Partitioning Drive for Windows 7: Failed

[Jagurandi]

I'm on a 15" macbook; 128 SSD with a single MAC OS Extended (Journaled) partition of size 120.99GB with 44.52GB of free space.

I would like to install Windows 7 on my computer, and so I went to make a small partition for it. Using Bootcamp in an attempt to create a 30GB partition, I got an error message saying that some files could not be moved, and so the partition failed. I have no idea what those unmovable things might be.

Using Disk Utility, trying to partition the drive results in a failure. In response to some threads I was able to find, I tried partitioning the new drive as free space, as well as trying for 30GB, 25GB, and 20GB... all met with failure.

I have a time capsule, but my attempt to back up my computer seems to stall at the point of checking for changes (no change after 30 minutes, get pinwheel, tried repeatedly)

How can I go about making a little partition for a Windows install? I've never felt so failed by OS X 🙁

Thank you for your help

 

[LOLaMac]

It failed because the HD is fragmented and there is not enough contiguous space to create a partition. You either need to get a defrag program, or wipe your hard drive and reinstall Mac OS, then run the boot camp utility. Despite all the BS you hear from Apple, fragmentation does happen under OS X.

 

[jgbhardy]

This has happened to me before I can't remember how I solved it, I think I might have reinstalled OS X at one point but I think I did something else.

Check your trash is empty that is one thing that I remember from when I tried that might have stopped it.
Also use Verify Disk Permissions in Disk Utility and Verify Disk and if anything comes up repair those.
You can also try erasing free space this will take some time, but it might be quicker on a SSD.

Try those and see if it helps I have a feeling I did that and it solved it.

 

[MWPULSE]

worst case scenario is back up all your data wipe the drive, and then reinstall a basic OSX so you can bootcamp windows 7 onto your partition. Then copy the stuff you need back over 🙂

PTP

 

[Jagurandi]

Thanks for the responses.

I will freely admit: I did not realize (though I should have) that OS X has fragmentation problems. I've noticed the computer slowing down and hanging on tasks (in a way I thought I'd left behind when I dropped Windows), and I didn't know what to make of it.

I'm going to look into a program to defrag the drive, and I'll report back when that process is complete. I'd like to avoid wiping the drive, so I'll give this a try first.

Thanks! I'll be back when I've defragmented the drive and tried partitioning again!

 

[Patrick J]

Mac automatically defrags smaller files, but big files like movies fragment just like on Windows. Buy iDefrag, and you can make a bootable DVD that you can use to defrag.

 

[JoJoCal19]

This happened to me. There is a very easy way to fix this. Go into the Windows on the Mac forum here and look for one of the longest threads there. I forget exactly how but you reboot holding R or something and it boots into command terminal mode and you type some funky command and it "repairs" the hard drive and cleans up the issues. Then you reboot and you can then use bootcamp to repartition.

 

[Jagurandi]

... and I've returned... with good news!

I now have a small Windows partition with Windows 7 installed on my macbook.

For the record, should anyone else stumble upon this thread, the following worked flawlessly:

-I purchased a copy of iDefrag
-Made a boot disk with the 10.6 install disk
-Booted from disk and proceeded with a Full Defrag
-Bootcamp had no trouble partitioning the drive

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I honestly had no idea about fragmentation on OS X.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

I am trying the same thing and got the same error when using Bootcamp to create a partition but I went to verify my HDD and it says there are errors and something is corrupt 🙁 I thought that installing Windows on a Mac was supposed to be easier than installing on a PC? 😛

**edited**

Well after booting off my CD and repairing, the Bootcamp partition worked. Didn't need to defragment so maybe others should try that first before paying any money for defrag software. Now I gotta install windows.