5 mins+ to boot, can't repair disk

Hi
My 24" Core 2 Duo has started to experience problems when I power it up. I usually leave it on all the time, but recently when I restarted it, it took nearly 20 minutes to reach the login screen, and then at least 20 minutes to open the startup items.
I rebooted in Safe Mode successfully. I ran a Verify Disk on the startup disk using Disk Utility and it failed, recommending a Repair Disk. I booted from the install disk and ran Disk Utility. The start up disk is shown on the left but the volume "Macintosh HD" is not listed under it, so I am unable to run Repair Disk.
After reading http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417, I am not sure that I should attempt to run fsck. In any case I am not sure how to boot into the command line.
I have also run the Apple Hardware Test twice which gave the following error codes:
4SNS/1/40000001:VGOR-10.832
4SNS/1/40000001:VGOR-10.789
I have also reset PRAM and NVRAM.
Other than the 5-10min boot up time, the machine appears to be working normally. The disk's S.M.A.R.T. Status is Verified but I really want to run Repair Disk, so that I know whether to replace the hard drive.
Any ideas?
Message was edited by: tinysausage

Dave, you may well be right in the long run, but I have managed to get it going again for now. Here's how:
I booted to command line in single user mode (command-S on startup) and ran fsck:
/sbin/fsck -fy
This gave an "invalid index key" error which fsck was unable to fix, despite running several times. A Google search of this error suggested that it is a pretty severe corruption of the directory catalog, and that total data loss was imminent. So I bought DiskWarrior and ran it on my MacBook connected by FireWire to the sick iMac in Target Disk mode. DW came up with lots of errors, and created a new "optimised catalog".
A reboot later, and voila!, the iMac boots up in under a minute. Now let's hope it lasts...

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Computer won't boot, can't repair disk

Hi all,
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I tried booting from the install cd, which didn't work for many MANY attempts, but finally did. I ran disk utility and saw that the volume was not mounted. I tried to mount it but it said it needed to be repaired. I have tried many times now to do so, but i keep getting an error message that says
"1 volume could not be repaired because of an error"
Could this problem be caused by the computer shutting down the way it did? Also, is there anything else I can do, or would you say this hard drive is pretty much a goner? My macbook is only 3 months old, so it's still under warranty; How do I go about getting a new drive?
thanks everyone.
Message was edited by: shannon palmer

small update: i was finally able to mount the disk (after erasing it... bye bye un-backed-up data), and now i'm reinstalling os x. Of course i was able to get this far earlier in the day and it got through disc 1 and then told me there was an error and i was back to the start, so i'm not getting my hopes up yet. Fingers firmly crossed.

Disk utility can't repair disk, back up and restore files......I need help, I'm worried I'll lose all my photos, files etc

Mac started hanging up while streamlining a kids show. Restarted and got the screen with the apple and the circle. restarted with control-option p and r. Ran disk repairitem got the following results;
invalid index key,
it rebuilds catalog b-tree,
volume repair complete,
updating boot support partitions for the volume as required,
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I'm then prompted to back up all files, reformat the disk and restore backed up files.
Obviously need help here as I think I'm in danger of losing my files, photos etc if I don't do this right.
Can anyone help
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You might want to back up the disk as soon as possible, do the repair, then back it up again. First time will have the issues that Disk Utility can't fix, however, you'll have the data saved. Then, once you get things repaired, make a new backup, and go from there.
If you're going to use a hard drive directly connected to your iMac for backup, this is what I mentioned earlier: http://twelvesouth.com/products/backpack/ Great way to use space behind the iMac without adding something else to the desk top. You can buy it through Apple online/stores or Amazon, and there are probably other sources too.
For external hard drives, I like those sold by OWC at http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/ as many of them use Oxford chip sets, wihch work well with macs (I've used several for years with no issues). Most pre-packaged drive/cases have a 3 year warranty, although you can buy a case and add your own hard drive. I like Western Digital Scorpio Blacks that have a 5 year warranty.

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FYI, BB
Below is a quote from Apple describing what Disk Permissions deals with.
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http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1452
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Apologies in advance for how not-tech savvy I am.
I was trying to create a partition using bootcamp but the partition failed and it told me to repair disk using disk utility.
When I try to boot from the install dvd by holding down C the computer just gets stuck in a loop. It turns on, chimes, makes a whurring noise and then restarts again. I can select the install disk by holding down the option key but it does the same thing. If I try to safe boot it comes up with a flashing folder and a question mark.
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I downloaded the techtool deluxe that comes with applecare, and it says there's a problem with the volume structure, but when I try to repair using techtool it says the disk cannot be repaired and only gives me the option to start over.
Message was edited by: lizrd91

You would have to be booting from either a newer version retail OS X 10 install DVD
than whatever your computer shipped with, or that original specific disc set it first had.
No other computer's model/build specific restore-install disc set can do this job, since
it would not be correct and can't boot the computer. The wrong software set is on it.
There may be some way to attempt to boot into Single User mode and try fsck...
• Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
• OSXFAQ - Technical stuff for OS X: how to use 'fsck'
http://www.osxfaq.com/dailytips/07-2002/07-31.ws
There are odd instances where users have applied incorrect use of Boot Camp
to install a Windows version in their Mac, and in so doing, erased or damaged
the OS X partition on their computer's hard disk drive. This is why it is a great
idea to perform maintenance and also keep a complete bootable OS X clone
on an externally enclosed hard disk drive, of the Mac's system & apps.
If you had a current version of DiskWarrior on its own disc media, that may be
able to help fix or restore some file system issues in a hard disk drive.
Perhaps there is more you can do, but frankly if I wanted Windows, there are
tons of old PCs out there awaiting recycle from which to choose. (Not 4 me!)
Good luck & happy computing!
+{PS: Hi there in the down-under ... from here, in the up-over!}+

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you can not repair a boot up drive while you are booted from it. You really need to get your leopard install DVD replaced. You need it just for these kinds of situations.
You can repair the drive from Single user mode
restart the computer and hold command+S at the chime. a black screen with white text will come up. at the prompt enter
*/sbin/fsck -fy*
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Once done, enter
reboot
to restart normally.

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Reboot and hold down the command-r keys to boot into the Mountain Lion recovery disk. From there you can launch Disk Utilities and run Repair Disk on your hard drive.

My MBP won't boot anymore after "repair disk" and "repair disk permission"

My 2011 MBP 15 with Lion stopped working after I attempted to use Disk Utility to "repair disk" and "repair disk permission".
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In Disk Utility, "Repair Disk Permission" took 5 hours. While "Repair Disk" resulted in "Disk utility can't repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed up files".
Now when it boots, there's a loading bar under the Apple logo, it loads half way and shuts down itself.
I can still get into CMD+R Utilities though.
Any idea how I can extract the data out of the disk? I'm going to format and do a clean install.

mike2016 wrote:
This happened after I downloaded and installed some updates from Apple. I don't know if the updates would cause this or it's something else. Now when it boots, there's a loading bar under the Apple logo, it loads half way and shuts down itself.
A stopped loading bar is indicative of a failed firmware install that didn't complete, it's trying to install and is failing.
Do a PRAM reset
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
Reboot into Safe Mode, (shift key down) then reboot normally and see if that fixes the issue.
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
You may have to try to reinstall your firmware manually, you'll need another disk burning Mac
Find your exact firmware(s) here (or on Apple Downloads page)
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1237
Apply instructions here
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT2213
Lastly it could be your boot drive is failing or something wrong happened with the update and accounting for all the to the other issues.
A OS X "overwrite" may solve the issue, may not.
See 10.5, 106. 10.7 OS X "overwrite" here
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

Can't repair disk with Disk Utility

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First Aid failed
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Rebuilding catalog B-tree.
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Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error
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John

Hi
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How to boot from a repairing disk error? Windows 8.1

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Hi,
Apologize for the late reply.
Do we have a Windows repair disk available? If yes, we may consider to take a system restore from there. We could contact the manufacturer to get a repair disk.
a) After you boot your computer using Windows DVD or System Repair Disc, a black screen appears with gray text "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD". Press any key.
b) Select the correct time and Keyboard type.
c) Click Repair your computer in the lower left corner.
d) Select Troubleshoot from Choose an option screen.
e) Click Advanced options in Troubleshoot screen.
f) Select System Restore.
======
Or take a try to do a selective boot up with bios:
get cmd to open and check
bootrec /fixMBR
bootrec /Fixboot
bootrec /rebuildBCD
and also
chkdsk /r c:
chkdsk /r d:
chkdsk /r e:
chkdsk /r f:
Hope this may help
Best regards
Michael Shao
TechNet Community Support

5 mins+ to boot, can't repair disk

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