SHGD
Level 1 (8 points)
Mac OS X

Q: No partition possible for reinstallation of El Capitan

I have major problems on both OS X and win 7 (imac 2009).

The computer is unusable, especially the keyboard. This follows an update to El Capitan a couple of weeks ago.

 

The computer does not boot with any keys (keyboard problems), the only start up disk available is bootcamp, but OS X and recovery disks are visible on win 7 in bootcamp console.

I tried reinstalling El Capitan but no disks are available for partition, so i'm blocked (needs to be GUID which I don't have).

 

I have saved all files and would really like to restore systems. However, the dvd is not working (ejects) for both OSX installation DVD or win 7 iso burnt dvd.

I'm wondering if the this is repairable ? Thanks in adavnce for any advice.

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Aug 29, 2016 1:16 AM

by Loner T,Solvedanswer
Loner T Loner T
Level 7 (23,493 points)
Safari
A:

Your GPT is invalid, and your MBR is very much out of order. You need GPT Fdisk to correct this. Let me know once you have it installed, and I can provide the exact steps to correct this. It will also address your Windows issues.

Posted on Sep 2, 2016 1:18 PM

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SHGD

Q: No partition possible for reinstallation of El Capitan

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  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Sep 4, 2016 8:06 AM in response to SHGD
    Level 7 (23,493 points)
    Safari
    Sep 4, 2016 8:06 AM in response to SHGD

    Apple System Preferences will not allow a third-party controlled NTFS file system to show. You can either disable Paragon or see https://kb.paragon-software.com/article/204 for the alternative.

  • by SHGD,

    SHGD SHGD Sep 4, 2016 8:28 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 4, 2016 8:28 AM in response to Loner T

    OK thank you. I understand now that my bootcamp disk is located in paragon, is this acceptable for correct partitions and is paragon really necessary ?

    For information I selected bootcamp as start up disk in paragon and it booted correctly to windows.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Sep 4, 2016 8:51 AM in response to SHGD
    Level 7 (23,493 points)
    Safari
    Sep 4, 2016 8:51 AM in response to SHGD

    It is fine to leave it in Paragon. Please ensure good backups. At times there are conflicts between the Apple and Paragon drivers, which can lead to NTFS corruption. Use chkdsk often, to avoid corruption.

  • by SHGD,

    SHGD SHGD Sep 4, 2016 9:05 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 4, 2016 9:05 AM in response to Loner T

    Thank you very much. I will do the backups now if you think it's a good idea at this stage.

     

    Have we finished, or do I need to check GPT entries and MBR ?

    There was also the question concerning the small 104MB partition which still shows in paragon and on the desktop ?

     

    I would feel much more comfortable knowing that all is set correctly for smooth running

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Sep 4, 2016 9:22 AM in response to SHGD
    Level 7 (23,493 points)
    Safari
    Sep 4, 2016 9:22 AM in response to SHGD

    To address the 104MB partition,

     

    1. You will need to convert it to Free Space.

    2. Use http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/using-gparted-to-resize-your-window s-vista-partition/ to absorb the 100MB into the main NTFS partition.

    3. Change your MBR back to the regular '2 3 4' instead of the current '3 4 5'.

    4. Run Startup Repair and/or bootrec.exe and verify full functionality.

     

    If you are comfortable doing this, step 1 would be (run this step only once, otherwise you will lose data). This renumbers disk slices and returns an error, because Free Space does not have a disk slice.

     

    diskutil eraseVolume free free disk0s4

     

    Please post the output of diskutil list after you reboot.

  • by SHGD,

    SHGD SHGD Sep 4, 2016 9:48 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 4, 2016 9:48 AM in response to Loner T

    That looks pretty complicated. I'm ready to try if this will help avoiding future problems.

    It will obviously take me some time.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Sep 4, 2016 10:02 AM in response to SHGD
    Level 7 (23,493 points)
    Safari
    Sep 4, 2016 10:02 AM in response to SHGD

    It may look daunting, but you have already done the GDisk part. The GParted part is usually not complicated. I suggest making a backup first.

  • by SHGD,

    SHGD SHGD Sep 5, 2016 5:04 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 5, 2016 5:04 AM in response to Loner T

    I have my backups done and the computer is running again. I will take care of the partitions as I'm determined to clean things up and have a normal OS for OS X and windows.

    First of all, many many thanks for the unrelenting support and also your patience. I have very limited knowledge as you know, I even felt like giving up at times and buying a new computer. You saved me the money and the hassle

     

    I need to catch up on some work (Word & autocad stuff), and in a week or so I will attempt the partitions modifications. 

     

    Many thanks again for everything.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Sep 5, 2016 5:21 AM in response to SHGD
    Level 7 (23,493 points)
    Safari
    Sep 5, 2016 5:21 AM in response to SHGD

    Please post back when you are ready, and we can get this cleaned up.

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