It’s been an hour, and we’re at 48%. I have to be up early, so I’m headed to bed; hopefully this is done by tomorrow morning. I didn’t realize zeroing would erase the disk, so I had a moment of panic when it said “started erasing disk”; I wondered if I'd chosen the correct disk. <smile> On Jun 7, 2014, at 9:02 PM, Tim Kilburn <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi Alex, > > How about we try this in Terminal instead. Sometimes, Disk Utility has > problems executing things if the drive is having issues. You should be able > to get into Terminal from your thumb drive by going up to the Utilities menu. > > Enter the following: > > diskutil list > (press return) > this will give you the BSD device name of your drive. > eg: "disk0”, disk1 etc.” > You should be able to determine which is your internal HD by reading through > the resulting output. You only want the initial name, like disk1, not > disk1s2. > > next: > > diskutil unmount force /dev/disk_name > eg: > diskutil unmount force /dev/disk0 > > next: > > diskutil zeroDisk /dev/disk_name > eg: > diskutil zeroDisk /dev/disk0 > (press return) > > After disk is zeroed, you can exit Terminal and try things again in Disk > Utility. > > Of course if your disk is indeed going bad, then our efforts to fix it will > be fruitless and you may wish to get a new HD. > > Later… > > Tim Kilburn > Fort McMurray, AB Canada > > On Jun 7, 2014, at 4:53 PM, Alex Hall <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Yes, I did the startup disk selection yesterday, from the Apple menu. My >> thumb drive is still the selected disk (oddly, my beta partition has >> vanished, even though I haven’t yet erased anything). The second item in the >> initial list is indeed “install”, not “reinstall”, so it looks like I’m >> definitely on the thumb drive. Stranger by the day… >> >> On Jun 7, 2014, at 12:07 PM, Teresa Cochran <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> this might sound obvious, but the best way to ensure you start up from your >>> external drive is to go into the utilities menu, (I've temporarily blanked >>> on the name of the utilities app that runs in the recovery partition) the >>> one just to the right of the apple menu and choose startup disc. You can >>> choose the thumb drive from there. >>> >>> Teresa >>> >>> Slow down; you’ll get there faster. >>> >>> On Jun 7, 2014, at 7:57 AM, Tim Kilburn <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Hi Alex, >>>> >>>> Are you sure that it’s actually starting up from the thumb drive? It >>>> sounds like your Mini is starting up from the Recovery Partition instead. >>>> They do look and feel just the same. I think that the second item when >>>> starting up from the Recovery Partition says “Re-install MacOS X” whereas >>>> the thumb drive should say “Install MacOS X”. Not sure but, I’ll keep >>>> trying if that’s not the case. >>>> >>>> Later… >>>> >>>> Tim Kilburn >>>> Fort McMurray, AB Canada >>>> >>>> On Jun 6, 2014, at 6:36 PM, Alex Hall <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> I was going off memory earlier, so misspoke a bit. I see “current, >>>>> partition format, popup button, but it is dimmed. The table is not >>>>> dimmed, and neither are the five tabs, but every other control in the >>>>> Partitions Tab screen is unusable for some reason. Also, don’t worry >>>>> about taking a while to get back to me; I avoid all website work for just >>>>> the reason you described. <smile> I’m just glad for the help; as I said, >>>>> the nearest Apple Store is hours away, and this machine isn’t covered >>>>> anyway. >>>>> On Jun 6, 2014, at 1:56 PM, Tim Kilburn <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Hi, >>>>>> >>>>>> What I’m asking you to do is, in Disk Utility, select your drive. That >>>>>> is, the thing that reads 1 TB Hitachi blah blah or whatever make your HD >>>>>> is, not the already partitioned volumes. Then, go to the Partition tab >>>>>> and partition your HD with one partition, MacOS Extended (Journaled) >>>>>> with name Macintosh HD. As well, press the Options button in this >>>>>> window and ensure that your HD will have the GUID schema. Apply this >>>>>> change and you’ll have one volume on your drive with name “Macintosh >>>>>> HD”. When you run the Mavericks Installer from your thumb drive, the >>>>>> Recovery Partition will be automatically created. >>>>>> >>>>>> Hope this is clearer. Sorry for any confusion. >>>>>> >>>>>> Later… >>>>>> >>>>>> Tim Kilburn >>>>>> Fort McMurray, AB Canada >>>>>> >>>>>> On Jun 6, 2014, at 11:44 AM, Alex Hall <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Sorry, I just want to clarify one point. All the “clean install >>>>>>> Mavericks” articles I’ve found say to format your disk/partition. They >>>>>>> seem to imply that you will magically have a Macintosh HD partition, >>>>>>> even if it is the only partition on an otherwise blank drive, or that >>>>>>> you simply don’t erase that partition at all. In your email, did you >>>>>>> mean that the installer will automatically create a partition of the >>>>>>> proper size and name if one does not already exist? I’d rather not go >>>>>>> through this multiple times, so I want to do everything right on the >>>>>>> first try if I can. Thanks for your patience. >>>>>>> On Jun 6, 2014, at 12:25 PM, Tim Kilburn <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Hi Alex, >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Yes, I’m saying that you should totally wipe the HD. That is, after >>>>>>>> starting up from the thumb drive, go to Disk Utility and re-partition >>>>>>>> your drive to one partition named Macintosh HD. Any subsequent >>>>>>>> partitions should be done later on the live drive. This will ensure >>>>>>>> that the Recovery Partition is created properly. Not sure where the >>>>>>>> other individual got there info but this is sound practice. If you >>>>>>>> used DiskMaker X to create your bootable Mavericks Installer, on the >>>>>>>> thumb drive or the built-in “Create Install Media” utility of the >>>>>>>> Mavericks Installer, then a proper Recovery Partition will be >>>>>>>> automatically created. If you used the Disk Utility method, then the >>>>>>>> Recovery Partition must have already existed in order to create a >>>>>>>> proper installation. The problem in your case is that you need to do >>>>>>>> a total re-format, so, using the existing Recovery Partition is not of >>>>>>>> any benefit. Refer to >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> http://www.macworld.com/article/2056561/how-to-make-a-bootable-mavericks-install-drive.html >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> for info on these limitations. In addition, if you didn’t perform a >>>>>>>> complete wipe during your last clean install, these errors may have >>>>>>>> carried over thus any disk structure issues would have persisted. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Hope this makes sense. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Later… >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Tim Kilburn >>>>>>>> Fort McMurray, AB Canada >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> On Jun 6, 2014, at 9:34 AM, Alex Hall <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Thanks. I’m in the beta partition now, copying a few files over to my >>>>>>>>> external hard drive. The problem is here too: Finder just hung for >>>>>>>>> about thirty seconds, while my Mac’s HD made the sound I’ve come to >>>>>>>>> dread. Still, it’s working, thankfully; my main partition won’t even >>>>>>>>> boot. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> As to wiping, I’m still not sure what to do. I mean, I know how to >>>>>>>>> format the drive from the OS X on my thumb drive and then install, >>>>>>>>> the question is, what do I do with my partitions? I have two, one >>>>>>>>> Macintosh HD and one OS X Beta Partition. When I did a clean install >>>>>>>>> back in March, I had only the Macintosh HD partition and so didn’t >>>>>>>>> need to worry. I reformatted that partition, but didn’t actually >>>>>>>>> erase it, as people I asked told me that completely erasing the >>>>>>>>> Macintosh HD partition could turn out badly. Are you saying that I >>>>>>>>> should format the entire drive, wiping out both partitions? If I do >>>>>>>>> that, won’t it affect the installation of the OS, or will the >>>>>>>>> installer partition as necessary? >>>>>>>>> On Jun 6, 2014, at 12:43 AM, Tim Kilburn <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Hi, >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> For expediency purposes, I wouldn’t worry about re-mapping >>>>>>>>>> partitions etc., you’re just going to wipe the drive and >>>>>>>>>> re-partition anyway. Regarding grabbing those files, if you startup >>>>>>>>>> from your thumb drive, then go under it’s Apple menu to Startup >>>>>>>>>> Disk, you should be able to select the 10.9.3 beta partition as your >>>>>>>>>> startup disk. if things are OK in that area of the HD. Once you’ve >>>>>>>>>> started with that version of the OS, you could quickly get the files >>>>>>>>>> you want and place them onto whatever media you want. You could >>>>>>>>>> then go ahead and do the total wipe/re-partition and re-install from >>>>>>>>>> your 10.9.3 thumb drive. It’s best to do it from there since it >>>>>>>>>> needs to be done from a external source in order to completely >>>>>>>>>> reformat the drive. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> If you’re unable to startup from your beta partition, then the drive >>>>>>>>>> is in fairly rough shape and you’d either need to use Terminal >>>>>>>>>> commands to grab those files or just give up on them. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> HTH. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Later… >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Tim Kilburn >>>>>>>>>> Fort McMurray, AB Canada >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> On Jun 5, 2014, at 9:51 PM, Alex Hall <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> Thanks guys. I have a thumb drive with Mavericsk that I’ve used >>>>>>>>>>> before, and that I keep around now that we have a couple Macs in >>>>>>>>>>> the house. I’ll use that. Before I do though, is there any way to >>>>>>>>>>> copy off any other files I’d like to keep, ones I could recover but >>>>>>>>>>> that it’d be easier just to have if I can get them? I could >>>>>>>>>>> probably boot into that beta partition and copy, but I don’t know >>>>>>>>>>> if I’ll have the permissions to do that. I’ll also need a way to >>>>>>>>>>> erase the beta partition, if that is indeed the problem. I only >>>>>>>>>>> tested one OS, the 10.9.3 beta a month ago, but I suppose it could >>>>>>>>>>> have caused the problem. Anyway, can I erase that from Disk Utility >>>>>>>>>>> on the recovery HD, and if so, how would I do that and merge its >>>>>>>>>>> space back to Macintosh HD? >>>>>>>>>>> On Jun 5, 2014, at 11:11 PM, Tim Kilburn <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>> Hi, >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>> I agree with Chris that it could very likely be a software thing. >>>>>>>>>>>> So, since you have a Time Machine backup that is fairly up-to-date >>>>>>>>>>>> and you say that you have your important files backed up, I’d go >>>>>>>>>>>> for the reformat and reinstall option. If you don’t have an >>>>>>>>>>>> external HD or the cables that I mentioned earlier, there is a >>>>>>>>>>>> neat little utility within the Mavericks Installer that allows you >>>>>>>>>>>> to build a bootable Mavericks installer on a flash drive that is >>>>>>>>>>>> at least 8 GB in size. If you wish to go that way, I can share >>>>>>>>>>>> instructions with you. >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>> Later… >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>> Tim Kilburn >>>>>>>>>>>> Fort McMurray, AB Canada >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>> On Jun 5, 2014, at 9:00 PM, 'Chris Blouch' via MacVisionaries >>>>>>>>>>>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>> You mentioned a 50GB partition for OSX betas. So were you running >>>>>>>>>>>>> beta OSes on this box? If so, it's at least plausible that the >>>>>>>>>>>>> beta OSX had some kind of bug which mangled data structures on >>>>>>>>>>>>> the drive and, since it had access to your non-beta partition, it >>>>>>>>>>>>> could have mangled your regular OSX boot drive as well. In other >>>>>>>>>>>>> words, this could still have been a software issue. >>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>> CB >>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>> On 6/5/14, 9:17 PM, Alex Hall wrote: >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hi all, >>>>>>>>>>>>>> So, here's the status of my Mac Mini's hard drive. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>> * Two repairs from the Recovery HD resulted in an error telling >>>>>>>>>>>>>> me to format ad re-install. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> * I did just that at the end of March, and given that two >>>>>>>>>>>>>> repairs couldn't fix whatever errors have accumulated after >>>>>>>>>>>>>> three months, it seems like the drive itself is having problems. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> * The SMART status of the drive is "verified", not "failing", >>>>>>>>>>>>>> which seems odd given the previous points. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> * The drive is partitioned into two: 450gb for OS X, and 50gb >>>>>>>>>>>>>> for OS X betas. I don't yet know if the beta partition works, >>>>>>>>>>>>>> but both share a drive so I'm not optimistic. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Any ideas? I looked at replacing the drive, but the iFixIt >>>>>>>>>>>>>> instructions are scary and require special tools. The Mini is >>>>>>>>>>>>>> not under Apple Care protection, and my nearest Genius bar is >>>>>>>>>>>>>> almost three hours away. Am I just doomed, or is there a >>>>>>>>>>>>>> check/repair/miracle program I could run? Any suggestions are >>>>>>>>>>>>>> appreciated. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>>>>>> ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ >>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the >>>>>>>>>>>>> Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>>>>>>>>> send an email to [email protected]. >>>>>>>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to >>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]. >>>>>>>>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>>>>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>>>>>>>> send an email to [email protected]. >>>>>>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to >>>>>>>>>>>> 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group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>>>>> send an email to [email protected]. >>>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>>> email to [email protected]. >>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>> email to [email protected]. >>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> 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