        |

        +-> Logical Volume Family 1B915FDE-1544-4E1B-B58C-B125C4A6A8B2

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

            Encryption Status:       Unlocked

            Encryption Type:         AES-XTS

            Conversion Status:       Complete

            Conversion Direction:    -none-

            Has Encrypted Extents:   Yes

            Fully Secure:            Yes

            Passphrase Required:     Yes

            |

            +-> Logical Volume E6314D59-8815-4A70-A91F-46C824F0D879

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

                Disk:                  disk2

                Status:                Online

                Size (Total):          249787973632 B (249.8 GB)

                Conversion Progress:   -none-

                Revertible:            Yes (unlock and decryption required)

                LV Name:               Macintosh HD

                Volume Name:           Macintosh HD

                Content Hint:          Apple_HFS

  • by Joe Bailey,

    Joe Bailey Joe Bailey Jan 23, 2015 3:54 PM in response to Geoffrey Dyson
    Level 6 (12,217 points)
    Jan 23, 2015 3:54 PM in response to Geoffrey Dyson

    You cannot repartition the boot volume. First you mist boot your Mac mini from the recovery drive by holding down Command+R during the boot process and running Disk Utility from there. Second while you can add a partition, you cannot remove the first partition on the drive. To be honest I didn't think it was even possible to partition a Fusion drive, I know it is not recommended.

  • by keg55,

    keg55 keg55 Jan 23, 2015 4:18 PM in response to Joe Bailey
    Level 6 (8,434 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 23, 2015 4:18 PM in response to Joe Bailey

    Thanks for adding restarting into the Recovery HD before doing the revert IF the drive is a Fusion Drive..

     

    Yes, you can add 1 additional partition to a Fusion Drive.