Corrupted Harddrive! Stuck in disk utility!

Upon starting up my Macbook Pro (Late 2011- Lion) gets stuck on the gray screen with the Apple symbol and the spinning gear. When I enter disk utility by ressing the option key at startup and verify my harddrive it tells me the disk needs to be repaired. I go to repair and it says I cannot. So here is what I've done, I plugged in an external harddrive to my mac and copied the corrupted disk image to it in hopes of then reinstalling Lion on my computer and then once my laptop is running I can plug in my external HDD and using Diskwarrior (or a similar software) I can repair the damaged disk and then copy all of that information back onto my computer. Question is, will this work????
Thanks!

What reason did Disk Utility give you as to why it could not repair the drive? You say you Verified the drive, but never Repaired it. Why not?
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions - Lion/Mountain Lion
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported then click on the Repair Permissions button. When the process is completed, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.

Similar Messages

  • Stuck in Disk Utility...Please Help!

    Tried to upgrade to Mavericks, failed, then made it worse by trying to clean and erase the drive without backing up. Long story short, bought macbook pro 13' from a reseller last summer, no issues, tried to upgrade a few weeks ago and failed now stuck on disk utility screen. Checked the serial number, not under warranty. Clicked on reinstall mountain lion, it said my apple id not affiliated with original purchase of software, so I bought it from the apple store on another computer. Can't download or open the zip drive since my plugins are blocked on my macbook pro in disk utility. Can it be fixed? Do I have to take it to the apple store to fix and if so any idea on how much it would cost to fix?

    If it is a 2009 it will not do the command option R boot, it is not equipped to do Internet recovery.
    Try the command R boot, that will try to boot off the recovery partition on the local disk.
    If that fails you will need to get the original OS DVD that shipped with that system. If you do not have them and you can;t reach the seller you will need to contact Apple. They ill be able to supply the disk for a nominal charge
    In any case, even if you can get the system running now,  you should get the original DVD and do a clean install. Right now you are running on a machine, that while you own it, looks to  Apple like it still belongs to the seller.

  • Xserve RAID volume corruption, volumes missing in Disk Utility

    I have an Xserve with 3 drives in a RAID 5 set. The RAID set is divided into 2 volumes. After hard booting the server to recover from a crash, the volumes seemed to disappear.
    We booted to an install disk and ran Disk Utility, which showed that there were no volumes at all. We then ran RAID Utility, which showed the volumes there.
    After the RAID ran a re-initialization and verify, RAID Utility shows green lights throughout, as if everything is fine. Nothing else, however, can see the volumes.
    We booted to an external drive with OS X installed, and basically found the same situation. Only RAID Utility can see those volumes, but otherwise they're just plain missing. However, RAID Utility does show "Partitions: None" for both of those volumes.
    We have tried placing the drives into another server to determine if the problem is with the RAID card, but we had the same results. I also tried booting to target disk mode, but the other machine can't see the volumes all the same.
    Using an external boot disk, we upgraded the RAID firmware. We also reset the SMC, as well as the PRAM. Nothing is working so far.
    AppleCare basically told me that we're SOL and have to rebuild. Unfortunately, there is some data there which was overlooked in our backup procedure. If there is any possibility of recovering the data, I'd like to try it before giving up.
    My absolute last option is to recreate the volumes exactly as they were before, then hope that I can use some manner of un-erase to recover the data. However, I'm not sure how RAID works on that level, should it just jumble the data, or if this is even remotely a feasible option.

    Port 1: Link Established
    2Gps
    Point to point
    Status light green
    In the system Profiler I'm not sure what you're asking for, I'm running 10.5.8 standard not server.
    the fibre channel shows link established 2Gps and cable type copper but nothing else, the disks & RAID controller don't show up anywhere I've looked.
    RAID Admin shows the JBOD disks as online and lists the LUNs etc.
    System looks fine, only error is missing second power supply.

  • I recently deleted a partition on my mac that was intended to install windows. Now it is just blank space. I attempt to resize my Macintosh HD partition to cover entire hard drive space and hit apply but nothing happens (disk utility). Any ideas?

    I have a few problems...
    I wanted to make a partition to install windows, I tried to use bootcamp 5 where it wanted to partition and install windows at the same time. I do not have a cd of windows but instead had it on a flash drive. Bootcamp couldn't find it. Instead I was reading forums and found that there was another way to install windows by partioning your harddrive using the disk utility, downloading the bootcamp drivers, and installing rEFIt (an app that when starting the compouter a menu would come up to boot windows from the flashdrive). I try that and the windows install screen gets me to the point where I pick a partition. I attempt to pick the partitioned drive but a message comes up telling me that "this is of the GPT partition style" and windows cannot be installed on the drive.
    So now I went back to disk utility and deleted the partition but there is still blank space. I wanted to retry and install windows through bootcamp (somehow) but a message comes up that there cannot be any partitions or that a partition must be created using bootcamp. SO i keep trying to drag the partition over the blank space and hit apply but nothing happens.
    By the way I was trying to install windows 8 pro, some forums would say that you cant install win8 however I found others that said you could. How do I fix my partition and how do I use bootcamp to install windows (preferrably 8)?

    Csound1 What Ive been trying to explain is that I have been running bootcamp, I open the app where the first screen is the introduction, i hit continue, the first time I select "download the latest windows support software fromm Apple" then I return and instead select "Install Windows 7." Then hit continue. The third screen is where I "Create a Partition for Windows" I set Windows to 80 gigs then hit INSTALL. As stated before Bootcamp cannot find the install drivers saying "The installer disc could not be found." My windows software is on a USB drive not a disc, I tried using a virtual disc reader to make it appear that the windows software was running on a disc, still no luck. What I would like to know is how to install windows on bootcamp.

  • Disk Utility crashing, mounting encrypted drives w/out passwd

    MacBook Pro
    15-inch, Mid 2012
    Processor  2.6 GHz Intel Core i7
    Memory  8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
    Graphics  NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1024 MB
    Boot drive: OCZ-VERTEX4 256GB SSD
    Data drive: APPLE HDD HTS547575A9E384 (original 750GB spindle moved to Optical bay)
    OSX 10.8.5 with all OS level updates installed
    Disk Utilty has become progressively worse, crashing randomly when mounting drives. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not. Does not matter if the computer is freshly booted or running for some time. Both with and without external drives. Tried zapping the PRAM. No difference.
    What's more, my Data drive (the HDD listed above) is encrypted and should NOT auto-mount. I have NEVER selected the auto-mount check-box. And yet, there are times (not always) that I enter the passwd for the one-time (until next reboot) Unlocking of the drive and the correct passwd yields the "Incorrect Password" error over and over again. I quit Disk Utility and wha-lah! --the drive is mounted.
    It got to the point that Disk Utility was auto-mounting the encrypted HDD drive without my ever selecting the auto-mount check-box. I deleted all Keychain preferences and this re-set Disk Utility back to its normal behaviour.  The preferences / Keychain file must have corrupted with all the Disk Utility crashes.
    What is going on? How can one of the oldest apps in OSX behave like this?
    Ideas?!
    kai

    Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
    Step 1
    Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
    View ▹ Show Log List
    from the menu bar.
    Enter the name of the crashed application or process in the Filter text field. Select the messages from the time of the last crash, if any. Copy them to the Clipboard (command-C). Paste into a reply to this message (command-V).
    When posting a log extract, be selective. In most cases, a few dozen lines are more than enough.
    Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
    Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.
    Step 2
    In the Console window, look under User Diagnostic Reports for crash reports related to the crashed process. The report name starts with the name of the process, and ends with ".crash". Select the most recent report and post the entire contents — again, the text, not a screenshot. In the interest of privacy, I suggest that, before posting, you edit out the “Anonymous UUID,” a long string of letters, numbers, and dashes in the header of the report, if it’s present (it may not be.) Please don’t post shutdownStall, spin, or hang logs — they're very long and not helpful.

  • Leopard Disk Utility and Input/Output error messages.

    This post is describing a problem I had and how I managed to fix it. When I was researching the Input/Output error message I was getting a couple of people had mentioned this fix on the apple discussion boards, so I thought I would add my fix to support them. (Isn't google fab!) I've no idea if this is the right place for this so please bear with me.
    Okay a bit of background:- over christmas we treated ourselves to leopard and as my laptop is now three years old I decided to do a complete reformat and installation. I used my 60GB iPod as an external harddrive and backed everything up. Installed Leopard no probs and was a very happy bunny.
    The problem:- I then wanted to remove everything off my iPod. So I thought "I know I'll use Disk Utility".... I tried it with the 'default' setting and got an Input/Output error message straight away (irrespective of whether I did it as an extended journal or not.) When I tried it with the Zero Out option (can't remember exactly what it's called) it came up with the Input/Output error message right at the very end. Argh! iTunes and Finder no longer recognised it, but Disk Utility did.
    My research:- After using google I saw some guys on here talking about formatting proper external harddrives using leopards disk utility and they were getting the same messages as me. It turns out it is a fault with Leopards Disk Utility. So I did what the guys recommended.
    The solution:- (Thank god I had tiger!) I put in my tiger installation disk, clicked 'install tiger' and restarted the laptop. I clicked my my language, but then rather than going through the actual installation process I went to the top menu bars and chose Disk Utility (using tiger's disk one rather than my laptop's leopard one.) And erased the iPod there. Now when I quit the installation and opened my laptop up properly it worked, both iTunes and finder could see it!!! (I just had to restore my ipod in itunes - and now I'm happily transferring all my music back!)
    I hope this helps someone in the same position as me!

    I took it to work to use my Windows PC to try and format the drive, but got the same problem. I figured either the drive (it's a 2.5" that used to be inside my AlBook) or the external housing it lives is was faulty. Only way I could test without spending more money is by putting the 2.5" drive inside my powerbook, and booting the (Ti) powerbook from a bootable firewire ipod. I successfully booted from the ipod, and had the same problem with the now internal drive: only visible in disk utility, any attempt to erase fails. Also, I plugged the small 10 GB drive that WAS in the TiBook (but which I removed to put the other, problematic drive in) into the external housing, and it connected to other machines just fine.
    Turns out the problem is the hard drive itself.
    So now my question becomes: If disk utility can see the hard disk when it is connected (I have it back in the external enclosure now), but gives "input/output error" messages when I try to erase/format it, is there any way I can salvage this drive? It's an 80 GB drive, and I was looking forward to making it my internal TiBook drive (replacing the old 10 GB drive that's in there now).

  • I'm trying to backup a my harddrive with disk utility but I'm getting an error  Unable to create Backup.dmg" (input/output error). Is there any other way to save my data? I believe my hard drive is failing or corrupt file. I can't boot up. Grey screen

    I'm trying to backup a my hard drive with disk utility but I'm getting an error  Unable to create Backup.dmg" (input/output error). Is there any other way to save my data? I believe my hard drive is failing or corrupt file. I can't boot up. Grey screen and spinning wheel. I've tried everything https://discussions.apple.com/message/20580424#20580424
    any help will be greatly appreciated.

    Check here. Also have you done a TimeMachine back up?
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570

  • Software update/ Disk Utility/ CD stuck/ Installation problems

    hi,
    -my mac hangs up when it check for software on 10% and stays there for hours.
    - when running disk utility is hangs on gathering disk information.
    - i have a cd stuck on my machine and i can't get it out . i tried every technique but all fails.
    - when installing programs i reach to the point where it asks me for software volume and the pane is blank.
    thanks

    Five ways to eject a stuck CD or DVD from the optical drive
    Ejecting the stuck disc can usually be done in one of the following ways:
    1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the left mouse button until the disc ejects.
    2. Press the Eject button on your keyboard.
    3. Click on the Eject button in the menubar.
    4. Press COMMAND-E.
    5. If none of the above work try this:
    Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder. At the prompt enter or paste the following:
    /usr/bin/drutil eject.
    If this fails then try this:
    Boot the computer into single-user mode. At the prompt enter the same command as used above. To restart the computer enter "reboot" at the prompt without quotes.
    Once you get the disc ejected you will need to reinstall OS X if possible. You may be able to do the following:
    How to Perform an Archive and Install
    An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
    1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
    Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
    Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
    If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
    2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
    3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
    4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
    5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
    6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

  • How do i repair or recover data from a corrupt USB external hard drive that does not show up on my Mac desktop or disk utility

    How do i repair or recover data from a corrupt USB external hard drive that does not show up on my Mac desktop or disk utility?
    Last night i was using my external hard drive, for some reason the folder just closed and i couldn't find it on my desktop.
    After googling solutions, i found it in the disk utilities, i clicked on the 'repair' button many times, but it said the 'error...' message.
    So i ejected it to try again, now when i connect the USB external hard drive it doesn't show up on my desktop or disk utilities.
    I really just want to either repair or recover the data on it because it literally has everything (documents, work files, photos etc) on it,
    I downloaded an application to recover my files but it needs the USB to at least show up.recognise it which mine doesn't.
    I know i should've backed it up on another USB, this definitely teaches me for next time to back up all my files.
    Are the files lost forever or can i recover them by going to a shop or using a software?

    Thank you for responding.
    This might sound stupid since i'm not really knowledgeable with Macs,
    but since all my files were moved from my mac computer to the external hard drive,
    is it possible to recover those files through my Mac - like recovering deleted files? 

  • MacBook Pro Stuck in Recovery Loop; Disk Utility Error

    I am getting the error: Disk Utility Stopped Repairing "disk0s2" - says disk utility can't repair the disk and I will need to reformat the disk and restore my files. This appears to be the startup disk (could be wrong) - as I am currently in recovery mode and any time I reboot, I am taken back to recovery mode and there are no start-up disks available to be selected.
    When I run Disk Utility on my Internal HD (or what appears to be - this is 250 GB Hitachi) - I get the all clear that everything appears to be working correctly.
    I do have TMbackups saved to a NAS. My MacBook Pro has been running very slowly as of recent (slight boost after upgrading to Yosemite, but then returned to slow performance).
    I am running OS X Server on it - and have considered migrating that to a Mac Mini (yet to be purchased) - but want to get a better idea of options before I pull that trigger. I also want to make sure my MacBook Pro is recoverable and can still be used.
    1. What is the risk of reformatting just the startup disk "disk0s2"? Is that even possible?
    2. Is MacBook Pro in need of service at the apple store? Or can this be completed by me? (I have above average ability, but no wizard)
    3. My logic on best practice to recover MBP and then add Mac Mini, migrating OS X Server to it: (all recommendations/suggestions welcome)
    a. reformat MBP startup disk
    b. restore TMbackup
    c. use migration wizard to migrate OS X Server to Mac Mini
    d. reformat MBP again, starting from scratch and install fresh copy of Yosemite
    I had also considered just a fresh build of OS X Server on a new Mac Mini and starting fresh with the MBP. I don't use a ton of services on OS X Server so think my rebuild would be less time intensive than most.
    Appreciate all the feedback.

    Well, your hard drive (flash storage) is good, at least. Here's what I would try next (before making a trip to the Apple Store or an AASP):
    Boot into your Recovery partition and reinstall OS X. This won't damage or erase any of your user files, etc., just give you a fresh installation of Mountain Lion. Since your hardware seems to be OK, it could be that the system has just become corrupt and reinstalling it may 'fix' the problem.
    Call back if that doesn't work...
    Clinton

  • My White Macbook is stuck at the loading screen, and disk utility, safe mode doesn't work either. What should I do?

    I went on vacation a few days ago and in El Salvador, they have this mobile broadband sticks. Well, I was using one until it gave me a network error. After that, it shut down my computer entirely. The first time it happened, I didn't think much of it. I took the battery out and put it back in for it could work. It happened another two times, and after the third time, my MacBook stays stuck at the loading screen, and it will take 5-10 minutes on that screen, before it shuts down, or it wouldn't turn on at all. I've tried booting into safe mode, but it appears to not boot into it. I've tried resetting the Pram, and using disk utility, but that still won't work. I don't know what else to do to make it boot into  OS X  Lion.
    I'm an AP student, and the majority of my work is in that computer, and it is very important! What can I do? Not only that, but I enter school in a few weeks and I need the AP work by the time I enter.
    What can I do? Can someone help?
    Thanks

    Reinstalling Lion Without the Installer
    Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alterhatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
    Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
    When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
    Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Continue button.
    Note: You can also re-download the Lion installer by opening the App Store application. Hold down the OPTION key and click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar. You should now see an active Install button to the right of your Lion purchase entry. There are situations in which this will not work. For example, if you are already booted into the Lion you originally purchased with your Apple ID or if an instance of the Lion installer is located anywhere on your computer.

  • I am in mavericks disk utility recovery mode as my mac book will not boot up & stays only on the grey apple screen. When I verify the disk I get open error5 :input /output error on Syst stuck on 1 minute pouring out over 50 error messages & still counting

    I am in Mavericks disk utility recovery mode as my mac book pro will not boot up & stays on the Apple grey screen . When I verify disk permissions I get
    Open error 5:"input/ output error" on syst with over 50 of this messages & still counting . Disk Utility says 1 minute
    But this has been going on for over 10 mins .
    I can not verify disk or repair disk .
    I have tried to reinstall mavericks operating system but it says my hard drive is locked which is very strange .
    Does anyone know what is going on here ?
    My system looks like it has been totally corrupted . Thanks Andrew

    Could be. The "lock" isn't actually looking for a password.
    WARNING: This will completely erase the ENTIRE hard drive.
    What you would need to do is boot to recovery > disk utility > select the MAIN drive on the left side > partition > change partition layout from CURRENT to 1 PARTITION > ensure on the right side it says Format : Mac OSX Extended (Journaled) then push APPLY.
    Then if it will allow us, close the windows until you see the 4 options popup again and select "Reinstall Mac OS X" select the Mac HD and you should be good to go!

  • Stuck at "starting login window" and Disk Utility won't fix it...

    I downloaded some security updates, and since restarting my computer as required, I have never been able to start it up since. It gets stuck on the "starting login window" screen, with the little blue bar still shimmering and mouse still moving, but just won't ever load the login screen, even after hours.
    I've seen a few other people have had this problem, and tried to follow some of the recommendations, with no joy. I tried several times to repair the disk permissions with Disk Utility, but it has an internal error saying it lost the connection to the disk manager, or something similar.... when I try to repair the disk, it fails saying something about "overlapped extent allocations" and an "invalid node structure".
    I can start up in single-user mode, and doing a fsck had the same result.
    What can I do??? Some people suggested an Archive and Install manoeuvre, but I'm scared of losing all my files! Will it erase them all? Do I have to back up all my files before doing this? How can I back them up if my computer won't start?
    I know almost nothing about computers - all I know I have found in the past few days searching through these discussion boards trying to find an answer! I have an important essay due on Monday which is stuck in my computer, so I'm a little scared!
    I'm using Mac OS X Panther or something.... not sure how to find out exactly which one, as my computer won't start!
    Any help would be greatly appreciated!
    iBook G4    

    Hi, you have some serious directory damage there, and it was probably there before the updates. An Archive and Install would not be recommended. If you did that you would likely have more problems then you have right now.
    If it were me I'd run Diskwarrior and Tech Tool Pro on it. DW for the invalid node structure and Tech Tool Pro for the Overlapped Extent Allocation. But you probably would have to buy both of them, and there's no guarantee either one will fix it.
    Apple doc.#25770, talking about Overlap..... says the easiest way to fix it is to Erase and Install. If you are running 10.3.9 and had access to a retail Tiger disk, you could try booting up on it and running Disk Utility. Tigers DU has the ability to fix Overlap.... sometimes, Panther's does'nt.
    This is the best way to Erase and Install. First backup all your important stuff, if you can, as the following will erase everything on your drive; it will be unrecoverable. Put your install disk in your Mac and Restart while holding down the C key. In Tiger, When you get to the install screen, don't click install and go to the title bar at the top of the screen and click on Utilities (in earlier OS's click on the installer menu).
    Click on Disk Utility and choose the hard drive you want your OS on. Then click on the Erase tab. In Tiger, click on the Security Options button near the bottom (it's similiar for Panther and Jaguar).
    Once in there choose Zero Out Data (write zero's in earlier versions). This will map out any bad blocks on your drive and bring it back to almost new condition (providing there's nothing wrong mechanically with it, bad bearings, defective or damaged surface, etc.).
    Once this is done, go back to the install screen and begin the "Erase and Install" installation. This will put a factory fresh system on a clean hard drive.
    Cheers!
    DALE

  • I have an iMac mid 2010. After Disk utilities said the drive was corrupt, I ran the hardware test (extended) 3 times. No problems. I than ran Disk utility again and got 2 messages in red-keys out of order, and --Volume corrupt, can't be repaired.  I tried

    I have an iMac mid 2010. After Disk utilities said the drive was corrupt, I ran the hardware test (extended) 3 times. No problems. I than ran Disk utility again and got 2 messages in red…keys out of order, and ……Volume corrupt, can't be repaired.
    I tried to do a system install, but message said…disk can't be changed. Will a complete erase and install fix this ?
    Everything is backed-up.

    There's hardware and software.
    Your drive could physically be in good condition but something has caused the file structure to be messed up (it just happens sometimes).  The directory that keep track of files is corrupt.  Disk Utility can help determine if that is the issue.  In some cases it can repair the problem but it cannot do it to a drive that is being used to boot the system while you are doing that.  You have to boot from another drive.  Some things DU cannot repair and you need to try a stronger utility such as Diskwarrior.
    A failing hard drive (one with mechanical issues) can be a cause of file structure issues but this is by no means always the case.  Apart from looking at the SMART diagnosis feature of Disk Utility (and smart isn't totally reliable) there often isn't a way to tell if a drive is failing until it suddenly happens, which is why you need to maintain backups.
    In your situation it does sound serious and not just minor directory corruption.  You can try erasing (formatting) the drive,  You may need to do this if it is really corrupt, in which case there could be underlying physical issues.  I use old technology but if you have the patience you can try erasing the drive with the security option of writing zeros once (don't do more unless you are going on a 3 week vacation).  This makes the drive not simply assume everything is okay by forcing it try every part of the drive by writing data.  If something is gong wrong you may find it marks a lot of bad sectors, or flat out refuses to format.  Then you know you need a new drive.

  • I purchased a Mac book pro in oct 2011, I restarted it after updating and it,s stuck on apple symbol, I hit command R while restarting and clicked on disk utility. It says disk can't be repaired, apple wants $249 to tell me what's wrong. Please help!

    I purchased a mac book pro in oct 2011, I restarted it after updating and it,s stuck on apple symbol, I hit command R while restarting and clicked on disk utility. It says disk can't be repaired, apple wants $249 to tell me what's wrong. Please help!

    What Apple store told you they wanted $249.00 to tell what is wrong?
    If this is a 13" Macbook Pro then that is the cost of the Extended Applecare warranty. As you are outside the 90 days of Free Phone Support then what Apple told you is that to get Phone Support you would either need to pay $45 per phone call or pay $249.00 for the Applecare extended warranty which comes with 3 years Free Phone Support from date of purchase.
    Or you can take it to a Apple Genius Bar and have them look at it for Free.
    Every Mac comes with 1 year warranty and includes only 90 days of phone support. You can buy the extended Applecare warranty anytime within the first year of ownership, IE until the 1 year warranty runs out.
    I suggest you have your computer looked at by either an Apple Authorized Repair Center or Genius Bar and then before the 1 year warranty runs out buying the extended warranty

Maybe you are looking for

  • Missing Trash and folders in Mail

    Hello all. not sure what happened, on my left bar... all I have left is "inbox" and "Sent" no more Trash, Draft and Junk folders.. how do I get my trash back? I tried delete the com.apple.mail.plist but no help please help.

  • Time Capsule- can I network USB speakers?

    I just bought a time capsule and a macBook pro to replace my old iMac and Airport Extreme base station. Can I hook my USB Soundsticks to the USB port on my Time Capsule and network these speakers? How can I do this?

  • Position of timestamp in the filename

    Hello All, I have an IDoc to multiple files scenario, for which I am using 1:n mapping, and the files are getting generated correctly. My requirement is to create a dynamic filename which has the timestamp at a specific position in the filename. i.e.

  • SXMB_MONI Error report

    Hi All,          I need your inputs to create report which display the error messages. Actually i am sending IDCO (MATMAS) from R/3 system to PI system and then after i am just sending that data to onother system MDM. Here my requirement is to create

  • Can we call an ODI package from another ODI package within same Project?

    hi All, Can we call an ODI package from another ODI package within same Project?