[benjaminmktn121]

1. I try to install Boot Camp (1.2) , it throws me an error about the disk not being able to be verified.

Right. Boot from the OSX CD, repair, start over.

2. I run BC again, and this time, it throws an error about not being able to partition, because some files cannot be moved.

Right. I understand what this means, why the error is given, but frankly, I'm REALLY not interested in backing up the drive, wiping it, and restoring it from the Backup.

My Questions:
1. Can anyone think of another way to do get the drive partitioned? I know I have to partition it with Boot Camp, but I need a way to get around the error. I've reinstalled MacOSx (To solve a different issue altogether), and rebuilt the drive with DiskWarrior. Any other ideas?
2. If I absolutely have to back up the drive, what's the quickest and easiest way to do it? I have a more than TB of external drive space for the taking.

Thank you,

Benjamin Mikiten
benjamin(at)in-mediares.com

[TheMosco]

use idfrag to defrag the drive, and then run dik utility gain to repair it again. then it should work.

[benjaminmktn121]

Originally Posted by TheMosco 

use idfrag to defrag the drive, and then run dik utility gain to repair it again. then it should work.

Is idfrag a program? Unix command? What are we talking about here?

[Sherman Homan]

TheMosco is on target with the problem. Although Max OS X will defrag file segments (under 20 megs) it does not optimize. So files, fonts, apps and system stuff is scattered all over the drive. This is not a problem unless:
A) you are a neat freak
B) you need a nice big contiguous piece of empty hard drive real estate like Boot Camp.
You are running into the fact that Boot Camp is annoyed at not finding that blank space. It can't move files out of its way.

iDefrag

[misak]

Just for those who do not want to spend any money and looking for a free and quick solution follow this:
If you get this message it usually means that you decided to install BootCamp after you filled in you hard drive and than you decided to delete some files to make a space for your new Windows Partition. You probably copied many movies ISO files and others.

1. Make sure you have enough space on your Mac drive for the new Windows partition
2. When you make the space by deleting some large files or other data create a new folder somewhere on your drive and copy "not move, you will have to copy the files, this will take some time" the rest of the data you stored on your hard drive into the new folder. After copy move to trash the old files and empty the trash. Now you are sure than all big files were moved to the beginning of your hard drive and BootCamp can create your new partition

Example:
- you have a folders named Movies, Music, Pictures and Data => Copy them into new folder
- make sure that all new data are copied
- move to trash old data
- empty trash
- start BootCamp and create your new partition


If you have any problems post here a question.

[rehoot]

I recently installed bootcamp and discovered that I had to first reformat my OS X drive before it would work. Here are the notes that I made for myself with all the details:

first unplug all USB and firewire devices. plug you
keyboard directly into the back of the computer (don't use
the connection through the Cinema Screen). When I did not do this, I sometimes got stuck during the Windows install because it didn't recognize my keyboard.

0) unplug your internet connection because you will soon
have Windows. If you want, you can download any cumulative
Windows update files and put them on a DOS-readable
external drive so that you can install them without having
to first connect to the internet.
1) image all partitions on the boot drive so that you can copy your files back to the boot drive later.
2) ensure that your boot drive is in a single disk (not a
RAID), and that it has exactly one partition, which is OS X
Journaled format.
3) ensure that you have installed the Mac Pro Firmware
updates. One of the firmware updates was specifically for bootcamp.
4) I was not able to get bootcamp 1.4 to run until I
REINSTALLED a OS X, the cumulative update for 10.4.10, and
the bootcamp program. I reformatted the drive and did a complete reinstall of OS X.
5) boot into OS X from the single drive where you want to
install Windows.
6) run the bootcamp assistant from Applications->Utilities.
7) click the button to create a CD that contains Mac
Drivers
8) you should then have an option to repartition your hard
drive. I chose to set the Windows partitition ot 31 GB.
The max for Windows for bootcamp is 32GB. Be sure to use this option to partition the drive because it adds some magic information for Windows that I don't think you get from the Disk Utility partition program.
9) when you click the button in bootcamp assistant to start
installation, the computer should reboot and run the
Windows installation from the Windows XP disk. You need to
have the version of XP that already has service pack 2 on
it (or you can install a newer Windows). You cannot use an old version of XP that does not already have service pack 2. if the computer
does not restart into the Windows installation, you can
reboot to OS X and try again. If you still have problems,
try installing OS X on a single partition and start over.

After the Windows setup runs, it will reboot and continue
the installation. Do not press any keys--it should reboot
to Windows without selecting the boot drive. When it is
done and you are in Windows for real, click on Start->My
Computer and then find the icon for the Windows disk and
right-click it and select Eject.

Put your Mac Windows Drivers CD into the open drawer.
Restart the computer to close the DVD drawer. It should
restart into Windows without having to select the drive.

Run the install program on the Mac Windows CD. I think this enables the eject button on your computer, among other things.

Install the security updates that you downloaded from your Mac, and avoid connecting your Windows machine to the internet until it is updated. I downloaded 100 "security updates" and "critical updates" for Windows Xp.

Run Windows Update or go to the Windows Update website to complete the security patches.

Reboot into an OS X drive and save an image of your Windows volume so you can use that for a fresh Windows install if you need it later.

[Mediaman_12]

Something else that causes this sort of problem is the Parallels disk image. For some reason the Boot Camp setup app cant move that file to do the disk partition.

[bassy6]

Hi all. Ok I'm on the verge of shooting the stupid laptop in the face ^^ I'm trying to install Windows Vista on my Macbook 1st gen with bootcamp 1.4. All was going fine until I get to the partioning bit. 1st it said verification failed, fixed that and then tried again and now it says .....some files cannot be moved" just like what this thread is all about. I'm so glad I found some people with the "exact" same problem. Right, so anyway I don't mind reinstalling OS X but what I do not know how to do is format the drive. becuz on the start up disk it has Mac OS X, 10.4.10 and also one that says 10.4.6. Also when I'm in Disk Utility it has 2 drives which is obviously a problem. 1 says 55.9 GB ST96812AS Media and below says Macintosh HD. When I click on both of them "seperately" they both are OS Extended(Journaled). So how do I use Disk Utility to format it as a single Mac OS Extended(Journaled) volume? And then after the message says that it says "Restore your information to the disk and try using Bootcamp Assistant again." I have all my data burned on DVD's which is why I said I have no problem with reinstalling OS X but I just don't wanna reinstall and after that those 2 HD's are still there. Or if I reinstall will they be gone? I dunno, I'm confusing myself. I just want to be able to experience dual booting on my Mac laptop and play PC games and run PC programs and have fun with bootcamp b4 the beta ends. Please help!

[rehoot]

Originally Posted by bassy6 

Hi all. Ok I'm on the verge of shooting the stupid laptop in the face

NOT IN THE FACE!!

Assuming your backup of data is good, you can format a drive by inserting your Mac OS X disk in the DVD and booting while holding the "C" key (or the option key and select the boot drive). Any 10.4 version is fine because the disk format is the same since early versions of OS X.

I think that the "two drives" that you see in disk utility are the "disk device" and the "logical disk volume." The logical disk volume is the formatted area that your computer understands, and it exists on a physical disk device--so they are basically the same if there is only one partition. If you had two partitions, the single "disk device" would have two "logical volumes" under it.

When you boot from the OS X install disk, you can optionally select a language, then look in the menus at the top for "Run Disk Utility." This will open the regular Disk Utiliy program and you will be allowed to partition and format any operational hard drive. You can select the disk in question, partition it into a single partition and and make it OS X Journal format. The menus are relatively clear -- just read the options and try it.

After you make your boot drive a single partition with OSX Journaled disk format, install OSX, run the updates, install bootcamp (optionally make a disk image of this so you can use it in the future) and run the bootcamp process. Bootcamp should display the option for partitioning the drive--be sure to let bootcamp create the Windows partition because I think it adds some magic information to make the Windows partition operational.

Also, take 10 deep breaths and relax (really).

[bassy6]

Ok I was just about to do what u said "rehoot" but I'm not exactly sure how to format the disk.. Basically when I go to the disk utility do I just erase both of the HD's? 1 says 55.9 GB ST96812AS Media and the other Macintosh HD and when I click on 1 of them they both say Journaled already. But the 1 that has Media gives me the option to "First Aid, RAID,erase, Partition, or Restore, and the Macintosh HD gives me all of those options besides Partition. Both have the exact same info when I look at the info. What I want to know is do I just erase them both or just 1? Plz reply quick cuz I really want to do this like.... now! I repeat do I just erase them both then install OS X? or do I just erase 1, and which 1?

P.S. when I click erase on either of them it says Volume(format) Extended Journaled. I'm guessing that means they're both already Journaled. Anyway thx and reply a.s.a.p

[rehoot]

You have a backup copy of your data and your intent is to format the drive, but you are experiencing a fear that you will ruin your computer if you click the wrong button. That fear will increase your stress level while working with your computer, so you might want to read the menus and make your best choice with a minimum amount of worrying--i.e., don't be so afraid to experiment especially when you have a backup of your important data. I say this from the point of view of someone who has helped train new computer users.

Now to answer your question (I think)... to "format" a drive, select a "logical disk volume" (one of the "lower" icons that is subordinate to a "disk device" in Disk Utility) and click on "erase" and check that the format option is for "OS X Journled (which should be the current setting). The other options about writing zeroes over the disk are mainly for security purposes so that the CIA can't use high-tec hardware to tell what was on your disk before it was erased (there might also be an extremely tiny benefit to reducing disk errors), but those options are slow.

If you click the disk device and then click erase, it might erase all partitions (I'm not sure), but because you currently have one partition any way, it is probably the same as doing it as described above.

I might not be near my computer during the day today, so I probably can't respond very quickly.

[bassy6]

Originally Posted by rehoot 

You have a backup copy of your data and your intent is to format the drive, but you are experiencing a fear that you will ruin your computer if you click the wrong button. That fear will increase your stress level while working with your computer, so you might want to read the menus and make your best choice with a minimum amount of worrying--i.e., don't be so afraid to experiment especially when you have a backup of your important data. I say this from the point of view of someone who has helped train new computer users.

Now to answer your question (I think)... to "format" a drive, select a "logical disk volume" (one of the "lower" icons that is subordinate to a "disk device" in Disk Utility) and click on "erase" and check that the format option is for "OS X Journled (which should be the current setting). The other options about writing zeroes over the disk are mainly for security purposes so that the CIA can't use high-tec hardware to tell what was on your disk before it was erased (there might also be an extremely tiny benefit to reducing disk errors), but those options are slow.

If you click the disk device and then click erase, it might erase all partitions (I'm not sure), but because you currently have one partition any way, it is probably the same as doing it as described above.

I might not be near my computer during the day today, so I probably can't respond very quickly.

I kinda meant which 1 do I erase, "55.9 GB ST96812AS Media" or the disk that says "Macinstosh HD". Becuz they both have the same info. But anyway I'll just erase. Maybe thats an old disk from the last time I reinstalled Mac OS X....anyway I'll just erase them both and I'm not stressed out or worried, I just don;t wanna delete it and then go to partition and it still doesn't work so I just wanna know "exactly" what I'm doing

[bassy6]

Thanks rehoot man. I got everything working. In fact I'm using Vista to type this reply Its all good. Only thing is that it hasn't asked me for the serial key of Vista I don't want any emails from microsoft saying ur running an illegal copy or w/e. So don't know whats up with that but besides that everything is smooth. Mac drivers all installed isight cam working eject key is working and basically all I need os good. Thanks again man

[ghporter]

Did you restore a fully backed up installation of Vista? If so, it may not even realize that anything has changed. On the other hand, if you've reinstalled from scratch, that could be a different thing. You won't get any emails from Microsoft-but Vista could stop working if you somehow skipped a step. More than likely if that' the case, Vista will "remind you" after a few days. Any problems from there are the stuff that Microsoft pays their activation call center people to handle.

[bassy6]

Ok. this isn't a problem but I want to ask this question. I gave Vista 22 gb and installed with bootcamp etc. But when I go to My Computer it says I only have 4gb left on the hard drive. WTH?! I'm guessing that all the other gigs went on the software that came with Vista? Like when I 1st bought my Macbook it said 60gb HD but when u actually go on the laptop "brand new" it says 38.8gb on the Hard Drive. They sudn't really advertise 60gb HD when u only get to use about 40 becuz 20gb goes on all the software. That sux.

[rehoot]

Originally Posted by bassy6 

I gave Vista 22 gb and installed with bootcamp etc. But when I go to My Computer it says I only have 4gb left on the hard drive.

This does not sound right. Yes, there "60GB" drive was based on a GB having 1,000,000,000 bytes as opposed to 2^30=1024K X 1024K X 1024=1073741824 bytes or something like that, but the bootcamp partition should not hog all your hard drive space. Your other volume should be about 33GB. There is a small amount of space wasted betweeen the partitions, but it should not be enough to make any difference.

If you have 28GB worth of stuff on your main MAC volume and only 4GB of free space, then you should expect your computer to be a bit slower due to disk fragmentation (at least this was true for earlier version of MAC OS X that needed the extra space so that OS X could reduce disk fragmentation easily).

I installed bootcamp, but I have a Mac Pro with about 2TB of disk space--I barely notice the Windows partition.

[kawaiistarz]

I ran into the error "some files cannot be moved" when trying to partition for windows to and I checked disk utility and everything is partitioned as a single drive under MAC OS Extended journaled. but i cannot change any partitions or options when i look at the main volume because it says:

"This disk contains a startup volume and can't be partitioned"

I used to beable to partition it for windows before but i had it sent back to apple because the graphics driver was defective and now i can't repartition it for windows again or make any kind of partitions because it says that. how do i fix it?

[rehoot]

Originally Posted by kawaiistarz 

I ran into the error "some files cannot be moved" when trying to partition for windows to and...

You could try moving big files to an external hard drive and emptying the trash can, or try buying idefrag as Mosco said above. I had tons of space left on my drive and bootcamp didn't work, so I took drastic measures and it worked (see my long post above that has the numbered list of steps as well as my subsequent post).

You could also try booting from your OS X install disks and performing a disk repair of the boot drive.