Resolved No recovery partition after 10.7.3

[NorthDakota91]

Hi all guys, i've got a little problem here. After installing the 10.7.3 update on my macbook i can't boot into my recovery partition.

A preamble first: this is my second attempt to update the system. The first time i've got the cui-cui-cui problem so i've restored the system from time machine and then installed the combo update few days later. also, atm i have some problems with my adsl line so i have no broadband internet access (i'm writing from my 3g ipad)

So, No problems until today when i've scanned my drive for errors with disk utility and discovered to have some. I've tried to hold down cmd+r at boot but instead of starting from recovery partition a "select a wi fi network" prompt appeared. If i hold down the opt key i only can see the main partition. What happened?

The "diskutil list" command shows me 3 partitions: GUID_partition_scheme (which is, i suppose, the recovery one), EFI and the main one.

Anyone have ideas? Oh yeah, and sorry for the long post

 

[dknightd]

I think you need a network connection to use the recovery partition.

 

[heisenberg123]

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

 

[NorthDakota91]

Thank you for fast replies,

I need network access only to reinstall lion (which is not what i want). What i want is running the disk utility which is contained in the recovery partition so i can fix the errors i have on my main partition (this operation in fact can not be done directly from lion since the main partition is used by the system).

I start thinking that the recovery partition is missing - will check again with disk utility's debug menu enabled asap - in this case is it possible to restore the partition without downloading lion again? Also, can i use the snow leopard DVD to repair the disk (as a temporary fix, until my adsl line is up again)?

 

[dknightd]

you should be able to repair the main lion partition using a SL boot dvd

 

[NorthDakota91]

you should be able to repair the main lion partition using a SL boot dvd

Thank you - hope it works!

Btw, i've discovered that my recovery partition is really disappeared i hope that the SL dvd will fix my problem for now, then once my adsl network is up again i'll use the "windows" repairing method and do a clean install

 

[dknightd]

Sometimes the "disk verify" function shows errors when none actually exist - this is a result of trying to verify a disk that is in use. "disk repair" can sometimes fix a disk problem. Sometimes a disk just fails - sometimes slowly.
If you are fortunate enough to bring your disk back to health, I'd seriously consider making a copy of it - my experience has been the more backups you have, the less likely you are to need one. Since you are running lion now, I suggest you make yourself a bootable DVD or USB stick - there are instructions out there. I'd consider the "recovery partition" a path of last resort.
It relies on having networking working, and Apple servers working.
It will do nothing to recover lost data. And it might not boot your computer
if things aren't just right. It is nice to have that extra option, but I would
not rely on it alone for anything that really matters - just my opinion.

 

[NorthDakota91]

Sometimes the "disk verify" function shows errors when none actually exist - this is a result of trying to verify a disk that is in use.

Didn't know that! Thanks for the info

I'd seriously consider making a copy of it - my experience has been the more backups you have, the less likely you are to need one. Since you are running lion now, I suggest you make yourself a bootable DVD or USB stick - there are instructions out there. I'd consider the "recovery partition" a path of last resort.
It relies on having networking working, and Apple servers working.
It will do nothing to recover lost data. And it might not boot your computer
if things aren't just right. It is nice to have that extra option, but I would
not rely on it alone for anything that really matters - just my opinion.

Thank you for the suggestions - I know how helpful a backup may be (saved my life a couple of times!) and I always have an up-to-date Time Machine backup. I also throw very important stuff on a USB stick and Dropbox. As for the recovery USB stick - I'll make one ASAP, the fact is that I didn't even expect the whole recovery partition to vanish like that. Also not having a working Internet connection does not help at all.

BTW, the disk repair from SL DVD worked well - I was just afraid that it might have messed with the current file system somehow (being older than Lion).

 

[dknightd]

BTW, the disk repair from SL DVD worked well - I was just afraid that it might have messed with the current file system somehow (being older than Lion).

Glad it worked out. Better to be safe than sorry. Make yourself a bootable backup or two