"We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one. Form more information, see setup log files"

Question

"We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one. Form more information, see setup log files"

Ok so back in August 2014 I succuesfully used bootcamp to install Windows 10 Tech preview. It worked great until March of this year when Windows issued an update (Which I had no control over). After this update the R9 4GB graphics card driver stopped working. I contacted Apple/AMD/Microsoft but was unable to fix this problem.

So, I uninstalled Windows 10 through bootcamp and restored the drive to a single partition. I purchased windows 8.1 and downloaded Windows Enterprise edition (as this comes as an ISO file) and started the process again with Bootcamp. Everything works great until I get to the installation of windows.

I did the same as last time (formatted the Bootcamp partition) and tried to continue the installation. I now get the following message:

I have tried a complete reinstall of the system twice (back to factory settings) but still the same issue. I have also tried using Windows 10 Tech preview but still the same issue. (I only have my remote drive with the ISO file connected to the mac and have tried with a USB stick)

Any ideas would be much appreciated! Thanks

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014), iOS 8.3, Core I7 - 16GB RAM - AMD R9 M295X

Posted on Apr 30, 2015 2:58 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 30, 2015 6:25 AM in response to Jeremy@Creative

You have two separate issues...

1. There is no official Apple support for Enterprise versions, From System requirements to install Windows on your Mac via Boot Camp - Apple Support,

Supported versions of Windows
These are the supported versions of Windows(authentic, single, full-installation). Check the tables below to see which of these versions will work with your Mac.

Windows XP: Home Edition or Professional with Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3 (Boot Camp 3)
Windows Vista: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate, Service Pack 1 or later (Boot Camp 3)
Windows 7: Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate (Boot Camp 4 or 5.1)
Windows 8: Windows 8 or 8.1, Windows 8 or 8.1 Pro (Boot Camp 5.1 only)

2. You can use a DVD and create an ISO, if required. Please see How to install Windows using Boot Camp - Apple Support and Boot Camp: Creating an ISO image from a Windows installation DVD - Apple Support.

3. The iMac5K is a UEFI-compliant Mac, so it supports two different methods of installing Windows (Legacy BIOS and EFI). Your disk partitioning is not correct, which may be due to BC Assistant failure. The error message indicates that EFI boot was attempted which behaves differently than BIOS method.

4. Can you post the output of the following Terminal commands?

diskutil list

diskutil cs list

sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0

sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

The "sudo" commands will prompt for your password, and it will not be echoed back. You may also see a warning about improper use of "sudo" and potential data loss due to "abuse" of the command.

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Answer 2

Apr 30, 2015 4:16 AM in response to Loner T

Thank you for your prompt response. Please see below:

Last login: Thu Apr 30 09:15:48 on console

Jeremys-iMac:~ jeremygaster$ 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_CoreStorage 121.0 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Boot OS X 134.2 MB disk0s3

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk1

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk1s1

2: Apple_CoreStorage 999.3 GB disk1s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk1s3

/dev/disk2

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD *1.1 TB disk2

Logical Volume on disk0s2, disk1s2

E693210D-5893-4CC0-B3FF-18B5A92179CB

Unencrypted Fusion Drive

Jeremys-iMac:~ jeremygaster$ diskutil cs list

CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

|

+-- Logical Volume Group 5BEBA89D-FBF8-45AF-99CF-DFB82BC6B9E8

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

Name: Internal Drive

Status: Online

Size: 1120333979648 B (1.1 TB)

Free Space: 114688 B (114.7 KB)

|

+-< Physical Volume 2EF54FBF-26BB-4D56-A84E-947205800865

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

| Index: 0

| Disk: disk0s2

| Status: Online

| Size: 120988852224 B (121.0 GB)

|

+-< Physical Volume B66237C5-F9ED-454C-9AFB-90553B0D0E0A

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

| Index: 1

| Disk: disk1s2

| Status: Online

| Size: 999345127424 B (999.3 GB)

|

+-> Logical Volume Family A91C5378-D285-434D-B33B-5F1E0CC64C62

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

Encryption Status: Unlocked

Encryption Type: None

Conversion Status: NoConversion

Conversion Direction: -none-

Has Encrypted Extents: No

Fully Secure: No

Passphrase Required: No

|

+-> Logical Volume E693210D-5893-4CC0-B3FF-18B5A92179CB

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

Disk: disk2

Status: Online

Size (Total): 1114478608384 B (1.1 TB)

Conversion Progress: -none-

Revertible: No

LV Name: Macintosh HD

Volume Name: Macintosh HD

Content Hint: Apple_HFS

Jeremys-iMac:~ jeremygaster$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0

WARNING: Improper use of the sudo command could lead to data loss

or the deletion of important system files. Please double-check your

typing when using sudo. Type "man sudo" for more information.

To proceed, enter your password, or type Ctrl-C to abort.

Password:

Sorry, try again.

Password:

gpt show: /dev/disk0: mediasize=121332826112; sectorsize=512; blocks=236978176

gpt show: /dev/disk0: PMBR at sector 0

gpt show: /dev/disk0: Pri GPT at sector 1

gpt show: /dev/disk0: Sec GPT at sector 236978175

start size index contents

0 1 PMBR

1 1 Pri GPT header

2 32 Pri GPT table

34 6

40 409600 1 GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B

409640 236306352 2 GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

236715992 262144 3 GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

236978136 7

236978143 32 Sec GPT table

236978175 1 Sec GPT header

Jeremys-iMac:~ jeremygaster$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

Disk: /dev/disk0 geometry: 14751/255/63 [236978176 sectors]

Signature: 0xAA55

Starting Ending

#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec [ start - size]

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

1: EE 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 1 - 236978175] <Unknown ID>

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

Jeremys-iMac:~ jeremygaster$

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Answer 3

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 30, 2015 4:21 AM in response to Jeremy@Creative

Since you have a Fusion drive, can you post the output of the following?

sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk1

sudo fdisk /dev/disk1

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Answer 4

Apr 30, 2015 4:29 AM in response to Loner T

Jeremys-iMac:~ jeremygaster$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk1 sudo fdisk /dev/disk1

Password:

gpt show: /dev/disk1: mediasize=1000204886016; sectorsize=512; blocks=1953525168

gpt show: /dev/disk1: PMBR at sector 0

gpt show: /dev/disk1: Pri GPT at sector 1

gpt show: /dev/disk1: Sec GPT at sector 1953525167

start size index contents

0 1 PMBR

1 1 Pri GPT header

2 32 Pri GPT table

34 6

40 409600 1 GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B

409640 1951845952 2 GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

1952255592 1269536 3 GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

1953525128 7

1953525135 32 Sec GPT table

1953525167 1 Sec GPT header

gpt show: unable to open device 'sudo': No such file or directory

Jeremys-iMac:~ jeremygaster$

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Answer 5

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 30, 2015 4:41 AM in response to Jeremy@Creative

Can you the output of the last command (fdisk)?

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Answer 6

Apr 30, 2015 4:45 AM in response to Loner T

Disk: /dev/disk1 geometry: 121601/255/63 [1953525168 sectors]

Signature: 0xAA55

Starting Ending

#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec [ start - size]

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

1: EE 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 1 - 1953525167] <Unknown ID>

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

Jeremys-iMac:~ jeremygaster$

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Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 30, 2015 6:07 AM in response to Jeremy@Creative

You currently do not have a Bootcamp/Windows partition. How was it deleted? Can you run Disk Utility Repair before your next attempt at BCA?

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Answer 8

Apr 30, 2015 6:16 AM in response to Loner T

I uninstalled it using BCA. I repaired the disk and verified the permissions before the last attempt with no sucess unfortunately. I have also done a clean reinstall.

The senior advisors at Apple have submitted this problem to their engineering team and as yet, none of their suggestions have worked. They are still working on it.

Maybe a BCA update is being put together. I have notice many others with the 5k with the same problem. Frustrating!

Thanks for your ongoing help...

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Answer 9

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 30, 2015 6:21 AM in response to Jeremy@Creative

Do you want to attempt an EFI boot (faster) or a legacy BIOS boot? If you are willing to try either, I can give you the steps to try from Terminal.

You will also need http://sourceforge.net/projects/gptfdisk/.

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Answer 10

Apr 30, 2015 6:24 AM in response to Loner T

To be honest, I am not familiar with EFI or legacy or what the differences between the two are. That would be great thanks.

Would it involve reinstalling the system again?

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Answer 11

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 30, 2015 6:43 PM in response to Jeremy@Creative

1. Backup your current OS X installation.

2. We will use the diskutil cs resizeStack command. It allows you to choose which physical device is target of resizing when resizing a CS volume. Using the values from you diskutil cs list output,

diskutil cs resizeStack E693210D-5893-4CC0-B3FF-18B5A92179CB B66237C5-F9ED-454C-9AFB-90553B0D0E0A 750g free BOOTCAMP 0g

The first UUID is your Macintosh HD OS X volume. The second UUID refers to the 1TB HDD. The CS volume is being reduced to 750g, freeing up 250g for Windows which will be marked a Free Space. You can choose a value other than 750g as the OS X size. 750g is an example. The last 0g tells the command to create a part which occupies all the freed-up disk space.

diskutil cs resizestack

Usage: diskutil coreStorage resizeStack

lvUUID|MountPoint|DiskIdentifier|DeviceNode [pvUUID] size

[part1Format part1Name part1Size part2Format part2Name part2Size

part3Format part3Name part3Size ...]

Resize both a logical volume and one of its underlying physical volumes in a

single operation. A single physical volume is always chosen for the underlying

shrink or grow, even if the logical volume's logical volume group is backed by

more than one physical volume. If you do not specify a particular physical

volume, then one is chosen for you. Note that if this is a grow operation,

this verb is limited by the physical volume's partition's room to grow.

Specifying zero as the size asks for an "automatic" grow-to-fill operation.

If this is a shrink operation, you can optionally request that new partitions

be created in the newly-formed free space gap in the partition map.

Again, note that this only resizes one of the underlying physical volumes; if

you need more sophistication in managing your topology, you should use the

separate physical and logical volume resize verbs.

Example: diskutil coreStorage resizeStack

11111111-2222-3333-4444-555555555555 10g JHFS+ New 1g

3. Please post the output of after step 2.

diskutil cs list

sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk1

sudo fdisk /dev/disk1

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Answer 12

May 1, 2015 2:26 AM in response to Loner T

OK great, I will complete the steps suggested. I have several questions;

1. Will these steps require that I will need to reinstall the system

2. Do I execute these commands from terminal in IOS or from terminal on bootup.

Thanks

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Answer 13

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

May 1, 2015 4:14 AM in response to Jeremy@Creative

No. There is no reinstallation of OS X, the partition is being shrunk. The following command is executed from OS X Terminal.

diskutil cs resizeStack E693210D-5893-4CC0-B3FF-18B5A92179CBB66237C5-F9ED-454C-9AFB-90553B0D0E0A 750g free BOOTCAMP 0g

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Answer 14

May 1, 2015 4:37 AM in response to Loner T

OK so this is what I got from Terminal after executing step 2:

Jeremys-iMac:~ jeremygaster$ diskutil cs resizeStack E693210D-5893-4CC0-B3FF-18B5A92179CB B66237C5-F9ED-454C-9AFB-90553B0D0E0A 750g free BOOTCAMP 0g

The Core Storage Logical Volume UUID is E693210D-5893-4CC0-B3FF-18B5A92179CB

Started CoreStorage operation

Checking prerequisites for resizing Logical-Physical volume stack

Shrinking Logical-Physical volume stack

Verifying file system

Using live mode

Performing live verification

Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume

Checking extents overflow file

Checking multi-linked files

Checking catalog hierarchy

Checking extended attributes file

Checking volume bitmap

Checking volume information

File system check exit code is 0

Shrinking file system

Shrinking Logical Volume

Resizing Core Storage Logical Volume structures

Resized Core Storage Logical Volume to 749999882240 bytes

Shrinking Core Storage Physical Volume from 999345127424 to 634866515968 bytes

Shrinking Core Storage data structures

Resizing Core Storage Physical Volume structures

Resized Core Storage Physical Volume to 634866515968 bytes

Copying booter

Shrinking partition for Physical Volume and adding new partitions

Modifying partition map

A problem occurred; undoing all changes

Copying booter

Growing Core Storage data structures

A problem occurred; undoing all changes

Growing Logical Volume

Resizing Core Storage Logical Volume structures

Resized Core Storage Logical Volume to 750000013312 bytes

Growing file system

Error: -69822: Couldn't rediscover disk after operation

Jeremys-iMac:~ jeremygaster$

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Answer 15

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

May 1, 2015 6:25 AM in response to Jeremy@Creative

Can you post the output of the three commands in Step 3?

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