Hard disk partitioning

[techbert]

Cannot seem to remove a partition on by OS X hard drive. Any thoughts or ideas as to how?

 

[Lufbrarunner]

What type of partition?

 

[techbert]

I need to restore my 1TB drive to a single partition.

 

[Lufbrarunner]

APFS, Mac OS, MS-DOS, Bootcamp?

 

[techbert]

I am trying to reset up Bootcamp and get an error that the hard drive but I get an error that the start up disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition.

 

[techbert]

I tried to remove Win 7 in Bootcamp.

 

[Lufbrarunner]

Are you using bootcamp to erase the bootcamp partition or disk utility?

 

[techbert]

I was using Disk Utility to resize the drive for OS X only. BTW I am running OS X 10.11.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hi,

To clarify, you used Disk Utility to remove the Boot Camp partition? You should use the Boot Camp Assistant to remove the Boot Camp partition/install. That may be part of the issue. If you did use it, and it won't remove it, I have seen that previously.

If you have a backup of all of your data from the Mac partition, you may have to startup in the Recovery Partition and use Disk Utility there to set it to a single partition. You will lose any data on the drive however.

C

 

[Lufbrarunner]

If the partition was made using bootcamp, it is bootcamp assistant you need to erase it.

How to Remove a Windows Boot Camp Partition From Your Mac

1. Launch Boot Camp Assistant from the Applications:Utilities folder.
2. Click the Continue button.
3. Check only the Install or remove Windows 7 option and click Continue.
4. Choose Restore disk to a single Mac OS partition and click Continue.
5. Click the Restore button to begin.

 

[techbert]

I was unable to resize the drive while in recovery mode and I did attempt to remove the partition using Bootcamp. My fear is that I may have to replace the hard drive. Any suggestions? I am running a Macbook Pro produced in Mid 2009 with a Intel Core 2 Duo running at 2.8 GHz with a 15 inch screen.

 

[techbert]

I have a new/used drive and a copy of OS X 10.11 on order, Hopefully I'll have it resolved by the weekend. I have a feeling that the number of MBTE's is high on my current drive as to why I cannot get rid of the unneeded partitions. Thanks to all who gave me advice. Oh, is there a specific procedure for setting up a new drive?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hi,

I am not sure there is anything wrong with the drive itself. I highly doubt that you have even come close to the MTBF for the drive. Yes, it may have started to fail, but that may not be the case. Boot Camp can sometimes fail to restore the drive after removing the install.

-Do you have a backup of your data from the Mac partition?
-You mentioned you tried to resize it, but did you try to erase it?

There is a procedure to setup a new/replacement drive:
-Physically install the drive - be VERY careful if you don't have experience, as internal components can easily be damaged
-You will need to partition it before you can install OS X/macOS
-You can create a USB installer on a flash drive, using an app like DiskMaker X
-There isn't any official Apple media for purchase that has an OS X 10.11 installer - that is technically an illegal copy, as versions of OS X since Lion 10.7 have been only available through the App Store

C

 

[techbert]

Just to update. I downloaded Paragon for Mac and had it work on the hard disk. It Worked!! I was able to rebuild a partition to do Bootcamp. Thanks again for all your advise. I have received a copy of OS X 10.11 to rebuild if I need to and I have a newer drive available. The current term for hard disk life expectancy is stated in Mean Time To Failure or MTTF rather than MBTE. So I learned.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Excellent...glad you found a solution for this as well.

C