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Resolved it is possible to erase a bootable flash drive

M

mud25

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 18, 2011
15
0
Solution: hdiutil unmount /dev/disk3 in terminal
then go into disk utility the erase the disk
:apple::apple::apple::apple:
i was making a bootable flash drive and i screwed up bad (i had the wrong extension on the file) i was wondering if it is possible to erase the volume with a terminal command or some thing it is telling me i dont have significant privileges i tried "sudo rm -rf /Volumes/Ubuntu-Server\ 11/ " but to no avail
rm: /Volumes/Ubuntu-Server 11//preseed: Read-only file system
rm: /Volumes/Ubuntu-Server 11//README.diskdefines: Read-only file system
rm: /Volumes/Ubuntu-Server 11//ubuntu: Read-only file system
rm: /Volumes/Ubuntu-Server 11//.disk/base_components: Read-only file system
rm: /Volumes/Ubuntu-Server 11//.disk/base_installable: Read-only file system
rm: /Volumes/Ubuntu-Server 11//.disk/cd_type: Read-only file system
rm: /Volumes/Ubuntu-Server 11//.disk/info: Read-only file system
rm: /Volumes/Ubuntu-Server 11//.disk/udeb_include: Read-only file system
rm: /Volumes/Ubuntu-Server 11//.disk: Read-only file system
rm: /Volumes/Ubuntu-Server 11/: Resource busy
thees are the last lines after trying pleas i need to use the flash drive for bigger and better things:apple:
 
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If you just want to wipe it can you not delete whatever partition structure is on it and re-create using Disk Utility?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Start Disk Utility. Select the Flash drive (not partition) from the list on the left. Select the Partition tab. Then use the +/- buttons to add/erase partitions or use the "Volume Scheme:" selector to select a new number of partitions.

B
 
mud25 said:
no why would that make it easier
Click to expand...

No, that may have explained though why you can't do it, as the MBA Recovery Drive is somehow write protected, but there are ways around it.

What exact USB flash memory thumb drive do you use and how is it formatted (file system/format and partition map scheme)?
 
Make sure you don't have the drive mounted, e.g. Having a Terminal.app window open with a folder on the drive as your current working directory.

B
 
sandisk micro 2gb
with this command sequence

diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk5

sudo dd if=/Users/icossette/Desktop/ubuntu-11.04-server-amd64.iso of=/dev/disk5 bs=1m

diskutil eject /dev/disk5

hdiutil convert -format UDRW -o ~/Users/icossette/Desktop/ubuntu-11.04-server-amd64.iso

balamw said:
Make sure you don't have the drive mounted, e.g. Having a Terminal.app window open with a folder on the drive as your current working directory.

B
Click to expand...

what :eek: elaborate im confused
 
Last edited by a moderator:
simsaladimbamba said:
Close all applications that might access the USB flash memory thumb drive and also close all Finder windows, that might have the USB flash memory thumb drive selected.
Then try again.
Click to expand...

did not change a thing it says this disk is not write able
how can i override this and delete all of the files off the drive and rerun the drive to its factory settings
:apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple:


RESOLVED hdiutil unmount /dev/disk3
"disk3" unmounted successfully. after this i was able to go into disk utility and erase the volume thank god
thank you all for trying to help me
 
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mud25 said:
i was wondering if it is possible to erase the volume with a terminal command or some thing it is telling me i dont have significant privileges i i need to use the flash drive for bigger and better things:apple:
Click to expand...

i was looking for the command and i was not smart enough to understand what they were saying
mud25 said:
what :eek: elaborate im confused
Click to expand...
no elaboration was given as to what command to use
simsaladimbamba said:
Close all applications that might access the USB flash memory thumb drive and also close all Finder windows, that might have the USB flash memory thumb drive selected.
Then try again.
Click to expand...
no command there

whats up with ending the you posts with
balamw said:
B
Click to expand...
Demi-God
 
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Confirmed to work, here are the steps simplified for anyone who may find this thread in the future:

SCENARIO:
Flash drive has a Mac OS bootable installation on it and your needs delete the old OS so you can install a new OS.

PROBLEM:
When you try to delete the disk in Disk Utility, it fails. The flash drive may also be ejected after failing to be erased in Disk Utility.

HOW TO FIX:
  1. Mount the flash drive again, if its s not already, by removing it and plugging it back in.
  2. Open terminal
  3. type hdiutil unmount [driveName] - replace "[driveName]" with the name of the Flash Drive. For me, when I inserted the flash drive, a window auto-opened with the name "Yosemite Install Disk - 10.10.1" My terminal command looked like this: hdiutil unmount Yosemite Install Disk - 10.10.1
  4. Press enter
  5. That should unmount the flash drive (see Note below).
  6. Open Disk Utility
  7. Select your Flash Drive in the left column of Disk Utility
  8. Click erase at the top of Disk Utility
  9. You should get a message that Disk Utility has erased the drive
  10. You should now be able to follow the steps to create a new bootable drive. (scroll down to "Create a Bootable Installer")

Note: Terminal may give you a message similar to this after running the unmount command:
hdiutil: unmount: Only a single file can be specified.
Usage: hdiutil unmount [options] <mountpoint>
hdiutil unmount -help
 
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