Lost 300 GB space after removing a partition

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Lost 300 GB space after removing a partition

In my attempt to install Windows 7 Home Edition, I ran into problems at the end and I went back to Boot Camp to start over. Boot Camp told me it can not finish because of some error and I should go to Recovery Mode to repair it. I did that and i did not see any report of error but HD is still at 2.8 TB, instead of 3.1 TB. The 300 GB missing are what I was assigning on the Windows partition. I decided to do a clean install of the whole computer. Everything went well, went back to the Disk Utility, it is still at 2.8 TB. I re-installed Windows again, this time it went successful, but I only assigned 50 GB to test it out first.

How do I get that space back?

As I am posting this and I reset the PRAM, I now notice that 300 GB is assigned as free space but when I try to format it as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), it goes back to be free space. I will post a photo in few minutes once I am able to capture the screen.

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012)

Posted on Apr 29, 2016 5:21 AM

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Answer 1

PPLIFE Author

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Apr 29, 2016 9:43 AM in response to PPLIFE

What I have also noticed is that, besides the Boot Camp, the Volume has been split into two even if on the left it only mention one Macintosh HD. Anyone please??

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Answer 2

Loner T

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Apr 30, 2016 5:50 AM in response to PPLIFE

Please post the output of

sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk1

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Answer 3

PPLIFE Author

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Apr 30, 2016 7:45 AM in response to Loner T

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Answer 4

Loner T

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Apr 30, 2016 7:49 AM in response to PPLIFE

The gap between GPT4 and GPT5 is where you have lost disk space. There is not easy way to reclaim it on a Fusion drive. You will need to backup OS X, erase/rebuild Fusion drive/restore OS X, and then re-install Windows.

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Answer 5

PPLIFE Author

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Apr 30, 2016 8:03 AM in response to PPLIFE

Actually I did reinstall Yosemite. Is the process of erasing and rebuilding Fusion drive different from what I did?

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Answer 6

Loner T

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Apr 30, 2016 10:02 AM in response to PPLIFE

If you reinstall OS X without erasing the Fusion drive, the installer reuses the existing partition, which does not clean up space.

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Answer 7

PPLIFE Author

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Apr 30, 2016 10:12 AM in response to PPLIFE

The last few hours I have tried a different approach using a method described here:

https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/grub

I used the method on section 7.4 on the right, using Ultimate Boot CD. I could't get to the very last thing I needed to do because the computer kept on freezing. I went back to Boot Camp and made another attempt to remove Windows 7 because as of this morning, even the new 50 GB partition I had successfully installed earlier, was giving me the same error message. Boot Camp removed it and gave me back all 350 GB back. I don't know if Ultimate Boot CD method helped to at least shake some things up or what helped but now I am a happy man.

Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it.

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Answer 8

Loner T

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Apr 30, 2016 10:25 AM in response to PPLIFE

When GPT4 was deleted by BCA, it also allowed the Free Space to be coalesced into one part. You may still have a 3-part CoreStorage volume.

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Answer 9

PPLIFE Author

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Apr 30, 2016 10:27 AM in response to PPLIFE

But the Macintosh HD Volume Group is still split into 2 Macintosh HD partitions when I go to the partition tab, even though on the right it shows only one volume. Very weird but at least now I can breath a little sigh of relief.

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Answer 10

Loner T

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Apr 30, 2016 10:29 AM in response to PPLIFE

You can see this two-part setup using the output of Diskutil list.

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Answer 11

PPLIFE Author

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Apr 30, 2016 1:19 PM in response to Loner T

As of right now, this is the way it looks. Can I live with that or do you suggest I take some measures to avoid problems down the line?

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Answer 12

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 30, 2016 2:17 PM in response to PPLIFE

If you plan to install Windows, the current layout can create challanges.

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Answer 13

PPLIFE Author

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May 1, 2016 1:23 PM in response to PPLIFE

I was able to successfully install Windows 8 on it. While I was installing, it showed about 800 GB as being Unallocated, whatever that means. I will wait until I have access to the Apple Store but at least now I have something to work with.

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