User profile for user: charguytechguy
charguytechguy Author
User level: Level 1
70 points

Bootcamp "The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition" error.

Hi, all. I'm trying to remove Windows from my Mac to free up more space. However, when I try to remove it the conventional way (by using Boot Camp), I get an error that says "The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition." It goes on to say "The startup disk must be formatted as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume or already partitioned by Boot Camp Assistant for installing Windows." I already tried erasing the disk and unmounting it in Disk Utility. Any help would be appreciated.

MacBook, macOS Sierra (10.12.5)

Posted on Jul 15, 2017 6:33 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,536 points

Posted on Jul 13, 2018 7:22 PM

philip99song wrote:


Hi LonerT,

I saw that you asked for people to put in the command.

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme 251.0 GB
disk0

1: EFI EFI 314.6 MB
disk0s1

2: Apple_APFS Container disk1 202.0 GB
disk0s2

3: Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP 8.0 GB disk0s3

4: Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP 40.6 GB disk0s4

This should work in your case as well.


Run (only once)


diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC1 disk0s3

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC2 disk0s4

diskutil mergePartitions jhfs+ BCMP disk0s3 disk0s4

diskutil list


If you only see disk0s3, then


diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP disk0s3


and now run BC Assistant and click on Restore/Remove.

View in context
532 replies
User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,536 points

Jan 9, 2018 2:09 PM in response to beanthe3rd

beanthe3rd wrote:


Please help me, I already used some of the commands listed here but forget which ones they were, thanks

In your specific case, try


diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC1 disk0s3

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC2 disk0s4

diskutil mergePartitions jhfs+ BCMP disk0s3 disk0s4

diskutil list


If you only see disk0s3, then


diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP disk0s3


and run BCA and click on Restore/Remove.

Reply
User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,536 points

Feb 11, 2018 5:47 PM in response to sizzleberries

You have a 2TB Fusion drive. A Reboot can switch disk0 and disk1, so ensure that you are pointing to the HDD (2TB) part. I will leave 'N' as place-holder in the following commands. You will need to determine if it is 1 or 0, based on the output. Your posted output has N as 0.


diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC1 diskNs4

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC2 diskNs5

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC3 diskNs6

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC4 diskNs7

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC5 diskNs8

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC6 diskNs9

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC7 diskNs10

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC8 diskNs11


diskutil mergePartitions jhfs+ BCMP diskNs4 diskNs11

diskutil list


If you only see diskNs4, then


diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP diskNs4


and now re-run BC Assistant and click on Remove/Restore.

Reply
User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,536 points

Feb 24, 2018 6:29 AM in response to danh62103

You have a Windows RE (Recovery - disk0s4). This should work in your case as well.


Run (only once)


diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC1 disk0s3

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC2 disk0s4

diskutil mergePartitions jhfs+ BCMP disk0s3 disk0s4

diskutil list


If you only see disk0s3, then


diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP disk0s3


and now run BC Assistant and click on Restore/Remove.

Reply
User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,536 points

Jul 15, 2018 10:52 AM in response to Justanotherfish

This should work in your case as well.


Run (only once)


diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC1 disk0s3

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC2 disk0s4

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC3 disk0s5

diskutil mergePartitions jhfs+ BCMP disk0s3 disk0s5

diskutil list


If you only see disk0s3, then


diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP disk0s3


and now run BC Assistant and click on Restore/Remove.

Reply
User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,536 points

Jul 21, 2018 10:27 AM in response to kos277

kos277 wrote:


I can see that you are doing God's work helping us helpless bootcampers.

Steve Jobs and Tim Cook keep me busy like Sisyphus. 😉


kos277 wrote:


I got the same problem when launching bootcamp assistant. I would like to remove my bootcamp partition and make use of the space on my main harddrive. Is this possible without having to reinstall OSX? Much appreciated man


/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *251.0 GB
disk0

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB
disk0s1

2: Apple_APFS Container disk1 170.0 GB
disk0s2

3: Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP 80.3 GB disk0s3

4: Windows Recovery 507.5 MB
disk0s4


This should work in your case as well.

Run (only once)


diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC1 disk0s3

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC2 disk0s4

diskutil mergePartitions jhfs+ BCMP disk0s3 disk0s4

diskutil list


If you only see disk0s3, then


diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP disk0s3


and now run BC Assistant and click on Restore/Remove.

Reply
User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,536 points

Jul 26, 2018 3:32 AM in response to innosdjadoel

innosdjadoel wrote:


3: Microsoft Basic Data OSXRESERVED 8.0 GB disk0s3

4: Apple_HFS BC2 100.9 GB
disk0s4

5: Apple_HFS BC1 108.7 GB
disk0s5



Run (only once)


diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC3 disk0s3

diskutil mergePartitions jhfs+ BCMP disk0s3 disk0s5

diskutil list


If you only see disk0s3, then


diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP disk0s3


and now run BC Assistant and click on Restore/Remove.

Reply
User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,536 points

Oct 13, 2018 10:01 AM in response to OSp123

You have an iMac with a Fusion Container. Can you post the text output (not an image) of


diskutil apfs list


for the record.


Please ensure disk0 is where the BC partition and Windows RE is located before you run the commands.


In your specific case, try


diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC1 disk0s3

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC2 disk0s4

diskutil mergePartitions jhfs+ BCMP disk0s3 disk0s4

diskutil list


If you only see disk0s3, then


diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP disk0s3


and run BCA and click on Restore/Remove.

Reply
User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,536 points

Dec 12, 2018 6:03 PM in response to nickaedan

  • Step 1


In your specific case, given the current state, try


diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC1 disk0s3

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC2 disk0s4

diskutil mergePartitions jhfs+ BCMP disk0s3 disk0s4

diskutil list


  • Step 2


If you see only disk0s3 as the last under disk0, then run


diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP disk0s3


and retry removing the partition using BC Assistant only.



Reply

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Bootcamp "The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition" error.

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.
Learn more Sign up