Disk Verification Problem...?

Question

Hello Folks,
I'm hoping this is the correct section to post this......
I've been posting over on the iDVD section of this site where 'Glo H' was trying to help me solve a problem I'm having. We seem to have run our course there and he suggested I post here as we've moved out of his sphere of expertise.
Just some background to the problem:
Up until a couple of weeks ago I was happily burning .avi movie files to DVD using iDVD.
One day the audio on a resulting DVD lost the audio at around eight minutes into the movie. I checked the original .avi - it was fine. I tried burning other .avi files which I'm made DVDs from previously ( and they worked fine ) and also tried changing the brand of disk several times, playing them on different computers, DVD players etc. The audio stopped working on all of them at around 8 to 10 minutes into the movie.
I was advised by 'Glo H' to make a disk image of an .avi and check this. I did so and the audio cuts out at the same point. He then suggested I erase my iDVD preference file, then re-open iDVD to create a new one. This I did.
The next suggestion was to open disk utility and run 'Verify Disk Permissions'. When I did so I got this message after a short time:
"First Aid Failed. Disk Utility stopped Verfying Macintosh HD - following error encountered - Filesystem repair or verify failed".
I went ahead and ran the 'Repair Disk Transmissions' and got a 'Permissions Repair Complete' message back.
I'm just unsure of where this leaves me with my hard disk and the problem with which running 'Verify' seems to be showing.
I haven't tried burning a DVD with iDVD yet and will wait until the above problem is ( hopefully) solved..
Any help will be most gratefully received.
Many thanks,
Michael.

Answer 1

Michael,
Unfortunately, you have had a disk error. You should first attempt to repair your file system:
1) Boot to your Leopard install disk (or the "Software Restore" disk #1 that came with your Macbook). Insert the disk, then start or restart and hold the "C" key. When the installer loads, select a language, then open Disk Utility from the "Utilities" menu.
2) Select your internal drive in the list at the left side of the Disk Utility window. In the "First Aid" pane, click the "Repair Disk" button (not the "Repair Disk Permissions" button). Let us know what errors are reported and/or what repairs are made.
3) Quit Disk Utility to return to the installer, and quit the installer to restart normally.
Disk Utility may or may not be able to effectively repair your disk directory. Even if repairs are made successfully, this will fix your file system but it will not repair files that may have been damaged by the disk error. In the end, you'll need to backup all of your data, then format (erase) your internal drive and reinstall OS X.
If you have a Time Machine backup, you can restore your entire installation of OS X, but you must use a backup that was made prior to the occurrence of the disk error (prior to the start of your current problems). A better solution might be to reinstall OS X normally, from the DVD, then restore just your user data from the backup. If you do this, the easiest option would probably be to use the Migration Assistant to restore your user data from the Time Machine backup.
Scott