Are you wondering how to fix the Mac Boot camp Error? As we all know, boot camp is Mac utility. This allows the Mac user to switch between Mac and Windows OS. This hassle-free Mac utility helps with the installation of the Windows on macOS. We have noticed Mac users complaining about an error that they have encountered during the installation of Windows using boot camp on their macOS. The error reads “An error occurred while partitioning the disk” or “An error occurred while copying the Windows installation files”. In this article, we will provide you insights on how to address this error.
Before moving ahead on how to fix mac boot camp error, let us first understand the root causes for this boot camp error on your Mac operating system in the below section
Causes for the Boot Camp Error on macOS
The boot camp error is usually caused by the following scenarios mentioned in the section below.
- The issue with the Windows ISO folder - During the installation of Windows files an error is encountered usually due to a file called “install.wim”. This single file is over 4GB and can’t be written to a FAT 32 partition that Boot Camp creates by default. The limitation for FAT 32 is that the size of each individual file cannot exceed 4GB.
- Outdated macOS version - Sometimes due to compatibility issues, older versions of macOS do not support any sort of installation or executable files required for the installation of the new Windows operating system on a Mac.
Note - While following the methods below to fix this boot camp error, you might end up losing data from macOS. If you have lost data during the process, you will need a reliable mac data recovery tool to retrieve the lost data.
How to fix the Mac boot camp error
Boot Camp Assistant is known to stop functioning due to various reasons, it might return an error that states Boot Camp installation failed while copying the Windows installation files. Follow the mentioned steps in the section below to resolve this error:
Solution 1: Using Disk Utility method to fix boot camp error
The first step is to force exit the boot camp if it is not responding. To do that follow the steps mentioned here Press the Option + Command + Escape button to force quit the application. Once you have completed this step, check if your macOS is up to date by verifying the date and restart boot camp again to start the installation process.
If Boot Camp Assistant says that the startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition, complete these additional steps:
- Open Disk Utility, you will be able to find it under the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
- Once you go to Disk Utility, Select your Mac startup disk (Macintosh HD) in the sidebar.
- Click on Partition in the Disk Utility toolbar
- If Disk Utility asks whether you would like to add a volume to the container or partition the device, click on Partition.
- Click on OSXRESERVED in the graph that appears, later click the remove button (–) below the graph.
- Click BOOTCAMP in the graph, then click the remove button (–). OSXRESERVED and BOOTCAMP are empty partitions that Boot Camp Assistant created during the failed installation.
- Click on Apply, then click Partition to confirm.
- Open Boot Camp Assistant and try the Windows installation process again.
Solution 2: Repair Disk
An error with partitioning disk may sometimes arise if there are issues with directories or file systems. To resolve the issue, go ahead with the following steps.
Before you begin, make sure you have a backup of your data. Nothing may happen, but it is always a good idea to be prepared.
- Click on Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility
- Click on your hard drive on the left pane
- Select Verify Disk to begin the checking your disk
- Wait for the process to complete and produce a status report. Check whether any errors found, click on Repair Disk to repair your disk
Verify if the procedure is successful, all errors will be fixed and you can now try running Bootcamp again. Check whether it's working. If not, try +running FSCK as explained in the next section.
Solution 3: Run fsck Command
This is used to verify system files and fix any corruption. Running this trouble-shooter should be done through the command prompt. It may sound complicated and technical, but don’t let it. Just follow the instructions below and you should be fine.
Restart your Mac and boot into single-user mode by pressing Command + S
Once you enter the command prompt, type “/sbin/fsck-fy”
This command will verify and repair corruption if any. Once the process is complete, type “exit” to exit from the command prompt.
Now start your Mac as usual and try running Bootcamp. This should resolve the issue for you. While following the methods mentioned above there are chances of data loss, if you have encountered any data from your mac operating system. Remo Mac Hard-drive recovery tool can help you to effortlessly recover lost data without any hassle. The tool is also capable of recovering data after re-installation of the Mac operating system
