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

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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.

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532 replies

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Apr 5, 2018 2:37 PM in response to jitruuu

In Terminal run

diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP disk0s3

and retry removing the partition using BC Assistant only. Do not use Disk Utility.

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Apr 20, 2018 5:58 AM in response to lenakira

You may local snapshots. Check the output of

sudo tmutil listlocalsnapshots /

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Apr 23, 2018 5:41 AM in response to KuanTingLin

If you only see disk0s3, then

diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP disk0s3

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

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Jun 27, 2018 2:22 PM in response to Zjgamer

Run

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BOOTCAMP disk0s4

and run Disk Utility and check if you can highlight the partition and click on the "-" sign.

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Sep 30, 2018 12:02 PM in response to Finno42

Disk0s4 was erased, we need to try and erase disk0s3. Can you run

diskutil repairDisk disk0

and post the output?

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Oct 2, 2018 9:20 PM in response to sumaia111

Post the output of

gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0

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Dec 12, 2018 11:19 PM in response to nickaedan

*EDIT* - just had to unmount that disk image

I tried something on bootcamp, and now i have another disk image.

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Dec 7, 2017 10:07 AM in response to chuck10705

I suggest disconnecting the external 1TB TM disk to avoid any issues. In your case, run

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.

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Apr 19, 2018 5:16 AM in response to lenakira

Run

diskutil apfs deleteContainer D4D698E8-FCE4-4242-A82F-F2EC388F3411

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.

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59,536 points

May 31, 2018 2:44 PM in response to venezuelakro

Disconnect the external 3TB disk for safety. Run the following commands

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC1 disk1s4

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC2 disk1s5

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC3 disk1s7

diskutil mergePartitions jhfs+ BCMP disk1s4 disk1s7

diskutil list

After we validate the output, we can go to the next step.

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Aug 1, 2018 6:28 AM in response to MoocarmeJ

Run (only once)

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC1 disk0s4

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC2 disk0s5

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC3 disk0s6

diskutil eraseVolume jhfs+ BC4 disk0s7

diskutil mergePartitions jhfs+ BCMP disk0s4 disk0s7

diskutil list

If you only see disk0s4, then

diskutil eraseVolume fat32 BOOTCAMP disk0s4

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

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Level 9

59,536 points

Oct 27, 2018 6:39 PM in response to zayn6ix

These should work for you as well.

Run

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 try to Remove/Restore.

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Level 9

59,536 points

Nov 23, 2018 6:39 PM in response to Huuth

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

Level 9

59,536 points

Dec 8, 2018 7:38 AM in response to wkw8888

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

before we go further.

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Mar 12, 2018 3:27 PM in response to koolkat

Can you post the output of

diskutil apfs list

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

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