Disk Utility Reports Errors

Question

I have just erased my HD and reinstalled all my programs. Things were running fine for about a week. When I went to run a very disk... this is the message I received.
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Reserved fields in the catalog record have incorrect data
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
me %@ needs to be repaired.",1)
Macintosh HD
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair
I then used the Start Up DVD to run Disk Utility and it said 1 volume repaired, 1 volume can't be repaired. But all I did was run in on my HD... my 2 other External drives checked out OK...
So... what exactly is the problem... is my HD faulty or is this a problem arising from installing other programs like Limewire and Windows Media Player. I JUST wiped my system clean a week ago and need to figure out what is going on... any ideas...
Thanks,
Daryn
Powerbook G4   Mac OS X (10.4.3)  

Answer 1

You're welcome.
The Format is Extended and Journaled...but what exactly does this mean???
If the hard drive format is Extended with Journaling enabled (which is done at the factory and requires reformatting the hard drive to change it), performing an Erase & Install will not change the hard drive format unless you select a different format when doing so.
Mac OS Extended format is a hard disk format that increases the number of allocation blocks on the disk. Mac OS Extended format optimizes the storage capacity of large hard disks by decreasing the minimum size of a single file.
Check this link for information about file system journaling.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107249
This link provided instructions for checking a hard drive for bad blocks.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=24764
You should also check the Smart Status for the drive.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=DiskUtility/10.5/en/duh1896.html
No... It is only 80G... should it be partitioned? Again what
does this really do???
No the hard drive should not be partitioned unless you want or need it partitioned. Some prefer partitioning their hard drive for various reasons. As an example, you can partition the hard drive into two partitions and install 10.3 on one partition or volume and 10.4 on the other providing the option to boot the computer from either the 10.3 or 10.4 partition or volume. Some create and use a separate partition or volume to store all data keeping OS X and all applications on the boot volume partition.
Should I erase the Limewire program and any files I downloaded???
I thought Macs were impervious to viruses... so I thought it would
be alright...
There is no computer operating system that is completely impervious to viruses and malware but OS X is about as close as it gets - especially when compared to the insecurity associated with Windows. Although there are no viruses that currently affect or infect OS X, there are some Trojans and malware that do. I could email you an AppleScript programmed to erase all data in your Home folder/directory. You would be prompted for your admin password before doing so but if you trusted me and/or what I sent you and you opened and ran such a malicious script, bad things can happen.
Not long ago, there was a download available via the P2P network with Limewire that indicated or was shown as a free install of Microsoft Office for OS X. The size of this download was not very large - not anywhere near the size required to include Office X but some unsuspecting folks downloaded and ran this malware which completely erased their entire Home folder/directory. No antivirus software would be any help with such a malicious script since not a virus.
There must be some trust involved when downloading software or files which is the reason we should do so from known and trusted sources only. If you choose to continue using Limewire (which most use for downloading music for free which is stealing from musicians and record labels in effect), if you are ever prompted to provide your admin password for any reason out of the blue when opening a file downloaded with Limewire, you should always decline.
After I did the reinstall... everything looked good for about a week
(no errors when I ran Verify disk) did I not really do a complete erase
and install? Did I go wrong during the install process???
I don't believe you did anything wrong during the install process. If you performed an Erase & Install using your Panther install package and then you upgraded to Tiger using the Tiger retail install package, are you checking the hard drive via Disk Utility when booted from the Tiger retail install package?
If so and there is a hard drive directory problem that Disk First Aid repair cannot successfully repair, your options are using a more substantial disk repair utility such as Disk Warrior (which is highly regarded for OS X but comes with no guarantee) or checking the hard drive S.M.A.R.T. status first and if OK, checking the hard drive for bad blocks per the links I previously provided and then re-install Panther and all included software included with the install package that shipped with your Mac. Afterwards, check the hard drive for any directory problems again via Disk Utility when booted from the Tiger retail install package before installing Tiger.