Erase Partition

I recently upgraded my MacBook running 10.4 to Snow Leopard and I'm having issues, even after an archive install. I would like to erase and install, but I have two partitions on my drive. One partition is my BootCamp/Windows, is it possible to erase just the OS X partition and keep the Windows partition intact?

Hi mmmags;
Yes. Assuming everything goes properly. If anything goes wrong you can lose everything. Hence the reason we suggest that you always back up first just in case something goes wrong.
It is always better to have a backup and not need it the to need a backup and not have it.
Allan

Similar Messages

Disk Utility hanging on Erase/Partition OR Howto backup a dual boot Mactel?

I'm trying to use Disk Utility to format an external usb hd as HFS+ for backing up my Macbook. Running 10.4.7 and Disk Util 10.5.6 (latest version afaik)
Problem is whenever I try to either Erase format a hard drive using my usb2 external enclosure, Disk Util just kinda freaks, not really doing anything, and after a minute or so becomes the program becomes unresponsive. Luckily the rest of my system keeps on working, and I can just force quite disk util. But when I try to shutdown/restart my system I'm forced to do a hard power down.
I've tried leaving Disk Util running overnight, thinking it was just needing a little extra time to get thru the process, but nothing changed when I woke. And a gave the macbook a good hour to shutdown cleanly, but it stays stuck with the blue screen and the spinning gray wheel at the very end of teh shutdown cycle.
Looking at the disk util log (after force quiting and restarting the util) it will simply say:
Aug 12 03:24:09: Disk Utility started.
Preparing to erase : “Mb”
Creating Partition Map
Aug 12 03:25:50: Disk Utility started.
I've also tried running disk util off the osx install cd (tiger 10.4.6), but i get what seems to be identical behavior, and i have to manually turn off the macbook.
I've tried this with two hard drives with identical results. In Windows (boot camp) im able to format the partition fine, but it only does ntfs because of the drive's size (and I'm not trying to use a windows fs anyway).
I plugged the usb hd into a powerbook, and used a 10.4.0 retail cd to run disk util (no hd in the powerbook) and its able to erase/partition the disks just fine. I can then plug them back into the macbook and theyre recognized just fine. But its PPC system and doesnt offer for gtp partitioning which I'm thinking will be a problem because ultimately I'm trying to use this drive to do bootable backups of my macbook.
I'd like to figure out what is wrong with Disk Util. But even if i get the partitioning working, i have the larger problem of -how- to backup the macbook's hd onto an identical sized hd (80 gigs), that will make both osx and windows bootable backups that I can restore off of.
One thought was to use the unix utility dd, and just do a bitwise copy of one disk to another. Any idea if this would work?
Another option would be manually creating the partitions myself, and then backing up each of the drives seperately. Not sure if I could even make a bootable backup of windows from within osx.
I know I'm not the only one running boot camp and looking to have reliable backups. What are other people doing to address this issue.
Ideally I would like to find a solution that:
*creates an identical disk with two bootable partitions
*can be automated, or at best a few simple steps that can be done once and then walked away from
Thanks for the help
macbook Mac OS X (10.4.7)

I'm trying to use Disk Utility to format an external usb hd as HFS+ for backing up my Macbook. Running 10.4.7 and Disk Util 10.5.6 (latest version afaik)
Problem is whenever I try to either Erase format a hard drive using my usb2 external enclosure, Disk Util just kinda freaks, not really doing anything, and after a minute or so becomes the program becomes unresponsive. Luckily the rest of my system keeps on working, and I can just force quite disk util. But when I try to shutdown/restart my system I'm forced to do a hard power down.
I've tried leaving Disk Util running overnight, thinking it was just needing a little extra time to get thru the process, but nothing changed when I woke. And a gave the macbook a good hour to shutdown cleanly, but it stays stuck with the blue screen and the spinning gray wheel at the very end of teh shutdown cycle.
Looking at the disk util log (after force quiting and restarting the util) it will simply say:
Aug 12 03:24:09: Disk Utility started.
Preparing to erase : “Mb”
Creating Partition Map
Aug 12 03:25:50: Disk Utility started.
I've also tried running disk util off the osx install cd (tiger 10.4.6), but i get what seems to be identical behavior, and i have to manually turn off the macbook.
I've tried this with two hard drives with identical results. In Windows (boot camp) im able to format the partition fine, but it only does ntfs because of the drive's size (and I'm not trying to use a windows fs anyway).
I plugged the usb hd into a powerbook, and used a 10.4.0 retail cd to run disk util (no hd in the powerbook) and its able to erase/partition the disks just fine. I can then plug them back into the macbook and theyre recognized just fine. But its PPC system and doesnt offer for gtp partitioning which I'm thinking will be a problem because ultimately I'm trying to use this drive to do bootable backups of my macbook.
I'd like to figure out what is wrong with Disk Util. But even if i get the partitioning working, i have the larger problem of -how- to backup the macbook's hd onto an identical sized hd (80 gigs), that will make both osx and windows bootable backups that I can restore off of.
One thought was to use the unix utility dd, and just do a bitwise copy of one disk to another. Any idea if this would work?
Another option would be manually creating the partitions myself, and then backing up each of the drives seperately. Not sure if I could even make a bootable backup of windows from within osx.
I know I'm not the only one running boot camp and looking to have reliable backups. What are other people doing to address this issue.
Ideally I would like to find a solution that:
*creates an identical disk with two bootable partitions
*can be automated, or at best a few simple steps that can be done once and then walked away from
Thanks for the help
macbook Mac OS X (10.4.7)

CAN I ERASE PARTITION BOOT CAMP IF I HAVE INSTALLED PARALLELS DESKTOP?

CAN I ERASE PARTITION BOOT CAMP IF I HAVE INSTALLED PARALLELS DESKTOP?

I think the answer is NO. Or Maybe. Or, can't answer based on lack of details. And, more a question for Parallels Support forums.
All depends on your setup. But you will lose ability to dual boot or use VM most likely.
In any event, we are not mind readers. And have some backups already.
Before you do? do this: buy WinClone 3 and make a backup image of Windows hard partition "aka" Boot Camp.

Spinning beach ball while erasing & partitioning new internal drive?

Is this normal. The beachball has been spinning for the last hour. I dont know how long the erasing & partitioning should take but I cant find out if it is working okay by checking the LOG because of spinning ball. Any ideas folks? Tracy

I seem to have this problem, although I don;t get the beach ball. Whenever I want to erase a partition, I click erase and wait for what seems like hours. After hours, it still says "preparing to erase disk". Any ideas?

Disk erase / partition running for 30 hours and counting

Hi all !
Im posting on behalf of the logged in person
His Macbook pro 13" just started going VERY slow overnight, Startup - 10min, open app - 3/4min etc
He took it to an Apple store - they concluded the HDD is faulty
and they quoted him ZAR4000 to replace the drive ( the Samsung drive they quoted on typically sells for ZAR650 )
He rejected the quote as it was too expensive, that is when I got involved
I took the existing 500GB Toshiba drive out and put it through a battery of tests - all passed
I then took a brand new Western Digital 500 GB HDD, installed it, went through the steps to load OSX
The unmount action takes 30 odd min, the erase / partition / format runs for days
That 1st attempt took in excess of 3 days ( round the clock ) to get it running,
but with the new hdd & clean install - still as slow as ****
(any version of OSX, up to the latest - same results )
I then installed an old 100GB Intel SSD - everything was lightning fast and the system was up & running in 3 Hours
In the last 2 weeks I have tried different conventional HDD's - they all take ages to load & once done - is very,very slow
Is there something im not aware of in terms of HDD's specifically compatible with Mac ?
Any ideas pls guys

Sugith Varughese wrote:
I gave up using Disk Utility after it ran for 15 hours with no end in sight.
Upon rechecking Time Machine using the MacBook pro wirelessly, the backups appear to be available and I can restore files.
Though I don't know if I can do a system restore as per my original question.
Correct. If the backups are indeed corrupted, as they appear to be, you may or may not be able to do a full system restore. It just depends on where the corruption is, and there's no way to determine that.
An option would be to boot from your Install disc, erase your internal HD, and install OSX. When your Mac restarts, try using +Setup Assistant+ to restore your settings, apps, users, and data, per the green box in #19 of Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
If that doesn't work, erase your disk and install OSX again, but this time don't transfer anything. Set up a temporary user account (using a different name than any that are on your backups). When your Mac reboots, use +Migration Assistant+ (per the pink box in #19) to bring things over, one group at a time. If it hangs on one group, make a note of what didn't transfer, and go on to the next. Then use the normal Time Machine "Star Wars" display to restore the missing items selectively. You may very well get most of your data that way.

How to properly clean install: erase, partition hard drive, and install tiger then SL

Hello,
     I am a noob at this, so if responders would be kind enough to be detailed / specific with any instructions it would be most helpful! I own a dinosaur apparently (even though I don't think so): the white (not unibody) Intel macbook2,1 (late 2006) 1.83 GHz with currently 1GB of RAM, but I have 2x2GB RAM sitting next to me ready for install. However, first I would like to do a clean uninstall of my computer (running OS X 10.6.8 SL). I also would like to properly partition my hard drive while I'm at it.
     About 6 months ago I had serious crashing issues, along with kernel panics, hangs, applications randomly appearing & disappearing, system settings and options doing the same, fans running high (probably due to the low RAM available), and basically overall screwiness. So, after trying pretty much every option I could find on this community...and many others... (e.g. clean cache, clean old logs, already did a clean uninstall and install of SL, and much much more) I have reached my wits end. I would say that to date I've wasted a good solid 2 months with this.
     The clean install worked for MAYBE a month or so, but then it started acting up again with the fans (even without high pages in/out, CPU or memory usage) and excessive heat, along with the apps freezing and quitting (mind you it would be only two things open such as 1 word document and then firefox-- with flash disabeled). SOOOOOO long story short, I have purchased new RAM and I would like to try this once again, but to ensure I don't screw it up this time I would like some directions as to how to do the uninstall, partition, then reinstall. (currently to date I ensured all updates are completed---even though they are no longer released for SL, and I just did a full backup).
     Also, I need to first install Tiger (my original OS) as when I went to do a hardware test the other day this was not an option (and upon further research it is due to me not using Tiger as a first install and then using my mac box set for SL). I didn't use my original OS first because....one issue encountered when I had tried to install Tiger was that my Disc 2 (the applications one) took around 1.5 hrs to complete, but when I reached the last step of glory where I expected it to say COMPLETE it instead said that there was some sort of issue with the disc..........of course).
     Any help would be greatly appreciated.

1: If near a Apple Store or Authorized Repair, take it to then for a free evaluation, it might have other hardware problems now that it would be a waste of effort even continuing.
2: The RAM needs to be
Maximum Memory
3.0 GB (Actual) 2.0 GB (Apple)
Memory Slots
2 - 200-pin PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 SO-DIMM
Basically what this means is you can put in a 2GB module and a 1GB module for 3GB total.
I wouldn't proceed with installing RAM just yet, not until you get a stable OS X version on the machine, you might have a hard drive needing to be replaced as well which you can do while inserting new RAM.
3: This User Tip can assist in installing 10.6 Snow Leopard, partition format etc.
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6
Software Update fully immediately after setup.
There is no need to install Tiger, he 10.6 disk contains the full 10.6 version, you can either install the iLife from Tiger disks or use Pacifist from Charlesoft to extract them and place on your new install, then Software update to get them current.
4: If not successful then the drive also likely needs to be replaced, if so choose a 7,200 RPM SATA I w/1.5Gb/s connection.
Install/upgrade RAM or storage drive in Mac's
Repeat #3
If your getting beeping noises or "you need to restart" issues, it's likely one or more of the RAM modules is bad. Have it exchanged or swapped.
I advise good quality RAM the first time, if you buy cheap stuff it's just going back.
Don't go any further than 10.6.8 with that old machine, the performance will be terrible.

Disk Utility will not format/erase/partition an unformatted scsi disk

Well, I'm back with a RAID problem again. This time the powers that be sent me a Sun Microsystems StorEDGE A5200 RAID box (22 33gig disks). It's a fibre channel system, and is full of Seagate FC disks. The box only hooks up to my G5 Quad via the Apple Fibre channel card that I have hooked up. It's a dual channel card and both are plugged into the back of the RAID array.
Now, here's what I have.....
The Drives show up in both Disk Utility and Anubis
The is only one drive formatted and it works fine.
All the rest of the drives are unformatted (not just blank, but without any operating system on them, just like they were fresh out of the box)
Attempting to Erase a disk results in the message
Disk erase failed
Disk erase failed with the error:
Invalid Argument
Attempting to Partition a disk results in the message
Partition failed with the error:
Invalid Argument
Attempting to create a RAID set results in the message
Creating RAID set failed with the error:
Could not add a RAID disk to a RAID. (note there was no other RAID set)
Only one disk in the array is formatted and it will respond to all of the functions in Disk Utility.
I was told that I needed to do something using the command line, but that was pretty vague as to what I needed to do. Apparently I need some sort of superuser authority to get these drives formatted, and that's it's not documented any where.
So folks, I leave it up to you again, what do I do?

OK, I have found out much in the last few weeks.
1 - Apple no longer supports SCSI, you may not format disks in any way using OS X. OS 9 also does not work on any of the G5 machines at least.
2 - You can use Linux to do most of the work with SCSI, it is still supported, although there is little clear documentation on how to get it done. Linux is free and works very well with my G5 Quad. But it has a steep learning curve and it's not worth it for just formatting SCSI drives.
What I found out about my SCSI drives turned out to be the core of all the problems I have had, and it was Linux that found the problem. Seems all of the drives I have but one have been formatted in such a way that only the proprietary operating system that formatted them would read them. 520k data blocks. I reformatted several of the drives to 256k blocks and they work fine now.
Before I go out and start going though this for a few hundred more of these drives, my academic supplier found just as many drives that were specifically formatted for use in Sun RAIDs and are properly recognized by OS X, and with twice the drive space (current is 36gig, new ones are 73gig). He is sending me 44 of them (and a second RAID box)
I'm hoping that this finally solves the problem and hope all will be working soon.

Boot Camp Error - Erased Partition?

I erased windows partition as instructed, finished my work and restarted the computer... it opens up in windows. I search, and discover my OSX partition has been erased. All my files were on there, university work, music, photographs! Is there any way of getting that back? Preferably for free/cheeply.

I backed up the section I was supposed to be deleting, and followed the instructions provided using Boot Camp and Disk utility to erase the windows partition. Thanks for the info.
Edit: I also need something that will work on Windows to recover a Mac OS drive.
Message was edited by: Kittykat123123

External HD erase/partition question

Just purchased a new Lacie 250gb HD. I've read where it is recommended that the HD be erased before it's used. I've read where this process takes several hours (unless I misunderstood the postings about it). Anyway, I connected it to my iMac and using disk utilities I clicked on the "erase" button, but it took only about 5 seconds! I went to the Lacie website and it suggested using the "partitions" button which will supposedly successfully erase it, too. I did that also. Again, only took about 5 seconds.
Query: Is this right? Do I need to do anything else?

If you are doing a simple erasure of the hard disk, the procedure will finish quickly, as only the disk directory is modified. Using an option such as zeroing all the data or securely erasing the disk will take several hours, as data needs to be written to every location on the drive.
(10198)

Exclamation mark folder, find a mac, erase, partitioning woes

Hi. Variations on this topic have been posted many times
and I've gone through many many many. I hope not to offend those who see this as duplication.
I have iPod 20gb dock connector. Pre-click wheel.
Have used on Windows XP for 1.5 years, no real trouble.
All of a sudden, the dreaded exclamation point/folder icon.
I tried all of the suggestions. It would not recognize the iPod. One suggestion I found a few times was to use a mac.
I have a new mac mini and planned to migrate iPod to that box anyway, so I tried.
Tried using Disk utility to Erase, per suggestions.
First try failed with input/output error. So I changed security option to write zeros. This seemed to work but then got stuck in creating partitions and never got out of it. I left it overnight.
Tried again with seven times over option. It is currently on pass 4 of 7.
I have all my music backed up, I don't need any info from the iPod, just to be able to use it again.
Any suggestions?
To re-state, Reset/Restore attempts are not successful.
Reset always goes back to disk mode.
Restore unsuccessful because iPod Updater software does not see it.

FOR SUGGESTION: See last paragraph...
MY PROBLEM:
I have a Mac formatted 4th Gen. iPod (B/W, click wheel, no photo). Have had problems with functionalitiy, (will not respond {click wheel}, will not mount, verify or erase in Disk Utility, Image usually will not appear on desktop) and when I charge it (wall socket) sometimes does not show the battery charging. Get both the "frowning iPod" and the ("!" Folder) when I reset... Have tried to restore (iPod updater) and it usually fails, although it inconsistantly says it restores (image appears on desktop), then fails to import and freezes my iTunes, Disk Utility and iPod updater as well as my G4 Quicksilver and my Power Mac G5. I have had this for just over one year (no more warrenty) and my battery is losing charge. I just used my (over the counter) Tiger DVD (as start-up disk) and tried using Disk Utility (twice). I've been working on this for a week now and I am at the point of opening the "**** thing" myself.
But a glimmer of hope has appeared after the last Tiger Disk Utility. It seems that after the last(Tgr.Dsk.Uty. and iPod restore) I have found 2 partitions; an Apple OS Ext Journaled and a Windows FAT 12 (not 32). Yes that is weird! Although the FAT 12 does take up 32 MB of space (just looked at it in D.U. partitions) and it seems to be the culpret of why my D.U. won't complete a First Aid or Verify or anything else for that matter. I want(ed) to have an iPod to use on both Windows and Macs but haven't been able to partition anything that works on both so far and I'm not sure if I should take this opportunity to "run with it (Fat 12)" or just restore again and get my Mac functionality back. Does anybody have a suggestion about 2 partitons (Mac/Windows) or should I just feel lucky and restore one more time?
MY SUGGESTION:
My suggestion here would be to use your Mac and it's DVD start-up/restore disk, (use it as your start-up disk and look at the top under utilities). First run a disk utility, a first aid, a partition and an erase (zero out) your iPod. Then run your iPod Restore a couple of times after restarting (be sure your iPod is fully charged through a wall socket first)... Good luck!
PowerMac G5, Dual 1.8 GHz, Superdrive, 2 GB DDR SDRAM Mac OS X (10.4.5) ATI Radeon 9600 Pro, PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-106D: 4th Gen. iPod B/W screen

IMac cannot erase partition in recovery mode

Hi,
I bought an iMac Retina 5K in Dec. 2014. I am using OS X 10.10.1, 3T fusion drive. Now I want to erase and re-install OS X. However, when I enter the recovery mode, the os does not let me erase the partition. After first attempt of erase, all the selection and button became gray and un-selectable.
I want do know if it is normal that I cannot erase for the new model. How can I erase and re-install, or restore to factory state.
Thank you so much!

I just returned a new iMac with a fusion drive after one week (many power related problems) - I also had a problem erasing, but finally managed by choosing the actual drive, not the top most entry in the Disk Utility window. I no longer have it now to do a screenshot, but I am referring to the actual hard drive like this one:
As to not being able to choose the top entry - I believe this is the behavior because of the fusion drive/SSD which you have no control over.

Ext disk volume still says "MS-DOS (FAT)" after erase/partition?

Hi, and thanks in advance. I have actually searched here, read quite a bit including the FAQ on using an ext drive with Time Machine (what I'm trying to do) but am still not clear.
I'm bringing over a 500G ext drive from my PC to my new iMac. I've used Disk Utility (I thought) to erase the drive, and form a single new partition.
When I click on that partition, the Volume info appears correct: it is Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and named Backup Book. However, if I click on the drive itself (with size and ID info) that still is listed as a MS-DOS (FAT) volume, and is untitled.
I'm doing a giant "huh" here, even with all my searching, so will be grateful for any assistance. Should I expect this behavior? If not, where did I go wrong? Thanks again.

Do this:
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.

MBA 2010 Can't Erase/Partition internal SSD

I was unable to boot my 13" 2010 MBA. Hanging grey screen with gear turning -- forever.
Tried recovery partition tools starting with First Aid but to no avail.
I decided to erase and reinstall os x lion. I am unable to do this so far.
1. I tried erasing the volume Macintosh HD. Volume Erase failed with the error: File system formatter failed.
2. I tried to erase the 121.33 GB Apple SSD. Disk Erase failed with the error: Couldn't unmount disk.
The disk is mounted since the recovery partition is what I'm using. So...
I rebooted with a good OS X Lion installation from an external USB drive (no problems), retried and got this result: Disk Erase failed with the error: Unable to write to the last block of the device.
3. If I try to partition the 121.33 GB Apple SSD I get: Parrtition failed with the error: Unable to write to the last block of the device.
I thought I would use superduper or ccc to clone back the (repaired) image of the SSD but when I launch either program they do not see the 121.33 GB Apple SSD so this route leads to a dead end also.
4. I tried using the Disk Utility Restore function using a variety of Sources and get the following error: An error (22) occurred while copying. (Invalid argument)
I am out of ideas. I can't take the SSD out of the macbook air and put it into an external enclosure and try formatting. I can't use the internet installation method since it is a 2010, and not 2011 Macbook Air.
I did a lot of googling and tried a lot of the suggestions but so far I'm stopped dead in my tracks. I am able to boot the macbook air using an external drive and recovery partition is usable, either on external drive or internal SSD.
If I could boot gparted or linux from a USB or CD/DVD I could use gparted (if it works) to reformat the internal SSD. But I can't figure out a way to do this, and the 13" 2010 MBA seems to have exceptions to the complex set or instructions that some people have found works with the non-2010 MBAs.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I'm out of warranty and out of ideas.

From what I've read, the first step in downgrading is to use the disk utility and reformat from the recovery partition. Or let Snow Leopard do the same as part of the installation. This won't work. Unless Snow Leopard uses a different Disk Utility and that is where the error lies, in the Lion Disk Utility, I don't have much hope for this approach.
However, I would try it anyway's but I don't have any way of installing Snow Leopard. I don't think a DVD came with the 2010 MBA (if it did, I don't have it, nor a DVD drive although I've had limited success using a shared PC DVD drive ; i don't know if an install DVD would work using a shared PC DVDD drive).
If only I could boot to a gparted live partition from a USB stick or some such method (linux) I could try gparted but I don't know how to boot to gparted live on the MBA 2010. Again i have no problems booting from an exernal drive. I tried using fdisk, diskutil, etc. on the internal SSD but can't format it or delete partitions, one being the hidden recovery partition.
Very frustrating. I tried using ipartition but also to no avail. It kept giving me errors whenever Itried to reformat, repartition, unmount, etc..
I'm considering using the Genious Bar at Apple. Is this type of problem over their heads or might they be helpful? Perhaps it is a hardware problem with the SSD but I have no way of diagnosing that, AFAIK.

Erase partition on drive

Hi all.
I am using disk utility version Version 13 in mavericks 10.9.2 - and just partitioned a new Seagate 4TB SSHD drive into 2 x 2TB partitions.
(by the way... disk utility only gave me an option to split 4TB into 2 x 2TB partitions. No functionality to choose the size you want, I did want 1 x 3TB and 1 x 1TB partitions).
Now I want to revert back to a single 4TB drive but everything is greyed out in disk utility and my drive only appears at 2 partitions.
I tried erasing them but they still only show as partitions.
I can't see any way to revert back to my 4TB single drive.
Please help!
Mike

Hello
Thanks for coming back to me.
Regarding the initial partition resizing via "moving the top or bottom of the rectangle to increase it or decrease it" - this functionality was greyed out and you could not move anything. It had pre selected 2 x 2TB and would not let me enter a new figure numerically or pull the slider rectangle boxes around.
In this picture you see my partitioned drive highlighted in blue in the side bar.
As you see it's split into 2 drives
AUDIO & SOUNDS - HD MIRROR 4TB
and
AUDIO & SOUNDS - HD MIRROR 4TB 2
In the main window you see that when I go to the partition tab on either drive everything is greyed out.
I don't see a "Partition Scheme dropdown menu"
Any ideas?
Thanks so much.
Mike

Erase partition; reinstall osx from itunes

When I get the the download screen from the repair menu i click install osx, then I'm asked to connect to iTunes. I enter my password correctly then nothing happens. I hit install again and I'm prompted to enter my password again and nothing happens. I hit install again. Etc etc...
Any ideas? This is ridic.
Long story short: I tried repairing the only partition I have (I've never messed with them before as I'm not computer saavy) but it was unrepairable. I was asked to reformat so I erased the partition. After his I tried reinstalling.
There was nothing wrong with my comp in the beginning I just had problems getting postregsql to download and I have to have that for an application I run. I have no data on my comp that in worried about losing so I figured why not fresh install.

Ok, I unsderstand a bit better. What I don't understand is, that you talk about iTunes: a re-install or repair of the OSX has nothing to do with iTunes??????.
There are 2 methods of a re-install of the OSX:
- a fresh install: this means you format the main disk (and loose everything on it) and install the OSX completely new.
- a new install of the OSX where all your data will remain in place (like an update).
Remember: both have nothing to do with iTunes!
For the fresh install:
Download the OSX, before installing make a bootable stick with the OSX on it. Then from the "Recovery Partition" start DiskUtility and format your main disk. Then insert the bootable stick and install the OSX on your freshly formatted disk.
For the Recovery of the OSX:
Restart while holding the CMD+R keys, this will start your "Recovery Disk", choose Recover OSX, this will renew your OSX installation, but leaves all your data alone.
Of course you have TM or other backups, when something should go wrong.
Did I analyze your request correctly, or did I miss something?.
Lex

Erase Partition

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