Ubuntu

Partitioning Message on Mac

Asked by PrettyInPink

I've tried asking on the Apple forums, but to no avail. I've been attempting to partition my Macbook Pro using Boot Camp so that I can load Ubuntu on it. However, the computer will be partitioning, and I get this message:

The disk cannot be partitioned because some files cannot be moved.
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.

The problem is, when I check Disk Utility, it says the harddrive IS Journaled. What does that mean and how should I proceed?

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place-- no one seems to want to help on Apple's support site.

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Answered
For:
Ubuntu Edit question
Assignee:
No assignee Edit question
Last query:
Last reply:
Revision history for this message
Ryan Maki (ryan.maki) said : 		#1

If you recheck the message you will see that the resize utility can't move a file, this isn't a journaling problem.

You may be having problems with very large files on that drive. If your hard drive has less than 40% free space (approximately) then you probably don't want to re-partition it until you find a place to put some of the files that you don't access often. I use an external drive to hold my work, (two actually to provide a backup solution).

If you use Parallels or VMware virtual machines you may have a few very large files that prevent the utility from freeing enough space. Move those to another drive before you partition.

Also, make sure you are using the latest version of Boot Camp, since each version has shipped with a new disk utility and try again.

Once you have cleaned up the drive, if you still can't run the Boot Camp utility, you have a few more options:

1. Use "Carbon Copy Cloner" to copy that drive to an external drive, format your internal drive then copy everything back again.
2. Use iDefrag to defragment your hard drive. (this is what I did, and it worked very well)
3. Re-install a clean MacOS X system. This one is foolproof, but drastic.

Can you help with this problem?

Provide an answer of your own, or ask PrettyInPink for more information if necessary.

To post a message you must log in.