(中文版在这里 http://johnliu.info/?p=110 )

When try to install Lion on a macbook 07-mid, I got this:

Install Failed
Mac OSX could not be installed on your computer
Install failed: Mac OS X can’t be installed on the disk xxxx, because a recovery system can’t be created. Visit www.apple.com/support/no-recovery to learn more

Click restart to return to your previous vesrion of Mac OSX.

Apple’s solution was backup everything and  complete format your hd and install a clear copy of snow leopard and then upgrade. What a pain/eggache.

So I dig a little more in to this and find a possibility which did work on my old macbook

In simple:

If you are using bootcamp to boot windows, rename boot.ini in the root directory of your windows partition in any means, then try to upgrade again.

If rename that file didn’t solve the problem, open disk utility and click your  hard disk, then adjust your snow leopard install disk’s size, leave at least 128MB blank space after you snow leopard disk. I resized my disk to leave 5GB disk space for convenience, you can add this disk space to your os disk after upgrade so there is no loss.

The reason:

When I dig into Lion installer log, I fount this:
Jul 22 07:37:58 localhost diskmanagementd[351]: DM ..T-[DMToolBootPreference ensureRecoveryPartitionForVolume:]: done fsck of donor slice; err=0
Jul 22 07:37:58 localhost diskmanagementd[351]: DM ..T-[DMToolBootPreference ensureRecoveryPartitionForVolume:]: doing check if there is a WindowsOS at part#4 on phy’s whole=0x10ff88c10=disk0
Jul 22 07:37:58 localhost diskmanagementd[351]: DM ..T-[DMToolBootPreference ensureRecoveryPartitionForVolume:]: if WINOS on partID=4 then caution; isWindowsOSonPart4=0
Jul 22 07:37:58 localhost diskmanagementd[351]: DM ..T-[DMToolBootPreference ensureRecoveryPartitionForVolume:]: at DoneCheckingDontPushWindowsOSPast4
Jul 22 07:37:58 localhost diskmanagementd[351]: DM ..T-[DMToolBootPreference ensureRecoveryPartitionForVolume:]: doing test of boot.ini file(s) updatability on phy’s whole=0x10ff88c10=disk0
Jul 22 07:37:59 localhost diskmanagementd[351]: DM ..T-[DMToolBootPreference ensureRecoveryPartitionForVolume:]: done test boot.ini updatability; err=ShouldAbort=-69729
Jul 22 07:37:59 localhost diskmanagementd[351]: DM ..T-[DMToolBootPreference ensureRecoveryPartitionForVolume:]: at Exit; err=-69729
Jul 22 07:37:59 localhost diskmanagementd[351]: DM ..T-[DMToolBootPreference ensureRecoveryPartitionForVolume:]: recoveryDiskBSD=(null) physicalDonorBSD=disk0s4
Jul 22 07:37:59 localhost diskmanagementd[351]: DM ..T-[DMToolBootPreference ensureRecoveryPartitionForVolume:]: detach if set: didDiskImageAttach=0
Jul 22 07:37:59 localhost diskmanagementd[351]: DM <-T-[DMToolBootPreference ensureRecoveryPartitionForVolume:]
Jul 22 07:37:59 localhost OSInstaller[347]: Recovery system creation failed with error -69729 (Unable to modify a Windows boot.ini file because it is set up in a customized configuration)
Jul 22 07:37:59 localhost OSInstaller[347]: Install failed: Mac OS X can’t be installed on the disk MacOSX , because a recovery system can’t be created. Visit www.apple.com/support/no-recovery to learn more.

That is the fatal error caused abort of installation. So simply rename boot.ini fixed this problem. If you are running windows 7 with bootcamp, just delete your boot.ini in windows 7 will also do the same because windows 7 don’t need a boot.ini for start up.

After install of Lion, you may need manually fix your boot.ini for your windows sysyem to boot up, just modify that according your new partition layout. You may get your partition layout in Terminal with command “df”. I will explain this later.

Also you may use windows installation disk to automatically fix your boot.ini, inquiry google for more details 🙂