My disk utility refuses to erase my hard drive

I've been trying for a few years to find some way to reset my mac to factory settings. Every last thing I've tried has failed. I was hoping the disk utility thing to erase it would work but the erase button never lets me to click on it

If you previously encrypted your hard drive (FileVault2) then your drive was enrolled in apple's CoreStorage format. If so, diskutility won't let you perform certain operations, and you'd first need to use advanced diskutil options from the command line ( $ diskutil cs delete ... ) to trash the CoreStorage volume.

Similar Messages

  • Disk Utility not formatting new internal hard drive

    My 2011 mac book pro recently crashed giving me a gray screen with a folder(question mark). I tried reinstalling Yosemite, with no success. I bought a 2tb seagate hard drive, placed it into my macbook, however it's in master boot record. I tried partitioning it under GUID, but it is giving me error signs, as well  "waiting for disks to reappear". I am currently erasing the hard drive, I understand that a 2tb hard drive is a huge hard drive and it takes time for it to be reformatted, but it's been over 12 hours and the estimate time remaining just continues to increase. What is happening? What am I doing wrong?

    Just returned it, got the new one and same thing happened...I'm pretty confused with this right now. I used it as an external hard drive and it formatted fine. I installed Yosemite on it and ran fine as the operating system as an External Hard drive. However, as soon as I switch i put it into my laptop, it does not pick up or read. I just formatted the hard drive again and trying to install it, but now it is giving me a different error "this disk cannot be used to startup your computer yosemite". It's actually running as my internal hard drive right now and that's is what my computer is giving me.

  • Disk Utility not finding new internal hard drive

    Hi All
    My internal hard drive died recently and I replaced with a western digital drive from newegg..
    All the cables are hooked up correctly, including the orange cable attached to the hard drive. Problem is that when I go to install OS X, Disk Utility doesn't even list the drive. Is there something I need to do beforehand? Anyone have any ideas as to why Disk Utility isn't even seeing the drive? Jumpers maybe?
    Thanks in advance.
    -Aaron

    I doubt that any jumpers are needed, since this is the only (master) drive in the system. WD's site has pretty good info on this. Verify for yourself however.
    Also, from their site:
    How to partition and format an internal slave drive or an external drive in a Mac OS X (all versions).
    Answer
    In Mac OS X, you can use the built in Disk Utility to partition and initialize the drive so it will appear on the desktop.
    1. Open the main drive (the drive that contains the operating system).
    2. Open the Applications folder.
    3. Open the Utilities folder.
    4. Select Disk Utility.
    5. The drives are displayed on the left side of the window. Click on the drive that you wish to partition (the top drive listing for the hard drive that you want to work with).
    6. Once the drive is selected click on Partition.
    7. Click on the Options button to select the partitioning scheme.
    8. Click on Apple Partitioning Scheme or Apple Partitioning Map and then click on the OK button.
    9. You will see several options for setting up the drive. Once you have selected the number of partitions, the format type you want, and a volume label, click the Partition button.
    10. Following the completion of this process, the drive will appear on the desktop.
    Joe

  • Disk utility can't find iMac hard drive

    I had to power off my iMac by Pressing the power key and holding it several times over the last few weeks. The last time it wouldn't reboot - I'd just get an apple icon. When I tried a safe boot I'd get the icon and it would change to a no entry sign.
    Next I started up from the snow leopard installation disk with the intent of repairing the iMac disk. The installation disk worked but when I opened disk utility it only found the installation disk. It didn't find the iMac disk.
    Do I need to make a trip to the Apple store or is there something else to try?

    Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000105 EndHTML:0000004136 StartFragment:0000001438 EndFragment:0000004100                    
    Oh Gosh, I am having this same problem too. I normally do not shut down ever, I reboot often because I have to due to bad wireless reception.  Last month, I did a full shut down and unplug due to a terrible storm coming in. When I went to boot up, it took very long and I had booted from my external bootable drive. My saving grace is that since crashing my emac in 2006, I am a rabid "backerupper" (made up my own word).  I have been using lacie’s Silverkeeper to make bootable back ups just in case. So When I tried disk utility, it did not see my drive. I used my third party software "Disk Warrior" by Alsoft, it saw my drive, and then I unplugged my external and then booted again from the Snow Leopard DVD and was able to repair.  All was well until this weekend.  We had a storm come trough quickly and we lost power, now I have the same problem you do but this time Disk Warrior does not see the disk either.  I am going to dig around for a while before I hit the Genius bar.  I fear the drive is fried. And for me I am not certain   this will be worth the dollar amount to replace since this is a 2006 and not upgradeable, but I will check with an outside vendor for price for the drive so I know what I want to do if in fact the Genius bar cannot see the drive either.  I do hope you have a back up version, and would suggest having third party software to take a chance to see if you can find your disk.  My imac is an Intel duo core 2 GHZ and from what I can tell model number A1174.  To get help from the smart people here it would be useful for you to post the rest of your specs.   If you don't know the exact model, you can check everymac.com and plug in your serial number.   Under the computer stand you will find the serial number and the emc number and you can find out from everymac.com what exact model you have.   If I find anything I will come back to this thread and report in.  Good luck to you.

  • Disk utility can't repair external hard drive

    A couple months back, I had to get a whole new hard drive case for my external because the power cord broke. Anyway, It's worked fine until now...
    The hard drive doesn't show up with the other volumes.
    It does show up on Disk Utility. When I try to repair or verify the drive, it works up until the end, but then it automatically quits and it says this:
    Verifying volume “FIREWIRE”
    ** /dev/disk1s1
    ** Phase 1 - Read FAT
    ** Phase 2 - Check Cluster Chains
    ** Phase 3 - Checking Directories
    Unable to read directory (Input/output error)
    Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
    1 non HFS volume checked
    Volume needs repair
    Anyway, I have 45GB of music as well as movies and photographs that mean a lot to me so I hope I don't have to erase the drive or anything...
    Thanks to anyone who helps me out.

    Hmm, I can't seem to find anything on Windows (XP) that will fix my exact problem...
    Then again, I am the crappiest Windows user ever so, once again, any help would be great.
    I searched "disk repair" on the help and support center, and it gave me a bunch of ways to fix the drive depending on the problem. The thing is, none of the problems seemed to match mine...
    Your personal data files are missing or have been corrupted, or you want to revert to a previous version of a file.
    After updating a device driver, you can log on, but the system is unstable.
    After installing a new device, the system is unstable.
    Changes made to your system or application settings are causing your computer to run poorly and you do not know how to restore the previous settings.
    After installing an application, the system is unstable or an application is not working properly.
    Operating system does not start (the logon screen does not appear)
    I'm not really sure what the exact problem is, I just know that it isn't working on the Mac, but it is on the PC.

  • Using Disk Utility to Clone/Duplicate entire hard drive.

    I have read many post that touch on this question but none have cleared up my questions, and many have just lead to more questions on my part.
    I want to use the included Disk Utility program to copy my entire hard drive to another.
    Because I only plan on backing up the entire drive once or twice a year, I do not feel I need Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper. Also I would like to understand how to accomplish this with the application I already have.
    Having read all the help pages and posts I can find, I understand the general concept of using the "Restore" function in DU, but have these questions still:
    1. My current HD is a 250GB partitioned with one volume "Macintosh HD" I am going to install another 250GB hard drive into bay 2. Do I need to partition this drive first?
    2. Do I need to format this drive?
    3. Do I need to erase this drive?
    4. Do I need to use the security feature to "Zero" this drive?
    5. It seems to me that if I am doing a bit for bit clone the partitioning and format from the source drive would just come over in the copy...no?
    6. As the source for the "Restore" do I want to select the parent 250GB disk drive, or should I select the "Macintosh HD" volume?
    7. As the destination for the "Restore" (if I had to partition and format) do I want the new 250GB drive or the "Backup" volume?
    8. If I have to partition and format the new drive first, I understand that I want the GUID partition table and the MAC OS Extended (journaled), can someone explain what the heck that means?

    I apologize for missing that part of the intro.
    For a new drive here's the modified procedure I suggest:
    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 GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. 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 Extended (Journaled.) 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 will take 30 minutes to an hour or more depending upon the drive size.
    Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.

  • Disk utility Failure/Unable to open Hard drive with a double click

    After trying to use Disk Warrior for maintanance last week my entire hard drive crashed.
    I've spent the last week rebuilding only to encounter a new problem..i can not open the hard drive with a double click.
    I attempted to run Disk utility to diagnose the problem and was told that the "program had lost connection and was unable to verify/repair disk permissions...and was told to shut down disk utility, which i ran from the install disk...
    Any suggestions aside from erasing and rebuilding the hard drive?
    Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks,
    Victoria

    Hi Ana,
    Try this link Disc Utility lost connection ......
    Hope that this will help you to solve the problem.
    When this was help full ore solved your problem Why award ponits?
    Dimaxum

  • Desktop or Disk Utility won't show External Hard Drives

    The Desktop or Disk Utility won't show  2 of my old external hard drives and so they are currently unsusable. My computer however recognise other external drives.
    320GB Western Digital MyBook Premium model number: WD3200D032-000
    500 GB Western Digital MyBook Premium model number: WD5000E032
    I have same issues both of these external drives.
    The blue circle lights come on so power is getting to it.
    Tried 2 USB cables, one I know for sure is working - Nothing.
    I am using Lion 10.7.4 on a mid 2009 13" MacBook Pro
    All efforts to help much appreciated

    No they haven't worked on this computer before. I using them on my old MacBook Pro (a computer which is no longer working)  which ran Snow Leopard.
    The 500GB drive  "stopped working" with that old MBP too
    But the 320GB drive was always working with old MBP if I remember correctly.
    Cheers

  • Disk Utility won't recognize new hard drive

    Hello,
    Thanks for taking the time to read this.
    The original hard drive (80 GB) went bad, so I replaced with a new 160 GB Western Digital one. I formatted the hard drive using Disk Utility from the Mac OS X Disk. It worked the first time I booted into Leopard (I just booted up to make sure the OS loaded...didn't install any new software and/or hardware).
    Then I shut it down and started it back up, and the computer didn't recognize the hard drive. I inserted the Mac OS X disk and ran Disk Utility, but the hard drive was not recognized.
    So now I'm thinking the new hard drive was also bad. So, I ordered another one (Seagate 160 GB) and it to was not recognized when I ran Disk Utility from the Mac OS X disk.
    When replacing all of them, I followed directions I found here and other websites. They all said to do it the same way, so I'm assuming the directions for replacing a hard drive in a laptop were correct.
    I searched Google and found several posts suggesting using an application called Disk Warrior, but from my understanding, you cannot run it from a disk, it needs to be installed, which is obviously impossible since the hard drive isn't recognized.
    Then I ran Open Firmware and did "devalias" from the prompt. From what I can tell in the list of hardware, the hard drive is recognized, but I am not sure. I took a picture of the screen printout but do not see an option to attached it to this post. Therefore, I'll just tell what it said for now and will create an image hosting account so I can add a URL for it later.
    In the list, "hd" is in the left column and in the right column of the same line is "/pci@f4000000/ata-6@d/disk@0" (without quotes).
    If anybody has any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

    Welcome to the Apple discussions.
    I've replaced a few hard drives, and in instances where it's not recognized, it's either been a cable connection issue or I've seen others with a jumper issue. Either the hard drive to logic board cable isn't properly set, typically on the logic board side, or a jumper was left on the drive, where typically you can just remove it. I haven't personally had the cable fail, however, that's possible too.
    When you pulled the large plug from the back of the original hard drive, did you do it very carefully? It's not like a desktop hard drive plug that you can just pull out ... it needs to be wiggled out, gently. I have a hard time believing two new drives would be essentially DOA, although the first one worked for a bit, which leads me to wonder about the physical connections.
    Since you have your original OS X disks, you could try running the Apple hardware test to see if it gives you any error message(s).

  • Disk Utility cant repair my external hard drive?!

    I'm using a 1 TB WD external hard drive on my Macbook Pro (OS is still Snow Leopard).
    It was working just fine until a few days ago the hard drive does not show on finder. I tried to repair it with disk utility but it gave the following message
    "Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."
    Of course I cant back up my files, it doesn't even show on finder! It doesn't show on other macs and PCs either!
    I did my research on the internet and tried the following commands on Terminal
    mount /dev/disk1
    and it says "unknown special file or file system."
    mount force /dev/disk1
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    I can reformat my hard drive but it has 500 GB worth of files and I'd rather not loose them if possible.. Is it possible?
    I'm also trying to save my files using this software Disk Drill, but it takes forever and the showing files doesn't have the proper name.
    Is there anything else I could try? I'll really appreciate any kind of help. Thanks!

    Use a product such as DiskWarrior to repair the drive; you’re supposed to make backups to guard against future trouble and not while having it.
    (108938)

  • Boot Camp and Disk Utility giving Error for my Hard Drive Volume

    When trying to partition my Hard Drive with Boot Camp, I get an error message after a while saying that it can't be partitioned because there is an error in the volume and that I should check it in Disk Utility. After running Verify Disk, it had told me that the file count was wrong and that I should repair my Disk. I have leopard installed, but only had access to a Tiger Install Disc, so after booting to that and apparently repairing successfully, I booted back onto my Hard Drive and ran Disk Utility's Verify Disk again. Now it said that my Volume Header needs minor repair. I still get the same message in Boot Camp. Running Verify and Repair Disk from the Tiger Install Disc tells me that everything is alright and the Hard Drive doesn' need repairing. I read on an Apple article that verifying a disk that's booted can produce inaccurate results, and that it shouldn't be worried about, but I can't install Windows because of this! What should I do?

    Hi,
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    Using Disk Utility from an OSX version that is prior to the one you want to repair can indeed cause more errors than before.
    So, search for the Leopard DVD.
    Regards
    Stefan

  • Disk utility can't find the hard drive

    I'm getting the flashing question mark when I try to start up my computer. I tried to use disk utility (starting the machine from the system software CD) to diagnose the problem but it wouldn't even find the hard drive. Any suggestions? Any help greatly appreciated!

    Nothing at all, Tony. When I came back to work on my computer after a 30-minute break, one of the applications was frozen. Soon after, everything froze. After restarting, the flashing question mark came up. I was able to boot from CD but when I tried to run disk utility it wouldn't find the hard drive. At this point I'm at a loss and I'm worried about my data, which, as it happens, I hadn't stored elsewhere! Any suggestions?

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  • Disk Utility Showing "No Slices" on Hard drive test ?

    What does Disk Utility mean when it states "No Slices" available when verifying or repairing a HDD ?
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    Apologies for not getting back sooner (health issues). I ended up using the original internal drive as an external drive via a usb connection and drive box. Thank you for response. I am still having issues with Toshiba drive and will pose another question.

  • After i ran the installer program to reset to factory settings, in the Disk Utility menu there is no hard drive listed.  How do I properly install the OS?  On the left hand side it lists: 250.06 GB Hitachi HTSS..., Mac OS X Install DVD, HL-DT-ST DVDRW G2

    The open window says, "Mav OS Install DVD" when I choose Disk Utilities.  The options listed on left are: 250.06 GB Hitachi HTSS..., Mac OS X Install DVD, HT-DT-ST DVDRW G2 3N and Mac OS X Install DVD.  How do I install the program on the hard drive?  This computer was given to me by a friend and I was trying to restore it to factory settings.  Thanks!!

    You want to boot from the Install DVD and install OSX on the Hitachi drive.
    Full instructions here:
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