Boot Camp Assistant: Can't Partition Drive

I've been trying to partition my hard drive using the Boot Camp Assistant so I can install Windows XP. However, whenever I try to partition the drive, I get an error message saying that my hard drive needs to be a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume. I opened up Disk Utility to see what was wrong, and it said that my only hard drive, Macintosh HD, was formatted as a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume. I tried bumping the partition size down from 15 gigs to 12 gigs; the progress bar was a little under 25% full when I got the error message again. I'm planning on arranging to get support at an Apple Store, but I wanted to see if anybody on here knew what to do first. Any ideas?

JadeH wrote:
okay so i did what you said and i selected restart under superduper clone so i could test to make sure the clone worked...but now i can't get it to restart under my Macintosh HD. the clone works fine but it is on my external hard drive. i need y internal hard drive to be my start up disk so i can use boot camp assistant. i went to system preferences->startup disk but it only shows my clone on my external hard drive. any suggestions?
When you tested the clone, did you change the default boot to the clone? You should have simply booted by holding down the Option key.
I don't know what happened to your HD or original OS, but if you reboot and hold down the option key, your original OS should show up in the selection menu.
If not, boot into the Leopard DVD (press "C" key during boot) and after the language screen, in the menu, top left under Utilities select disk utility and run it, repairing HD and permissions. Then see if you can reboot into the original OS. You may have to hold down Option key again until you boot it and change the default back to the original OS.

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Boot Camp Assist can't partition hard drive

Boot Camp won't partition my 500GB internal HD. I get the message:
"The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition. Back up the disk and use Disk Utility to format it as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume. Restore your information to the disk and try using Boot Camp Assistant again." I had recently used SuperDuper to replace my original single partition internal HD with the new 500GB HD with three partitions. I had not setup Boot Camp on the original HD. After getting the Boot Camp Assist error message on the new HD I used SuperDuper to clone back from my original HD (which was now external) with a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume. I then ran Boot Camp Assist again and got the same message. I ran Disk Utility Verify Disk Permissions and got some errors which I then successfully repaired. I still get the same Boot Camp partition error. Any suggestions?

When you partition your drive you are given the option to format it for OS 9, if you choose this option your drive will be formatted to be incompatible with Boot Camp. This incompatiblity will remain when you put it back to a single partition unless you go to options and select the top radio button (format for Intel Mac) to create a GUID Partition Table (at least that's what I did and it fixed the problem).

Boot Camp Assistant crashes when partitioning drive (exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS)

I run Mountain Lion, a fresh install, brand new Macbook Pro. HD: Samsung 840 Pro 512 GB SSD.
When trying to go through Boot Camp Assistant / Setup it works fine until it wants to repartition my drive. It then quits unexpectedly and returns these errors:
Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV) Exception Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x000000000000003c
Everything else on this new machine works like a charm. I checked permissions, verified the disk - no issues whatsoever.
Can anyone help me out with this?

I had the same problem, so I decided the system had too much going on. I stopped Time Machine and unmounted the disc, then I closed every other running program except Boot Camp, disconnected all unnecessary devices, selected the partition size and then didn't touch a thing, just went and made a cup of coffee. When I came back it had started and eventually partitioned fine.

Boot Camp Assistant won't partition drive

I have a new Mac Pro with a clean install of 10.5. No previous Boot Camp installation, nor has Parallels been installed. I have two 500gb drives and two 250gb drives installed. I want to partition one of the 250gb drives to install Boot Camp and XP. I've tried to use the Boot Camp Assistant but it won't partition the drive. It seems to start the process, but never gets off the progress bar and eventually I have to Force Quit and reboot. The drive I'm trying to partition is freshly erased with Apple's Disc Utility (formatted with Mac OS Extended (Journaled)).
Am I doing anything wrong? I successfully installed Boot Camp on my MacBook Pro using Boot Camp Assistant, but nothing I've tried with my Mac pro seems to work.

Check that it has GUID partition table.
Disk Utility Partitions -> Options
Click on drive (not partition) in First Aid and look at the bottom of the screen.
50/50 partitions?
You could just use Disk Utility, make one FAT, then format it again if needed in XP. That lets you use the first partition outer tracks).
If you choose MRB, BCA will only use the entire drive. I wanted half NTFS and half FAT so I did it on my own.

Boot Camp Assistant Can't Move Files? Image won't save ('resource busy')

I've been trying to set up boot camp and every time I go to partition the drive I get this message:
Back up the disk and use Disk Utility to format it as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume. Restore your information to the disk and try using Boot Camp Assistant again.Back up the disk and use Disk Utility to format it as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume. Restore your information to the disk and try using Boot Camp Assistant again.
My drive is already set up as an OS Extended (Journaled) volume. I went to try to save a disk image and it won't save b/c it always says resource is busy. Well obviously I need to use the computer to back up it's own hard drive so of course it's busy.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Are you sure you had enough free space on the drive for the Windows partition you tried to create? Have you tried repairing the drive?
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger and Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger, and 4.1 for Leopard) and/or TechTool Pro (4.6.1 for Leopard) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

Boot camp assistant: Can't install the software because it is not currently available from the Software Update server.

Error: Boot camp assistant: Can't install the software because it is not currently available from the Software Update server.
OS 10.9.1
iMac 27-inch, Late 2009
Boot Camp Assistant Version 5.1.0 (473)
Every time I run this I get the above error after I hit "Continue" on the "Save Windows Support Software" page and subsequently hit "Download Windows 7 Support Software."
How do I successfully install 64 bit WIndows 7 on my iMac?
Thank you!

Waited a month and tried again with the same result. What gives? Does Apple no longer support Bootcamp with Windows 7? Do they not read these posts and help out customers? If Apple doesn't care and won't help, can anyone else suggest something? My large company does not like Apple and barely supports those of us who buck the trend and buy Macs. If I have to buy a PC to support their software to work from home this only gives them more "ammunition" to decline to support Macs. Any advice anyone can give would be greatly appreciated!

Boot Camp Assistant couldn't partition the drive

Hi everyone,
I recently deleted my windows partition, and wanted to create a new one, however, boot camp assistant told me that I couldn't (I do not know the exact wording). Boot camp assistant said to save my mac drive as an image, reformat my hard drive, and restore the image using disk utility.
SO, I tried to, but something went wrong, because the disc image I have will not mount....
In disk utility, I created an image of Macintosh HD, but I'm thinking I should have created an image of my hard drive "320.07 GB WDC3200..."
Can anyone confirm this?
Also, if anyone knows how I can view the files in my dmg that I created, that would be great.
The message I get with disk utility is: Unable to attach "Macintosh HD.dmg" (No mountable file systems)
So I click okay, and verify the disk, and I get ALOT of incorrect block counts (should be 1001 instead of 1020220) for example..
After checking multi-linked files and such, disk utility tells me to "repair disk" But I cannot mount the image, therefore I cannot repair it. I tried to repaid the DMG itself, but nothing happens.
Any info would be awesome.

converted corrupt DMG to CDR with disk utility. Some data loss occurred, but I got the majority of my files back.

Boot Camp Assistant: "Can't move files"

Hi,
I'm trying to create a 500GB partition with BCA and it keeps giving me the "Can't move files, back up data, format, etc." error.
I've currently got a 2 TB HD; the first time I attempted this I had about 633GB of data on the drive, so about ~1350GB free. I received this error so I bought iDefrag and let it run for a long time (~14 hours or so) until it was finished, and again I received the error.
(Prior to defragging I verified and repaired permissions through Disk Utility)
So I transferred a 110GB file over to my external drive, deleted off ~150-180GB of movies and TV shows (which are safely stored on another computer), culled some other stuff, did a verify + repair permissions, and now I'm only using 378GB of a 2TB disk.
It still won't work. I really, really, don't want to format and restore my info.
Any idea's how I can get this working? Thanks

Clone your drive and erase restore
iDefrag has to be run from a CD you burn, or from another hard drive. I definitely favor always having bootable clone backups for OS X.
Has to not have locked files where installers can place there
Boot CAmp Assistant should have iDefrag capability, but it doesn't (should also by now just be part of Disk Utility too).
Partitioning relies on not just free space, but contiguous and unfragmented.

Boot Camp Assistant can't be used due to ROM Firmware

Hi, I'm running:
OS X: 10.9.5
Build 13F34
Mac Book Pro Mid 2010
Boot-ROM-Version: MBP61.0057.B0F
SMC-Version (System): 1.58f17
Even though alle updates available are installed, my boot camp assistant tells me, that it can't be used due to the ROM Firmware version. That is a huge problem for me, because I want to delete my bootcamp partition and I can't right now, because the only way to delete the partition is via the boot camp assistant while on mac OS X...
Does somebody know how to fix the ROM Firmware issue or a workaround to delete the partition without using the BCA (Boot Camp Assistant) ?
Thanks
-B

Please see EFI and SMC firmware updates for Intel-based Macs - Apple Support . This is what you should have
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010)
MacBookPro7,1
MBP71.0039.B0E (EFI 2.5)
1.62f7 (SMC 1.6)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010)
MacBookPro6,2
MBP61.0057.B0F (EFI 2.6)
1.58f17 (SMC 1.7)
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010)
MacBookPro6,1
MBP61.0057.B0F (EFI 2.6)
1.57f18 (SMC 1.7)
Since you have a 15-in based on what you have posted, please try a Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) - Apple Support and How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support.

Boot Camp Assistant hangs at partitioning process?

Hello,
I'm trying to install Windows on my Mac Pro. But when I run the Boot Camp assistant and assign the Windows partition, the Boot Camp Assistant hangs at the process of partitioning. The progress bar just keeps on moving, but it wont finish the partitioning.
Screencap link: www.laspalmas.nu/hang.jpg
Sorry, the OS language is in finnish but "Osioidaan levyä..." = "Disk partitioning..."
Does anyone have advice, why does this endless hang happen at this point?
Thanks for the replies,
Lauri

BACKUP before you start.
Repair your drive.
Would help to know how much of the free space is actually in a large enough unfragmented single chunk.
You may need to backup / initialize / restore.

OS Mavericks - Boot Camp Assistant can not download windows support software because it is "not currently available from the Software Update server."

When trying in install windows 7 on my mac, the Boot Camp Assistant attempts to fownload windows support software. However, the program continues to return the following error: the windows support software "not currently available from the Software Update server."
Is there another way to get this software?

64 bit. I found the support drivers and got the windows installation done. When trying to run the 64 bit support drivers in Windows 7, it says my computer doesn't support 64 bit. Sooooo.....
I'm assuming I have to download the 32 bit support drivers for Windows 7.
Correct?

I receive the following message under Boot Camp Assistant: "Can't install the software because it is not currently available from the Software Update server.

I am trying to install the software drivers for Windows 7 Home using Boot Camp 4 Assistant. I receive the following message: "Can't install software because it is not currently available from the Software Update server." Why is this happening?

You keep it on the usb stick for after you boot into Windows. From Windows you install the Windows Support software on the stick. Do you realize that you need to buy and install Windows? The Windows Support software you downloaded is only the Windows drivers for your hardware.
Read the Boot Camp installation instructions and help guides located here: http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

Boot Camp Assistant can't see Installer Disc

I had an XP Home SP1 install disc which obviously won't work with Boot Camp. Following Microsoft instructions, I created a new install disc with my SP1 disc, integrated SP2, and included the boot image file.
When I then attempt to install it on my Boot Camp partition, I get the message 'The installer disc could not be found'.
Yet, when I start up my Fusion VM (which has Win XP installed on it), that same disc is recognized and even brings up the splash asking if I want to install Windows.
Please help. Thanks everyone.

Does anyone have any information on my problem?

Boot Camp Is Unable to Partition My Drive

Hello,
The first time around I managed to set up Boot Camp and Windows 7 Home Basic very successfully and effortlessly on my MBP mid-2012.
Then I found out I could not get activation key for it because Microsoft no longer sold the Basic version. I downloaded the Windows 7 Home Premium version and bought an activation key from Microsoft and am now trying to get it on my computer.
Using Boot Camp Assistant I was able to delete the partition on which old Windows resided. Then using Boot Camp Assistant I built a USB drive that included the new ISO for the Windows 7 Home Premium edition and then the process went well and all necessary support files were downloaded.
We got to the point where I selected the size of the partition and Boot Camp Assistant tried to partition it except that it is not able to. It doesn't giver any reason, it just says: "Your disc could not be partitioned. An error occurred while partitioning the disk."
Anyone here knows what could be the cause of the problem and possibly how I can resolve it?
By the way, I have checked and the base format of the drive is Mac OS Extended (Journaled), and the disk has only one partition.
Thanks much.
Farzad

I am doing a TM backup now. I looked at the iDefrag and the drive definitely needs defragmenting, according to the software, but I thought with Macs we don't need to worry about those things. I want to do one other thing I read somewhere else as a remedy for this inability to partition the drive before taking the leap and doing the full erase and reinstall.
Here is the link on the internet: http://crounji.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/a-solution-to-your-disk-could-not-be-par titioned-error-on-boot-camp-assistant/.
And I believe another forum has discussed this topic.
Here is another approach I want to try: Boot Camp: Partition alert message when using Boot Camp Assistant
Farzad

Can I install Windows on my Mac without Boot Camp Assistant?

I was wondering if this was possible, or does Boot Camp Assistant format the hard drive in such a way that makes it possible for Windows to be installed, or can I just create a new partition myself and format it and install Windows without having to touch Boot Camp Assistant?

Windows on Intel Macs
There are presently several alternatives for running Windows on Intel Macs.
1. Install the Apple Boot Camp software. Purchase Windows XP w/Service Pak2, Vista, or Windows 7. Follow instructions in the Boot Camp documentation on installation of Boot Camp, creating Driver CD, and installing Windows. Boot Camp enables you to boot the computer into OS X or Windows.
2. Parallels Desktop for Mac and Windows XP, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, or Windows 7. Parallels is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
3. VM Fusionand Windows XP, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, or Windows 7. VM Fusion is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
4. CrossOver which enables running many Windows applications without having to install Windows. The Windows applications can run concurrently with OS X.
5. VirtualBox is a new Open Source freeware virtual machine such as VM Fusion and Parallels that was developed by Solaris. It is not as fully developed for the Mac as Parallels and VM Fusion.
Note that Parallels and VM Fusion can also run other operating systems such as Linux, Unix, OS/2, Solaris, etc. There are performance differences between dual-boot systems and virtualization. The latter tend to be a little slower (not much) and do not provide the video performance of the dual-boot system. See MacTech.com's Virtualization Benchmarking for comparisons of Boot Camp, Parallels, and VM Fusion. Boot Camp is only available with Leopard or Snow Leopard. Except for Crossover and a couple of similar alternatives like DarWine you must have a valid installer disc for Windows.
You must also have an internal optical drive for installing Windows. Windows cannot be installed from an external optical drive.

Boot Camp Assistant: Can't Partition Drive

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