HD crash. Disk utility says invalid node structure, invalid record count. Disk utility cannot repair. Now what?

My hard drive crashed. The disk utility says it can not repair. I tried to boot in safe mode but I stopped after 10 minutes. Is that impatient or how long can it take?
I have the installation disk but doesn't that erase everything?

I have never bought a new computer from Apple so I don't know the details of what is covered by the warranty. You can try taking it to the Apple Store and they may have a copy of DW they can run. Or maybe not and they will just wipe the drive and reinstall the OS for you and if you haven't made a backup before they do that then tough luck. I'd check first!
If you buy Diskwarrior on DVD it will boot the computer. I think Apple Stores carry it, but you can also buy it directly from the vendor. I also don't use Lion OS so I don't know the details. You may be able to get their download version and boot from your recovery partition, then run it without a DVD.

Similar Messages

'Invalid node structure', 'Invalid B-tree node size', Disk Warrior useless

Hi everyone, I am getting sick of this, it's the second time it's happened to me in a relatively short space of time, the first time with an Iomega external 500GB drive, this time with a 1.5TB Western Digital.
I gave the Western Digital drive two partitions, (as I did for the previous Iomega drive), one for doing backups of my MacBooks internal drive, the other for random media, mostly VIDEO_TS folders.
After going away for a couple of weeks, I returned home, plugged in the Western Digital drive via USB, the Internal backup partition showed in Finder, the other did not. Obviously I ran Disk Utility which was only able to show an error report with the usual 'Invalid node structure etc' message.
I tried running Disk Warrior 4.2 (supposedly the version which works with Snow Leopard) from the DVD, (holding down the C key after restart), and..... nothing, just the grey screen and spinning wheel showing, so I gave up on that and installed DW to the Utilities folder. Now it starts up, the corrupt drive showed up, I hit the Rebuild button in DW, things seemed to be happening, but then the Beach Ball appeared and there was a (very) long hang before I decided to Force Quit.
I am assuming that if DW can not fix the drive, it is done for, and may as well be used as a door stop.
I am prepared to buy yet another drive, but can someone please give me an idea about why this has happened to me twice now, and what I can do to prevent it from happening again?

Just erase the partition. Nothing yet suggests the drive is bad. When you got the drive did you prep it correctly? Usually bare drives are pre-formatted for Windows. You might consider doing this:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to two and size them as you prefer. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Repeat Steps 4-6 for the other partition. Alternatively, you can start with a single volume. After the zero data erase you can then re-partition the drive.

How can you repair "invalid node structure and invalid b-tree node size"

I have a MacBook Pro 17" and the original install disk is Mac OS 10.4. I have an update 10.6 install CD, but I cannot use it to boot up my computer. My computer had been running on 10.6 when the problem occurred.
It seems my harddrive has crashed. It only boots to apple logo and spins. I have reset the pram. Started up in safe mode with shift pressed down and started up on the start up disk, where I did repair disk and got this "invalid node structure invalid b-tree node size". Then it said repair failed to complete. I tried booting again but it still failed. I thought doing a restore might solve the problem. I have a month old backup with time machine which is on a lacie external drive, but when I try to restore using my original 10.4 install disk, I can only choose the lacie hardrive icon (by dragging) and cannot choose the folder in the backups with the latest backup. When I tried to restore, it says my source is not a valid option. Is this because it is a 10.4 startup disk.
Basically I have two questions: Is there a way to fix my problem without doing a restore and if I have to restore, how do I restore my time machine backup? Will I need to do a reinstall with 10.4 and then update to 10.6?
I really hope to find a way to have my computer back to how it was when it started spinning and if not, at least as it was when I did the latest backup 3 weeks ago.
Please help me!!!
Rebecca

You should be able to boot to the Snow Leopard upgrade disc — you had to do so to install the upgrade in the first place. If you can't boot to it now, either the disc is scratched or dirty or your drive's lens is dirty; for the latter problem, a drive cleaning disc is an inexpensive, frequently-used and often successful remedy, available at any store that sells DVDs.
Because you're running Snow Leopard now, you should repair your hard drive directory using the Snow Leopard version of Disk Utility, not the one on your Tiger installer disc. If you aren't able to do so even after trying to clean your drive, you could buy and use DiskWarrior to rebuiild the damaged HD directory. But DW costs nearly $100, and though it would probably do the trick, that's a bunch of money. You'll have to weigh its cost against the value of the new or changed data on your drive that hasn't been backed up in the last three weeks. If you can get along without that data, then erasing your hard drive and restoring from your last backup is the no-cost, immediate (as opposed to waiting for a DW startup disk to arrive in the mail) solution.

Hard Drive Invalid node structure - Disk Utility Repair Failed -

Disk Utility returns
Invalid node structure
(4, 27237)
Repair Failed Unable to unmount Drive
I can still boot from the drive. So should I start looking for a new hard drive? or is the problem not that serious.
Thanks

SuperDuper is safe and reliable backup program to clone a drive.
For 500GB I would go with a pair of WD RE2.
Makes an excellent boot RAID.
Seagate in a RAID but not for boot drive.
10.4.6 DVD? that is the latest version. 10.4.0, not so good.
Always have two backups. AND have one partition on another drive just for emergency.
Once you have a good solid system, back it up. Put it somewhere safe.
A lot of problems tend to get created and grow from cache files and folders. Fonts, system, extension cache, web browsers, even temp files left over from printing.
Put all your updaters somewhere safe on another disk.
Burn them to DVD.
Don't use Software Update.
Use standalone updates and keep them handy, then apply when you need to. Many or most can be run in succession without restarting.
Can you install OS X to the other 250GB drive? well, maybe not until you are sure it is safe, backed up etc.
From the DVD, Disk Utility, the Restore tab lets you select the source drive and destination drive and will copy everything over.
Finder: Get Info on target destination, look to be sure "Ignore Ownership" if NOT selected (won't be bootable and permissions will be wrong).
Would be nice to have a 32GB emergency boot partition (large enough for burning DVDs as well as system).
If you had a FW drive you could download and buy Disk Warrior.

Hard disk w/ invalid node structure - Disk Util Repair fails

I have a 15" MacBook Pro that started having problems when software installs were run on it. It came back with out of disk space on volume ("null"). I ran Disk Util after booting off my OS X install disk. I get the following:
Verify and Repair disk "Macintosh HD"
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid node structure
Volume check failed.
Error: The underlying task reported a failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error
I did a repair disk permissions before executing the Repair Disk so that is all set.
Any guidance here would be helpful. I would rather not reformat the disk and start over if I can help it.

Hi, William.
See the "Disk Utility cannot repair the disk" section of my "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

Invalid node structure error when verifying hard disk, please help

My 27" Mid 2011 iMac is having hard disk issues. I attempted to repair the disk but received an error that said the disk cannot be repaired and needs to be re-formatted. I have all my files backed up to an external hard drive so I erased and formatted the disk. After reformatting, I ran the verify disk function and got the message saying the HD appears to working properly. I reload OSX Lion and within a day, my computer freezes up and acts as if something is wrong. When I run the verify disk, I get the Invalid Node Structure error multiple times and then the message saying the disk cannot be repaired and I need to reformat the drive. I have completed this process several times and have had no luck. I have looked at a few forums with people who have had somewhat similar problems but am still unsure. I have seen people recommend programs like Disk Warrior to repair issues the hard disk utility cannot but I don't want to spend $100 dollars on this program if my hard disk is damaged and needs to be replaced. Any suggestions? Thank you

Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.
Back up all data on the internal drive(s) before you hand over your computer to anyone. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional — ask if you need guidance.

MBP 15" - Hard drive crash - invalid node structure

Hello,
I migrated from a life of pc to mac a month ago and was very pleased with how things worked out. Until two hours ago when the computer freezed (it was showing the rotating ball but no response to any commands). I thought I could force quit some app but it was not responding at all so I waited for 15 minutes before I shut it down via the power button. When I powered it back on there was a catalogue with a question mark blinking on the screen. It seems it cannot find any startup disk.
On the apple support forums it says I might be able to repair the disk via the install CD (Disk utility). I tried it but it says
Verifying volume "Macintosh HD"
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
*Invalid node structure*
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.
(something like that. It all takes about 10 sec)
and stops.
On some other forum I found out that fsck -fs could work but nothing really happened there either.
Is there any solution to this?

it seems it's running the fsck command on the DVD drive, which is free of errors. yey for that at least!
"df" gives me
Filesystem 512-blocks Used Available Capacity Mounted on
root_device 15173432 15169920 0 100% /
devfs 208 208 0 100% /dev
fdesc 2 2 0 100% /dev
mount -uw tells me
root_device on / (hfs, local, read-only )
devfs on /dev (devfs, local)
fdesc on /dev (fdesc, union)
that read only cannot be good!
alright so back in disk utility I find that my disk is called disk0s2
running fsck -yf /dev/disk0s2 gives me
BAD SUPER BLOCK: MAGIC NUMBER WRONG
LOOK FOR ALTERNATE SUPERBLOCKS? yes
SEARCH FOR ALTERNATE SUPERBLOCK FAILE: YOU MUST USE THE -b OPTION TO FSCK TO SPECIFY THE LOCATION OF AN ALTERNATE SUPER-BLOCK TO SUPPLY NEEDED INFORMATION; SEE fsck(8).
so I run
fsck -yf -b 32 /dev/disk0s2 since it's in the manual but get
BAD SUPER BLOCK: MAGIC NUMBER WRONG
Am I on the right track here?

Startup partition dies in the middle of booting, Invalid node structure?

Hi! In the last few weeks, possibly since I last upgraded Lion and Safari, my iMac has been performing very badly. It's been sluggish, Safari and Finder repeatedly freezing and crashing/rebooting. Last night it escalated, and I launched Disk Utility to repair permissions. Ten hours later and no problems found. Not ten minutes later, the FInder crashes badly and I have to force a shutdown. When restarting, I get the grey progress bar, but it only reaches about 10%, then the hard drive whirrs and clicks a few times, and the computer shuts off. This happens every time I try to restart.
So instead, I boot into the recovery partition, and launch Disk Utility from there. Repair disk says the boot partition has an invalid node structure and I have to backup and reinstall. Now, I do have a Time Machine backup (a few days old since I don't have my Drobo on all the time due to the noise it makes), but since it's 800 GB of data I'm a bit reluctant to commit to that, hoping there is a simpler/faster solution. I'll see if I can try Disk Warrior. Or do you think I'd be better off to just nuke the entire drive and start from scratch?
The strange thing is that I have a Bootcamp partition with Windows 7, which works fine and actually can browse the files on the Lion partition. What does that mean? Can I use that to my advantage? If I do restore from Time Machine, will that affect my Bootcamp partition?

Disk Warrior confirmed that there were problems, but couldn't repair the node structure, possibly because of bad blocks. Support at the local Mac store (we don't have Apple stores here) said I should just try reinstalling the system, so that's what I did. It didn't work the first time, but then I reformatted the partition and since then everything has worked allright. I have now restored everything from the TM backup (which took about a day). I'm now guessing that the whirring was not actually some mechanical problem with the drive, but on the other hand DW wasn't too happy about the drive, so maybe I still have to replace it? I'm using it now and it seems better than before, but I won't do any serious work on this computer until I have a new TM backup in place.
(On that note, is it possible to "link" the restored system to the old TM backup that it was restored from? Or do I have to start over with a completely new TM backup, losing all the versioning of the old backup?)
UPDATE: Just ran Disk Utility, which now reported an erroneous block count in a file. Crossing my fingers hoping it's nothing critical adn that DU can repair it ...

Failed Time Machine backup... Invalid node structure

My Time Machine gave me a Backup Failed notice this morning. I noticed that my dedicated 1TB disk for backups is not mounting in the finder. I went into Disk Utility and it shows as greyed out. When I click on it and verify, it says I need to repair. So I click repair. I get the message below...
Verifying volume “MacPro Backup”
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Invalid node structure
The volume MacPro Backup was found corrupt and needs to be repaired.
Error: This disk needs to be repaired. Click Repair Disk.
Verify and Repair volume “MacPro Backup”
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Invalid node structure
Rebuilding catalog B-tree.
Invalid key length
The volume MacPro Backup could not be repaired.
Volume repair complete.Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.Error: 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.
What should I do? Any way to salvage some of the backups? Or do I just reformat the drive and go from there?

See Pondini's TM FAQs, for starters.

Power Mac G4 - invalid node structure

I am hoping someone can help me. I have a Power Mac G4 - 933....we had a power outage and the Mac would not turn on...the power light lit up when pressed but the computer wouldn't boot...I reset the PRAM and all was good...except a file I had was corrupted and couldn't be opened....after that, a month later, another power outage. This time I had more trouble as resetting the PRAM didn';t work...I reset the logic board (taking out the battery for 30 minutes then replacing) and that didn't work either...I tried several combinations of the above to no avail...I finally took out the battery for over and hour, powered up the computer without the battery and it started...so the battery was corrupted. I replaced the battery (correct one of 3.6 volts) and the computer fired right up. I ran disk utilities to see if all was okay. Checking preferences was fine but when I tried to verify, Disk Utilities came up with the message that it could not complete verifying and that it found "Invalid node structure" and that it could not repair the disk. I then tried fsck to repair and to no avail...fsck gave me several messages depending on the repair options I tried including one that included that the problem was in "memory 4, 23412"....it said it could also not repair due to "os/10 i/o error" and the second run I took at it with a different method told me there was a problem with "DIMM 2/J23 memory"...Apple's website says that if I get an uprepairable message from disk utility that I should back-up, erase and do a clean install...but with these messages indicating the problem is in the memory, since the battery runs the memory, could it be in there instead? ...of important note, I do not have the original install disk...the operating system running it is Tiger 10.4.11...I don't have the orignal disk and I have an empty 10.5 Leopard disk box with no idea where the disk is...I have snow leopard, but that cannot be installed on the G4....after running the last fsck attempt, the computer shut down and is back to only having the power light lit when pressed but no computer booting...where should I start/what do I do? I am hoping you all have good suggestions for me because some of my files were bnot backed up (I know...don't judge) and I got them onto a flashdrive right before the computer went down again, but I have no idea if they took,...further, I love this old dinosaur...

Hi, only thing I've seen repair that is DiskWarrior, you'd need an older version...
http://supportdb.alsoft.com:591/FMPro?-db=alsoftsupport&-lay=main&-max=15&-forma t=AlsoftSupport-qa.html&-script=counter&-token=177&-Skip=96&-find
But it does sound like you have some bad RAM, but have you blown the dust out yet & tried reseating the RAM?

IMac (March 2009) - Invalid Node Structure problem

Hi All
I was using my iMac as normal yesterday, when suddenly the system ground to a halt (something I never seen since using OS X). As I had work to do, after about an hour, I restarted, expecting it to be an app misbehaving or something straight forward, but on restart the same thing happened almost straight away.
So, I restarted again, only for the iMac to get stuck on the blue screen which follows the grey 'cog' screen. After looking through these discussions, and some other Mac forums, I booted from the installer disk, tried to run Disk Utility, which found issues and couldn't repair the disk.
I then tried Safe-User mode and fsck, which reported the aforementioned Invalid Node Structure problem. After checking a few more forums, I thought I would try to Erase the disk and reinstall Mac OS. I restored from my Time Machine backup, and finally got it to start, but the system moved at a snail's pace, and wouldn't open any apps or files.
I've tried again with fsck, and also fsck_hfs -r /dev/disk0s2 but all I get is the same error message:
disk0s2: I/O error.
Invalid Node Structure
(4, 38403)
** Volume check failed.
/dev/rdisk0s2 (hfs) EXITED WITH SIGNAL 8
So, does anyone know if there is anything I can do to save the iMac? Or does it need a new HD? It is my primary work computer, so I really need to get it back, and after buying it in the UK, am now in France for 6 weeks, so it's difficult for me to take it to an Apple specialist.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance,
Daniel

As the last user stated, Disk Warrior maybe able to correct it, however if you search the net, you will see there are more than one user with this problem. I had the same problem, however, my machine is out of warranty, It started like you are saying, I RAN disk warrior which corrected the problem long enough to boot the system. In a matter of 10 minutes or so, the system started pausing (apps hung, but in a matter of seconds recovered). I was checking the disk with fsck_hfs and fsck while booted from a USB drive with a maintenance install of 10.5.6. After running fsck the 5th time with different options suggested from the internet, I rebooted with my disk warrior DVD only to find the drive NOT mounted, Drive utility see's it (even can attempt to run disk repair, but it locks up the system when trying this). Disk Warrior doesn't even see the disk to run a directory repair, although in the "check s.m.a.r.t status it sees it as a sata device, and SAYS ITS NORMAL).
Since my iMac was out of warranty, I followed the online instructions to replace the hard drive (not too difficult) and everything is fine now.
The old drive still wont mount, but another utility I bought (data rescue II) has been able to quick scan it and access all the data, even though it wont clear a fsck fsck_hfs or disk warrior, anyways, get it back while you can, IT IS THE hard drive itself, and lots of other iMac users online with the same issue (can you say WHY is my iMac SOOO HOT on the apple in the back (right where the drive is and not sufficient cooling in my opinion, but hey, some people might want to lay their computers face down and fry eggs on the it or something... ))
-SD

Dreaded "invalid node structure" dealie

The MB had been running slowly and a lot of applications (particularly web browser) were having a hard time shutting down. I was occasionally required to do a hard restart. That being the case, I ran DU and got the "Invalid node structure" alert, saying the drive could not be repaired. I took it to a "genius" at the local Apple store and he said that such an error is due to a software issue and, as such, not repairable under warranty. "You have to get Disk Warrior or Tech Tool. That should fix it."
Well, I shelled out $100 for DW4 (which I know I should have, anyway) and it didn't fix anything. It said the directory couldn't be replaced due to disk malfunction (or somesuch). So, I figured it must be a bad HD, potentially. I even arranged for a take-in repair.
Well, today I decided to run an fsck in single-user mode, just to see what I could see. It, too showd the invalid node structure, as well as B-tree. It also stalled at the end. I thought, "OK, now I really did it." After a hard reboot, I ran DU again to verify disk. This time, it came up with no errors found, disk does not rquire repair, disk verified, etc.
I guess the question after all that - think I'm in the clear? What could the problem have been?
macbook 1.8GHz - PB G3 (Lombard) 333mHz Mac OS X (10.4.9)
macbook 1.8G - PB G3 (Lombard) 333mHz Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Thanks for the response.
When I got home from work, I ran DW. Unlike prevous attempts, it was able to rebuild and replace the directory. Re-ran Disk Utility once again, to be sure, and it came up as all good. Also, both DW and DU gave an A-OK to S.M.A.R.T. status.
After rebuilding the directory, everything's running much faster and I no longer have to force quit all the time. Seems to be doing its thing.
Fingers crossed ...
macbook 1.8G - PB G3 (Lombard) 333mHz Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Invalid Node Structure, Mac Not Starting

*THE PROBLEM*
My MacBook does not start. All I see when I press the power button is a gray screen with an apple logo and a spinning wheel.
*WHAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM*
I changed the input languages settings in international in system preferences to “Devnagari-QWERTY”. Then I typed my name in 'Devnagari' in Textedit and copied it. I created a new folder on desktop and pasted my name copied earlier. It worked. So I went ahead and tried renaming my startup disk (Macintosh Disk) in the same manner. I clicked on its icon, hit enter and command+v. Immediately my mac froze. Noting happened. Even commandoptionesc did not work. After a long time I pressed the power button for 5 sec and tried a restart. Now it won't start.
*SOLUTIONS I TRIED*
1. *Safe Boot (shift while startup):* No result, all I get is a gray screen, an apple logo and a spinning wheel appears after a minute and its stuck there.
2. *Tried Single User mode (command+s):* Computer does not start and is stuck with the following text.
Probe booting in single user .. do not match
disk0s2: 0xe003005 (UNDEFINED)
Load of /sbin/launchd, errno 85, trying /sbin/mach_init
disk0s2: 0xe003005 (UNDEFINED)
Load of /sbin/launchd failed, errno 85
3. *Tried Verbose mode (command+v):* Computer does not start and is stuck with the following text.
disk0s2: 0xe003005 (UNDEFINED)
Load of /sbin/launchd, errno 85, trying /sbin/mach_init
disk0s2: 0xe003005 (UNDEFINED)
Load of /sbin/launchd failed, errno 85
4. *Disk Utility from OS X Install disk:* Tried using repair disk. But it does not work either. All it says is
Verify and Repair disk “Macintosh Disk”
Checking HFS Plus Volume
Checking Extents Overflow file
Checking Catalog file
“Invalid Node structure”
Volume Check failed
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit.
1 HFS Volume Checked
1 Volume could not be repaired because of an error.
*5. Reinstalling OS X from install disk:* I tried this as a final resort.
a) The normal install did not work because my startup disk had OS X 10.4.11 and my install disk had 10.4.6, so it gave an error that I have a “newer version installed”.
b) I can not do an archive and install because I have only 4 GB free space and it requires at least 15GB.
c) I do not want to do erase and install because I do not want to loose my data.
*MY MACBOOK*
1. I have a first generation MacBook, Intel Core Duo 1.83 with 512 MB Ram and 60 GB HDD with Mac OS X 10.4.11.
2. S.M.A.R.T status of the disk is verified
3. I can browse my files on the disk if I click on new disk image in Disk Utility from Install Disk.
4. There is no problem in mounting the disk.
LIMITATIONS
1. I am not at my university so I do not have any other external HDD or any other Mac for a “Target Disk Mode” for data backup.
2. All I have is my Mac and 10.4.6 install disk.
3. No broadband so can not download large files.
4. I can not loose my data.
Is there any way of fixing the Mac, given the limitations given above. Something using command line, or anything that will make it work again. How do I fix the invalid node structure. I really do not want to loose my data and I am in transit so I really need my Mac to work.
Any help would be appreciated.

Ambarish:
The article Disk Utility reports "Underlying task reported failure" when repairing a volume gives more information about the issue you are experiencing. The reference in the article to a third party utility is the utility referenced by BGreg, Disk Warrior.
Please do post back with further questions or comments.
Good luck.
cornelius

Problem when booting - Invalid Node Structure

Hey!
I decided to put my MacBook G4 up to date. So I installed several updates of my software. So far so good. Then I tried to check with Disk Utility wether there were any problems on the file system. I ran "repair Disk Permissions" and some errors where found and corrected. I tried "Verify Disk" and it announced there where some errors namely "Invalid Node Structure". As I couldn't repair the disk as it was the current boot disk I decided to run Disk Utility from a CD. Unfortunately I didn't have my original cd so I asked a friend to use his. He gave me his "MacBook Pro - Mac OS X Install Disc"s (Mac OS X 10.5) and I ran it on my PowerBook G4 (Mac OS X 10.4 installed). It gave the same result like when I ran it from my hard drive. When I tried to repair it, it started and stopped after some seconds (between 20 and 40 seconds) saying it was unable to repair it.
After that the computer does not mount from hard drive (10.4 installed) anymore, only from cd. I tried booting in single user mode and executing /sbin/fsck -fy but I had the same result ("disk0s10: I/O error. Invalid node structure (4, 7698) **Volume check failed.").
I think I can resolve the problem by starting my mac in firewire mode, backing up my data and reinstalling Mac OS X (would a repair from 10.4 Disk Utility work?) but I would be happy if there were any faster / more elegant way to do so as I cant use my install cds for 10.4 right now as I am in an other country for some time.
Any help?

Hi Ja!, and a warm welcome to the forums!
Unfortunately DU & fsck can't fix all that much, your best bet is DiskWarrior, you need the CD though.
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
If DW can't fix it, you might try Data Rescue II...
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
(Has a Free Demo to see if it could or not, but you'll need another drive to recover to).
Or FileSalvage...
http://www.subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?%20mainpage=product_info&productsid=1
to recover what you can.
PS. Don't use Leopard Install Disk to work on Tiger Hard disks, it's always messed up my Tiger Disks ehen I did.
Also, not a good idea to even Repair Permissions if there are Disk problems like you have, you don't want to write anything to a disk that has problems, that means even trying to boot off it until you fix it.

What's an invalid node structure?

I dropped my ibook and now it won't start correctly -- it gets stuck on the apple with the loading sign. I took it in for service where they said my hard drive was damaged and possibly my logic board too. Since that repair was going to be too expensive to be worth it, I took the computer apart myself to try and replace the hard drive. But the hard drive works perfectly when plugged into another computer. So I backed up all my files, put the ibook back together again and tried to fix it. Disk Aid says I have an "invalid node structure." Does anyone know what that means for my poor laptop?
If I start up my computer now I get the Mac smiley faces and a folder with a question mark on it. I tried resetting PMU and PRAM but that didn't seem to accomplish anything.

The Smiley Face with ? indicates the computer cannot find a system boot partition when trying to discover a bootable system device. Since you say the HD is AOK based on it working just fine in another computer then a good guess is that the problem lays elsewhere. Try booting your computer from your install disc by inserting it and holding C key down and starting system (press and hold power button down briefly). If this works then at least the system can find your CD-ROM disc drive and can boot up from it. It could be that the disk controller hardware has been damaged and therefore the computer simply cannot access/read the HD.
If you can startup using the installer disc try launching Disk Utility to see if it can see the HD.
My guess is that the severe shock to the computer when it was dropped has damaged some portion of the hardware that's necessary for the proper functioning of the HD. If this is the case only a good repair shop will be able to help you.
Another idea is that maybe the memory DIMM or DIMMs have been damaged in the drop. Remove the top DIMM and try booting. If you have an AirPort card remove it also.
Good luck.

HD crash. Disk utility says invalid node structure, invalid record count. Disk utility cannot repair. Now what?

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