Disk Utility - No Valid Packages(?)!

Trying to verify/repair disk permissions on my 40G internal after verifying disk. Disk Utility immediately says:
"Disk Utility stopped verifying permissions on “HD37.25” because the following error was encountered:
No valid packages"
What does that mean? How to fix it so i can verify/repair again?

No, not from that folder. I did delete an iPhoto package that was somehow from years ago in my Doc folder, but that't it. Also, when i check the info button on this drive in DU it says partition: 2. Does this mean my drive is partitioned? I have not done that. I'll check that article you mentioned now.

Similar Messages

Corrupt Library Files, Disk Util: No Valid Packages, apps, plug-in probs

Darn, I could just kick myself. The current state of my computer is flashing me back to a nightmare from my pre-Mac days.
While backing up files to DVD I inadvertently/mistakenly/clumsily/stupidly (not sure) dragged what I thought was a copy of the Library folder I had created on my hd into Trash. When some of my apps stopped working and messages about missing internet plug-ins began to appear I realized I had screwed up. I ran Disk Utility a few times and either got the error message: "No Valid Packages" or a system hang. I attempted to repair the Library by moving files back to where I thought they should go and now have 2 Library files (syst and user) that have become a bit convoluted.
The good news is that I copied all of the files from both Libraries to my hd so I think I have everything saved. The bad news is that I don't know what goes where and I don't have a frame of reference, (ie the file structure) to work off of. For example, there is only one folder, (Library) inside the System folder and I can't remember if this is right or not. (System > Library > Automator, Caches, CFM Support etc.) My User Library looks intact but may have had some files shuffled around.
The way I see it, there are three alternatives or a combination thereof:
1) Ideally, I'd like to be able to get the files where they belong and return the file hierarchy to it's correct state.
2) Start more or less from scratch and re-install all of my effected apps, plug-ins, etc.
3) I read about an archive function that uses the OS installation disk to return files to their proper places. Can't remember the exact name and haven't been able to find the knowledge base article.
TXIA for any advice you might offer that will help get me out this predicament.
~ I.M. Stewpid
Message was edited by: Old-E
Message was edited by: Old-E
Message was edited by: Old-E

Copying Library files is problematic because of permissions issues that arise when you then try to copy them back.
The procedure you're referring to is called Archive and Install which will install a fresh copy of OS X and archive the old system into a Previous System Folder. See 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.) 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 quit DU and return to the installer.
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.

Disk Utility - No valid packages error

I've deleted the contents of my /library/receipts/ folder and now I cannot repair permissions using Disk Utility. It now spits out a "No valid packages" error and cannot proceed. I never thought these .pkgs were important to Disk Utility.
Is there any way to make this work again? Will the removal of these packages affect the performance of the OS?
Thanks.
PowerMac G5 Uni 1.8 Mac OS X (10.4.4) 2GB RAM, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro SE

I believe you'll also need Essentials.pkg.

Disc Utility - no valid packages

Since updating to 10.4.8, my disc utility doesn't run. I get error message saying no valid packages. Now I can't correct peferences or run disc utility at all. Any fix?

Hi davey84jones,
disregard Federico's advice, under these circumstances this is useless (and actually produces this error).
You obviously deleted the packages in the /Library/Receipts folder. These are required by disk utility in order to check permissions. For instructions how to solve this problem please read this article: Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4: Disk Utility shows a "No Valid Packages" alert
If this answered your question please consider granting some stars: Why reward points?

Unable to repair disk permissions : no valid package

i can't repair disk permissions on my PB G4 OS 10.4.7!
i did a disk repair, had minor problems which were repaired.
i took the iTunes iPod stuff from the library/receipts folder.
the error message is : no valid package.
i tryed to reset permissions with tinker tool system but get a failed error.
how can i repair/reset the permissions? otherwise i have nor problems with the computer?
thanks

i can't repair disk permissions on my PB G4 OS
10.4.7!
i did a disk repair, had minor problems which were
repaired.
i took the iTunes iPod stuff from the
library/receipts folder.
the error message is : no valid package.
i tryed to reset permissions with tinker tool system
but get a failed error.
how can i repair/reset the permissions? otherwise i
have nor problems with the computer?
thanks
sorry folks:
could solve my problem with disk permission repair:
i copied all the receipts from my backup system to the startup HD and now it works again.
so be careful to change files in your library/receipts folder...!

Prosoft Data Rescue for Hard Drive "No Valid Packages" in Disk Utility

I have a Macbook and I believe the hard drive has crashed. When I turn it on, I get the circle with line through it and the folder with question mark inside blinking.
I got the Install Disk 1 to boot up but can not verify the hard drive. I get the following message "No Valid Packages" and disk verification fails. I also checked the SMART status of the hard drive and it says "Not Supported".
I also can not re-install the operating system, as there is no hard drive that shows up to install it to when I try to run the installer disk.
I know I need a new hard drive, much bigger one. I'm purchasing this today, a 320gb Samsung M6 Series internal drive and a Western digital external 500gb WDE1U5000N.
I also want to purchase the Prosoft Data Rescue but have several questions:
1)I read the this can work if disk utility sees the hard drive. The hard drive is seen in disk utility, but like i said before the drive has failed and it can not mount. I've read other reviews that said Prosoft can still be used in this case, but I want to make sure..please define what is meant by "disk utility being unable to see the hard drive"...Does this mean "dead hard drive or the hard drive not physically being VISIBLE in disk utility (because mine is, I just can't mount or verify it)
2)If I can use Prosoft, when I put it in my damaged Macbook to recover the files, can I then put these files onto my new external drive? Or do I have to have another internal drive to do this? (I'm just buying 1 right now)...How do you get the recovered data off if I can not move it onto an external drive? Do I put it on a disk and then take the damaged hard drive out, put the new one in and then put it on the external?
Sorry for the questions but I want to buy today by 5pm so it ships by Friday to me to fix this ASAP, thanks!

I read the this can work if disk utility sees the hard drive.
Prosoft Data Rescue can help recover files after a software failure. (Usually related file directory problems.) It sounds, however, that you've experienced a hardware failure of your original hard drive. No amount of software can ever recover a hard drive from a hardware failure. If you really need to recover the data, a data recovery service may be able to help. The cost will depend on the steps needed to recover the data and how much data is recovered.
-Doug

Disk Utility Error "no valid packages"

Hi,
I have a PowerBook G4 with 1GB RAM.
I've noticed a significant system slowdown lately. Programs take longer to open and respond, and it's rather annoying. I came to the forums to seek some remedy, and tried to run a Disk Utility to check that everything there is at least okay. But when I click on verify permissions, I get an error that says "no valid packages." Does anyone know what this means and how to fix it (if it needs fixing; I'm assuming this isn't a good thing, whatever it is!).
Thanks.
Lori

Hi librarygirl and Welcome to the Discussions!
Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4: Disk Utility shows a "No Valid Packages" alert
Disk Utility can't verify or repair permissions on the Mac OS X 10.3 or 10.4 volume if the "BaseSystem.pkg" file is not in /Library/Receipts.
This alert appears when you try to repair permissions with Disk Utility:
"First Aid failed
"Disk Utility stopped repairing permissions on '(volume name)' because the following error was encountered: No valid packages"
In the Disk Utility text window, this message appears in red text:
"Error: No valid packages (-9997)"
This happens when the BaseSystem.pkg file is not in /Library/Receipts.
Solution
If you've moved this file, move it back to /Library/Receipts. You shouldn't normally remove any files from /Library/Receipts.
If the file has been deleted, replace it by copying it from a different computer that uses Mac OS X 10.3 or 10.4, or by reinstalling Mac OS X 10.3/10.4 from an installation disc.
"Reinstall" means you can install 10.3 or 10.4 from a disc, if it's the same version of 10.3/10.4 (such as 10.3.3 on both the installation disc and computer). If the version of 10.3/10.4 on the computer is newer than what's on the install disc, then use the install disc to perform an Archive and Install installation instead, then update to a later version of Mac OS X.
Joe

Getting Error Message: "No valid packages (-9997) in Disk Utility

I am having some permission issues with my iBook G4 12". But when I run Disk Utility and select the HD and tell it to Repair Disk Permissions, I am prompted for an administration password (I AM the administrator) and then, once entered, in the Disk Utility status window I get:
Verify permissions for "[hard disk name]"
Error: No valid packages (-9997) -- in Red Lettering
Permissions verification complete
Can anybody inform me what is going on and what I need to do?
Tom
MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2GHz MacBook, 1GB RAM, 80GB Hard Drive

Tom --
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but apparently files have been deleted from your Receipts folders.
See this article for more info:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25704
I hope your BaseSystem.pkg file has just been moved, and not deleted.
But if it's gone, there are instructions in that article to fix the problem.

No valid packages error in Disk Utility

I have been experiencing some problems with my eMac so I thought I would get Disk Utility to check my HD over. First I started by checking Permissions to which I get the following error.
Repairing permissions for “Macintosh HD”
Error: No valid packages (-9997)
I restarted using my install disk. When I ran Disk Utitlity it reported no problem with the HD. I did a repair run anyway, just in case. Then tried to repair permissions once more. Still the above error.
I had about 10mb of free space left on my HD a couple of weeks ago. After some clearance work however it is now back to just under 10GB free space.

There are Four Basic ways to use Pacifist..download from....
www.charlessoft.com
A. Drag a .pkg icon onto the Pacifist window .....proceed to step 7.
B. Click on “Open Package ....” and navigate to package desired and click “Open” in the open/save window.....proceed to step 7.
C. Insert Mac OS X installer CD and when it mounts, navigate to ....
Menu/Go/Go to Folder, and in the window, type....
/Volumes/disc name/System/Installation/Packages (where disc name is the name of the CD/DVD that you inserted.
• Click "Go".....
• Drag .pkg to Pacifist..... proceed to step 7.
D. Insert your Mac OS X install disk 1 .... and open Pacifist.
1. In Pacifist, select "Open Mac OS X Install Packages" ... dialog may appear asking for disk 2, then disk 3 and finally disk 1 again....{if CDVD is not used)...If “Stop Loading” is selected...the procedure will stop!!!
2a. When loading is complete, a new window appears, click the triangle to display contents of each package...Select item and proceed to step 7.
3b. or click the “Find” icon in the Pacifist window and type the name of the software you need.
3. In the list that comes back, click the top most entry for the item that you want. ..... that is the one for the English language.
4. On the top of the Pacifist window, click “verify” .... you will probably be prompted for your password.
5. Enter checks for.... “verify permissions” and “verify file contents.” and click “verify” ....enter password when prompted.... you will get back output which may
look like this:
20 files were scanned.
20 of 20 files were present on the hard disk.
0 of 20 files had file permissions that did not match those specified in the package.
0 of 20 files had checksums that did not match those specified in the package.
6. Click “close”. Go to step 7.
Extract or Install........
7. In the Toolbar (upper left), you now have the option to extract or install. Click a file in the lower list and those two icons will be enabled.
8. If “Extract to...” is selected.... navigate to the location where the file will be placed, select “choose”, select “extract” in new dialog that appears,authenicate , if prompted, click “OK”.
9. In the next dialog, click “Extract”.
10. If “Install” is selected... dialog will appear with the location/path of the installed software. Click “Install”
11. Type in your password, click “OK”
• Pacifist will begin to extract files.
12. In steps 8/10ß.... you also have the choice to “cancel”å
Notes.....
• Pacifist may find that a file it is installing already exists on the hard disk. Pacifist will present you with an alert panel....
Stop
Leave original alone
Update ..... Default selection
Replace .... Replace option should only be used on full install packages
george

No Hard Drive Or Volume Icon In Powerbook G4 Firewire (aluminium) Disk Utilities: Reads Error: No Valid Packages (-9997)

Whilst performing a zero/erase install on my Powerbook G4 Firewire (aluminium) with an OSX Tiger install disk (Tiger was the OSX i had erased), I had to force quite the installer as it appeared to be stuck on the Chinese script install section. I crashed the Powerbook down using the power button method. Now, when i power up the computer, it stays on the grey screen and just beeps at me. If i insert the install disks (both OSX Tiger or the original Powerbook Panther ones) there is no volume found during the install process. In disk utilities no hard drive icon or volumes appear in the left hand list, just 2 headings regarding the OSX install disk. I have clicked 'Verify Disk Permissions' on these headings and receive this message in the action box: Error: No Valid Packages (-9997). All other options in disk utilities are not available to use (partitions section etc), as there is no hard drive recognized to perform anything on. I presume my erase install has wiped out my previous OSX Tiger without installing some essential on the Powerbook (receipts perhaps?). My Powerbook was working 100% before this install attempt. It's a very lightly used machine with no noises/whirrs coming from the hard drive that would suggest failure of some kind. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks for your advice old comm guy.
I have run the Hardware Test as supplied with the Powerbooks install disks and everything has passed. I presume i can put my mind at rest about it being a problem in any of those departments. I have been browsing for a couple of weeks now and think my problem could be a loss in receipts/permissions somewhere. I remember looking for a lost file awhile back using a hard drive search programme through Terminal. It filled my hard drive almost to the maximum with unwanted retrieved files, it took me hours to erase all this again (never found the document i was looking for either). Perhaps a receipt was erased/trashed at this time?. Sometime later (prob weeks) i performed a fresh OSX install to give me an uncluttered faster running machine (I do this once a year). I zero erased the hard drive (including free space) and it was during this install that i had to force quit. It seemed to be stuck loading the Chinese Script so i had no option. After this the problem as described above has been persistent. Is there a way to restore receipts/permissions through Terminal or something like that?. Or maybe a procedure that one has to do when installing a new hard drive?. A step by step guide from someone would be a real help as i am not really confident using these advanced procedures.

Can't log in with valid password, can't boot from disk, can't access disk utility, in single user mode can't reset password as appears locked in caps mode with '?' for forward slash, can anyone help?

Can't log in with valid password, can't boot from disk, can't access disk utility, in single user mode can't reset password as appears locked in caps mode with '?' for forward slash, can anyone help?

Which keyboard layout you were using? German, French ... I suppose your layout is reset to the default: US and you are unable to find the "?" or "/" ...
Please have a look into the keyboard viewer, to see how the layout of your keyboard is actually.
marek

Disk permissions - "Error: No Valid Packages (-9997)"

Should I worry about this error? It shows up when I try to "verify permissions" via Disk Utility (booted from disk) and I also ran Tinker Tool System and it gave the same error.
Thanks for the help!
Ken

You've either removed the /Library/Receipts/ folder or deleted its contents. Disk Utility will no longer work nor will Software Update.
Download a shareware utility called Pacifist 2.0. Use it to extract a fresh copy of the BaseSystem.pkg from the file archives on your Tiger DVD. Extract the new copy of BaseSystem.pkg to the /Library/Receipts/ folder. If you've deleted the folder simply make a new folder with that name. In the future do not delete the folder or its contents. They are needed for permissions repair and updating software with Software Update.
Why reward points?(Quoted from Discussions Terms of Use.)
The reward system helps to increase community participation. When a community member gives you (or another member) a reward for providing helpful advice or a solution to their question, your accumulated points will increase your status level within the community.
Members may reward you with 5 points if they deem that your reply is helpful and 10 points if you post a solution to their issue. Likewise, when you mark a reply as Helpful or Solved in your own created topic, you will be awarding the respondent with the same point values.

Disk Utility from Install CD will not mount valid volumes

I'm trying to make an image of my internal disk onto an external USB disk. This disk has a FAT32 partition that is automatically seen and mounted when I am booted into the OS. (It also contains an unformatted partition.)
When I boot from the OS X 10.3 Install CD and run Disk Utility (in order to image the internal disk), the external disk and its partition are correctly detected and can be scanned, polled, and ejected without error, but are not automatically mounted. Clicking the "Mount" button has no effect.
A FAT16 flash drive exhibits the same behavior.
Thanks.

Hello! There's another way to image your disk without starting form another disk. Open disk utility and choose new image. It will bring up the box showing you the options. Choose sparse disk image and then under size choose custom. There set the image size in MB. As an example I chose 7000 mb for a 7 gig image. Now name the file and let it mount the image. Once it's mounted go to the disk utility and click on your drive and then select the restore tab. Once there drag your main disk to the source pane and then drag the mounted disk image to the destination pane and then click on restore. You will now have created a disk image of the drive you need. Tom

Repairing permissions - ERROR: NO VALID PACKAGES

I think I may have deleted something important!
I had a bit of a tidy up the other day, mainly deleting printers & fonts that I don't use. But it looks like I may have removed a few important things.
In disk utility, I can no longer repair disk permissions. When I try, I get a box saying;
FIRST AID FAILED
DISK UTILITY STOPPED REPAIRING PERMISSIONS ON "MACINTOSH HD" BECAUSE THE FOLLOWING ERROR WAS ENCOUNTERED:
NO VALID PACKAGES
Is there an easy way of fixing this? Or am I looking at a reinstall of Tiger?

Glad that sorted your immediate problem.
On the face of it I would have thought that none were necessary, as the name of the folder and the fact that they're installer packages for things that have already been installed would seem to indicate that they are not needed. BUT the fact that the loss of one of those files caused a problem with something that can be as important as the ability to repair permissions is pretty clear evidence that the files in there are used for something!
So, I would recommend leaving alone the packages for apps/etc. that are still on your machine, or files that you do not recognize. On the other hand, there are some items (very few, actually) in my receipts folder that I would feel comfortable deleting, e.g. a virus defs package for Norton, which I installed right when I got my MBP, but it utterly failed for reasons I won't go into here, and I actually ran the uninstaller to get rid of it, but clearly it left this little gift for me. And poof, it's gone.
But the majority I would recommend leaving alone. On my HDD the Receipts folder is ~170 MB, so it's not a huge chunk, but of course every little bit adds up!
Hope this helps...

Repairing permissions - Error: No valid packages(?!) Wha?

Computer's been doing strange things lately. Not recognizing my airport signal (none of my neighbor's wireless signals either); not recognizing any printers when time to print; no quicktime playback; some sent and received emails lost in space, etc. So I'm getting ready for an archive and install when I think I'll try repairing permissions first. Verifying disk says volume is fine. But i get an immediate error of no valid packages for repairing permissions. Anyone know what this means and how to rectify it?

First "Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. 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.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Verify & Repair if needed, then use Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions feature...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25751
Where are we now after a reboot?

Disk Utility - No Valid Packages(?)!

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for