notoncleben31
Level 1 (8 points)
Windows Software

Q: Bootcamp error: "The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition" and Windows Recovery partitions

I've install with Bootcamp Windows 8 then upgrade to Windows 8.1 and then upgrade to Windows 10.

When I want to relaunch the Bootcamp I've the error message : "The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition".

According do this page, this is due to Windows recovery partitions added during the migration from 8 to 8.1 and 8.1 to 10.

 

I've check with diskutil and I've found 2 Windows Recovery partitions:

diskutil list

/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):

   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *500.3 GB   disk0

   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1

   2:          Apple_CoreStorage Macintosh HD            419.4 GB   disk0s2

   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk0s3

   4:       Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP                79.1 GB    disk0s4

   5:           Windows Recovery                         471.9 MB   disk0s5

   6:           Windows Recovery                         472.9 MB   disk0s6

/dev/disk1 (internal, virtual):

   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

   0:                  Apple_HFS Macintosh HD           +419.0 GB   disk1

                                 Logical Volume on disk0s2

                                 C961E459-1E0D-4060-A467-3B4A705264AA

                                 Unencrypted


I've tried to delete the 2 Windows Recovery partitions with Disk utility tools but the button "-" to delete the partions is deactivated.

Is it a good idea to delete those partitions? If yes how to do that?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on May 19, 2016 2:47 PM

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notoncleben31

Q: Bootcamp error: "The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition" and Windows Recovery partitions

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T May 19, 2016 6:34 PM in response to notoncleben31
    Level 7 (23,828 points)
    Safari
    May 19, 2016 6:34 PM in response to notoncleben31

    1. What is the year/model of your Mac?

    2. Are you trying to install a new copy of W10 or remove the existing installation?

    3. Did the W8 or W8.1 installation/upgrade have any issues prior to the W10 upgrade?

  • by notoncleben31,

    notoncleben31 notoncleben31 May 20, 2016 5:05 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Windows Software
    May 20, 2016 5:05 AM in response to Loner T

    1 - MacBookPro Retina 13 inch (mars 2015)

    2 - Not really, I was curious and trying to relaunch Bootcamp to see the options available for potential removing or other maintenance tasks. I've seen the error, made some search to understand and find a solution and identified there is potential 1Go wasted on my disk. Question is is it safe to remove it and how to do that.

    3 - W8 installation was done with upgrade to 8.1 and 10 in the same day. The only issue is the partition OSXRESERVED wasn't deleted. I've remove it manually.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T May 20, 2016 6:01 AM in response to notoncleben31
    Level 7 (23,828 points)
    Safari
    May 20, 2016 6:01 AM in response to notoncleben31

    BC Assistant does not understand Windows RE (Recovery Environment) partitions. If you run BC Assistant, it assumes you have manually partitioned the disk and will not go further. If you have data to be preserved, backup your files. I can provide Terminal diskutil commands to correct the disk space issue. Once you have W10 installed and activated, it can be re-installed on the same hardware directly, without any issues.

     

    2015 Macs no longer use USB installers. OSXRSERVED is a substitute and is used in EFI Installation of W8 and W10. 

  • by notoncleben31,

    notoncleben31 notoncleben31 May 20, 2016 3:18 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Windows Software
    May 20, 2016 3:18 PM in response to Loner T

    Thanks Loner T,

    I'm interested in having the terminal commands. Is there a risk to lose the content of the Windows or OSX partition ?

  • by Loner T,Helpful

    Loner T Loner T May 21, 2016 12:25 AM in response to notoncleben31
    Level 7 (23,828 points)
    Safari
    May 21, 2016 12:25 AM in response to notoncleben31

    Please backup all your Windows and OS X files for safety.

     

    The two Windows RE parts will be erased converted to HFS. Your BOOTCAMP part will be erased and converted to HFS. They will be merged into a single HFS part, and then converted to FAT32 so you can re-install W10 on this FAT32 volume.

     

    1. diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ RE1 disk0s5

    2. diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ RE2 disk0s6

    3. diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BCMP disk0s4

    4. diskutil mergePartitions jhfs+ BCMP disk0s4 disk0s6

    5. diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP disk0s4

     

    This will give you a single fat32 BOOTCAMP partition on which you can re-install W10.

  • by notoncleben31,

    notoncleben31 notoncleben31 May 21, 2016 12:25 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Windows Software
    May 21, 2016 12:25 AM in response to Loner T

    I understand that will erase the current BOOTCAMP partition.

    Is there a way to merge the disk0s6 and disk0S5 to the BOOTCAMP partition without loosing the Windows installation?

    If not have you a recommendation for backing up and restoring the Windows data easily? I'm used to TimeMachine for MacOSX part but I've never did backup in the Windows context.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T May 21, 2016 7:47 AM in response to notoncleben31
    Level 7 (23,828 points)
    Safari
    May 21, 2016 7:47 AM in response to notoncleben31

    notoncleben31 wrote:

     

    I understand that will erase the current BOOTCAMP partition.

    Correct.

    Is there a way to merge the disk0s6 and disk0S5 to the BOOTCAMP partition without loosing the Windows installation?

    Before you do this, please see How to install OS X on an external drive connected to your Mac - Apple Support , in case you corrupt your internal disk.

     

    The following steps may not work. Back up all your important Windows and OS X files. Both the following commands will return an error, because there is no disk associated with the resulting Free Space.

     

    1. diskutil eraseVolume free RE1 disk0s5

    2. diskutil eraseVolume free RE2 disk0s6

     

    If your Windows installation uses a hybrid MBR, the next set of steps can overwrite not only the MBR, but also the GPT.

     

    Run Windows Disk Management, and extend the end of the partition to subsume the 1Gb. You can also use a GParted Live CD to do the same.

     

    If not have you a recommendation for backing up and restoring the Windows data easily?

    You can use Winclone, CampTune, Paragon, etc. All these have their limitations and quirks.