MacBook – How to reformat Macbook Pro SSD to regain “Free Space”

bootcamphard drivemacbook propartitionwindows

I just tried installing Windows 10 through Boot Camp. Before it actually started installing (but after I had partitioned my disk), I realized I had not plugged in a USB (which apparently you are supposed to do). So I exited the Windows pre-installation program so that I could start afresh with a USB.

I put in a USB and started up Boot Camp again. This time, however, it told me that I need to get rid of the partition. I tell it to do so, but it errors in this process! So now, I am left with 60GB of "free space" that I cannot reformat back into my main storage.

As you can see, there is no partition on the left side that I can remove. I simply have 60GB of "Free space" that I now cannot use. Please help!

Best Answer

You can simply create a new partition using Disk Utility to regain those 60 GB for usage. Another possibily is to change the size of your existing partition, depending on its current file system.

Related Solutions

MacOS – Restore Macintosh HD to its original partition configuration

There is no need to delete the CoreStorage Logical Volume Group. Just resize it:

Have a backup!
Reboot into Internet Recovery Mode (hold Option-Command-R) as the machine is restarting). You'll eventually be presented with a Max OS X Utilities window.
In the menu bar along the top of the screen, click Utilities -> Terminal.

At the prompt, enter diskutil cs list and you should get output similar to the following.

CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)
|
+-- Logical Volume Group 9B4FB14F-DA7D-46EF-BBB9-FD99166C1E2F
    =========================================================
    Name:         Macintosh HD
    Status:       Online
    Size:         920186970112 B (920.2 GB)
    Free Space:   49152 B (49.2 KB)
|
+-< Physical Volume DE3C1DD4-3EA5-4484-AE40-C8BD60AD5F75
|   ----------------------------------------------------
|   Index:    0
|   Disk:     disk0s2
|   Status:   Online
|   Size:     120988852224 B (121.0 GB)
|
+-< Physical Volume E1C56E99-3ED2-437F-AED0-A454FCC4E983
|   ----------------------------------------------------
|   Index:    1
|   Disk:     disk1s2
|   Status:   Online
|   Size:     799198117888 B (799.2 GB)
|
+-> Logical Volume Family D824D426-8315-405A-A7CD-5B62E549FBAE
    ----------------------------------------------------------
    Encryption Status:       Unlocked
    Encryption Type:         None
    Conversion Status:       NoConversion
    Conversion Direction:    -none-
    Has Encrypted Extents:   No
    Fully Secure:            No
    Passphrase Required:     No
    |
    +-> Logical Volume AC1A071B-63D0-488F-AFFF-D296E446FE6B
        ---------------------------------------------------
        Disk:                  disk2
        Status:                Online
        Size (Total):          914000052224 B (914.0 GB)
        Conversion Progress:   -none-
        Revertible:            No
        LV Name:               Macintosh HD
        Volume Name:           Macintosh HD
        Content Hint:          Apple_HFS`

Copy the Logical Volume (LV) alphanumeric UUID of your CoreStorage volume. The LVUUID should be the fourth (the fifth if you have a Fusion Drive) listed. In the above example the alphanumeric is:
AC1A071B-63D0-488F-AFFF-D296E446FE6B
Run the following command:
```
diskutil cs resizeStack LVUUID partsize  
```
According to the number found above it would be:
```
diskutil cs resizeStack AC1A071B-63D0-488F-AFFF-D296E446FE6B 0g  
```
This will expand your CoreStorage volume to full 1.24 TB
Quit Terminal.app and start Disk Utility and verify the expanded volume.

Windows – get bootcamp to use existing free space on physical disk

More people have problems with BootCamp trying to partition manually than any other way. This is what I would do:

Boot into recovery mode.
Get into disk utility
Delete the partition you created for Windows
Expand your Mac partition all the way into the available space
Now (assuming you already have the BootCamp media created) Run the BootCamp.app and follow the prompts
Part of the process will present you with a graphical representation of your disk and allow you to set as much space as you want for both the Mac and Windows partition.

The thing you have to learn (or un-learn as the case may be) coming from Linux or Windows is that the first thing you should do is nothing. Let the App and/or Operating System do it's thing the way it wants to. Which means things like, "just plug it in," "follow the prompts in the app," or as a last resort read the (usually brief) instructions in the app or on Apple's support web site.

I've been supporting Macs and PCs for 20+ years and it is a whole different mindset. Yes you can tinker, it's just a different method. What you did is not wrong, it just adds unnecessary complications making it necessary to then work around Apple's work-around that they build into BootCamp so you would not have to do all the partitioning manually.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MacOS – Restore Macintosh HD to its original partition configuration

Windows – get bootcamp to use existing free space on physical disk

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