Failed "Surface Scan"

Hello Everyone.
I recently ran TechTool Deluxe - The program that came bundled w/ Apple Care, and it generated this report:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1347667/TechTool%20Deluxe%20Report.html
Everything passed except that in the surface scan section, it says:
Surface Scan
Failed - 1 errors
The Surface Scan test will scan the disk for bad blocks.
Media defects cause this test to fail. You should consider backing up the device, reformatting the media, replacing the data, and then testing again.
Should I be concerned about this? Unfortunately, I can not get the drive replaced for free by apple care because I bought this drive a while ago not from Apple (it seems to work very well). Does anyone have any opinions about this matter.
Thanks!

Normally, yes, but TT has a tendency to produce that erroneous error. Use Disk Utility which is in your Utilities folder to repair the drive and/or permissions. Stay away from TT Deluxe. If you need something heftier then purchase Disk Warrior.

Similar Messages

Tech Tool Deluxe 'Surface Scan Failed-'

Surface scan repeatedly failing, no recent change to iBook settings, I suspect that this problem may have been caused by m-audio software, however I believe it has been properly uninstalled. Advice?
Error message reads;
'Surface Scan Failed - 212 errors
The Surface Scan test will scan the disk for bad blocks.
Media defects cause this test to fail. You should consider backing up the device, reformatting the media, replacing the data, and then testing again.'
I am unsure as what this report is prompting me to do. What does the term 'media' mean in this context? Which data should I be trying to replace?
Please forward any tips on how to resolve this issue.
<Post Relocated by Moderator>

When I use the disk utility application the volume passes verification, is this contrary to Tech Tools or are they analyzing different elements of the drive?
Yes, different, DU is just basically checking part of the drive, where Directory info is stored & such.
Laptop drives are generally a lot shorter lived than regular drives, which now seem to last 3 to 5 tears.
Although these errors are present it doesn't seem to be effecting my day to day running of things at the moment...
There's a Train Wreck coming up ahead though, you can avoid it, or wait 'till it hits!
Not certain which iBook G4 you have, but here's some ideas on HD replacements...
http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgrades.cfm?sort=pop&model=198&type=DataStorage&TI=5904&shoupgrds=ShowUpgrades

Surface Scan Fail (TechTool Deluxe)

I thought my problem was fixed, but apparently not... my PowerBook works when I first boot it up, but as I use it for a while (or close it and re-open it), things start freezing. Sometimes it can't find my AirPort connection, either.
Anyway, I ran the TechTool Deluxe that came with AppleCare, and it said the Surface Scan Failed:
"Media defects cause this test to fail. You should consider backing up the device, reformatting the media, replacing the data, and then testing again."
Joeuu helped me over in another thread, and I've already archived and installed from the discs, but now that I've backed up all my important files, should I consider erasing and installing? Is that what that message means? Or should I try something else?
Thanks in advance!

Good that you have AppleCare still.
Do you by any chance have .Mac and auto synch? Or any networking going on?
1. Call and get a case number.
2. Be patient as they will probably ask you to do things you have already done. Take copious notes as to what we have done and what they ask you to do.
3. Don't be afraid to ask for a higher level of tech if you get frustrated.
4. Decide how long you can be without your Book. The fact that it is portable, they will send you a box to use to ship to them.
Will not hurt to do an erase and install, I'm still wondering why logging in as a new user helped greatly, albeit only for a while--leaned to the software side.
Hang Tough!
Joe

Persistent surface scan error on techtool- please help

My Powerbook started running slower than usual, so I decided to run the Techtool Deluxe cd I got with my Apple Care plan. I ran all the tests. My result: 5 errors in the Surface Scan test.
I didn't know what to do, so I took my Powerbook to the Apple store Genius Bar. The guy just said I needed to reformat my HD. So, I did the "erase and install" reformat at the store.
But, the genius bar guy didn't seem to know what he was talking about, so after I did all the software updates at home, I decided to run the Techtool Deluxe cd again. Again, the results showed I had 5 errors in the Surface Scan test, even after I had completely reformatted my hard drive.
I had the 3.0.4 version of Techtool, and just to be safe that it wasn't out of date, I installed it on my computer and updated it to version 3.1.2.
With the updated 3.1.2 Techtool Deluxe program, I ran all the tests again.
And STILL I have 5 errors on my Surface Scan test.
Here is a copy of my results (every thing else passed).
Surface Scan
Failed - 5 errors
The Surface Scan test will scan the disk for bad blocks.
Media defects cause this test to fail. You should consider backing up the device, reformatting the media, replacing the data, and then testing again.
Please help! What am I supposed to do???? (I don't think reformatting my HD will help, because I already did, and still have this problem)
Thank you!

Welcome to the Apple discussions.
When you reformatted the hard drive, did you do an erase and write zero's? That's important because that's what remaps the bad sectors of the hard drive. After booting from the OS X CD, choose disk utility, choose the hard drive, and on the erase tab, choose security options and write zero's. If you don't do this step, a plain erase or erase and install only deletes the index or catalog of the disk contents.

Volume structure, surface scan

I have a new imac, it's been with me for about 2 months total. I noticed some silly little things happening occasionally....so I used tech tools and did a scan. The volume structure failed....and the surface scan has 2 errors.
What's the significance of this? What should I do?

Probably nothing. If you used TT Deluxe I would not rely on it's results. The standard repair tool is Disk Utility which is in your Utilities folder. If you need to repair your drive do this:
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 and Leopard.) 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 click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

What does a "full surface scan" of a hard drive?

I've been advised to do a "hard format and full surface scan" of new internal hard drives I'm adding to my new mac pro to hopefully avoid encountering any problems down the line. (mostly HDV video editing purposes) If there are any problems I would just exchange the drives now rather than wait for the problem to pop up unexpectedly. I'm not sure if disk utility does a true surface scan. So, is there any included apple application that does a true "full surface scan"? If not, what other inexpensive software would do it? I've heard of disk warrior and similar software but they are $100 which I'd like to avoid spending on a preemptive surface scan. Thanks.

You can look for free utility. But you won't find a better disk catalogue maintenance program.
You could buy TechTool Pro that does a good media surface scan but then fails or doesn't actually do anything to map a sector out.
Windows wlll let you use the vendor's own tool and does an excellent job.
SMART Utility sounds like it does a good job.
Intech Speedtools has a suite of tools but I found it to not do a good job when I did notice the side effects and behavior of weak and bad blocks. ZoneBench/QuickBench set is only $29 and you can do a lot with those, helps to create multiple partitions to force write test to every block.
Bottom line i see: no free lunches.
I use to believe that a zero all would attempt but the errors have to be really bad to pick them up. And a 7-way write erase takes 7X longer and really strains things. So I stict to WD Diagnostic Utility running in Windows, and I swear by the results and job it does. Excellect.
In theory, enterprise drives with 1.4 million MTBF hours have longer burn-in and therefore should be safer.
You could torture a drive for a few days and load it with files and then erase with zero and/or 7-way.

Techtool deluxe found 7 errors during surface scan... what do i do???

please help

The steps mentioned by TTD aren't very thorough, especially for a rookie. I only have 1 error and the suggestion by TTD is:
Surface Scan
Failed - 1 errors
The Surface Scan test will scan the disk for bad blocks.
Media defects cause this test to fail. You should consider backing up the device, reformatting the media, replacing the data, and then testing again.
Can you please walk me through these steps? I have my computer backed up using Time Machine and I still have the box that I bought to upgrade my operating system to Snowleopard.

Failed while scanning for CD/DVD drives, error 2355

Failed while scanning for CD / DVD drives, error 2355.
Virtual drives can sometimes interfere with reading and writing CDs in iTunes. If this is a virtual drive and you are having problems with other drives, try uninstalling the virtual CD application.
D: Unsupported CD or DVD drive.
Virtual drives can sometimes interfere with reading and writing CDs in iTunes. If this is a virtual drive and you are having problems with other drives, try uninstalling the virtual CD application.
As far as I know I do NOT have a virtual drive on this pc.
Any help???

Failed while scanning for CD / DVD drives, error 2355.
Virtual drives can sometimes interfere with reading and writing CDs in iTunes. If this is a virtual drive and you are having problems with other drives, try uninstalling the virtual CD application.
D: Unsupported CD or DVD drive.
Virtual drives can sometimes interfere with reading and writing CDs in iTunes. If this is a virtual drive and you are having problems with other drives, try uninstalling the virtual CD application.
As far as I know I do NOT have a virtual drive on this pc.
Any help???

Change detector failed while scanning for changes to type User

I'm receiving lots of system log warnings in IdM.
These warnings are not bound to any particular action in IdM, they just do appear while IdM is on.
Almost one warning per one second.
Change detector failed while scanning for changes to type Server
Change detector failed while scanning for changes to type UserForm
Change detector failed while scanning for changes to type User
Change detector failed while scanning for changes to type Resource
SysLog detail:
Timestamp 123
Event
Server server11
Severity Warning
Component Repository
Error Code OCDT00
Message Change detector failed while scanning for changes to type User
Reported cause java.lang.NullPointerException
java.lang.NullPointerException
at com.waveset.repository.ObjectChange.equals(ObjectChange.java:112)
at java.util.HashMap.eq(HashMap.java:299)
at java.util.HashMap.containsKey(HashMap.java:381)
at java.util.HashSet.contains(HashSet.java:182)
at com.waveset.repository.ObjectChangeManager$RemoteChangeDetector.dispatchChanges(ObjectChangeManager.java:398)
at com.waveset.repository.ObjectChangeManager$RemoteChangeDetector.run(ObjectChangeManager.java:314)
at java.util.TimerThread.mainLoop(Timer.java:512)
at java.util.TimerThread.run(Timer.java:462)

same here, just deployed 8.1 with oracle as db. It results in syslog table growing into 10+G and still growing.
wonder if there are others who are seeing this.
my "syslog -d 1" output looks like this...
2009-12-02 04:52:55.972 null W xxx RP OCDT00 Change
detector failed while scanning for changes to type Account
2009-12-02 04:53:06.400 null W xxx RP OCDT00 Change
detector failed while scanning for changes to type Server
2009-12-02 04:53:06.578 null W xxx RP OCDT00 Change
detector failed while scanning for changes to type User
2009-12-02 04:53:06.914 null W xxx RP OCDT00 Change
detector failed while scanning for changes to type Account
2009-12-02 04:53:17.479 null W xxx RP OCDT00 Change
detector failed while scanning for changes to type Server
C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache Tomcat 6.0.18\webapps\ims\bin
lh syslog -d 1

My PC fails security scan when downloading Adobe reader

My PC fails security scan when installing Adobe Reader

I have Windows 7. When I try to download anything like a PDF, Adobe reader or any external file, the process includes a security scan. It could be before the download or after it is complete, but at a point before download or before it can be opened, the the message says that it failed or failed the security scan.
I tried to troubleshoot Windows 7 and get as error message: 0x800B010E. It could it be related to the software download problem where I get message other than security failure or it won't load.
I have Windows 7 Enterprise, Version 6.1( Build 7601: Service Pack 1)
Ted McCarthy

Surface scan on TechTool Deluxe.

Hi
Surface scan on TechTool Deluxe has said that there were 48 errors, why is this? Is this due to the Internet or is it internal or is it just something that happens? Need answers please.
Regards

TJ94 wrote:
Surface scan on TechTool Deluxe has said that there were 48 errors, why is this? Is this due to the Internet or is it internal or is it just something that happens?
A surface scan identifies bad sectors on the drive where data won't be reliably read or written too.
Normally as one writes data to the drive if it can't write to it then the driver software maps off that bad sector and uses another.
However at the factory, data is likely injected directly onto the drive, right over the bad sectors and everything which might result in unstable OS X behavior.
If your computer is running fine, then no need however if OS X is unstable, then perhaps some part of OS X itself is written on a bad sector.
There is a simply method to pre-mapping off bad sectors on new hard drives, and that's Disk Utility Erase Security option Zero and format the drive HFS+ journaled. (warning all data will be lost)
You can also do this in a perfectly fine working OS X by using Disk Utilities "Erase Free Space" option and choosing Zero (don't format)
To do it to a whole OS X drive, you need to clone all the data off first using Carbon Copy Cloner, to a external drive, then hold option and boot from the clone, then use Disk Utility > Zero method.
What Zeroing does is writes 0's to every bit on the drive or free space, depending which option you choose.
The driver software for the hard drive will then map off any bad sectors automatically. So with Zeroing your forcing the machine to do it in advance.
As you notice the Surface Scan for TechTool Deluxe was not enabled in the software by default, it's because there are always errors from bad sectors, but the hard drive driver software automatically takes care of them.

Unable to burn cds. Have run diognostics. i tunes not running in safe mode. invalid lower filters registry value. Failed while scanning for CD/DVD drives, error 2500. Please help.

Unable to burn CDs using i tunes. Have run diognostics.    Summary:-   i tunes not running in safe mode.
                                                                                                                                    Invalid lower filters registry value.
                                                                                                                                    Failed while scanning for CD/DVD drives, error 2500
Please help.

That's why you want to make a backup of the registry. If you didn't make a backup, use MS system restore to go back. The only values you should remove are UpperFilter or LowerFilter - one or both may be in there and can be removed. If neither value exists, then that is probably why you can't burn and Windows is not recognizing your drive as a writable drive.
... an HP employee expressing his own opinion.
Please post rather than send me a Message. It's good for the community and I might not be able to get back quickly. - Thank you.

CD / DVD surface scan utility / drive speed?

www.cdspeed2000.com
I'm an audio engineer.
About a year ago a friend of mine persuaded me to try out a Mac, which I've used in tandem with my PC since I got it. I do prefer OS X, but the apparent lack of a CD / DVD surface scan & drive speed app could ultimately be a deal breaker. It is the only thing I've found that my Mac simply cannot do native in OS X (perform a CD surface & sector scan). It's a shame because I really wanted to make the switch. Does anyone know an app that performs similarly to Opti Drive Speed (www.cdspeed2000.com)?

Really, this is the Logic Pro 8 forum? gasp
I figured people working with Logic Pro 8 would have a better chance of knowing about a surface scan app than in another forum.
If I could find a surface scan app with google or versiontracker, would I be asking here?
If it is such an easy utility to duplicate, then why isn't there one for OS X?

DVD Surface Scan Software

This is the second year I've used DVDSP4 to author DVD's of my wife's studio dance recital. I got the final DVD's back yesterday and started checking them in one of our DVD players at home. Two of the seven I tried were ususable. They would start playing but pause and display a disc read error message. I called the duplication shop and they said if I bring in the discs I think are bad, they can check them and will replace them if they indeed are bad.
Is there software I can download to do a surface scan on these discs? I did a google search but all I can find is software for PC's such as Nero CD-DVD speed. Thanks in advance.

Before you go worrying about the surface of the media, think about how you built the disc...
What was the bitrate for the video?
What format of audio did you use?
How full were the discs?
Now, if your bitrate was below 7.4Mbps, and the audio was all AC3 at 192kbps, then I'd start looking at the media, but only after checking the bitrate with a tool like Mpressionist (www.digigami.com). If you encoded with Compressor there is a chance that you got a bitrate spike in the encode which will make the disc unplayable.
Finally, the duplication house will have simply copied your DVD-R, bit for bit. I would look there first to make doubly sure your disc is good.
Then I'd be thinking about the media after that! If you are sure all of your work is well within the boundaries, and that your master was fine, then ask the duplicator to use one of your own branded discs to create a copy. If that works, then it is almost certainly the media they have used!
Or, you could just ask them to replace the discs...

Surface scan errors

My iMac G5 began freezing up, sometimes making ticking noises, loud fan noises. After talking to Tech Support and repairing permissions and repairing disk, I am running the Tech Tool Deluxe CD. On the surface scan test, there are 72 errors and it's only about 1/10 finished. What does this mean?

Which version of TechTools Deluxe are you using, Wilma?
It is very common for the version included with AppleCare packages to be TOO OLD for the version of the OS installed on your computer. Sadly, sometimes the people on the phones don't seem to check before asking you to try it.
see http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61794 for information about updating to the current version. You should be able to obtain it from https://support.apple.com/techtooldeluxe/main?id=dl
Using an "older" version of TTD can cause serious problems.
It MAY be that the indicated problems are real, and that your HD has serious problems. It may also, however, simply be a false error reading, in which case attempting to use TTD to resolve the situation may cause far more serious problems than it can cure.
Personally I WISH that Apple only provided this software as a download, rather than on the Applecare CD's, so that people could be assured of using the latest version, appropriate for their computer.
Rod

Failed "Surface Scan"

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