Disk Utility/fsck failure

I have a macbook with OS Tiger on it at least 10.4 or newer. I tried to run Disk Utility from my OS disc, and my hard drive could not be verified. It also says that it's not mounted..? I tried to "Repair disk" on it, and it displays messages such as "Invalid node structure", "Invalid sibling link", etc. then an error message comes up that says it could not be repaired.
I tried to accomplish this also by logging into single user mode and typing in
/sbin/fsck -y
I get the same kind of error messages.
I've tried to log in in safe mode, but after sitting on the apple logo with the spinning gear for awhile, my macbook simply shuts off.
I've also tried typing in "reboot" while in single user mode, but my computer just gets hung up on the blank blue screen with a mouse, which is it's original problem that I'm trying to fix.
I've spent a lot of time searching through discussion boards on here and nothing seems to be working! Any help or advice would be MUCH appreciated. The closest Apple store to me is almost 3 hours away...

ErinD1215, welcome to Apple Discussions.
DiskWarrior can probably fix your problem. Suggest you send Alsoft an email explaining your problem to see what they recommend. DiskWarrior by Alsoft
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/index.html
 Cheers, Tom

Similar Messages

Disk Utility: Restore Failure-Source image needs to be scanned for restore.

Hello guys,
I have a .dmg (source image) that I have created from a DVD by myself (read-only format).
I am trying to restore it to a destination and a Restore Failure notification pops-up as follow:
"Restore Failure
Could not find any scan information. The source image needs to be imagescanned/scanned for restore"
I am quite new to Mac. Half of the time, I don't really know what I am doing - but just relying on the 'Help Menu', some research for guides on the internet and most of all read-on most of the posting here in the Apple Forum for what I want to do or might have encountered. Lastly to hopefully also speak the Mac language. For example - What's a disk image? What a .dmg? What's a source image? and etc. ~Lost~
So for this case, I am totally lost as I can't seems to understand what does the Restore Failure notification mean at all as I quote above. What does it mean by the Source image needs to be imagescanned/scanned for restore? What do I do from there? How do I scanned my source image? Is there a steps that I miss out while creating .dmg from the DVD?
Could not find any scan information? What scan information? Where do I go to asked for scan information?
I am so lost that I don't even know the right question to ask or begin with.
I know what I want to do and believe it can be done with Mac. But I just doesn't seems to understand the concept of how it really works yet but to just follow blindly throughout the guides.
So please help me if possible.
Thank you in advance.
Best Regards,
Jon Gan

Hi,
If you open Disk Utility, select the Image in the disk util sidebar, and click on Images > Scan for restore... in the menu bar, it will take care of it for you. After that you can perform a restore as you were trying to do.
They do this so that disk util can verify your data after the restore to make sure it copied exactly.

Disk utility repair failure

Hello
I have a 1.8Ghz - G5- with OSX10.3.9, and it is sometimes slow when using Iphoto on an external drive, and it sometimes wakes up right away by itself when i use the sleep function ( it will usually go to sleep on the second try when that happens)
I have dissconnected all the peripherals, and I tried to run disk verification , and disc repair. Both stop at 1/3 of the way and i get the message " disk utility has lost its connection with disk management tool and cannot continue"
any suggestion on how to proceed will be appreciated. I can use the computer and it has no symptoms other than being sometimes slow and sometimes needing two try before going to sleep.
The hard drive is about four years old. But, I have a second internal HD which could be used to install a copy of OSX10.3.9

I'm resurrecting this post, which I found after experiencing a similar Disk Utility failure while checking permissions. I followed eww's advice.
In my case the log appeared to point to a problem with 'Flash Player.plugin' which I removed and could then complete repair of permissions from some recent installations.
Replacing the file led to a repeat of the problem when re-running Disk Utility to see what happened.
Am I to assume I need to remove the file every time I check permissions in future or is it worth trying a fresh download?

Disk Utility repair failure: You need to restart your computer. Hold down...

While trying to backup my macbook pro (running 10.5.8 leopard). I kept getting the gray window that forced me to shut down my computer. After some research, I conluded that I needed to check my HDD for damage. I ran the Verify Disk option (Repair Disk option was not yet "clickable"), and it says
First Aid Failed
stopped verifying HD because the following error occured:
Filesystem verify or repair failed.
In the text box below that, it says
"(It should be 771886 instead of 771889)
Invalid volume directory count
(It should be 148275 instead of 148272)
The volume Macintosh HD needes to be repaired.
ERROR: Filesystem verify or repair failed."
I then tried the Repair Disk Permissions option and it came up with three difference
Library/application support/proapps
System/Library/privateframeworks/browserkit.framework
System/Library/privateframeworks/prokit.framework
(I can give more information on these three if that would help at al)
In the Verify Disk error, it says that it needs to be repaired, but the repair disk option is still not clickable. I don't know what to do from here. Is there someone more tech savvy than I who can help?

You cannot do rewpairs from the same start-up disk. Reboot from your install disk (holding down the C key). Once it opens, select your language, and then go to Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Select your hard disk as before and click Repair:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1782?viewlocale=en_US
Once that is complete reboot again from your usual start-up disk.
More useful reading here:
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417?viewlocale=en_US
For a full description of how to resolve Disk, Permission and Cache Corruption, you should read this FAQ from the X Lab:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/repairprocess.html
Apple's advice on general maintenance:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1147?viewlocale=en_US

Disk Utility: Restore Failure

I'm trying to restore my laptop from a dmg file. I have the laptop connected to another computer in target disk mode. When I try to restore, just after it starts copying I get this error:
Restore Failure
An error (2) occured while copying. (No such file or directory)
I created the image with Carbon Copy Cloner and hdiuti to make it UDRO formatted. The computer I'm using to try and restore it is a G5 tower running Mac OS 10.4.7 and I'm using Disk Utility version 10.5.6. Does anyone know why I'm getting this error? Should I convert it to some other format? Are there other ways to restore the disk that might work, if Disk Utility refuses to?

Sure you can... You mount the disk image on your Desktop. Run CCC. Select the disk image as Source Disk. Select the hard drive as Target Disk. Go (or Clone).
(also, CCC does not make disk images; it clones)

Disk Utility "Backup Failure"

Hi all -
I have a 500GB iMac running 10.6.8. I am trying to save a bootable backup on my new WD MyBook Desktop 1TB hard drive using Disk Utility (11.5.2). I have formatted the WD with 2 volumes, one of which (named "Boot2") is to be my bootable backup. But when I try to duplicate my "Macintosh HD" volume into Boot2 using Disk Utility's "Restore" function, I get an error message stating "Restore Failed - Operation not permitted" (or words to that effect).
I did the following:
1 - Formatted the WD drive into 2 500GB volumes using Disk Utility with Mac OS Extended (journaled) format.
2 - Selected "Macintosh HD" volume in DU's left hand column, and clicked the "Restore" buttton up top.
3 - Draged "Macintosh HD" (the volume) into the Source window, and draged "Boot2" (my WD backup volume) into the Destination window.
4 - Clicked the "Restore" button in DU's lower right corner.
At first, the operation seemed to be going normally. But after copying "Appleworks 6 Updater Log", the "Applications" folder (with all the apps), and a "Backups.backupdb" folder, it stopped and gave me the error message.
Any thoughts as to what's going on? What kind of operation would be 'not permitted'? Did I do something wrong? Or am I missing something?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
- The OldFart

Try it this way:
A. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard 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 Utilities menu. 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.
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.
B. Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
2. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
3. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag
it to the Destination entry field.
4. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
the Source entry field.
5. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external drive volume. Source means the internal startup drive.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

Repeated Disk Utility & fsck errors - what to do next?

After nearly a year of flawless operation (yes, my warranty will soon expire), my iMac has suddenly started to misbehave. Disk Utility has reported finding errors which it is unable to repair. I've run fsck_hfs in single-user mode a couple of times, and after each reboot it again finds errors. Then I bought DiskWarrior and it repaired my drive. All was well for nearly a day, and now I'm back to the same situation. So, what to do now?
Should I reinstall the OS and just run it bare without any additional apps for a while, to see if I get more errors? (I've made a SuperDuper! bootable backup which I should be able to reboot from if needed). Or are these repeated errors to be more likely the sign of permanent problems with my hard disc, and I should go to the local Apple store without wasting any more time?
Fortunately I have a Powerbook to hold me over as a spare machine if I do have to give up my iMac.
All suggestions welcome.
Thanks
S

Since you have a backup I'd suggest you wipe the drive and reinstall. Do this:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. 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 or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Upon completion quit DU and return to the installer. Now complete the reinstallation of OS X.

Disk utility verify failure

I had system 10.4.11 and I was installing system 10.5 because my mac wasn't starting up anymore, the wheel keep on spinning under the apple logo.
Before installing the Os 10.5, i went to Disk Utility from Installation DVD to try to repair the startup disk, but it couldn't verify or repair it.
Since then, i can install the new system only by initialize and install everything, i can no longer just update the old system.
So, now i need to access my disk to backup my data.
I tried to startup the Macbook pro in firewire target Target disk mode to backup my data, and the firewire logo appears on my macbook but the disk doensn't appear on the linked mac. If i have system 10.5 installation dvd on, it will appear on linked mac properly.
The weird thing is that starting up in target mode without the dvd, a System 10.5 style firewire logo still appears, (with Leopard style battery indicator).
Is there any other way i can access to my disk?

You need to boot from the install DVD (or a clone of your internal) to run Repair Disk. Repair Disk will be grayed out, dimmed, because you can't repair from the same volume you are booted from.
EDIT: No, you do not yet need to use Disk Warrior or Tech Tool or do any reformatting. These steps might become necessary only if Repair Disk fails.
Unless you have very large video files, for example, there is no need to run any defragmenting utility. OS X does it all by itself on the fly.
Try Disk Utility
Start from your Mac OS X Install disc: Insert the installation disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
Click the First Aid tab.
Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
Select your Mac OS X volume.
Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.
If you don't have the install DVD, try a Safe Boot. Hold the Shift key down at startup and give it much more time to boot than usual. It's trying to repair the drive directory.
Message was edited by: WZZZ

Disk utility erase failure

I purchased a new 5G iPod two days ago and encountered the same problem as addressed in this question. However, the posted fix for the iPodDriver.kext didn't work, so I attempted to erase my iPod in Disk Utility as someone had suggested. My iPod is now stuck repeating the startup screen, my Mac isn't recognizing it at all, and I can't seem to get it to turn off (or do anything for that matter...) I'm guessing this means that in my haste to fix things I erased something vital and now need to send it off to be repaired, right? Are there any possible fixes outside of sending it off, or at least a way to get it to shut off in the meantime?
Thanks
Mac mini Mac OS X (10.4.8)

If you haven't fixed this yet, you may be able to use Disk Utility to completely erase and reformat the disk.
Click the top line of the drive, then the Partition tab. Click +1 partition+ (or however many you want) under *Volume Scheme*, then Options at the bottom. Select GUID for an Intel Mac, +Apple Partition Map+ for a PPC Mac. Setup the partition(s) you want to use on the Mac as +OSX Extended (Journaled),+ then click Apply.

Disk utility permissions failure

I keep reparing my permissions as my hard drive is suprisingly slow but one file is always "0" instead of "80" and it may exlpain it.
"Groupe différent sur « Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf.plist » ; attendu 80, actuellement : 0."
How coul i fix it ?
MacBook Pro late 2009, Mountain Lion up to date.
Thanks.

riccopicco wrote:
I've finally gave in, and bought an iMac.
Transferred my old G4 to the new, fesh, Leopard installed iMac Intel chip....
I've been getting the same thing just after 1 week with this new system!!!
Someone help!!!
It sounds as if you transferred the errors when you migrated your files from the G4. Something in that old filestructure that is not right. It might be the ownership of a single file somewhere.
Have you considered DiskWarrior?

Please help. Disk Utility Failure.

I just ran my disk utility function and received this error:
Disk Utility stopped verifying “Untitled 1” because the following error was encountered:
Filesystem verify or repair failed.
Does this mean that my hard drive is compromised? I've tried to run the first aid function several times and keep getting a failure message. Any and all help and input would be appreciated! Thanks!

If you get the Disk Utility message "Failure on exit", or the one's you received, it means there is an issue that Disk Utility can't fix. In many cases, either Disk Warrior or TechTools Pro can be used to fix it, with Disk Warrior being the more popular program. However, if Disk Warrior/TechTool Pro can't fix it, then you may be looking at a new hard drive (although you can erase the hard drive and try with a restore to keep using it). Curiously, a new drive may be less expensive than the repair software.
Smart Utility can give you a view of the SMART sensors to gain more information on the hardware health of your drive. Download with a trial license from http://www.volitans-software.com/smart_utility.php

Re-post (D*mn archiving) Disk Utility, anything related won't work

Here's the original post:
"I have had this problem for a very long time, was just too lazy to post it until now. Since I got this G5 (about a year ago), it has be unable to launch Disk Utility - the entire system simply freezes. This was true for the original Panther install, still true when I re-installed from the re-install discs, and is still true now that I have upgraded to tiger (10.4.4 at this point), so I assume it must be hardware... when I start the G5 into target disk mode, and boot to it's drive with my laptop, the same instance of disk utility runs fine. I have sent the G5 in 3 times, and each time they said it was fixed when it wasn't. Now the warranty is expired, and I don't know what to do with this. Any suggestions? "
And the one reply:
"Disk Utility on the Panther install disks was most likly corrupted.
Take the time to clone your Panther install to a external hard drive.
Update all your drives driver software by visiting the drive makers sites.
Get the Tiger install disks, not the upgrade over Panther disks and first DU Erase w/zero option the original drive. Install Tiger and grab your data from the Panther clone over time.
When finished, erase Panther clone and clone Tiger boot to it as a backup/alternate boot method."
Anyway, I have now (after way too long) had occassion to re-boot my computer for good - I have two internals, I zero-ed one of them and installed Tiger from scratch, and have been using it now as if it were a new computer (always a good feeling!) but now I still have that problem, and more - Disk Utility freezes on boot, or rather, it just keeps spinning as if it were scanning the disks. Now, also; when I try to open a disk image, DiskImageMounter utility freezes on 'Attaching' or rather, again, just keeps going - not a literal visual freeze... Now I've been using toast, but that's rather annoying to have to launch, and I defiantly need Disk Utility regardless of DMGs.
Any ideas? This G5 has had problems with anything relating to files/drives for a while, this particular one never goes away no matter if I have a fresh install or what, so if it's a hardware problem, is there any way I can fix it myself?

What is your laptop, and what is it running? Tiger?
Might want to start here:
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/help/
It can help walk you (and us) through what steps..
#1 boot into Open Firmware and reset nvram
#2 boot to your Apple Hardware Test disk using OPTION key and run tests
#3 run Memtest when possible
#4 check cables (again)
#5 Tiger is now out on DVD with 10.4.6 - updated and easier to upgrade
#6 boot into Single User Mode and run fsck after ANY freeze or hard restart
#6 install and use Applejack
#7 Repair Permissions
#8 boot into Single User Mode
A corrupt directory will prevent even booting from a CD/DVD if too severe.
A corrupt journal file is impossible to then fix
Disk Warrior (3.03)can't even fix it then, or TechTool Pro (4.1.2)
- you may need to unplug your hard drive(s) if they are corrupt or damaged.
Not all SATA drives are compatible though a year ago most were.
Drives don't require an extension driver, but may require a controller with current firmware. most people would strip a system to basics when troubleshooting. Controllers can also require drivers, too (Sonnet, ACard, ATTO, etc).
MacGurus FAQ with sections on maintenance, troubleshooting, links to other FAQs, G5 References, SATA, etc.
Might want to shop for a FW800 drive & case from someone.
http://www.macsales.com for one.
Files from your laptop should probably NOT be migrated, and definitely not the system. Also, never use older versions of Disk utility from say Panther on a Tiger system. Apple has a number of excellent articles on Disk Utility, fsck and the above.
MacFixit has a good (long, 5 part) tutorial on corrupt prefs, and Ted Landau has an excellent book on troubleshooting as well. Books on Mac OS X
http://www.apple.com/macosx/resources
Also, things rarely "fix themselves" but rather the problem just gets buried, over-written. The best thing to do along with running fsck is to invoke Applejack and delete all those cache files and folders and swap files, which is where most of the file corruption is likely to occur, and that is just two of the 5 functions of Applejack, repairing permissions and repair disk (why when you probably ran fsck first) as well as look for corrupt plist (prefs).
Set aside a 10GB partition for Emergency OS X only, that you can use to repair and test your other drives and partitions. Maybe on FW drive.

Disk Utility Error - "Underlying task reported failure on exit"

I've been having a problem opening Logic 7.1 (it will crash at startup every time) and I got the advice to repair disk permissions. Both 'verify disk permissions' and 'repair disk permissions' work, but when I go to 'verify disk' I get the following readout/error:
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Incorrect block count for file 5AD8D6E5d01
(It should be 92 instead of 0)
hecking multi-linked files.",0)
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume bitmap.
,0)
Checking volume information.
Invalid volume free block count
(It should be 2859750 instead of 2859751)
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair
So I can't complete a rapair because it has this error. I'm wondering how I can fix this and if it could be the cause of the error that I get every time I open Logic. Thank you all in advance for your help!

Al
Disk Utility cannot repair this type of error.Not sure this is always the case, Al. I've had "incorrect block count" errors repaired in the past, so it must be worth a try before spending money (although I regard money spent on DiskWarrior as good insurance!)
Cam
It has to be worth you at least trying to Repair the error.
I think the first thing you should try is a Safe Boot, which will automatically run the disk checking and repair routines: Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode. If the check during Safe Boot is unable to repair the disk, your system will shut down rather than continuing, otherwise it will have successfully repaired the disk.
If this doesn't work, you should try Disk Utility from the Install Disk. First read these articles: Mac OS X 10.4 Help: About testing and repairing a disk, and Using Disk Utility and fsck to resolve startup issues or perform disk maintenance.
Let us know how this goes.

Disk Utility Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit 1

    #!/bin/bash
      # Author : Bill Hernandez
    # Location : Plano, Texas
    # Updated : Saturday, June 6, 2009 (1:48 PM)
    # script name : setdisk_ownerenabled
    # make sure to set permissions to execute
    <hr>
    # Description :
    <hr>
    # I've noticed that sometimes when using disk utility I cannot repair permissions, or I might get :
    # ERROR: The underlying task reported failure on exit 1
    # This shell script seems to have solved the problem.
    # It worked very well for me,
    # IF YOU USE THIS SCRIPT, IT IS AT YOUR OWN RISK...
    # DO NOT USE IT UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IT DOES
    # After running it, it is best to restart before using Disk Utility again
    <hr>
    # Details :
    <hr>
    # After partitioning a disk using "Disk Utility", and then begin using it, at some point I would get
    # an arror message when trying to save to one of the partitions, yet when I looked at the permissions
    # everything looked fine. I would then try to use Disk Utility to repair permissions and end up with a
    # cryptic error that pretty much told me nothing.
    # I noticed that while in Disk Utility, if I selected a partition the lower LH corner of the dialog
    # showed : Owners Enabled : No
    # I tried selecting the partitions at the Desktop and doing a (CMD-I) and at the very bottom of each
    # info dialog there was a checkbox :
    # [ ] ignore ownership of this volume
    # which I would check, even after logging in as root, and I couldn't seem to get a consistent way
    # to get rid of the permissions dialog failure, so I found the vsdbutil command which can be used
    # as follows to get partition, or disk info :
    # $ vsdbutil -c /Volumes/driveor_partitionname
    # ----> Permissions on '/Volumes/driveor_partitionname' are enabled.
    # if it is not enabled you can enable the disk or partition using :
    # $ vsdbutil -a /Volumes/driveor_partitionname
    # It will set "Owners Enabled : Yes"
    # This below script loops through the mounted disks, partitions, etc. and gives you information.
    # You can leave the three flags below all set to TRUE, or selectively use what you want and change
    # the rest to false...
    <hr>
    # CHOOSE {"TRUE", "FALSE"}
    <hr>
    getvolumestatus="TRUE"         # get "Owners Enabled : (Yes|No)" status
    setvolumestatus="TRUE"         # set "Owners Enabled : Yes"
    list_volumes="TRUE"                   # show volume names
    <hr>
    # DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING BELOW HERE
    <hr>
    if [ $getvolumestatus == "TRUE" ]; then
     echo '============================='
     echo '$getvolumestatus'
     echo '============================='
     # get "Owners Enabled : (Yes|No)" status
     for i in $( df -l | sort -u | awk '{print $6}' | grep '/' ); do
     vsdbutil -c $i
     done
    fi
    <hr>
    if [ $setvolumestatus == "TRUE" ]; then
     echo '============================='
     echo '$setvolumestatus'
     echo '============================='
     sudo echo -n
     # set "Owners Enabled : Yes"
     for i in $( df -l | sort -u | awk '{print $6}' | grep '/' ); do
     sudo vsdbutil -a "$i"
     echo "setting Owners Enabled : Yes for ---> $i"
     done
    fi
    <hr>
    if [ $list_volumes == "TRUE" ]; then
     echo '============================='
     echo '$list_volumes'
     echo '============================='
     for i in $( df -l | sort -u | awk '{print $6}' | grep '/' ); do
     echo $i
     done
    fi
    <hr>


As it turns out, this didn't completely solve the problem, it solved part of the problem.
Here is a summary to the root cause of the problem.
SUCCESS...
Problem Summary : The system crashed and would hangup during boot, tried many things, until I eventually erased the disk and started over again.
iMacG5 24 GHZ Intel with One internal disk partitioned into 3 logical drives
Cub_1 OS X 10.5.7
Cub_2 OS X 10.5.7 (Carbon Copy Cloner backup of Cub_1)
Cub_3 OS X Server 10.5.7 (standard os x server setup)
At some point after setting up standard preferences, OS X Server crashed.
When I tried to restart, the machine would hang up during boot.
Finally after several attempts, ran Disk Utility from install dvd and repaired Cub_3
When I tried to run "Repair Permissions" on Cub_3 from install dvd, I got an error
Disk Utility Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit 1.
Rebooted, and started in single user mode (CMD-S) during boot until I saw the unix commands on the screen
RAN : root # fsck -fy
Then I began seeing the same command filling the screen :
posix_spawnp("/usr/sbin/mDNSResponder") could not find file or directory
Called Enterprise Support and spoke to Frank Alcorn, he said this was most likely a permissions problem and asked me to try repairing permissions from the install dvd. I told him about the error, but nevertheless I tried it again and got the same Disk Utility Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit 1..
He asked me to try booting into single user mode again, and to try
root # chmod 775 /
root # reboot
During the reboot process the machine got hung up again, and could not get the single user mode to work at all.
Frank said the command needed to be :
root # chmod 1775 /
Frank asked me if I had changed anything in file sharing, and I told him I had. He asked me what I had shared, and I said the entire drive Cub_3. He asked me what I had done for permissions, if I had denied permissions to anyone. I told him that I had set myself up as the only user that could have access to it, and when he said that's where the problem was the lightbulb went off, and it made sense.
Shortly after I set the sharing preferences is when the server crashed. It all makes sense now...
Frank said not to share the entire disk, only portions (share points) of it. I had done this in Panther Server, and Tiger Server and it worked fine, but apparently Leopard Server works a little differently, maybe more secure.
It seems to me that if sharing the entire disk, which is what I needed would cause such a problem there should have been some sort of warning from the operating system, but there wasn't. I had run into this problem several times over the past three weeks since I had started working with Leopard Server, but in each case I ended up re-installing OS X Server and starting over again.
I told him I would try to reboot from the OS X partition (Cub_1) and try it from there.
He asked me to let him know if it worked, and I said I would...
Problem FIX :
I booted back into the partition containing OS X (Cub_1) and did the following via the Terminal.
$ su - root
$ chmod 1775 /
$ reboot
During the reboot process I held down the (OPTION) key, and selected Cub_3 (the os x server partition) and sure enough after a few minutes of holding my breath the login window magically appeared. So I logged in, and did not have to re-install the server. Hallellujah....
This solved the boot hang problem. It is great to finally have an answer. In retrospect it makes sense, but that's why its hindsight...
The reason for sharing the entire disk in my mind was that since I was the only user on the system, it was easier to have one disk mounted on my workstation rather than several folders. It made sense to me, it still does. I don't need a bunch of folders, just one disk is easier...

Who else sees "underlying task reported failure" in Disk Utility in 10.4.4?

I'm running 10.4.4, and often when I run Disk Utility on my startup volume in "verify" mode, I get this error:
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
There's a tech info article on this subject (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302411), which implies that one can resolve the issue by upgrading to 10.4.3 or later, however it is occurring for me in 10.4.4.
How many others are seeing this as well?

Hello Kyle,
I am getting the "underlying task reported failure on exit." every time I click the verify disk button in DU.
Your current profile in the message posted: Mar 6, 2006 4:55 PM shows Mac OS X (10.4.5) but the reversed User Profile for Kyle Tornquist indicates the operating system is Mac OS X 10.4.2. Are there Mac OS X 10.4.2 installed on another partition?
Actually, there are two types of the error messages; the one you are reporting "Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit." And another long standing issue that goes with "Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit (-9972)"
The one you're encountering can be solved by "fsck -fy" solution after a single-user boot unless if you have not been restarting the computer repeatedly. Perform 'fsck -fy " for two times. Technically, Disk Utility implementation has been changed since Mac OS X 10.4.3. The error accompanied with (-9972) is a critical in some developments. If "fsck -fy" does not solve your issue, please let me know. You may need further troubleshooting because your iMac G5 has a single internal hard drive storage bay for Serial ATA. I need to know whether you can find a Power Mac G5 that two hard drive bays for Serial ATA specification.
See also these docuemnts:
Using Disk Utility in Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later to verify or repair disks
Disk Utility reports "Underlying task reported failure" when repairing a volume

Disk Utility/fsck failure

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