Step 2: Format Disk to 4k sectors and partition:
In this step, we will format the disk to 4k sectors, and repartition it for use with OS X and Windows.
Note
this will erase your ENTIRE DISK!! If you have any important data
BACK IT UP
With that disclaimer, lets hop back into the guide
Now is a good time to disable secure boot, so go ahead and do that before you boot into Linux
Formatting your disk to 4k sectors
You will want to insert your linux live CD, and press F9 while booting to get to the boot loader selection menu, where you should be able to select the entry corresponding to your linux drive (These entries are usually named after the drive, not the boot loader, so you may accidentally pick OS X the first time, if so just reboot and try again)
Once booted into linux, connect to wifi and install the following packages:
Now go into your terminal and enter the following:
Make note of the device path for your nvme drive (mine is /dev/nvme0n1)
now enter
Code:
sudo smartctl -a path-to-your-nvme-drive
(replacing path-to-your-nvme-drive with your device path)
the output should contain something similar to this
Code:
Supported LBA Sizes (NSID 0x1)
Id Fmt Data Metadt Rel_Perf
0 + 512 0 0
1 - 4096 0 0
The two lines show us our drive supports 512 byte and 4096 byte (4k) sectors. (If this table isn’t showing up in output, try updating smartmontools)
The “+” shows us we are currently using the 512 byte format
To switch formats, issue the following command (replacing 1 with the Id column of the 4096 byte sector size)
Code:
nvme-format -l 1 path-to-your-nvme-drive
(replacing path-to-your-nvme-drive with your device path)
THIS COMMAND WILL FORMAT YOUR DRIVE, WIPING THE ENTIRE PARTITION TABLE!
Once the command runs, verify it worked by issuing:
Code:
sudo smartctl -a path-to-your-nvme-drive
(replacing path-to-your-nvme-drive with your device path)
Your output should now have a plus sign by the 4096 line and not the 512 one, like this:
Code:
Supported LBA Sizes (NSID 0x1)
Id Fmt Data Metadt Rel_Perf
0 - 512 0 0
1 + 4096 0 0
Now, reboot into the Sierra installer. You should see the drive in disk utility. Format is as a GUID drive, with two HFS+ (Journaled) partitions. We will reformat one of these partitions in the windows installer, but if we create this partition as MS-DOS FAT or ExFAT will will write a hybrid MBR to the disk, causing Windows installation to fail.
Now install Mac OS Sierra onto your hard drive.