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Solution to Deleting a Second Partition on a Mac

Hello!


Somehow, I or my desktop made a mess of things!! I originally had 500GB on my iMac-Mid 2007 Desktop running OS X Yosemite 10.10.4. I used BootCamp to install Windows 7, and recently upgraded to Windows 10. I decided that I personally didn't care for Windows 10 and so I decided to remove it. I used Bootcamp to UNINSTALL Windows and BootCamp Successfully Uninstalled Windows, however it did NOT restore the space used back to the original 500GB.


I tried using the Command-R Disk Utility to delete the any possible partition that might of been hidden to me (Since the Windows Partition is somehow lost to me)...


Now this is where everything becomes REALLY Confusing! Hopefully one of you guys knows what happened... Somehow a SECOND MAC PARTITION BECAME CREATED aside from the lost unusable space lost to me by Windows.


My question is How do I delete the 2nd MAC partition, furthermore, how do I delete the windows partition and resize the Hard Drive to it's original 500GB Size.


Step by Step instruction would be Greatly Appreciated. Thanks!

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Aug 4, 2015 1:17 PM

Reply
11 replies

Aug 4, 2015 1:25 PM in response to jjbautista

Open Disk Utility and select the HDD's out-dented entry in the sidebar list. Click on the Partition tab in the Disk Utility main window. Take a screenshot of the entire Disk Utility window and post it here.


To post screen shot do this:


  1. Press COMMAND-SHIFT-4 which will change the cursor to crosshairs.
  2. Hold down the mouse button and use the crosshairs to select the part of the screen you wish to capture.
  3. Release the button and the image will be saved to your Desktop.
  4. Click on the Camera icon in the toolbar of the forum message editor.
  5. Drag the image onto the Choose File button and click on the Insert button.

Aug 4, 2015 1:47 PM in response to Kappy

User uploaded file


As you may see here I have a 500GB Hard Drive. 100GB is lost somehow by Windows. A Second titled "Untitled" Partition was created; It is THIS one I would like to erase. This is sized at 199 GB.


My Desktop where OS X Yosemite 10.10.4 is Called Jesus's Mac, I would like to keep this one!! This is sized at 200GB.


I feel like the answer is in my face, but I am too frustrated to think of it!

Aug 4, 2015 1:51 PM in response to jjbautista

Thank you, but that's not what I need to see.


"... select the HDD's out-dented entry in the sidebar list. Click on the Partition tab in the Disk Utility's main window." I think all you need to do is this:

To remove an unwanted partition:


1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. After the main menu appears select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button. Select the hard drive's main out-dented entry then click on the Partition tab in the Disk Utility main window.


2. You should see the graphical sizing window showing the existing partitions. A portion may appear as a blue rectangle representing the used space on a partition.


3. Click in the partition you wish to remove. A dark blue rectangle will illuminate the edges of the partition. Click on the Delete [-] button at the bottom.


User uploaded file


4. In the lower right corner of the sizing rectangle for the remaining partition is a resizing gadget. Select it with the mouse and drag it all the way to the bottom of the sizing window.


5. Click on the Apply button. It may take a while for all of this to be competed.


It would be wise to have a backup of your current system as this is not necessarily free of risk for data loss.

Aug 4, 2015 5:03 PM in response to jjbautista

Be sure you are booted to the Recovery HD. If you are and it still won't unmount, then you need to use the Terminal under the Utilities menu in the Recovery screen's menubar. At the prompt enter:


diskutil list


Press the RETURN key. Look for the device ID for your startup drive. For example, that might be disk0. Now, enter:


sudo diskutil unmountDisk force disk0


Substitute the device ID from the previous command where you see disk0 above, if it's different. Press RETURN. You will be asked to enter your admin password. Nothing echoes to the Terminal window so type carefully. If the command is correct and the command line returns without any errors, then quit the Terminal. From the Recovery menu select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button. Select the out-dented drive entry in the Disk Utility sidebar, click on the Partition tab in the main window. You should now be able to drag the remaining partition to the bottom and click on the Apply button. It should now work.

Aug 4, 2015 11:16 PM in response to jjbautista

I suggest that you backup any files you have on the drive, then start from scratch using Disk Utility to re-partition the drive into one single OS X volume. Then restore your files from the backup.


If you have a Snow Leopard DVD that boots the computer then do this:


Clean Install of Snow Leopard


Be sure to make a backup first because the following procedure will erase

the drive and everything on it.


1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came

with your computer. Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.

After the chime press and hold down the "C" key. Release the key when you see

a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.


2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue

button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.

After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive

size.) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of

partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button

and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended

(Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.


3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed

with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.


4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup

Assistant. After you finish Setup Assistant will complete the installation after which

you will be running a fresh install of OS X. You can now begin the update process

by opening Software Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your

installation current.


5. If you are planning to sell or give your computer away, then do the following:


After you reformat your hard drive and reinstall OS X, the computer restarts to a

Welcome screen and asks you to choose a country or region. If you want to leave

the Mac in an out-of-box state, don't continue with the setup of your system. Instead,

press Command-Q to shut down the Mac. When the new owner turns on the Mac,

the Setup Assistant will guide them through the setup process.


Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.


If the computer originally came with Lion or later pre-installed, then do this:


Install OS X Using Internet Recovery


Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.


Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:


Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.


Partition and Format the hard drive:


  1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
  2. After DU loads select your newly installed hard drive (this is the out-dented entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
  3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed. Quit DU and return to the main menu.


Reinstall OS X: Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.


Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.


This should restore the version of OS X originally pre-installed on the computer.

Solution to Deleting a Second Partition on a Mac

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