Disk Utility bugs - macOS Sierra 10.12.2

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Level 1

6 points

Disk Utility bugs - macOS Sierra 10.12.2

Hi,

Whenever I try to make a partition or format something in Disk Utility, I give it a name, but for example, I just made a new partition called "Shared", but after I pressed OK and it finished partitioning, the partition was called "S". I can almost NEVER get the name I want for partition, I always have to rename it manually, and this happens with USB flash drives also when formatting. I tested this on Windows, no problems. Second issue is, when formatting, I usually get an error that occurs during formatting, so I need to format most of my things twice. BOTH issues were tested on MULTIPLE MACS, so it looks like a software bug. Both these things work fine on Windows.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014), macOS Sierra (10.12.2)

Posted on Jan 6, 2017 6:09 PM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

155,228 points

Jan 6, 2017 6:58 PM in response to davidkoplik

I can't duplicate what you are describing. I can create MS-DOS partitions and give them any name. Perhaps if you were to provide step-by-step instructions starting with erasing the drive I might be able to duplicate the bug you're describing, but I have not had any such difficulty.

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Answer 2

davidkoplik Author

Level 1

6 points

Jan 6, 2017 7:06 PM in response to John Galt

1. open Disk Utility

2. find your main HDD usually called APPLE SSD [something] Media

3. click on Partition

4. add a partition using the button below the circle/graph of partitions

5. name it "Shared", format: MS-DOS (FAT), and give it 5 GB

6. confirm the partition, there shouldn't be any errors, but the name of it won't be "Shared", but "S" (that's the bug)

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Answer 3

John Galt

Level 10

155,228 points

Jan 6, 2017 7:58 PM in response to davidkoplik

It works exactly as you described. Disk Utility renamed Shared to S. It seems to be a consequence of selecting the MS-DOS format, so perhaps DU is assuming DOS's archaic alphabetical "A-Z" volume designation.

However, I can subsequently rename that partition to anything I want, so the S designation is just a temporary inconvenience. As a workaround, use the Finder to rename it.

I also confirmed that the first attempt at erasing the drive often fails. It usually succeeds after the second attempt, but in at least one case I needed to erase it a third time before it succeeded. I had thought that's a consequence of a drive that responds too slowly to Disk Utility's request to erase it, but perhaps it's just a bug.

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Answer 4

John Galt

Level 10

155,228 points

Jan 6, 2017 6:14 PM in response to davidkoplik

What is its Partition Map Type?

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Answer 5

davidkoplik Author

Level 1

6 points

Jan 6, 2017 6:47 PM in response to John Galt

the partition is MS-DOS, Scheme (the map type you're asking for) is: GUID Partition Map (it's the main SSD drive with my macOS)

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