Computer Gone Haywire- Please Help

Question

So, I just got a macbook aluminum 2 weeks ago. 2.4 Hz, 4G RAM. This is my first apple product. I switched from a PC/windows laptop because I believed that apple makes a better product and has less problems than a PC.
During the last 2 weeks I unexpectedly got a few messages telling me that I needed to re-start, which I did. At that time I ran a First Aid check in Disk Utilities and there seemed to be no problems. I also noticed that iTunes would not quit unless I did a force quit.
Today, I tried to turn on the computer and after opening an application (internet), I got the same message that I needed to restart. So I did. After 3 times of the computer failing, it stopped turning on. After holding the power button, I get a grey screen (with apple logo) and the fly wheel spinning, and nothing else. So I tried starting up from the CD that came with it, went into Disk Utility and ran a verify disk. The following is what it said:
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking journal HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extends Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Missing thread record (id = 6814)
Missing thread record (id = 26142)
Incorrect number of thread records
Checking multi-linked files
Checking hierarchy.
Invalid file count
(It should be 544434 instead of 544439)
Checking bit volume map.
Volume bit Map needs minor repair
Checking volume information.
Invalid volume feed block count
(It should be 555702559 instead of 55509541)
Volume header needs minor repair.
The volume macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: File systems verify or repaid failed.
The option to repair the disk is grayed out so I can’t use it. Apple care had me run the exact procedure without any results. They told me that I have a hard drive problem. However, because the computer is only ~2 weeks old and it was working fine just yesterday, it’s hard to believe that’s what going on. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I am not currently in the US (and will not be back until Dec 2009) and shipping it home is going to very big major problem.
Thanks for your help

Answer 1

You need to boot the system from the installation disks that shipped with it. Then you can run Disk Utility from the menu (Utilities, if memory serves) and you should be able to get it to attempt to repair the disk.
If it will not successfully repair, you may wish to try a more sophisticated disk repair utility such as Disk Warrior from Alsoft. If that can't repair the drive either, or you don't want to pay for a repair utility, you can try reformatting the drive and reinstalling Mac OS X. This will of course erase all the data on the drive, so I hope you have a backup of any important data. But if the system won't work now, you won't be any worse off.
If reformatting the drive doesn't work either, then you probably have a failing hard drive and will need to get it replaced. Any Apple Store or authorized Apple service center should be able to perform the repair; no need to ship the system back to the US.
Good luck.