Q: Unable to format partition
I have a late 2014 Macbook pro running 10.10.5 yosemite.
I normally always format my macs firstly by booting into the system mode (holding cmd + r) and then format a partition, then jump straight into the OS X installer.
Today i tried tried but when i jumped into the disk utility i had 2 items on the left sidebar, my usual HD, with the partition beneath, and then "disk 1" with "os x base system" beneath.
I tried to erase the partition (which i first had to unlock) and it gave me an error about spare volumes or something.
After clicking restart my issue is this:
My mac boots straight into the OS X utilities screen (i.e. no option to jump into my usual HD).
If i try and select install OS X, the only available partition to install onto is a "Recovery HD" which is just a 600mb volume which clearly isn't right.
if i jump into disk utility the options on the left for my HD are the HD itself (i.e. the partition which did show below no longer shows), but i cannot select erase, and cannot erase through the partition tab on this main volume. Ive tried verifying and repairing the disk and neither work.
Therefore how can i boot back into OS X or wipe my HD as I'm stuck?
MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)
Posted on Dec 26, 2015 3:40 AM