jrjordan Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Hey guys, so I tried partitioning my mac with Boot Camp, but got that NFTS error message that the partition was too big. So I quit the windows install and went back to osx to remove the partition and make it smaller, but now I'm getting the Startup disk cannot be partitioned message. I'm not incredibly tech savvy, so I'm not really sure how to fix it, but I don't want a partition being reserved for windows that i cant actually use. So can anyone give me like a manual how to fix it haha, I'd really appreciate it.And be gentle, I'm not a mac genius haha. Thanks! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/172381-the-startup-disk-cannont-be-partitioned-or-restored/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAppleFreak Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 You're not the only one. From what I understand, it means that your drive is most likely fragmented. I am going to assume you understand the basic principles of fragmentation, but if you don't, Wikipedia can explain it quite well. Because all of your files are fragmented, there are several bits of important system files (kernel, various system processes, etc.) that can't be moved at all without damaging the system during a partitioning. As a result, it can't partition it. There are two ways to go about this. The first is to buy a defragmenting software, like iDefrag (I recommend this) or Disk Warrior, or to clone your drive to another disk, do a reformat of the disk in your Mac, partition it there, and clone it back. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/172381-the-startup-disk-cannont-be-partitioned-or-restored/#findComment-1198669 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrjordan Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 haha well I'm not really looking to buy defragmenting software, so any tips on how to clone the drive to another disk and do a reformat?? You're not the only one. From what I understand, it means that your drive is most likely fragmented. I am going to assume you understand the basic principles of fragmentation, but if you don't, Wikipedia can explain it quite well. Because all of your files are fragmented, there are several bits of important system files (kernel, various system processes, etc.) that can't be moved at all without damaging the system during a partitioning. As a result, it can't partition it. There are two ways to go about this. The first is to buy a defragmenting software, like iDefrag (I recommend this) or Disk Warrior, or to clone your drive to another disk, do a reformat of the disk in your Mac, partition it there, and clone it back. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/172381-the-startup-disk-cannont-be-partitioned-or-restored/#findComment-1245044 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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