Disk Utility cannot partition drive

I'm trying to parition a new 1.5 TB USB drive so that I can backup prior to upgrading to Snow Leopard
The Drive is a Maxtor Basics
I am trying to partition it into 3 HFS+ (journaled) partitions. It allows me to creare a single MSDOS (FAT32) partition, but fails on HFS+ or any combination of HFS
Any help?

Do the following:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must 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 or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Upon completion click on the Partition tab in DU's main window. Now select 3 partitions from the drop down menu. Size them as you prefer. Leave the format set for Mac OS Extended, Journaled. Click on the Partition button.

Similar Messages

Using Disk Utility to partition drive

After downloading a system update yesterday my mac mini hard drive is no longer bootable. The recovery HD is unbootable, too.
When I boot up using the install CD I can run Disk Utility and see that there are no problems reported with the hard drive, but I cannot repair permissions (No valid packages).
If I restore the operating system from the CD my only option is to erase the hard drive.
But what if ...
I create a new partition using Disk Utility?
There's loads of free space on the drive, but if I attempt to create a new partition will I wipe out existing data?
If I succeed in creating a new partition would I be able to restore the operating system there without erasing the hard drive?
Would it be possible then in some way to restore my user account data?
I'm just trying to avoid the hassle of re-installing my applications and recovering my data files from backup. It seems like the data is still all there on the hard drive except that something went wrong during the system update that renders the disk unusable.
Any help appreciated.

Yep, that is too old...
Mac mini
Mac OS X Install Disk 1
Mac OS X version 10.4.7
AHT version 3A102
Disc version 1.1
2Z691-5887-A
Mac OS X Install Disk 2
Disc version 1.0
ZZ691-5860-A

Disk Util cannot partition after installing Linux

Hey everybody, I installed Linux as a dual boot with my Snow Leopard, afterwards I decided to resize the partitions from Mac OS but I couldn't. The Linux installation must've changed the disk to MBR from the original GUID. There must be a way to put the changes back (I don't mean to backup and reformat though), if I've changed it to mbr, can I change it back? can the program iPartition do it live? I don't feel like reinstalling the whole machine again. thanx everyone.

Once you install Linux you cannot resize the Linux partition from OS X. However, you can use GParted in Linux to resize the Linux partition.
Installing Linux does not change the partition scheme, but OS X does not understand the Linux disk formats so it cannot manage a Linux partition.
If you are using a very current Linux such as Ubuntu 10.0.4 then GParted does handle GUID partitioned drives and can manage both OS X and Linux partitions.

I tried partitioning my HD to install linux, the installion was not successful and now I can't boot my mac, I tried internet recovery, it was not helpfull as the disk utility cannot delete the partition I created.

I tried partitioning my HD to install linux, the installion was not successful and now I can't boot my mac, I tried internet recovery, it was not helpfull as the disk utility cannot delete the partition I created. It was only showing me an error message "EFI files are missing", I realized that it is trying to boot from the new partition I created for the installation of the linux I intended to do.

It sounds like you may have multiple problems, but none of them are likely to be caused by malware.
First, the internet-related issues may be related to adware or a network compromise. I tend to lean more towards the latter, based on your description of the problem. See:
http://www.adwaremedic.com/kb/baddns.php
http://www.adwaremedic.com/kb/hackedrouter.php
If investigation shows that this is not a network-specific issue, then it's probably adware. See my Adware Removal Guide for help finding and removing it. Note that you mention AdBlock as if it should have prevented this, but it's important to understand that ad blockers do not protect you against adware in any way. Neither would any kind of anti-virus software, which often doesn't detect adware.
As for the other issues, it sounds like you've got some serious corruption. I would be inclined to say it sounds like a failing drive, except it sounds like you just got it replaced. How did you get all your files back after the new drive was installed?
(Fair disclosure: I may receive compensation from links to my sites, TheSafeMac.com and AdwareMedic.com, in the form of buttons allowing for donations. Donations are not required to use my site or software.)

Can Lion disk utility dynamically partition a drive?

Can Lion disk utility dynamically partition a drive? I see many posts that Leopard Disk utility can but nothing about Lion.

Yes. I'll post a link to instructions. Be sure to create a full reliable backup before you begin (don't just do the backup, test the backup to be sure it's good), and the only application that should be running until the process is complete is Disk Utility.
http://osxdaily.com/2009/11/20/resize-partitions-in-mac-os-x-with-disk-utility/
Some people have problems resizing partitions because of the hidden Recovery HD partition. It sometimes gets in the way because Disk Utility can move it "up" but cannot move it "down".

Disk Utility cannot repair startup volume, and where's my AppleCare cover?

Hi all,
The 250GB SATA drive on my Power Mac G5 Dual 2.5GHz has some 'issues' that Disk Utility cannot repair. It says, "Invalid sibling" and something about "key not found" or "keys out of order". I've run fsck -fy in single-user mode but it drops out saying "(4, 18880) error".
I have AppleCare Protection for it until November, but when I log into Apple's site, it says I have no current agreements. I'm at work at the moment and don't have my serial number, so I can't really call them up (and I don't have their phone number to hand...).
Is the hard drive covered under AppleCare?
I don't want to purchase any more software to fix the disk, i.e. Alsoft's DiskWarrior, unless it can be delivered instantly and will work on these problems?
Any help is much appreciated :o)

Thanks for that.
I was willing last night to re-install the OS to see if it was a software problem, but booting into the Tiger install DVD reported the same problems, however it was a little more informative than fsck. It says there are issues on the first two partitions on the boot drive. (I have OS X, Apps and Games partitions on that drive.)
I tried repairing the partitions in different orders, just in case it would help, but it still failed.
If I were to call AppleCare while at work, without the serial number, would they be able to locate my agreement and sort out a repair? APP was bought with the machine and I assumed it would've been registered at that time, but the website says I have no agreements...? Anyone got their phone number?

Disk utility wont partition

hi, i have an external firewire drive that i need to be mac os standerd to boot os 8.6 on a pre g3.
disk utility in mac os 10.4 and 10.3 it looks like it partitions it fine (no error messages) i named the drive 6500 and partition it as mac os standerd. what it does is partition it as mac os extended journaled, names it disk1s3 and it wont mount, i did this with an ibook g3 with 10.4 and an ibook g4 with 10.3, and with 2 differnet harddrives. and it does the same thing.
what it does when i press partition
what i tell it to do

How do you plan to install OS 8 without the CD? You'll need to boot that computer from a CD in order to install OS 8.
In any event if you try to use Disk Utility then you need to:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must 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 or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to APM then click on the OK button. Check the box to Install OS 9 Drivers. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Standard. Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Disk Utility cannot prep a drive for OS 8.x, so I'm not sure if installing the OS 9 Drivers will actually mean anything for a drive with OS 8 installed. Furthermore, your OS 8 system must have the Firewire extensions installed otherwise it won't be able to boot or recognize a Firewire device.
This is why you really should be doing everything from an OS 8 installer disc.

Disk Utility Cannot Be Opened Because Of A Problem

When trying to launch Disk Utility I get the following error message. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this? I'm running 10.6.4. Thanks in advance for any help.
Disk Utility cannot be opened because of a problem.
Check with the developer to make sure Disk Utility works with this version of Mac OS X. You may need to reinstall the application. Be sure to install any available updates for the application and Mac OS X.
Process: Disk Utility [342]
Path: /Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility.app/Contents/MacOS/Disk Utility
Identifier: com.apple.DiskUtility
Version: ??? (???)
Build Info: DiskUtility-2980100~37
Code Type: X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [131]
Date/Time: 2010-08-21 18:44:20.863 -0400
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.6.4 (10F569)
Report Version: 6
Interval Since Last Report: 2359004 sec
Crashes Since Last Report: 75
Per-App Crashes Since Last Report: 5
Anonymous UUID: 93489452-CA67-4296-AA9A-2228E825BA2F
Exception Type: EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000
Crashed Thread: 0
Dyld Error Message:
Library not loaded: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/PlatformHardwareManagement.framework/Versions /A/PlatformHardwareManagement
Referenced from: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/ServerFoundation.framework/Versions/A/ServerF oundation
Reason: no suitable image found. Did find:
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/PlatformHardwareManagement.framework/Versions /A/PlatformHardwareManagement: no matching architecture in universal wrapper
Model: iMac8,1, BootROM IM81.00C1.B00, 2 processors, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.66 GHz, 4 GB, SMC 1.29f1
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro, ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro, PCIe, 256 MB
Memory Module: global_name
AirPort: spairportwireless_card_type_airportextreme (0x14E4, 0x8C), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.10.91.27)
Bluetooth: Version 2.3.3f8, 2 service, 19 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: Ethernet, Ethernet, en0
Serial ATA Device: ST3320820AS_Q, 298.09 GB
Parallel ATA Device: OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5630A
USB Device: Built-in iSight, 0x05ac (Apple Inc.), 0x8502, 0xfd400000
USB Device: Keyboard Hub, 0x05ac (Apple Inc.), 0x1006, 0xfa200000
USB Device: Apple Optical USB Mouse, 0x05ac (Apple Inc.), 0x0304, 0xfa230000
USB Device: Apple Keyboard, 0x05ac (Apple Inc.), 0x0220, 0xfa220000
USB Device: IR Receiver, 0x05ac (Apple Inc.), 0x8242, 0x5d100000
USB Device: BRCM2046 Hub, 0x0a5c (Broadcom Corp.), 0x4500, 0x1a100000
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller, 0x05ac (Apple Inc.), 0x820f, 0x1a110000
FireWire Device: unknown_device, Unknown

Reinstall Disk Utility from your Snow Leopard DVD. If your DVD does not install 10.6.4 then use the Combo Updater to update back to 10.6.4.
How to Use Pacifist to Replace Deleted or Missing OS X Components
Insert the OS X Installer DVD into the optical drive. Use a simple utility like TinkerTool to toggle invisibility so you can see invisible items. Alternatively, open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder and at the prompt enter the following:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles Yes
Press RETURN.
To turn off the display of invisible files repeat the above command substituting No for Yes.
The install packages are located in the /System/Installation/ folder on the DVD.
Download the shareware utility Pacifist from VersionTracker or MacUpdate. Use it to extract a fresh copy of the missing item(s) from the file archives on your OS X installation DVD. The file archives are in the /System/Installations/ folder (use Go to Folder option in the Go menu of the Finder.)
Here are Four Basic ways to use Pacifist (courtesy of George Orville.)
A. Drag a .pkg icon onto the Pacifist window .....proceed to step 7.
B. Click on “Open Package ....” and navigate to package desired and click “Open” in the open/save window.....proceed to step 7.
C. Insert Mac OS X installer CD and when it mounts, navigate to .... Menu->Go->Go to Folder.
In the path field enter or paste ....
/Volumes/disc name/System/Installation/Packages (where disc name is the name of the CD/DVD that you inserted.
• Click on the "Go" button .....
• Drag a .pkg to Pacifist..... proceed to step 7.
The package you'll need will have to be discovered by trial and error, but for most applications you should start with the Essentials.pkg and/or Additional Essentials.pkg.
D. Insert your Mac OS X install disk 1 .... and open Pacifist.
1. In Pacifist, select "Open Mac OS X Install Packages" ... dialog may appear asking for disk 2, then disk 3 and finally disk 1 again.... {if DVD is not used)...If “Stop Loading” is selected...the procedure will stop!!!
2a. When loading is complete, a new window appears, click the triangle to display contents of each package...Select item and proceed to step 7.
2b. or click the “Find” icon in the Pacifist window and type the name of the software you need.
3. In the list that comes back, click the top most entry for the item that you want. ..... that is the one for the English language.
4. On the top of the Pacifist window, click “verify” .... you will probably be prompted for your password.
5. Enter checks for.... “verify permissions” and “verify file contents.” and click “verify” ....enter password when prompted.... you will get back output which may look like this:
20 files were scanned.
20 of 20 files were present on the hard disk.
0 of 20 files had file permissions that did not match those specified in the package.
0 of 20 files had checksums that did not match those specified in the package.
6. Click “close”. Go to step 7.
Extract or Install........
7. In the Toolbar (upper left), you now have the option to extract or install. Click a file in the lower list and those two icons will be enabled.
8. If “Extract to...” is selected.... navigate to the location where the file will be placed, select “choose”, select “extract” in new dialog that appears,authenicate , if prompted, click “OK”.
9. In the next dialog, click “Extract”.
10. If “Install” is selected... dialog will appear with the location/path of the installed software. Click “Install”
11. Type in your password, click “OK”
• Pacifist will begin to extract files.
12. In steps 8/10ß.... you also have the choice to “cancel”
Notes.....
• Pacifist may find that a file it is installing already exists on the hard disk. Pacifist will present you with an alert panel....
Stop
Leave original alone
Update ..... Default selection
Replace .... Replace option should only be used on full install packages

I want to partition an external device for OSX and Windows. Opened Disk utility but Partition is not an option

I want to partition an external drive for OSX and PC. Went to Disk Utility but Partition is not an available option.

Why not? does the partition tab not exist?

My HD needs to be reformatted according to Disk Utility, but even when I use an external device for startup, Disk Utility cannot reformat the HD

I have a Macbook with a 500 GB Hard Drive. A routine check on Disk Utility told me the disk needed to be reformatted. I restarted from an external USB drive, but when I try to use Disk Utility to repair the HD or to reformat it, Disk Utility is unable to do anything with the HD (cannot repair, cannot erase,cannot reformat the HD). Is there a utility App that can help me with this, or is the HD unrecoverable?

Hi
Thanks very much for your reply. We have been starting up from a backup (USB) drive and use the disk utility that is on the backup drive so the internal (problem) HD is not being used for anything (except for wanting to repair it). Still Disk Utility cannot reformat or repair the drive. I have also run Onyx but it tells me everything is OK on the drive.
But I have made a little progress. Using my old install disk for Snow Leopard (10.6.3) I have managed to do a fresh install of the system on the internal HD. Unfortunately, I also asked the install disk to transfer/migrate the settings and documents from the backup drive back onto my internal HD. The install appeared to work, but then it got hung up on copying the documents from my backup drive to the HD. After letting it sit for 2 days without going anywhere, I stopped the install process. I am going to try again, just using my Snow Leopard CD to install Snow Leopard, and nothing else. If that works, I will then get on to the problem of copying the rest of the settings and documents from my backup.
But since the Mac works OK off the USB backup, and will also run off the install CD, I am guessing the problem is with the HD and the only solution might be to replace it if I can't repair it. But the macbook is several years old, and I am not sure it is worth buying a new HD for it.

Disk Utility: "Modifying Partition Map"

Good Afternoon all. Im not sure whether this is a problem or not but i have run disk utility to partition my hard drive, and as of now it has been running for over 24 hours.
700 Gb Hdd Partitioned at 487 ( Mac OSx ) and 210 ( Windows NTFS )
The 210 was partitioned by Bootcamp and xp is installed and runs fine
I am attempting to partition the 210 by 55 to allow for the inclusion of Vista
I ran Disk utility yesterday around 9 or 10 and since then it has been saying modifying partition map.
i dont believe it's frozen or has stalled because it responds and i have burned a disk using disk utility. however if i attempt to close it it warns me of damage.
so my issue is whether or not i should just wait it out or if there is something safe i can do. Additionally if installing vista there is a bad idea i would like to be advised.
Thanks In Advance

It's most likely stuck and not going to finish. I experienced this once while creating a new partition for testing purposes. Force quiting will loose any unsaved changes including a partition that's being modified but it looks like your only option at this point. It should not affect your current Mac partition however I'm unsure if it will affect your XP partition. Boot camp works well but in general I would say it's not a good idea to try and re-size or split existing partitions that have data. To do what you want to do you could use Boot camp to create another partition but it would only take the space from your Mac volume. You would probably have to backup or make an image of your XP system then start over using Boot Camp to create the 2 partitions of the size you want.
FYI: You would probably have a better chance getting an answer for this question over in the Boot Camp forum.
George

Hard drive is missing. I can boot from the cd but when running the disk utility, no hard drive shows up.

Hard drive is missing. I can boot from the cd but when running the disk utility, no hard drive shows up.
This is a problem that suddenly appeared.

Please post a screenshot of Disk Utility that shows what you mean. Be careful not to include any private information.
Start a reply to this message. Click the camera icon in the toolbar of the editing window and select the image file to upload it. You can also include text in the reply.

After SN install can't launch Disk Utility from external drive

I recently upgraded 10.5.9 to SN on my white Macbook. First I used Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the old drive onto the replacement drive in an external enclosure. Then I swapped drives so that the new drive is now the internal drive and the old drive is in the enclosure. I then upgraded the OS on the internal drive via SN installer on DVD.
Now when I start from the external drive in OS X 10.5.9 and try to launch Disk Utility from this drive I get a weird error message that "Disk Utility can't be launched because it's incompatible with this architecture." The only things I can think of is that Snow Leopard installs something that globally effects all perhipherals (like new disk drivers?), or that there is something in the enclosure's USB bridge which is causing this, or that installing Snow Leopard breaks the PRAM for older versions of OS X. Tech support for the enclosure vendor tells me there is nothing in the enclosure's USB that would cause this. Any insights into what's happening appreciated.

Thanks for response. Ah, that's it. I was trying to launch it from the applications folder I had dragged to the dock, which was done while running Snow Leopard. That's why (duh!) all the application icons were slashed out. : |

Disk utility/external hard drive failure

I have a MacBook that I got about two years ago and a Western Digital portable external hard drive (WD Passport) that's almost as old. I keep almost all of my music files on my external hard drive and then play them through iTunes. About a month ago my external hard drive stopped working. I plug the hard drive into my computer and the blue light comes on. It even shines brighter for several seconds as (it appears) the hard drive attempts to mount. But every time I do this the blue light then becomes dimmer and the drive never mounts. When the hard drive is plugged in and I open up the Disk Utility application the drive shows up. When I try to manually mount the disk it tries and fails. When I click "Verify Disk" it tries and then an error message pops up saying "Phase 1-Read FAT, Unable to read FAT (Input/output error)". I've read that the PC disk utility application may be better at reading drives so, once I'm in a place where I have access to a PC, I'm going to give that a try. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I am assuming that you're using the Passport in the same USB port that you always have. I ask this because some people complain about USB devices working on one port but not the other, as they claim that one port may put out more voltage then the other. If this is happening in your case it would kinda make since as when you plug in the Passport all that is required is the logic board power then it will start to spin up the disk which will pull down the power and that may be why you're getting a dimmed light on the Passport.
Just try the other USB port to verify, I know it sounds silly but it's worth a shot.

Disk Util cannot unmount ext HD to format or partition

Computer: MacBook Pro Retina 13" latest model. All updates have been applied.
I have a 1TB WD external harddrive. It has 2 partitions (1 FAT32, 1 Mac OS Extended). This drive was working properly until one day it stopped mounting.
Problem:
- Mac OS Extended partition: Will not mount. I can see it greyed out in Disk Utility. The entire drive will not unmount.
- FAT32: Mounts in OSX but will not unmount. I can access FAT32 partition via Parallels (Win7).
Bigger Problem: I'm cannot re-format or re-partition the drive. Disk Utility provides an error that the drive cannot unmount.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

I made a mistake in the original post. I CANNOT access the FAT32 via Parallels because it will not unmount from OSX.
This is how I fixed it....
Booted up my Windows laptop and used Computer Management to delete both volumes (partitions).
Re-partitioned as 1 partition (ex-fat) and formatted.
Booted up MacBook and used Disk Utility to re-format as Mac OS Extended.
This appears to work fine, and I am able to use it for Time Machine now.
My question now is: How could I have accomplished this in OSX? I know some people will say maybe the drive is going bad. For this question, let's assume it's ok.

Disk Utility cannot partition drive

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for