Disk utility stopped verifying; need repair... over and over and over

I've gone through the restart, Command+R drill 4 times. Repaired the disk using "Disk Utility." Restarted after repair, ran disk utility to verify the repair and BAM disk utility stops verifying and instructs me to restart ... etc.
The errors have been consistent: orphaned blocks, invalid volume free block count. But when I use utility disk after restarting and pressing command+r, the "repair disk" does not appear to do anythign beyond "Load and Verify" freespace summary and block accounting. Am I missing a step?
Any suggestions appreciated.

That article does not pertain to the OS you are running. "This article has been archived and is no longer updated by Apple."
It pertains to using fsck not Disk Utility for:
Products Affected
Mac OS X 10.3.9, Mac OS X 10.4, Mac OS X 10.5, Mac OS X Server 10.2, Mac OS X Server 10.3, Mac OS X Server 10.4, Mac OS X Server 10.4.7, Mac OS X Server 10.5

Similar Messages

Disk Util"Filesystem verify or repair failed"& failed hardware test w/CD

Calling all mac gurus...
My trusty MacBook Pro is starting to play up. i.e. crashing unexpectedly & at random, no particular program can cause the screen to dim and a box come up in different languages saying you must restart with a pic of the power button.
the probs started around/after I deleted XP from the laptop, and ran the system upgrade(from 10.5.6 to 10.5.7)
Disk Utility: I run the verify disk on the system volume. results with error:
2009-08-08 17:46:04 +0100: Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Starting verification tool: 2009-08-08 17:46:04 +0100
2009-08-08 17:46:04 +0100:
2009-08-08 17:46:05 +0100: Performing live verification.
2009-08-08 17:46:05 +0100: Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
2009-08-08 17:46:05 +0100: Checking Extents Overflow file.
2009-08-08 17:46:05 +0100: Checking Catalog file.
2009-08-08 17:46:30 +0100: Invalid extent entry
2009-08-08 17:46:42 +0100: 2009-08-08 17:46:42 +0100: Incorrect block count for file CACHE_003
2009-08-08 17:46:42 +0100: 2009-08-08 17:46:42 +0100: 2009-08-08 17:46:42 +0100: (It should be 279 instead of 282)
2009-08-08 17:46:42 +0100: Checking multi-linked files.
2009-08-08 17:46:58 +0100: Checking Catalog hierarchy.
2009-08-08 17:48:28 +0100: Checking Extended Attributes file.
2009-08-08 17:48:28 +0100: Checking volume bitmap.
2009-08-08 17:48:28 +0100: Checking volume information.
2009-08-08 17:48:28 +0100: 2009-08-08 17:48:28 +0100: The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
2009-08-08 17:48:28 +0100: Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.2009-08-08 17:48:28 +0100:
2009-08-08 17:48:28 +0100: Disk Utility stopped verifying “Macintosh HD” because the following error was encountered:
Filesystem verify or repair failed.
2009-08-08 17:48:28 +0100:
I have also run a hardware test after the disk verify didn't work from the install cd.
results on hardware test:
Last Run: 3/08/09 4:24 PM
Version: 3A134
Test Suite: Extended Test
Loop Count: 2
Result: Failed
Failure code: 4MEM/12/40000000: 199640c8
Any help would be much appreciated. as I use this Laptop for work, and cant really send it away anywhere to be fixed.
Message was edited by: Mß

Mß wrote:
so, I have done re-install from the OSX disk - the first time it failed. I think because I selected the option to keep the user profiles/settings etc, may have been a conflict between vers on OSX CD and vers on HDD? I don't know.
No, it can do that. There are clearly other issues.
anyway an error came back saying the disk was corrupt
The install disc or the HD?
now I thought that sorted it. but after doing the updates. and then going to repair the disk permissions/repair the disk it came back with same error. and also the hardware test is still failing.
The system will never be stable until the HD directory is repaired.
- is the version of the hardware tester I have not compatible with the OS or the firmware i have upgraded to? or does the tester just check the integrity of the hardware regardless of firmware & os vers.
If this is the AHT disc that shipped with your MBP, it is fine, regardless of what OS you have installed.
I really would prefer to not start from scratch again. But could this be an user account problem?
No.
I'll set up a new usr acct and use that for a while. just a pain to bring the files over from my current usr acct to the new one.
I believe that's a waste of your time. As has already been stated, at least one of the issues is the damaged HD directory. Until/unless that is repaired, what you install on the HD isn't going to work correctly, if at all. The big question is, is some other part of the hardware causing the directory damage, or did the directory take a freak "hit" and repairing it will resolve things? It's quite possible that bad RAM or the logic board could have caused the directory damage. You're either going to have to bring it in to an Apple Store "genius" bar and see how much they'll test for free, or do some things yourself. For things you can do yourself, apart from trying one RAM module at a time, and running Repair Disk repeatedly (I don't think that's going to do it), you're going to need to either get your hands on Disk Warrior (or comparable utility), or a different HD, or try the HD in an external enclosure, or get your hands on some different RAM to try.

Disk Utility stopped verifying "Macintosh HD"

I verify my disk and disk permissions every month or so, when I tried to verify the disk today I received the following message -
"Disk Utility stopped verifying "Macintosh HD"
The alert goes on to recommend I restart using my installion disk - since I'm running Lion - I don't have an installation disk.
Details -
MacBook Pro Mid 2010
Shipped with Snow Leopard, upgraded to Lion - now running 10.7.2
I am backed up with Time Machine right up until today.
Details from Disk Utility
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking file systemPerforming live verification.
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking catalog hierarchy.
Checking extended attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Volume bitmap needs minor repair for orphaned blocks
Checking volume information.
Invalid volume free block count
(It should be 23464181 instead of 23330172) ***
The volume Macintosh HD was found corrupt and needs to be repaired.
Error: This disk needs to be repaired. Start up your computer with another disk (such as your Mac OS X installation disc), and then use Disk Utility to repair this disk.
*** these numbers chang each time I attempt to verify.

Firstly, you should never bother with Verifying the drive. If you're going to do anything then repair it:
Repair the Hard Drive - Lion
Boot from your Lion Recovery HD. When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. 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 main menu. Upon completion select Restart from the Apple menu.
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.

Disk Utility - Partition map needs repair because a data partition needs loader space.

I just finished setting up both my OSX and Windows installs from scratch after fitting an SSD, which in-turn was right before my logic board died and Apple replaced it, now it looks like I have some sort of hard drive issue brewing.
This was my plan for the SSD, and how it currently displays in Disk Utility although that wasn't the case earlier:
And in Terminal:
My intention was to have two boot partitions for each OS, 'Macintosh HD' and 'Win 7 Pro' and a third shared data partition 'Projects' on the SSD, which I made in Drive Genius after installing Boot Camp. I don't want Macintosh HD accessible from Windows because I'll be using Paragon HFS+ or MacDrive to give write access and don't want OSs stomping on other OSs turf, hence needing three partitions. Everything looked fine until I just checked Disk Management under windows and realised it couldn't see the Projects volume. Even though it's fine in OS X, it was just marked black/unallocated space.
So I booted back into OSX, all my files look fine so I ran Disk Utility and the Partition tab looked really odd - unfortunately I didn't get a screenshot. All volumes reported their size correctly but visually, Macintosh HD took up most of the drive. I could see 'Windows 7 Pro' under this, but the Partition Layout section had a scrollbar, which if I scrolled down showed 'Projects' squished into a tiny gap at the bottom. I ran a Verify, which reported no problems, and at some time since the Partition Layout has reverted to how it should look (as in the screenshot above), with 'Projects' book-ended by "Macintosh HD' and 'Windows 7 Pro'.
Now when I run a Verify on Macintosh HD or Projects volumes, it says there's no problem, but if I run one on the drive, I get this message:
Volume Macintosh HD on disk0s2 has 0 bytes of trailing loader space and it needs 134217728 bytes
Problems were found with the partition map which might prevent booting
Error: Partition map needs repair because a data partition needs loader space.
I've only managed to find one other mention of this error here, but the fix is not relevant to me because I don't have Sophos installed. I've tried Single User/Safe Mode but it just boots into normal mode, so I can't do a fsck -fy.
** /dev/rdisk0s2 (NO WRITE)
Can't open /dev/rdisk0s2: Permission denied
That value in bytes is exactly 128mb, so I suspect the problem lies with one of the invisible partitions that show up in iPartition and Disk Management under Windows, but not in Disk Utility. I have backups and I suspect the root of the problem is partitioning in iPartition after installing Boot Camp, but I've never had issues with this approach in the past so I'm wary of just giving up and reinstalling Windows again will be massive hassle because I no longer have a SuperDrive and last time it refused to install from USB.
Anyone have any idea what's going on? It seems like the sort of issue Disk Utility should just handle, at least in Recovery mode, but it's not playing ball. It also doesn't seem like a massive problem since my files all look fine and performance is OK, so I'm reluctant to do anything major.
I'll update with a shot of the drive in Disk Management from Windows in a few minutes, in case that sheds light on anything. Thanks!

Similar issue here. I manually partitioned my hard disk for triple boot (using Gparted on Linux), then everything was just fine until I ran bootcamp, to do something as simple as create a boot USB.
I get the same error as a result and have to work my way into booting, by resorting first to a Linux live USB, then restarting from the live USB, to finally reach my rEFInd boot manager, or whichever boot manager should be initialized at startup.
I suppose that the cause in my case is that some operation "scratched" the protective MBR. See this:
http://www.mactech.com/articles/mactech/Vol.23/23.03/APMtoGPT/index.html
I am hoping to fix it using an external Yosemite installation media: see this guide -
http://www.macworld.com/article/2367748/how-to-make-a-bootable-os-x-10-10-yosemi te-install-drive.html
And as a last resort to reinstall.
I'll admit I am negatively surprised. I need this computer for professional reasons, and for the sake of "preserving the integrity of OSX", measures defined by Apple instead tend to make partitions far easier to damage. And this problem seems to affect a number of users.
As for what I have to go through to fix it: a 5GB download, during which I have to register my credit card to the Apple Store. "Pay first, get your free software next."
IF Disk Utility can fix it, from the external media, then fair enough. The hassle is unpleasant but it files as "a choice".
Otherwise you can file it safely under software design calamity.

Disk Utility says HD needs repair-how to boot from original disk?

Hi,
My iMac has been acting up badly. Finally on Friday, it had trouble turning on and a burning smell arose from the top. Came on but with the blinking folder with question mark. So turned it off and tried again to turn on: no chime and couldn't turn it on.
Went to Genius bar this a.m. Tried different cord. It turned on. Everything came up fine. Genius ran special test. Everything came back with green check. But he said the internal hard drive could very likely be starting to fail.
Back home. Just ran the Disk Utility to "Verify." It couldn't continue verification. Got these messages:
Invalid volume directory count.
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Questions:
1) Can I repair using the First Aid utility (or is it more about getting a new HD)?
2) If so, can someone remind me what keys to press on startup to boot from the CD?
3) I have 10.5.8 right now. Can I still boot from the original Tiger installation CD and use that Disk Utility?
Thanks for your urgently needed help!

If you're on 10.5.8 have you not got that disk as that would probably be the best one to use? If not, the disk that came with your Mac should still boot up. Disk in drive and restart holding down the 'C' key. Hopefully it'll boot - albeit slowly. At the multi-language screen choose your language and at the next screen from the menu bar select Utilities>Disk Utility. Select Macintosh HD on the left and 'repair disk'. Hopefully it'll do the necessary repairs. If it fixes anything click 'repair disk' again until you get a clean pass and then from the Apple menu restart as normal.
If you haven't got a backup make sure you make one ASAP.

Disk Utility cant verify or repair - invalid directory count

Hi there, I perform disk utility fairly often, about once a month. But this has come up and the button for 'repair disc' is not available, what should I do. I'm not very advanced so if you could break it down for me simple, should anyone be able to help. Thank you so much.
Nick
this is what it shows -
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
Invalid volume file count
(It should be 694264 instead of 694266)
Invalid volume directory count
(It should be 163922 instead of 163920)
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.

I had a similar problem and your solution (restart holding down the shift key) worked. I though I was going to have to purchase a disk utility program. What does that key combination do?
thanks!
Bob

Disk Utility Problems - Volume Needs Repair

Hi,
I have an iMac G5 (PowerPC) and when I ran Disk Utility I get the following error:
+"Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”+
+Checking HFS Plus volume.+
+Checking Extents Overflow file.+
+Checking Catalog file.+
+Illegal name+
+Checking multi-linked files.+
+Checking Catalog hierarchy.+
+Checking Catalog hierarchy.+
+Checking Extended Attributes file.+
+Checking volume bitmap.+
+Checking volume information.+
+Volume Header needs minor repair+
+to be repaired.",1)+
+Macintosh HD+
+Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit+
+1 HFS volume checked+
+ Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Illegal name
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
Volume Header needs minor repair
to be repaired.",1)
Macintosh HD
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair"+
When I try to load off the Install CD to do the repair, I get an error saying something about "Kernal" and a grey box saying I need to restart.
I ran TechTool Deluxe and it did not find any problems.
What do I need to do to resolve this? I am not exactly sure what is wrong as I am not THAT technically inclined.
Any directions/help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Welcome to Discussions - what you are having are kernel panics, see Dr Smoke's Resolving Kernel Panics and follow his directions.
Let us know how things work out,

Disk utility filesystem verify or repair failed

hi this is my first time need some help. I ran disk utilty and got this first aid failed invalid directory item count, error filesystem verify or repair failed,it should read 35 instead of 34 mac hd needs to be repaired. I also have a 13 inch mac book and get the same error. Im not sharing the book with the i mac the only thing i did was apple updates to both i wonder if this caused this

Two ways of going about this:
Try a Safe Boot -- hold Shift Key down at startup -- it will take longer than usual to boot as it's checking and repairing the directory, if possible. If it finishes on a screen with Safe Boot in red, you should be OK, but go back and verify again from DU.
Sometimes, the errors reported from DU verify, as it is performing "Live Verification," may be spurious. Better to check with DU Repair Disk booted from the DVD.
Boot from the Install DVD by holding the C key down at startup.
See "Try Disk Utilitiy"
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
If it reports failure, try it a few more times.
If that doesn't help, you need stronger medicine. Available at the Apple Store.
Disk Warrior
Message was edited by: WZZZ

Disk Utility says volume needs repair, tests failed. Now what?

What exactly does this mean? Unfortunately, I bought this TiBook from a classmate, and he didn't have his Tiger DVD, so all I have is 10.0 and a 10.1 upgrade. Do I have to use this to re-install?
Thanks!
Jim

Hello James:
Since you do not have the Tiger DVD you have a few choices (none particularly good). You should ALWAYS have the software install DVD - I am not sure what will happen when you run repair disk from an older software install CD/DVD. You will be unable to reinstall Tiger unless you have the proper DVD. I would return the iBook and get my money back from your classmate unless that person produces the proper software.
Incidentally, if Apple's repair disk (run from the CD/DVD) is unable to repair problems, DiskWarrior is the next option. DW is the 'gold standard' of directory repair, but it is pricey at about $90.
Barry

Disk Utility's "Verify Disk" does not work

For some reason I am not able to run the "Verify Disk" option in the Disk Utility application. I open up Disk Utility, I can click on the button, and it begins. However, while it says it is verifying the disk, and the status bar appears (just shows it working, doesn't show a time remaining), it continues like this for an inordinate amount of time. Eventually, the entire computer freezes up; I can move the mouse, but nothing responds to keyboard or mouse clicks. I am forced to hold down the power button to shut-down.
To get more information I decided to run this command in the Terminal. This is what I get:
+mycomputername~ root# diskutil verifyVolume /+
+Started verify/repair on volume disk0s2 Macintosh HD+
When I press enter after typing the first line, the second line appears, and it appears but nothing else shows up. Eventually, like in Disk Utility (which makes sense), the entire computer freezes up. (I've waited hours)
Does anyone know why this tool might not be working? I know, when using the terminal, more dialog should show what it is working on, which is why I find it strange it doesn't even get past the "Started verify" point. For example, the following is supposed to show up eventually, but doesn't:
+Checking HFS Plus volume.+
+Checking Extents Overflow file.+
+Checking Catalog file.+
etc...
I used the command line to verify with fsck too. +(sudo fsck_hfs -l /dev/disk0s2)+ This worked. From what I can tell, the problems it generated were benign.
On a different note, the reason I want to do this is because I am trying to use Bootcamp Assistant 1.4 Beta to create an XP Partition (after I had to get rid of it due to a virus), but it gets stuck on the "Partitioning Disk", and the status (which doesn't show remaining time) just continues to stay the same after a few hours, eventually freezing the computer in the same way the Verify Disk does. See a theme here? I'm not sure if this is related or not.
So why does the Verify Disk tool not work for me? Anyone have any ideas? I'm hesitant to try to use the Disk Repair tool, without the Verify Disk tool working.
Thanks for any help! Oh, and Happy New Year!
Michael
(Disk info, if this is useful for some reason)
+Device Node: /dev/disk0s2+
+Device Identifier: disk0s2+
+Mount Point: /+
+Volume Name: Macintosh HD+
+File System: Journaled HFS+ +
+Journal size 16384 k at offset 0x7d01000+
+Owners: Enabled+
+Partition Type: Apple_HFS+
+Bootable: Is bootable+
+Media Type: Generic+
+Protocol: SATA+
+SMART Status: Verified+
+Total Size: 148.7 GB+
+Free Space: 51.6 GB+
+Read Only: No+
+Ejectable: No+
+Disk Number: 0+
+Partition Number: 2+

Thank you so much!
For some reason that didn't cross my mind. I booted with the OSX installer disk, and used DU and the Verify Disk worked!
Oddly enough when it finished I got an error message. Maybe that's just because the Verify encountered errors. It said:
+First Aid failed+
+Disk Utility stopped verifying "Macintosh HD" beause the following error was encountered: The underlying task reported failure on exit+
Here's the results of the scan:
+Checking Catalog file.+
+Resereved fields in the catalog record have incorrect data+
+Incorrect block count for file Temp File 1.tmp+
+(It should be 4529 instead of 0)+
+Incorret number of thread records+
+Overlapped extent allocation (file 1815158 /Users/..)+
+Checking Volume bitmap+
+Volume Bit Map needs minor repair+
+Checking volume information+
+Invalid volume free block count+
+(It should be 13585467 instead of 13578598)+
+The Volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.+
+Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit.+
I'm going to repair the disk, only after I backup my data. Not sure if these problems are 'benign' or not. Maybe that will solve my Boot Camp problems, maybe not. If not, well, it's either a complete reformat of the drive, or I'll have to buy Leopard so I can get Boot Camp support.
Thanks for your help again! So nice to see something working right on my Mac, finally
Michael

I think I may have a virus on my MacBook laptop, ran disk utility, "filesystem verify failed." Help!

I'm running a MacBook laptop and thought I might have a virus b/c i was browsing online a couple of days ago when i clicked on a link that appeared to automatically start downloading a file. I tried to stop it from downloading by clicking "cancel" in the downloads box that came up, but it compleatly downloaded before i could hit cancel. No programs automatically opened and started runnning (that i could see), but I've noticed slow browsing since then.
I ran the disk utility, "verify disk," to see if there were any problems. It came back with this error message: "First aid failed: Disk Utility stopped verifying "Macintosh HD" because the following error was encountered:
Filesystem verify or repair failed"
The text is black inside the verifying history box until the last three lines, which say in red:
"Invalid node structure
Volume check failed
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed."
Does this mean I have a virus? Are there other things I can do to confirm that I do or do not have a virus? How do I fix this problem?
I'm running Mac OS X 10.5.8.
Many thanks for your advice/comments in advance.

Probably because the directory on the disk is corrupt.
The error "invalid node structure" is one that will take either DiskWarrior or a reformat to fix.
It has not to with any malware.
Allan

Disk Utility: Filesystem verify failed

Received the following message when trying to troubleshoot iMac freezing up:
Disk Utility stopped verifying “Macintosh HD” because the following error was encountered:
Filesystem verify or repair failed.

Be sure to backup your hard drive to an external drive.
Use SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner.

Disk Utility stopped repairing the disk. I was instructed to backup as many of my files as possible.reformat the disk and store my backed files. I am using an I Mac 2010. I am not sure what caused this problem. I use time machine

Disk Utility stopped repairing the disk. I was instructed to backup as many of my files as possible.reformat the disk and restore my backed up files. Since I use time machine, can I assume that all my files and programs can be restored from my recent back ups?

Hi jeromefrodia,
Welcome to the Apple Support Community!
I understand that you are concerned about your data before reformatting the disk. Because you use Time Machine your information should be safe. Please refer to the attached article for information about what Time Machine backs up and how to restore from that backup.
Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac
Cheers,
Joe

DISK UTILITY STOPPED REPAIRING MACINTOSH HD!

So initially, my mac just was stuck on the white screen with grey apple logo and the spinning wheel. It wouldn't move! So I held down the power button and turned it off, let it rest for good 8 hours, turned it back on and it was still the same! With the help of some online postings: command + control + p + r, I got to the Disk Utility page and I tried checking for any damage. For most part everything was"ok" or "clear"! Then I ran 'VERIFY DISK' for MACINTOSH HD and some problems occurred. I clicked on 'REPAIR DISK' as promted. It said "DISK UTILITY STOPPED REPAIRING MACINTOSH HD: Disk Utitlity can't repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.
I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA HOW TO DO THAT ! I have not backed up a single thing on my mac!

If you want to preserve the data on the boot drive, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to fully boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
1. Boot from the Recovery partition or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
2. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
3. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.

Disk Utility stopped repairing Mac HD - Now what?

My computer has been running slow so I cleaned up my desktop, trashed a bunch of old files and went to verify permissions. I was then told to use disk repair.
In the middle of doing so I got this message - "Disk Utility stopped repairing 'Macintosh HD'. 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."
Besides occasional slowness, my computer is working fine and I was able to get back to my desktop. Is this slow down issue going to get progressively worse if I don't reformat the disk? Should I do what the message says? If so, how? I've never reformatted before...it sounds a little scary.
I back up about once a week (just did so this morning) so I should be good to go there. I have AppleCare. Is this something I should bring the computer in for or can I fix this issue on my own?
Thanks in advance for any help.

Do as instructed. Get your self a backup drive if you don't have one. Backup your files. Then erase your OS X volume and reinstall Mountain Lion.
Install or Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Erase the hard drive:
1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the
      left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on
        the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass. Click on
      the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
            because it is three times faster than wireless.

Disk utility stopped verifying; need repair... over and over and over

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