I broke my computer completely #_#

[Remak]

I err... accidently broke my computer today when I was trying to install a partition to have data on both os's.

It is a macbook pro,and I had bootcamp set up on it.

In windows earlier today, I tried to shrink the windows partition down 25gb and set up a new partition to put all my music and documents and wallpapers to access from both os's.

After doing that now,the mac wont start up into osx.When I hold the option key the mac partition and recovery partition have disappeared. It trys to startup into windows by default now. (Only the bootcamp is seen)

Only.. the first time from a cold boot, the screen will go into windows. A blue screen with white letters and I think apossible option flash up on the screen for a microsecond, making it impossible to read or choose any options it appears.

It then proceeds to restart and this time gives me the option of booting into windows recovery mode after being "Unable to start". From there I let windows try to fix the problem its self, but it is unable to. It gives me an error log that says this.

Problem Event Name: StartupRepairOfflin e

Problem Signature 1:  6.1.7600.16385
Problem Signature 2:  6.1.7600.16385
Problem Signature 3:  unknown
Problem Signature 4:  21200276
Problem Signature 5:  AutoFailover
Problem Signature 6:  2
Problem Signature 7:  NoRootCause

OS Version:  6.1.7601.2.1.0.2.5. 6.1
Local ID:  1033

I just need to be able to fix up windows and I should be able to grab the data from the mac partition in windows finder andfrom the windows partion without a problem.  Then I intend to reinstall OSX and Windows 7 after backing up everything important on an external drive. (Unless I *really* screwed things up T_T.

So, how do I fix this~! ^^.

[krumm]

Resizing partitions is very risky and can cause data loss.  You should never do it unless you are backed up or don't care to lose the data on the drive.  I only have about a 75% success rate with partition resizing(mostly on smaller drives).  I've never used a mac before but it is really just another OS and uses the same hardware, so my options should work the same.

Simplest solution is to just write off your data and reinstall mac OS, and may be the only option.  But, I would try mounting the hdd to a working OS before writing anything off.  There is 2 ways to do that: pulling the drive and putting it into a computer that has one or a Linux live CD.  I usually just pull the drive and hook it up to a working desktop, but I don't know how hard it is to get to the drive in your computer or if you have a desktop available to use.  Best bet is probably to burn a Linux live CD, I recommend Ubuntu 10.04.  Use the try option to get a working desktop that you can use to access the computers HDD and an external HDD to copy data to.

If you get access to your HDD, but the data you want is not there, probably means the data is lost.  My success at recovering truly lost data(the kind that does not show up when you get access to the hdd) is zero.  I always end up recovering useless OS files and stuff I don't want.

[AnimeJanai]

There are software tools that claim to recover data from mis-partitioned drives.  So don't write it off yet.  Find at least several different softwares and read their instructions and FAQs to learn more before trying one of them.

[kitamesume]

o.o ehh.. risky? haven't encountered a single error via resizing the OS's partition by more than a dozen times ranging 30gb-50gb(seems like 40gb is my sweetspot right now, win7 starts at around 25gb @ fresh install including drivers and grows to 30+gb after ridiculous patches...).

i use "EASEUS Partition Manager" if that makes a difference.

[Kyrdua]

Did you just say Macbook?

o_o, pretty sure stuff works differently on that even if you say it involves partitions and whatnot.

[Lupin]

In windows earlier today, I tried to shrink the windows partition down 25gb and set up a new partition to put all my music and documents and wallpapers to access from both os's.

This caused the problem. You should have resized the partition using OSX. Windows altered stuff that OSX needs to boot.

Just use a live cd that can read whatever format that windows partition is to recover the files.

[Bob2004]

You say you can boot Windows in safe mode? Do so, go to Control Panel -> System -> Advanced system Settings -> go to the Advanced tab, and open Startup and Recovery Settings, and uncheck the box labeled "Automatically Restart".

Now you can reboot your computer, and when the BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death - the blue screen with white letters you see) appears, your PC won't automatically reboot, and you can see what it says. It should tell you what the specific error is that's causing Windows to crash (at the least it should tell you what file the error is related to) - there'll be a whole load of complicated numbers and data that you don't need, but there should be one or two lines which state the error in (relatively) plain English; post what it is here, and it should give us a better idea of the cause of your problem.

This caused the problem. You should have resized the partition using OSX. Windows altered stuff that OSX needs to boot.

Just use a live cd that can read whatever format that windows partition is to recover the files.

It sounds like a slightly more complex problem than that; if it was that simple, then Windows would still be working fine.

Did you just say Macbook?

o_o, pretty sure stuff works differently on that even if you say it involves partitions and whatnot.

Nah, fundamentally it's still just a laptop. The main difference is OSX, which works with partitions etc just the same as any other OS.

o.o ehh.. risky? haven't encountered a single error via resizing the OS's partition by more than a dozen times ranging 30gb-50gb(seems like 40gb is my sweetspot right now, win7 starts at around 25gb @ fresh install including drivers and grows to 30+gb after ridiculous patches...).

i use "EASEUS Partition Manager" if that makes a difference.

Basically, shrinking partitions is absolutely fine... so long as you don't accidentally get rid of space that contained data. If all your data is located in the first 50GB of a 150GB partition, with nothing in the remaining 100GB, then you can, in theory, cut out that 100GB without any issues. If there's data located in that 100GB though, then at best you'll just lose that data; at worst you'll completely break everything (if it's a Windows system file that got deleted, for example). Since, due to drive fragmentation etc, even if you only have 50GB of data on the partition it might still extend further than that (with lots of empty bits in between), you need to be very careful when resizing system partitions.

[kitamesume]

^ shouldn't that be common sense though? "everybody knows you can't shrink a plate filled with food just like that, it'll spill =P"

[Bob2004]

^ shouldn't that be common sense though? "everybody knows you can't shrink a plate filled with food just like that, it'll spill =P"

Yeah, but it's not necessarily all that easy to find out where in the partition your data is; it could be all over the place. I imagine most people just think. "Well, I have 50GB of free space, so shrinking it by 30GB should be fine", without realising that actually, that 50GB of free space is probably spread out all over the drive, and isn't just at the end. There are, I think, defragmentation tools which, as well as defragmenting the drive, shift all the data neatly to one end of the parition; it's always a good idea to use one of those before shrinking a partition, IMO.

[kitamesume]

i think EASEUS partition manager does that, though on a sequence of relocating the files before touching the partition, oh and if i remember correctly, it doesn't allow shrinking the partition to a smaller size than it's contents.

[Lupin]

It sounds like a slightly more complex problem than that; if it was that simple, then Windows would still be working fine.

OP used Window's resizer instead of bootcamp's to modify partitions. Partition table got modified (or even overwritten). This is why OSX no longer appears on boot. Now bootloader loads, looks for relevant Windows files for booting but since partition tables are now borked, Windows gives a tantrum.

There's an error log posted by op. Repair simply fails according to the log. You can try Startup Repair from your Windows disc to try repairing it but at this point isn't worth repairing. The op is running on a mac. Repairing windows won't work for one running from bootcamp; you're going to break the OSX.

Best course of action is to first repair OSX (repair the drive partition tables using OSX disc). Either use it or a live cd to access windows partition and copy important files. Then reinstall both OSX and windows.

[Bob2004]

It sounds like a slightly more complex problem than that; if it was that simple, then Windows would still be working fine.

OP used Window's resizer instead of bootcamp's to modify partitions. Partition table got modified (or even overwritten). This is why OSX no longer appears on boot. Now bootloader loads, looks for relevant Windows files for booting but since partition tables are now borked, Windows gives a tantrum.

Ah yeah, sorry, you didn't mention Windows in your last post, which is why I said that. That's pretty much the gist of the problem, by the sounds of it.

I've never used Bootcamp, so I don't really know much about it. If it's different to other methods of dual booting, and doesn't just boot the relevant partition for each operating system, then you may be right. I assumed that because he got at least partly into Windows (hence the BSOD), it wasn't a problem with the boot loader being borked (at least not too badly). But if it's as you say, then I agree, that Windows install is probably a goner.

[Remak]

Resizing partitions is very risky and can cause data loss. ...[more]

(click to show/hide)

You should never do it unless you are backed up or don't care to lose the data on the drive.  I only have about a 75% success rate with partition resizing(mostly on smaller drives).  I've never used a mac before but it is really just another OS and uses the same hardware, so my options should work the same.

Simplest solution is to just write off your data and reinstall mac OS, and may be the only option.  But, I would try mounting the hdd to a working OS before writing anything off.  There is 2 ways to do that: pulling the drive and putting it into a computer that has one or a Linux live CD.  I usually just pull the drive and hook it up to a working desktop, but I don't know how hard it is to get to the drive in your computer or if you have a desktop available to use.  Best bet is probably to burn a Linux live CD, I recommend Ubuntu 10.04.  Use the try option to get a working desktop that you can use to access the computers HDD and an external HDD to copy data to.

If you get access to your HDD, but the data you want is not there, probably means the data is lost.  My success at recovering truly lost data(the kind that does not show up when you get access to the hdd) is zero.  I always end up recovering useless OS files and stuff I don't want.

I've never had aproblem with resizing, reallocating,and creating new partitons from with in windows before with the built in utility.  . But I was always using ntfs and not trying to create a fat partition. And..none of those computers were duel booting something >_<.

Unfortunately there is no way that I can access the hd to put into a desktop (can you even hook up a laptop hd to a desktop hd without a special connector?  ).

There are software tools that claim to recover data from mis-partitioned drives.  So don't write it off yet.  Find at least several different softwares and read their instructions and FAQs to learn more before trying one of them.

I'm less worried about researching that right now.. because at this point I cannot even run anything :lol:

This caused the problem. You should have resized the partition using OSX. Windows altered stuff that OSX needs to boot.

Just use a live cd that can read whatever format that windows partition is to recover the files.

Eeek, thank you. I was thinking it probably was because of that, but I wasn't sure.  . How exactly do live cd's work? Do I just burn them and plug them into the cd reader and they automatically boot up? Last time I tried any live cd was like ubuntu 6.xx or 7.xx. I don't remember how they work anymore. >_<.

You say you can boot Windows in safe mode? Do so, go to Control Panel -> System -> Advanced system Settings -> go to the Advanced tab, and open Startup and Recovery Settings, and uncheck the box labeled "Automatically Restart". ...[more]

(click to show/hide)

Now you can reboot your computer, and when the BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death - the blue screen with white letters you see) appears, your PC won't automatically reboot, and you can see what it says. It should tell you what the specific error is that's causing Windows to crash (at the least it should tell you what file the error is related to) - there'll be a whole load of complicated numbers and data that you don't need, but there should be one or two lines which state the error in (relatively) plain English; post what it is here, and it should give us a better idea of the cause of your problem.

This caused the problem. You should have resized the partition using OSX. Windows altered stuff that OSX needs to boot.

Just use a live cd that can read whatever format that windows partition is to recover the files.

It sounds like a slightly more complex problem than that; if it was that simple, then Windows would still be working fine.

Did you just say Macbook?

o_o, pretty sure stuff works differently on that even if you say it involves partitions and whatnot.

Nah, fundamentally it's still just a laptop. The main difference is OSX, which works with partitions etc just the same as any other OS.

o.o ehh.. risky? haven't encountered a single error via resizing the OS's partition by more than a dozen times ranging 30gb-50gb(seems like 40gb is my sweetspot right now, win7 starts at around 25gb @ fresh install including drivers and grows to 30+gb after ridiculous patches...).

i use "EASEUS Partition Manager" if that makes a difference.

Basically, shrinking partitions is absolutely fine... so long as you don't accidentally get rid of space that contained data. If all your data is located in the first 50GB of a 150GB partition, with nothing in the remaining 100GB, then you can, in theory, cut out that 100GB without any issues. If there's data located in that 100GB though, then at best you'll just lose that data; at worst you'll completely break everything (if it's a Windows system file that got deleted, for example). Since, due to drive fragmentation etc, even if you only have 50GB of data on the partition it might still extend further than that (with lots of empty bits in between), you need to be very careful when resizing system partitions.

Nope, I cannot even boot into safe mode. Startup repair just starts up after the bsod.

It sounds like a slightly more complex problem than that; if it was that simple, then Windows would still be working fine.

OP used Window's resizer instead of bootcamp's to modify partitions. Partition table got modified (or even overwritten). This is why OSX no longer appears on boot. Now bootloader loads, looks for relevant Windows files for booting but since partition tables are now borked, Windows gives a tantrum.

There's an error log posted by op. Repair simply fails according to the log. You can try Startup Repair from your Windows disc to try repairing it but at this point isn't worth repairing. The op is running on a mac. Repairing windows won't work for one running from bootcamp; you're going to break the OSX.

Best course of action is to first repair OSX (repair the drive partition tables using OSX disc). Either use it or a live cd to access windows partition and copy important files. Then reinstall both OSX and windows.

Ohhh.I just remembered something~! Before I resized the partition in windows the drive names had a blue bar above them. After the bar changed to a tan/green color. And for some reason it was telling me that it wanted to make an F drive instead of the M:/ drive I wanted instead. That was when I realized I had messed something up. I should of backed up my data then...instead of restarting to see how much I screwed up. >_<.

Ah yeah, sorry, you didn't mention Windows in your last post, which is why I said that. That's pretty much the gist of the problem, by the sounds of it.

Yay~! Now you guys agree  . So anything new to figure out with the new information and the live cd questions. 

ps;Thank you everyone  . I was so surprised to wake up and see 10 replies to this 

[Freedom Kira]

Eeek, thank you. I was thinking it probably was because of that, but I wasn't sure.  . How exactly do live cd's work? Do I just burn them and plug them into the cd reader and they automatically boot up? Last time I tried any live cd was like ubuntu 6.xx or 7.xx. I don't remember how they work anymore. >_<.

Basically, yes. Pop it in, and if the CD drive is higher than the hard drive in boot priority, it'll just work. If it's not, or if you're in doubt, mash F12 on bootup.

[Lupin]

I've never had aproblem with resizing, reallocating,and creating new partitons from with in windows before with the built in utility.  . But I was always using ntfs and not trying to create a fat partition. And..none of those computers were duel booting something >_<.

OSX (at least the recent ones) has NTFS read support out of the box. You can also install ntfs-3g on your mac to read/write from/to ntfs partitions.

Ohhh.I just remembered something~! Before I resized the partition in windows the drive names had a blue bar above them. After the bar changed to a tan/green color. And for some reason it was telling me that it wanted to make an F drive instead of the M:/ drive I wanted instead. That was when I realized I had messed something up. I should of backed up my data then...instead of restarting to see how much I screwed up. >_<.

Blue bar means it's a primary partition. Primary partitions have fixed sizes and can only have one filesystem. Green means it's an extended partition. Extended partitions can have as many logical partitions in it. Tan means logical partitions(?) You can only resize logical partitions inside extended partitions, which is why windows converted yours. That didn't caused the problem.

[Remak]

Eeek, thank you. I was thinking it probably was because of that, but I wasn't sure.  . How exactly do live cd's work? Do I just burn them and plug them into the cd reader and they automatically boot up? Last time I tried any live cd was like ubuntu 6.xx or 7.xx. I don't remember how they work anymore. >_<.

Basically, yes. Pop it in, and if the CD drive is higher than the hard drive in boot priority, it'll just work. If it's not, or if you're in doubt, mash F12 on bootup.

Ahhh thank you! I tried to just install the mac os over everything since that seemed simpler then trying to remember how to work live discs, but it shows no place to install. Where it gives you a popup to install the os, it tells me to select a drive location to install, but there is nothing to select. When a take a look at it using the utility, it shows all three partitions (the 350gb osX, the 25gb one I tried to create, and the 125gb windows) there and they are all listed as windows format). I tried to figure out a way to change it, but it only gave me options to chnge the raid type, which is the wrong option for sure. .

So.. now I am stuck with being unable to repair since I don't have time machine, and the recovery partion that appeared when you held option seems to have completely disappeared. :/.

Right now I am trying to download ubuntu but it is 700mb larrrrge~! T_T. It is going to take a while.

(Snow leopard, not OSX. I don't have anOSX installation disc. It was purchased from the appstore)

I've never had aproblem with resizing, reallocating,and creating new partitons from with in windows before with the built in utility.  . But I was always using ntfs and not trying to create a fat partition. And..none of those computers were duel booting something >_<.

OSX (at least the recent ones) has NTFS read support out of the box. You can also install ntfs-3g on your mac to read/write from/to ntfs partitions.

Ohhh.I just remembered something~! Before I resized the partition in windows the drive names had a blue bar above them. After the bar changed to a tan/green color. And for some reason it was telling me that it wanted to make an F drive instead of the M:/ drive I wanted instead. That was when I realized I had messed something up. I should of backed up my data then...instead of restarting to see how much I screwed up. >_<.

Blue bar means it's a primary partition. Primary partitions have fixed sizes and can only have one filesystem. Green means it's an extended partition. Extended partitions can have as many logical partitions in it. Tan means logical partitions(?) You can only resize logical partitions inside extended partitions, which is why windows converted yours. That didn't caused the problem.

Can I install that support through terminal? (If that would make the snowleopard disc read the partitions correctly)

Ahh, I thought maybe the colors might of mattered, since before they were *all* blue. Then they were *all* tan. When I restarted it was broken. So I thought maybe something with the colors was the cause. :/

[Remak]

Eeek it just took the computer 4 restarts to boot in the mac disk. But now I cannot figure out how to eject the cd... The button will not work in widows, and when the mac is open with the recovery window, it will not let you eject the disk :/. So I can put in the ubuntu disk...

I tried ejecting it from terminal, , but it didn't work :lol:.

Ok, now I just formatted a usb drive to fat32 an installed ubuntu on it. When I plugged it in, the mac wont boot up onto it. Instead it trys to go to the which I cannot macdisk which I cannot remove from the mac :/

[kitamesume]

try accessing your BIOS and manually set which to boot first.

[Remak]

try accessing your BIOS and manually set which to boot first.

I finally managed to get the mac installation disk removed from the computer. It was too hungry. @_@. I ended up formatting and installing snow leopard on a usb drive and booting from it. (It was recognized automatically).

Since the ubuntu installation from usb wasn't working for some reason... (I think it was because it set priority to cd before usb, and the cd was still inside of the computer when I had the ubuntu usb)

I spent some time in finder trying to locate the partitions, but the os refused to find them. Which is weird since the partition utility found them just fine. It just said that they were a bad format. (So I guess that means it couldn't read the contents -_-)

So now.. I just tried burning a ubuntu cd instead of usb (I wiped my usb to install mac on it). When I tried to boot up into ubuntu it gave me this error on a black page, and opened up a console of sorts to let me type stuff in.. as if I knew what any of the help commands meant @_@.

Code: [Select]

Unable to find a medium containing a live file system

I had to force a shutdown by holding the power button down.

Then I restarted the mac, and booted up into the mac's version of bios.. but I think I did something wrong. It just says boot: with a _ flashing cursor :lol:. I must of did something wrong again (like usual -_-).

I help command+opt+f+o to boot into it. The full text it says is..

Code: [Select]

ISOLINUX 4.04 20110518 ETCD Copyright (C) 1994-2011 H. Peter Anvin et al
boot: _

So now I am stuck again. BUT I made progress~! ^^. I got the cd out of the mac's mouth finally. :lol:.

Now what should I try to do? @_@. Maybe someone can help me getting my ubuntu disk loading up? I think that is the next step. (Since I do not really know why I am loading the mac bios now that I have the cd out.. and verified that boot to usb is working if there is no cd inside)



(To anyone wondering, installing snow leopard on a usb drive is a BAD BAD idea. It took over 5 hours to complete the installation, and was worse then sluggish without any applications open other then a finder window. )