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the disk cannot be partioned because...

R

robotjaw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 10, 2011
26
0
Back up the disk and use Disk Utility to format it as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume. Restore your information to the disk and try using Boot Camp Assistant again.

i dont exactly know what it is telling me to do? i HAD windows 7 on it but it was a trial version, i was told to make my partion back to mac and then just repartion the hard drive to make it have windows again but it will not allow me to do that and it gives me the above error. what should i do? im not quite sure what it means by "back p the disk and use Disk Utility to format it as a single mac os"


any help would be great! thank you in advance!
 
You're going to have to format osx using the discs thay came with your mac. Make sure to format it as a journaled volume, which will be one of the options when you format it.
 
what does make sure to format to journal mean? will i lose all of the programs and stuff on my mac? i kinda cant afford for that to happen. i need this for work :[
 
Wait, what are you trying to do? What is your goal? Keep Windows on it through Boot Camp or remove Windows?

It sounds like you're trying to partition your hard drive to install Windows, but you're saying you already had installed Windows?
 
i did HAVE windows on it, but was told i should take it off and then repartion it again. and i did, but now i have this problem trying to partion it...any ideas? they guy above me said to reformat in journal mode? what does that do?
 
Yup you will need to reformat and yes that would mean you will lose your data. Perhaps you should back everything up if you absolutely need Windows. What I meant by format it as a journaled volume is to choose "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" from the format options disk utility gives you.

Another option that MIGHT solve your problem is trying to reduce the size of your partition. If that doesn't work, you can try partitioning via safe mode.

Honestly though, I would just clean install Leopard but that might not be an option for you if you don't have your stuff backed up.
 
Reformatting the disk in Mac OS Extended (Journaled), also known as HFS+, simply means that you will have a single partition on the drive in which you can install Mac OS X on. Once the disk has been reformatted, you'll have to re-install Mac OS X, then re-run Boot Camp Assistant in order to partition the drive correctly for use with Windows (if you plan on using Windows via Boot Camp).

Basically, the "journaled" portion is just a feature of the file system to help prevent corruption if the machine were to shut off abruptly, etc.
 
sorry i am such a noob at this stuff. but thank you for taking the time to help me! how can i go about backing up programs like photoshop and the cs4 suite? those are the main things im concerned about. i mean i guess i could just get them again but it took forever last time.

so how do i back up programs on a mac? i know to use an external hard drive. but how do i put the program on it? or is that even possible?

once again sorry i am a noob. thank you for the help!
 
To restore the iLife applications, like iPhoto and iMovie, use the second grey disc (labelled "Applications Install DVD") to re-install them.

For the majority of applications available on the internet that you just dragged into your Applications folder it's as simple as creating a folder on your external hard disk, then drag your applications from the Applications folder to the folder in which you just created (you can also burn them to a CD or DVD). Once you've re-installed Mac OS X, simply drag them back from the appropriate backup location.

For Adobe applications such as Photoshop and Creative Suite 4, you'd need to re-install them from your original install media or download the appropriate installers if you purchased them digitally from Adobe.
 
ok. all i have disc wise is the snow leopard OSX disc, is that all i need? i do not have a second grey disc, just the one :/ hope i can still do this
 
Your MacBook should have come with two grey discs, the first being a "Mac OS X Install DVD" and the second being an "Applications Install Disc".
 
ill look around harder for the other one. but if for some reason i do not have the second disc, am i not going to be able to reformat?
 
You'll be able to re-format and re-install Mac OS X itself, but you'll lose the iLife applications (iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iDVD, and iWeb).

If you can't find the software installation discs that originally shipped with your computer you could always try to contact Apple to have a replacement set sent to you in the mail.
 
crap i use garageband all the time for my work this sucks i really hope i can find it! i doubt apple would send me one for free hahah, thatd be neat if they did though. how long does it take to reformat? just curious, i just want to be as knowledgeable as i can before i do this!
 
robotjaw said:
crap i use garageband all the time for my work this sucks i really hope i can find it! i doubt apple would send me one for free hahah, thatd be neat if they did though. how long does it take to reformat? just curious, i just want to be as knowledgeable as i can before i do this!
Click to expand...

It usually takes less than 2 hours to install SN.
 
Might be too late, but try using applejack to repair the disk first! Or boot from the install DVD that came with your mac and use disk utility on there to repair it. I had a similar message after bootcamp assistant **** the bed on me the other day, all running well again now though, and no reinstall needed!
 
doghousemike

what is apple jack? is it a program?

also if i put the install disk in is there a repair button or something?
 
Why did you remove windows in the first place? Isn't it possible to activate your trial version with a full retail key once the trial is over?

I really don't get what you're trying to accomplish here.


Edit, if you used bootcamp assistant to remove the windows partition from your mac, you should be able to use it again to remake a new bootcamp partition without any issues. I've done it plenty of times, no reinstalling of OS X or backing up is necessary, so either you did something wrong or I'm not understanding you right.
 
Last edited:
yes i did delete the windows partion using bootcamp. i got the error in my first post trying to repartion it so i have both windows and osx on here, i cannot use bootcamp to repartion it. it will not allow me to do it
 
If you have an Apple Store nearby, you could take in your computer and they may have the second installation disk you could use. It takes me about 30 minutes or less to format and install SL. I didn't install the iLife stuff from the second disk this time as I haven't the need for it, but I assume it would not take that long.

For the Adobe/program stuff, you will need to use the disk or whatnot it came with.
 
Also, have you tried repairing the permissions or whatnot in disk utility? That may help...
 
This happened to me many times. You can also defrag the drive without losing any data. The only problem is the cost of the defrag software.

The second easiest way is to backup the contents of your drive to an external hard drive using carbon copy cloner, booting to that external drive by holding down the option key while starting up, and then formatting the internal drive. When you boot to the external drive, it will appear exactly like when you boot from your internal drive. You can then reformat the internal hard drive.

Once formatted, copy the contents of the external drive back onto your internal drive using carbon copy cloner. It's very easy. You should be able to run boot camp from that point. It worked for me.
 
it worked! i did the utility disk and reapaired it using the osx disc!! thank you so much for all the help guys! i got windows installed and it all worked.

last little question how do i update the drivers for windows, but for mac? do you get what i mean? like i cant use aero because the video drivers arent up to date or what ever. i did it last time somehow but i forgot how :/

SO tl;dr repaired the disk, got it installed and working. but how do i update the drivers?
 
robotjaw said:
it worked! i did the utility disk and reapaired it using the osx disc!! thank you so much for all the help guys! i got windows installed and it all worked.

last little question how do i update the drivers for windows, but for mac? do you get what i mean? like i cant use aero because the video drivers arent up to date or what ever. i did it last time somehow but i forgot how :/

SO tl;dr repaired the disk, got it installed and working. but how do i update the drivers?
Click to expand...
You can install all of the required drivers for Windows by setting up the Boot Camp software. To do this, place your Mac OS X Install DVD in the DVD drive and it should appear in Windows labelled as "Boot Camp". Run the installer from there and you should be all set.

Alternatively, you can install the latest Boot Camp Software Update from Apple's website, simply visit http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1333 for 32-bit Windows or http://support.apple.com/kb/DL979 for 64-bit Windows.
 
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