Error -9972 in Disk Utility

Question

I have a 250 GB external firewire hard drive. I was trying to copy a relatively large folder (4 or 5 GB) from my main drive to the external one when things began to freeze. First just finder, but then the whole computer. I let it sit for a while and then restarted the computer. The firewire drive didn't show up upon restarting, so I tried to repair it in disk utility, but I get the following message:
Repairing disk for “EZQ 250GB”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Volume check failed.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit (-9972)
Repair attempted on 1 volume
0 HFS volumes repaired
1 volume could not be repaired
Am I screwed? My iTunes library was stored on the drive along with some other files that aren't terribly vital. I have a fairly recent backup copy of most of the data on the drive on DVD, so I wouldn't lose too many files, but I'd like to avoid formatting the drive if at all possible.
Any advice on what to do would be greatly appriciated.
Thanks!
G4 iBook   Mac OS X (10.3.9)  

Answer 1

This is a nasty error. I suggest that if you can access the drive in any way you should try to move your files to another medium. You may not be able to recover the drive without reformatting. Following is a lengthy discussion of the problem with possible solutions written by another Mac user:
How to Deal with a -9972 Error
Contributed by Fumiaki Kawashima
The error message, "Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit (-9972)" is a serious filesystem error in the Mac OS X Core Foundation. The problem can also lead to other critical errors such as "Keys Out of Order," "Invalid node structure" and/or "Invalid sibling link." The causes and scenarios vary. Troubleshooting a solution may depend upon computer configuration and whether the -9972 error is accompanied by other critical errors. This issue can also lead up to a kernel panic. If the error occurs when an external FireWire device is connected, disconnect it until you verify the device's compatibility.
Symptoms:
In most cases, you are unable to restart from Mac OS X.
* A volume is grayed out or not mounted with or without a kernel panic.
* A folder with a flashing question mark may appear.
* A bad partition map may be reported.
* A target disk mode solution may not work.
* Most likely, Disk Utility, Norton Utilities, TechTool and DiskWarrior cannot fix the issues.
* The high level disk format (Standard format) may unable to perform.
* You may unable to re-initialize the hard drive.
* A disk physically malfunctions in the worst case.
Example of an accompanied error message:
DiskWarrior normally fixes 1 to 6, but cannot fix errors 7 to 10 if the symptoms are very bad. There is no definite case.
01. Volume check failed
02. Invalid B-tree Header
03. Invalid map node
04. Invalid extents entry
05. Invalid clump size
06. Incorrect block count file
07. Invalid node structure
08. Overlapped extent allocation
09. Keys Out of Order
10. Invalid sibling link
Related documents:
What to Do When It Finds an Error
Technical overview of disk volume structures
Possible causes:
* Third-party FireWire device or enclosure, or other peripheral devices.
* Third-party mass storage drives or PCI card issues.
* Incompatible third-party kernel extensions.
* Mac OS X installer disc is improperly treated.
Solutions:
If possible and needed, back up data before troubleshooting. Methods (4) and (5) are for Power Mac desktop computers other than G5 models. The best bet is method (4) if you encounter multiple bad errors.
1. Unplug the power cord. Disconnect all third-party hardware except Apple keyboard and mouse before you start.
2. Do NOT re-install any third-party software/hardware until you completely solve the issue(s) and carefully investigate the compatibility with Mac OS X 10.3.x you install.
3. If another critical error "Invalid sibling link" is detected at any phases, disconnect and reconnect all internal power cords and data cables for hard drives and any ATAPI device. To do so, you may need to read the computer's CIP Instructions in advance. Normally, you do not need to remove third-party RAMs.
Method 1:
(1) Start up from Mac OS X 10.3.x Panther Full Install CD or DVD.
(2) Re-initialize and re-partition the hard drive. RECOMMENDATION: Select "Zero all data" option if "Invalid node structure" or "Keys Out of Order" error is detected.
If this method is of avail, go to Method 2 or greater.
Method 2:
(1) Start up in Mac OS 9.2.2 and shut down the computer.
(2) Start up from a copy of a Disk Warrior bootable CD for Mac OS 9.2.2.
(3) Run DW to fix the damage(s).
Method 3:
(1) Unplug the computer.
(2) Find a second ATA drive and jumper it as MASTER. Jumper the hard drive in question as SLAVE. Verify the jumper pin settings.
(3) Install Mac OS 9.2.x system on the MASTER drive, and update it to Mac OS 9.2.2.
(4) Start up from Mac OS 9.2.2. Re-initialize and re-partition the damaged hard drive with Drive Setup using the "Zero all data" option. Unplug the computer and reconfigure the jumper pin setting on the repaired drive for MASTER and the second drive for SLAVE.
(5) Restart from Mac OS X 10.3 Panther full install CD. Re-initialize and re-partition the repaired drive to install Mac OS X 10.3. Update to Mac OS X 10.3.7 via Software Update. Repair the disk permissions after each Mac OS X 10.3 installation and Mac OS X 10.3.7 update.
You may want to try starting up from Mac OS 9.2.x Full Install CD instead of from (2) to (4).
Method 4:
(1) Find a desktop computer that has an ATA controller PCI card (SCSI environment) and has two hard drive bays. This will make your damaged drive appear as a quasi-SCSI hard drive. Mac OS 9.2.2 must be pre-installed on the computer. I recommend a host computer that installs an Ultra DMA/xxx or xxx (ATA-x) interface equal to or better than the damaged drive with backwards compatible.
(2) Set the host computer's primary drive as MASTER and your damaged hard drive as SLAVE and install the damaged drive in the second drive bay of the host computer. Verify properly configured jumper pin settings in advance.
(3) Start up the host computer from Mac OS 9.2.2. Launch the "Drive Setup" utility. Re-initialize the damaged disk on the second drive using the "Low level format" option. It may take hours but less than "Zero all data" option. Note: Normally, a low level format with a quasi-SCSI drive takes much less (30 - 40%) time than an ATA configuration drive. Note that "Low level format" fixes all difficult logical damage.
(4) Put the fixed disk back in your computer's drive bay. Re-configure the jumper pin setting to MASTER before you place it into the drive bay of your computer.
(5) Restart from Mac OS X 10.3 Panther full install CD. Re-initialize and re-partition it to install Mac OS X 10.3. Update to Mac OS X 10.3.7 via Software Update. Repair the disk permissions after each Mac OS X 10.3 installation and Mac OS X 10.3.7 update.
Note that Panther's Disk Utility does not implement a "Low level format" option.
Method 5:
If Method 4 does not work or fix the damaged drive, let me know. You may need an advanced technique to fix it if the drive is physically not a problem.
OPTION:
Purchase a known good hard drive that conforms to your computer's ATA specification. Fix the damaged hard drive some other time. Nowadays, prices of hard drives are inexpensive.
Mac Pro 2.66 Ghz; MacBook Pro C2D 2.33 Ghz; MacBook Pro 2.16 Ghz   Mac OS X (10.4.8)   Intel iMac C2D 17 "; iBook G3 800 Mhz; 30 GB iPod Video (Black); iPod Nano 2 GB