cannot partiton a usb hard drive

[allan473]

I want to make an external drive into 2 partition but cannot. I ran disk repair and erased the disk without problems. Running 10.13.3 on aa 2016 15 in MBP.

I can select 2 partition and start the process but I always end with an error message - the drive stays with 1 partition.

Below is the error message

Running operation 1 of 1: Add “Untitled” by splitting “mbp backup”…
Verifying the disk
Verifying file system.
Volume was successfully unmounted.
Performing fsck_hfs -fn -x /dev/rdisk2s3
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking catalog hierarchy.
Checking extended attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
The volume mbp backup appears to be OK.
File system check exit code is 0.
Restoring the original state found as mounted.
Resizing
MediaKit reports partition (map) too small. If you recently grew your whole-disk, you should run whole-disk repair.
Operation failed…

 

[chscag]

What size is the external hard drive you're trying to partition? And it would be helpful to upload a screen shot of what Disk Utility shows about the drive.

 

[pm-r]

I want to make an external drive into 2 partition but cannot.

Have a read here and see it if it helps:
Partitioning Issues With OS Sierra (10.12) Disk Utility & Workaround
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7901655

It seems a bit awkward method to fix for some.

And lots of other hits here mentioning the same problem:
https://www.google.ca/search?client...F-8&gfe_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=0-1zWu2hLeiS8Qe-uIz4Cg





- Patrick
======

 

[allan473]

What size is the external hard drive you're trying to partition? And it would be helpful to upload a screen shot of what Disk Utility shows about the drive.

 

[allan473]

I needed to set GUID. THe way to do it in HS is:
In Disk Utility, near the close/minimize/fullscreen buttons, you can see a "View" mode dropdown menu. Set the view mode to "Show All Devices", then you'll see the "root" drives. Click on a root drive, and then click on the "Erase" button. Now an option to change the "Scheme" from Master Boot Record to GUID appears in the Erase subwindow.

All is fine now.

 

[pm-r]

I needed to set GUID.

Hmmm…??? Something's a bit odd there and not quite right here.

You should be able to format and partition an external drive for Mac use as:
• Apple Partition Map: Used for compatibility with older PowerPC-based Mac computers.
• GUID Partition Map: Used for all Intel-based Mac computers.

GUID Partition Map is normally required for use (and with some software installs) and as a bootable drive, but Apple Partition Map will/should also work.
At least it works on our 2007 Macs and a 2011 iMac. But maybe Apple changed something.


PS: What is the "MediaKit" thingy you were using and why???




- Patrick
======

 

[chscag]

I don't know how he wound up with an Apple Partition Map scheme? Usually, when formatting with Disk Utility it will default to GUID. Probably a slip up on his part?

 

[pm-r]

I don't know how he wound up with an Apple Partition Map scheme? Usually, when formatting with Disk Utility it will default to GUID. Probably a slip up on his part?

I don't know, but as you say, the APM format is NOT normally a Mac Disk Utility default.

I was curious about the use and message of this "MediaKit" thing that was used and it seems that it's actually part of the Disk Utility.app.

Looking for info about it I came up with some interesting sites and their info:
For a cause and a fix for "MediaKit reports not enough space on device for requested operation":

What causes this error
This is not a WD issue. It can happen with a disc from any manufacturer. But this is not a problem with the disc at all. It’s all about the brand new APFS file system. At an early stage, there are usually some problems. In this case, the “Disk Utility” app could not correctly prepare the disk for APFS file system. After some time, this issue will most likely be fixed.
In my case, it’s my fault, I started to reformat my new hard drive from NTFS to APFS format instead of the usual HFS+ format. I used the old method to prepare the WD hard drive for use with macOS. But then I found this instruction. New instruction says that we first need to reformat NTFS into Mac OS Extended (Journaled), and then convert it to APFS format.

https://mycyberuniverse.com/web/how-fix-mediakit-reports-not-enough-space-on-device.html

and another
https://priyanksharma.com/tech/mediakit-reports-not-enough-space-on-device-for-requested-operation/

What’s the cause?

This type of error is generally caused when your EFI partition is below 200 MB. Mac requires an EFI partition of at least 200 MB to perform any Disk Utility function on an HDD. If your drive came factory formatted in NTFS, chances are your EFI partition would be lesser as Windows can work with a minimum of 100 MB.

What is EFI partition you ask? Well, the EFI system partition (ESP) is a small partition formatted with FAT32, usually 100 MB, which stores the EFI boot loaders for the installed system and applications used by the firmware at startup.

Lots more hits when searching on 'what is Mac "MediaKit" ' at:
https://www.google.ca/search?client...F-8&gfe_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=f7h0WpfZGNLM8ge4z6yQCQ

Gee, some of this Mac stuff is getting more complicated than the older OS days.





- Patrick
======

 

[rexanders]

I don't know, but as you say, the APM format is NOT normally a Mac Disk Utility default.

I was curious about the use and message of this "MediaKit" thing that was used and it seems that it's actually part of the Disk Utility.app.

Looking for info about it I came up with some interesting sites and their info:
For a cause and a fix for "MediaKit reports not enough space on device for requested operation":

https://mycyberuniverse.com/web/how-fix-mediakit-reports-not-enough-space-on-device.html

and another
https://priyanksharma.com/tech/mediakit-reports-not-enough-space-on-device-for-requested-operation/


Lots more hits when searching on 'what is Mac "MediaKit" ' at:
https://www.google.ca/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=what+is+Mac+"MediaKit"&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&gfe_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=f7h0WpfZGNLM8ge4z6yQCQ

Gee, some of this Mac stuff is getting more complicated than the older OS days.





- Patrick
======

I have this problem and I can't see it has anything to do with formatting as I haven't done anything to it. I have two 2Tb Toshiba external hard drives. The newer one I recently partitioned with no trouble. The older one, having erased everything and reformatted, refuses to partition into two 1Tb drives siting: "MediaKit reports partition (map) too small. If you recently grew your whole-disk, you should run whole-disk repair. : (-5341)"

I've now read a lot of posts about this problem mostly solved by reformatting or not solved at all. What I haven't found is anyone suggesting a way to do a whole-disk repair, which sounds to me like reformatting, which doesn't work.

 

[rexanders]

I have this problem and I can't see it has anything to do with formatting as I haven't done anything to it. I have two 2Tb Toshiba external hard drives. The newer one I recently partitioned with no trouble. The older one, having erased everything and reformatted, refuses to partition into two 1Tb drives siting: "MediaKit reports partition (map) too small. If you recently grew your whole-disk, you should run whole-disk repair. : (-5341)"

I've now read a lot of posts about this problem mostly solved by reformatting or not solved at all. What I haven't found is anyone suggesting a way to do a whole-disk repair, which sounds to me like reformatting, which doesn't work.

Incidentally. Show All Devices and then running First Aid on the parent volume makes no difference

 

[chscag]

The older one, having erased everything and reformatted, refuses to partition into two 1Tb drives siting: "MediaKit reports partition (map) too small. If you recently grew your whole-disk, you should run whole-disk repair. : (-5341)"

As above in the original thread you can see that the OP resolved his problem by changing the partition Map from "Apple Partition Map" to GUID.

Check your older drive that has the problem and make sure the Partition Map is set to GUID. If it is not, then change it. If it is already, the drive may have faults. Run First Aid.

 

[rexanders]

As above in the original thread you can see that the OP resolved his problem by changing the partition Map from "Apple Partition Map" to GUID.

Check your older drive that has the problem and make sure the Partition Map is set to GUID. If it is not, then change it. If it is already, the drive may have faults. Run First Aid.

Yes, I couldn't see GUID as an alternative and am now running a seven pass secure erase so Ican't do anything for a few hours yet. I'll get back to you

 

[pm-r]

as an alternative and am now running a seven pass secure erase so I can't do anything for a few hours yet

I hope it's not a large HDD, otherwise, it may be a few days, not hours, before it is finished!!!

BTW: a 7-pass secure erase is a complete paranoid overkill for most users and absolutely excessive. Plus it adds unnecessary extra wear and tear to the hard drive.


- Patrick
=======

 

[chscag]

A 7 pass wipe is overkill for most folks unless you have very sensitive information on the drive. A 3 pass wipe pretty much makes the retrieval of data impossible except maybe for the CIA or NSA.

When I worked for the US Govt we were required to 10 pass wipe all hard drives that were to be retired or replaced. After that, they were taken to a special facility where they were destroyed by a monster shredder.

 

[rexanders]

As above in the original thread you can see that the OP resolved his problem by changing the partition Map from "Apple Partition Map" to GUID.

Check your older drive that has the problem and make sure the Partition Map is set to GUID. If it is not, then change it. If it is already, the drive may have faults. Run First Aid.

Okay, you were right. Found GUID and fixed the problem. Incidentally, the seven pass wipe too nearly 48 hours. I shan't be doing that again

 

[chscag]

Okay, you were right. Found GUID and fixed the problem. Incidentally, the seven pass wipe too nearly 48 hours. I shan't be doing that again

Yeah, a seven pass wipe will definitely take time especially if the drive is full. Next time try a 3 pass wipe. There are also third party apps that will wipe faster and perhaps even more secure. Just do a general google search to find them. Most are pay apps though.