Disk Utility ate my Recovery HD

If you want to keep your Recovery HD intact, use Disk Utility only from the internal drive (Macintosh HD or Recovery HD itself).
Disk Utility running on an external start-up disk will delete Recovery HD without warning if you partition, erase or restore a volume on the internal drive.
I bought my Core i7 iMac two days after the public release of Lion, so I cannot get a Snow Leopard install DVD for the machine (I asked), and it doesn't have the Lion Internet Recovery feature that new models will be getting (Cmd-R doesn't work on the erased disk, I've tried). Off-the shelf Snow Leopard install DVDs cannot start-up this machine (I've tried).
I've done a complete reinstall (including the Recovery HD 'partition') using a Recovery HD I created by restoring the doubly-hidden BaseSystem.dmg to another external drive. I know that Apple have gone to some lengths to protect the Recovery HD from idiots, but it is a bit concerning that what may be the ONLY way of starting-up current models bought since the release of Lion is dependent on software hidden on the internal HD - most users won't even know if it's gone missing.

NVM, in a attempt to duplicate, installed lion to the external drive, made a screen recording of disk utility and reran it, and this time, it performed as expected.

Similar Messages

Disk Utility in Internet Recovery mode cannot properly detect new hard drive

I intend to format my new hard rive and install OS X into it.
Here is my problem, I bought a new 1TB HGST 7200rpm hard disk and put into the macbook. I boot up under Internet recovery mode, under the disk utility I tried format to MacOS Extended Journaled but it takes ages (stuck for more than 15 minutes). I simply just cannot get the macbook to read the drive under disk utility from Internet recovery mode.
Here are the things that I have tried:
1. Boot the MacBook from old drive, successfully use the disk utility to zero out format (MacOS Extended Journaled) with 1 partition (GUID). But when I boot the Mac under Internet recovery mode, the disk utility simply cannot mount the drive.
2. Restore the new drive (as an external drive) from the old drive using disk utility, successfully restore. I could startup the new disk as an external drive, but when I put it into the Mac it shows flashing folder. I waited for more than 30 minutes, the flashing folder just stays there.
3. Boot the MacBook on Internet recovery mode and connect the new drive as external drive, no problem. I reinstall OS X into it but it midway it stop and error message says something like cannot add additional components.
Not sure what is the problem, I think I have exhausted all method. There is no issue with the new hard drive and MacBook.

The MacBook is early 2013. It came with 1TB Mountain Lion, I left the DVD in my country so I don't have it with me. How do I download the installer? the Mac App Store only lets me upgrade the OS to Maverick.
I have tried to restore the new drive from my old drive, but the only way is to use Internet Recovery. The Disk Utility boot from the old drive OS (Mountain Lion) does not allow me to restore my new hard drive from the old (current boot) drive, the message instruct me to use the Internet recovery mode. From here I can see my new drive format as GUID, but when I boot to Internet Recovery the Disk Utility recognised my new drive format as Master Boot Record instead of GUID...?????

Disk utility restore put recovery hd over mac hd after first properly copying mac hd

I am trying to make a redundant backup image of my harddrive using something OTHER than Time Machine. I booted to recovery because you image from a disk you are booted from. The restore took 2 hours, and indicated the entire time in disk utility that it was restoring "Mac HD" to a similarly sized partition on my external hard drive. When it was done, the external had a copy of my recovery drive on it. That's crazy talk.

NVM, in a attempt to duplicate, installed lion to the external drive, made a screen recording of disk utility and reran it, and this time, it performed as expected.

Gray Screen, HD not showing up on Disk Utility while in Recovery Mode

After in Recovery Mode and opening Disk Utility, the only thing that shows up in the left panel is, "disk0" and "Mac OS X Base System".
Macbook A1278
Latest version of OS X Mavericks

Yes. Look at these iFixit instruction links:
https://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Pro_13%22
http://https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Late+2011+Hard+D rive+Replacement/7656
You will need a #00 Phillips and a #6 Torx drivers.
Ciao.
(select the instructions for your exact MBP)

HT4718 FileVault 2, the Recovery System, and the use of Disk Utility

I have FileVault 2 turned on for my Lion-equipped Powerbook Pro. When booting from the Recovery System, however, the Disk Utility thereon cannot even verify the internal HD, much less repair anything. I am aware that this is due to the encryption, of course.
However, for external encrypted drives, all I need to do is enter the password to mount them. So is there something that one can do in order to get the Disk Utility on the Recovery System -- on this very same drive -- to recognize the main volume, in order to enable it to perform diagnostics?
Secondarily, if I put the Powerbook Pro into target mode, and connect it to another Mac (which I have not tried yet) will I be able to mount it from the other computer if (A) It is running Lion OSX or higher, and (B) I can provide one or more of the login passwords?
I am one who has always liked to keep my hard drives running smoothly (e.g using Disk Warrior, Drive Genius, Disk Utility...whatever). So this is a bit foreign to me to be unable to run at least basic diagnostics. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

If you're talking about just the Recovery HD, you only need 1GB so use a 4GB USB thumb drive and the OS X Recovery Disk Assistant to create it.
If you're talking about the ML installer (installESD.dmg) use an 8GB USB thumb drive.

Can't open disk utility at startup, can't format new hard drive

My hard drive on my 2011 macbook pro recently went out, so I purchased a new one. I plugged it in internally and brought up disk utility in internet recovery, but it didn't recognize the drive. So I tried using an external hard drive reader, but now recovery mode can't be accessed at all, whether I press option or command r after startup, it still gives me the same gray folder with a question mark icon. Is my recovery mode damaged, and is that possible to fix?

You can use an external USB disk/flash drive which has Recovery (or a full OS - requires a 16GB disk space on a USB flash or a JHFS+ partition with the OSX) on it. Boot from that recovery USB drive. if Internet Recovery worked once, the MBP is already capable of repeating it. It requires an Ethernet or WiFi connection. If neither is available, or is spotty, Internet Recovery will not work. Can you try Internet recovery via Ethernet cable, if all your previous attempts have been via WiFi?
If the drive is not recognized when plugged into the internal SATA bus, either a cable is not plugged in properly (the replacement drive never showed up successfully as per the OP even once, or the drive is DoA). It should be tested externally. Pulling the drive out and putting it back is fairly easy in the 2011/2012 MBPs. The cable could have been damaged during the replacement. The non-drive end of SATA/IR Sensor cable on the main logic board could be loose or damaged.
If you have a external cable SATA-to-USB or SATA-to-FW (very unlikely), format the new drive using a different PC/MAC to make sure it is not DoA. What brand/model is this new drive? Is it an SSD? It may require a FW upgrade.
If there is a second MAC available, a Target Disk Mode boot (press T while powering up the mac with the new drive) may allow the second working mac to format the new drive via Disk Utility.

Macbook Pro (mid 2012) Disk Utility can't repair HD

I have a friend's MacBook Pro in my possession that is not working and has not been used for about two months. After startup, seeing the loading bar, and getting stuck on the spinning wheel of death, I have taken some steps to try to get a boot into Mac OS X. I've reset the PRAM, tried booting in safe mode, and lastly tried to repair Macintosh HD via Disk Utility in the recovery partition. No luck. I get this message after an attempted repair.. "Disk Utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backed up file".
This is a similar problem to this discussion thread here:
Disk Utility cannot repair Macintosh HD
However, in this scenario, my friend does not have any Time Machine backups and would like to recover his files.
I know that I can re-format and do a fresh install of OS X...but where does that leave me with file recovery?
Is it possible to retrieve the files at all?
Any help from the community would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks

I have a friend's MacBook Pro in my possession that is not working and has not been used for about two months. After startup, seeing the loading bar, and getting stuck on the spinning wheel of death, I have taken some steps to try to get a boot into Mac OS X. I've reset the PRAM, tried booting in safe mode, and lastly tried to repair Macintosh HD via Disk Utility in the recovery partition. No luck. I get this message after an attempted repair.. "Disk Utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backed up file".
This is a similar problem to this discussion thread here:
Disk Utility cannot repair Macintosh HD
However, in this scenario, my friend does not have any Time Machine backups and would like to recover his files.
I know that I can re-format and do a fresh install of OS X...but where does that leave me with file recovery?
Is it possible to retrieve the files at all?
Any help from the community would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks

DIsk Utility doesn't allow creating a partition

Hi all,
I just bought a new MacBookPro and installed Mountain Lion yesterday. I decided to use a encrypted file system (File Vault). So far everything worked fine.
This morning I decided to do a clean install, as Migration Assistent carried over some data I do not need.
So I booted into Recovery Mode, selected the harddisk and chose "Erase". As I wanted an encrypted volume again, Disk utility asked me for a password which I specified. Immediately after clicking ok, Disk Utility said "Not enough RAM to complete this request". After clicking OK, my partition went and since then I am strugglign to find out how to activate it (data not important, as everythign backed up).
Apple Care also doesn't knwo what to recommend anymore.
Here's what I tried:
1) Command+R boot and Disk Utility
2) Boot from external HD and Disk Utility
3) Internet Recovery (ends with error)
4) Delete PR
The strange thing is that Disk Utility shows Macintosh HD on the top level with the option to partition (it doesn't show any indended partitions) but all options are grayed out. It's like Disk Utility somehow confused Parttion with physical drive and now gets confused.
Any other idea other than sending the macbookPro back to Apple?
Thanks
Matt

You should of taken the encryption off before you started that proccess. That is one thing they don't tell you. Never try to modify an encrypted partition.
You may have to boot to the Internet (Online) Recovery HD system lto Re-Partition the drive as one partition.
Hold down Command+Option+r keys at boot and keep them held down until you see a spinning globe in the center of the screen, then you can let them up. Have the computer WIRED to your unternet router.
Once that loads open disk utility and select the Drive Name (Not volume name, IE Macintosh HD) and then the partition tab and select One partition from the Partition Layout drop down.
If that doesn't work then the drive is FUBAR.

Cant restore my macbook with Disk utility and my .dmg image

My macbook would not boot anymore. Stuck on gray screen with apple logo, spinning wheel and a loading bar for a while after shutting off.
I was able to get to Disk Utility in the recovery mode and, after a while, was able to make an image of my filesin an attempt to back them up.
The .dmg was put on an external and i checked it on my imac, i could open the .dmg file and browse all my files from my macbook, so those are safe!
After that i tried to wipe the SSD of my macbook and put the image back but that didn't work, also some resource is busy errors.
After trying this a few times without succes i figured i'd try to do a clean install. This worked.
My macbook air is working again but if Iuse Disk Utility in the recovery now and try and restore my image (.dmg file) it gives me Restore Failure; An error (-16) occured (resource busy) as well. I also tried to copy the dmg onto my macbook and run disc utility when booted into OSX. I open up the back up .dmg with Disk utility, then i go to my macbooks partition (Macontiosh HD) and use that as a destination and drag the mounted image as the source as shown on the image below. Am I doing something wrong here?
Doing this i get an error as well: (-119,930,878) Resource busy as you can see.
What can i do to get my image back on my macbook? Any 3rd party software?
I considered just transferring the files after opening the .dmg file but this works only for documents and not for programs and settings of the default apps.
I've looked all over the Internet and it seems more people have had this error but then with making the image, they also suggest unmounting the destination disk before trying to restore but my destination is Macintosh HD, i cant really unmount that can i?
Thanks in advance!

To make a clone, in the future you need to use a program like superduper or carbon copy cloner.
Either program makes an identical clone while preserving certain system files and marking/indicating to OS X that the clone is bootable.
Using Disk Utility to make a DMG was a good idea, but this will not yield a bootable image.
If Disk Utility could do a 1:1 copy of everything, then people would be using it to rip/duplicate DVDs.
But Disk Utility does not (it leaves out certain invisible/system files), hence it cannot duplicate/clone a hard drive or DVD.

Inconsistent Disk Utility Results

When I run Verify Disk in Disk Utility from my boot drive, it tells me the drive needs repair. See log below.
Then when reboot from the recovery partition and run Verify Disk from the recovery partition, it says the disk is okay. Same if I run repair disk. What gives?
Log:
Verifying volume “JDS Macintosh HD”
Checking storage systemChecking volume.
disk0s2: Scan for Volume Headers
disk0s2: Scan for Disk Labels
Logical Volume Group 5E521F4E-58F6-4069-B3C4-8F9FC44F58D7 on 1 device
disk0s2: Scan for Metadata Volume
Logical Volume Group has a 16 MB Metadata Volume with double redundancy
Start scanning metadata for a valid checkpoint
Load and verify Segment Headers
Load and verify Checkpoint Payload
Load and verify Transaction Segment
Incorporate 0 newer non-checkpoint transactions
Load and verify Virtual Address Table
Load and verify Segment Usage Table
Load and verify Metadata Superblock
Load and verify Logical Volumes B-Trees
Logical Volume Group contains 1 Logical Volume
Load and verify B9AFF121-97DC-4C18-AC82-DF352B0C4313
Load and verify 6795ADE3-BB8D-4D3C-AF19-34B0C5848617
Load and verify Freespace Summary
Load and verify Block Accounting
Newest transaction commit checkpoint is valid
Load and verify Segment Cleaning
The volume 5E521F4E-58F6-4069-B3C4-8F9FC44F58D7 appears to be OK.
Checking file systemPerforming live verification.
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking catalog hierarchy.
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 860 instead of 861)
Checking extended attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
The volume JDS Macintosh HD was found corrupt and needs to be repaired.
Error: This disk needs to be repaired using the Recovery HD. Restart your computer, holding down the Command key and the R key until you see the Apple logo. When the OS X Utilities window appears, choose Disk Utility.

Okay, I have got a bit farther into this. I used CarbonCopyCloner to clone my drive to an external Thunderbolt drive and booted from the external. When I ran verify disk from the external it reported the same errors on the internal as it did when verifying while booted from the internal. Moreover, Disk Utility was able to repair the errors.
So it seems there is a bug of some sort in running Disk Utility from the recovery partition. It neither correctly verifies the disk nor does it repair it.
The errors are not, apparently, false positives as suggested above. DU, when booted from the recovery disk, reports a drive as healthy when it is not.

Greyed Out "Free Space" in Disk Utility

Hi
I have a problem with my main Logical Volume Group / Partition. So My main Logical Volume Group (Macintosh HD) was separated into 2 partitions. I decided to delete the second one, and once the process started in Disk Utility, it crashed. Now if I look at the Logical Volume Group, it is separated in two, first one being Macintosh HD, and the second one is greyed out and is "Free Space".
Now If I look at the info of my Logical Volume Groupe, it says "Capacity 853,07 GB / Available 115 KB" when in actuality I have a 1TB fusion Drive, If I look at the Macintosh HD PARTITION, it says "Capacity 844,56GB / Available 252.99GB" which evidently doesn't add up. The "Free Space" is supposedly 267,78GB...
I tried "filling" that free space with a new partition, but when I apply the changes to the partition layout, nothing happens, and it reverts back to being greyed out and empty. (I tried both in Disk Utility, and in Disk Utility while in Recovery Mode, and I've also Repaired the volume and the partition)
How can I either force-create a partition with that free space, so that I can use all of my actual HDD space, or completely erase that "Free Space" and have my Macintosh HD partition fill the whole Logical Volume Group. (I tried erasing the free space of the Macintosh HD volume, but it didn't change anything.
Hopefully, there is a way to do it without having to back up my whole Macintosh HD partition, and reformatting my whole computer...
Thanks

If you wish to delete data, the best option would be to encrypt everything on the drive (locking everything with a password) and then erasing the drive. This would atleast scramble the left over data. The problem is that SSDs have a wear controlling firmware that distribute the load accordingly, so the entire drive wears evenly. Secure erase wouldnt work since secure erase works by first erasing the refrences to the data, and then writing 0s over the left over data. Since the firmware distributes the load differently each time, there is no guarantee that the data would be covered in 0s.

Who do I believe - Onyx or Disk Utility??

My mid-2009 MBP has been running 100% until this morning.
I restarted and for the first time I got the infamous progress bar on startup, After about two/three minutes, it went to the login screen and the OS seems to be running normally apart from Safari losing the homepage and wifi not auto-connecting to my home wifi.
I booted into Lion's recovery partition and ran Disk Utility - the disk was reported to be 100% with no problems. I rebooted into the OS and ran Onyx. Onyx reported the SMART status to be fine, but when checking the drive, it reported a problem and that I should run Disk Utility from the recovery partition. I did this again, but DIsk Utility again says there are no issues.
In the past I have had to run disk utility to repair incorrect file sizes/block sizes (IIRC) - the repairs were always succesful. At the time I assumed this was related to me using uTorrent to download a couple of files (nothing copyrighted!!). I didn't use uTorrent for a while and had no issues. Yesterday I used uTorrent again, and now this issue.... Is this just a coincidence??
If uTorrent is causing an issue, I am still left with the problem that Onyx reports a problem with the drive, while Disk Utility says all is well, preventing me from repairing anything......
I am still getting the progress bar on startup....
Would be very grateful for any ideas/advice!
P.S. I recently upgraded the RAM to two 4GB sticks. However, I immediately ran memtest in single user mode and it reported no issues with the RAM, so I don't think RAM could be an issue....?

OK... I see your points, but I'm still left with the fact that there clearly is an issue somewhere: I'm still getting the progress bar on startup (which is not normal) and yet Disk Utility says there are no problems. So what do I do?

My MacBook Pro mid-2009 will not restart after a failed repair attempt in Disk Utility

After attempting to repair my MacBook Pro in Disk Utility (Ctrl-R recovery mode), I tried rebooting with no success. Then I tried to re-boot in Safe Mode with the same result - basically, the progress bar goes to about halfway and then the computer shuts down. Then, I tried leaving it overnight with no activity and trying to re-boot in the morning. Still had the same result.
I would just re-install Mountain Lion, but I have some recent pictures and videos that aren't backed up yet.
Any ideas on how to reboot (and/or how to back up my files without having to start up my computer)?

You can install OS X on a external powered drive and boot the computer from it, then access your user files folders for recovery then erase and install from the Internet Recovery (command option r) or the 10.6 install disks, then upgrade again in AppStore, then restore your files.
.Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive

Disk utility showing recover partition but not main partition

I have a Macbook Pro A1278 that has been dropped. I pulled the hard drive and ran seatools on it to verify it has no physical defects. The disk utility shows the recovery partition but not the main partition. It infrequently will boot to the users partition. I usually get the flashing folder with a question mark in it. What is the next step to try to backup the data on the drive and reinstall OS X.

bendold wrote:
I booted into the disk utility
It would be really helpful if you would answer the question as I asked it
Last time
Did you do this from the Recovery mode (either Recovery mode, internet or local)
Yes or No

Erase button on Disk Utility doesn't work

II'm trying to erase my external HDD so I can use it to restore a backup of my HDD , since there's a problem with my HDD and my MacBook Pro is stuck on startup, but the erase button (is not grey, it looks functional) doesn't respond. I press it and nothing happens. What can I do? I need to backup my files ASAP

Connect the external drive to another mac ( a friend maybe?) and re-format it using that.
I'm not 100% clear on what you're trying to achieve here, but it sounds like your MacBook HDD is corrupted. Make sure you've tried repairing the HDD using disk utility in the recovery partition. This will tell you if the disk is usable. It may repair it and return your system to normal operation.
If your HDD is corrupted or damaged you may have trouble backing it up to the external drive anyway.
Personally I would remove the HDD, replace it with a new one and re-install OS X onto it. While you're out getting a new HDD, pick up a SATA to USB drive caddy that will allow you to connect the old HDD to your new restored Mac via USB. If it's readable then you should be able to copy data off it.
Your ability to re-install to a new hard drive will tell you if the problem was with the old HDD or with the Macbook itself.
If the old HDD is not readable you may have lost your data, or you may need to go to a professional data recovery service. This is why backups are essential. I would recommend using your external drive for backups with Time Machine.

Disk Utility ate my Recovery HD

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