Help With Mac OS X Disk Utility -

Hi, I have upgraded to Mac OS X Lion by download and had it a while. My MacBook Pro "13 crashed and i had to use the hold the power button to turn it off. I think the HDD needs a disk repair, I have tried to do it by booting the snow lepord disk I got with the laptop and the Disk Utility. It says, "the disk volume can not be repaired" do I have to do it with a Lion OS X disk or does it not matter? Will I have to reformat my hard drive and loose all my stuff?
Hope you can help,
Thanks
Carl

Hi, i have tried that but it still wont work, it just stays on the gray screen with the apple logo? I cant seem to get past it? any other suggestions?
Cheers
Carl

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Help with 10.8.1 Disk Utility... doesn't work.

I Just bought a new macbook pro. It has ver 10.8.1. I get this when trying to open disk utility:
"You can’t open the application “Disk Utility” because it may be damaged or incomplete."
Normally, if the machine came with a disc, I could restore from the disc. But this one, no disc. Just a pretty pamphlet.

Or pack it back up in the box it came in, Take it back to the store you bought it from and get a full refund. Then buy another that works correctly right out of the box.

Mac OS 10.5.6 downloaded Firefox 3.6.13 Came as .dmg When I try to launch it says "Not Recognized". Right click for "Open With" refers me to Disk Utility when same results "Not Recognized"

About my Mac > G5 Desktop OS 10.5.6
Want to upgrade to Firefox 3.6.13
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Vk2mh it sounds like the download was not complete or corrupted. Where are you downloading the update from? Have you tried downloading again?

I have an icon on my MAC desktop called disk utility. When I click it on it a message says it is not compatible with this version of OS X. Can I then delete this set of files?

I have an icon on my MAC desktop called disk utility. When I click it on it a message says it is not compatible with this version of OS X. Can I then delete this set of files?

gjspross wrote:
I did upgrade and here is the current version: OS X 10.8.2 (12C60)
I was able to get to and open disk utility through Application> utilities
I thought the disk utility icon on the desktop may be related to my old software. I was going to move it totrash but it had over 2000 files and so I did know if it was still being used or could be moved to trash.
What kind of files are in there? Sounds like a carry over from your last system. DiskUtility should only be kept in Utilities with a shortcut in the dock or an alias on the desktop, idealy.
Cheers
Pete

How do i repair or recover data from a corrupt USB external hard drive that does not show up on my Mac desktop or disk utility

How do i repair or recover data from a corrupt USB external hard drive that does not show up on my Mac desktop or disk utility?
Last night i was using my external hard drive, for some reason the folder just closed and i couldn't find it on my desktop.
After googling solutions, i found it in the disk utilities, i clicked on the 'repair' button many times, but it said the 'error...' message.
So i ejected it to try again, now when i connect the USB external hard drive it doesn't show up on my desktop or disk utilities.
I really just want to either repair or recover the data on it because it literally has everything (documents, work files, photos etc) on it,
I downloaded an application to recover my files but it needs the USB to at least show up.recognise it which mine doesn't.
I know i should've backed it up on another USB, this definitely teaches me for next time to back up all my files.
Are the files lost forever or can i recover them by going to a shop or using a software?

Thank you for responding.
This might sound stupid since i'm not really knowledgeable with Macs,
but since all my files were moved from my mac computer to the external hard drive,
is it possible to recover those files through my Mac - like recovering deleted files?

Can I fix a disk with this message?-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.

Can I fix a disk with this message?
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.

Some problems can indeed be fixed this way. But working from Recovery_HD or Disk Warrior DVDs and working in the restricted environment those provide can be difficult. You can literally spend days working on this problem (while your regular work is unavailable) only to discover the old drive is unsalvageable.
There is no way to know up front whether you are facing a major Hardware failure or a minor software glitch, or something in between. Often you are forced to work from the drive you no longer trust. I continue to recommend you do this work from a different, fully functioning Mac OS X booted from a different drive.
If you have had the foresight to (as The hatter often recommends) clone your virgin install onto another drive for use in such situations, you will be able to recover from such problems in record time. If not, my previous recommendations stands:
Buy a new Drive. Or two. Install Mac OS X from scratch on a new drive, and get your Mac running again. Later, you can use the full power of Mac OS X to attempt to rescue your data, if needed. Then Zero the old drive, to see if it can hold data again reliably.
If the old drive eventually provides some needed data, and is salvageable, Merry Christmas.

Anyone clean their mac using the disk utility using the repair disk permissions??

anyone clean their mac using the disk utility using the repair disk permissions??

No. Threads don't hurt anything. If your computer is not functioning properly perhaps you need to try some basic maintenance. Let's start by having you do this:
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard 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 Utilities menu. 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.
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.
Next, try booting into Safe Mode then immediately restart normally. Safe mode is going to take a while so be patient. It's slow.
Next, create a new user account. Log out of your account then log into the new account. Try using iPhoto and the publishing button. Do they work now?
If you still have a problem, then do the following. If you don't want to go through the above then just start with the following and forget the others above.
Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard 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 Utilities menu. 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.
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.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

Hi. My mavericks is crashed and when i on my mac always showstha disk utility window. I do everything like repair and all but not fix this problem. I have no back up of my files. Is there any way to reinstall mavericks without erase my old data ?

Hi. My mavericks is crashed and when i on my mac always showstha disk utility window. I do everything like repair and all but not fix this problem. I have no back up of my files. Is there any way to reinstall mavericks without erase my old data ?

To back up your data, either use Target Disk Mode and a cable from another Mac (which mounts your problem Mac as an external disk of the other Mac) and Disk Utility on that other Mac, or — and this is all assuming you either have a slow Internet connection and don't want to use Internet Recovery, or if you have an older Mac that doesn't support Internet Recovery — you can create a bootable USB key disk on another Mac and then boot your problematic Mac from that keydisk, then use Disk Utility from the installer to make a backup to another (external) (scratch) disk. You can also use that keydisk to reinstall OS X, to repair or to reinstall OS X.

When i boot i get a flashing folder with a question mark. disk utility doesnt work or read my harddrives to boot with. i installed a new SSD and its not reading that either. i have a macbook pro 2011, any help?

So I came to this problem a while ago. M ycomputer basically froze so I was forced to shut down by holding the button down. When I started it up I got the flashing folder with a question mark. I started it up holding down the command and r keys which brought me to disk utility. Although my computer doesn't read that I have a hard drive to start it up. When I click on the disk utility app, I cannot verify or repair anything either. The buttons won't allow me to click on them. It also shows "Mac OSX Base System" which shows I have files and what not saved. I had been told that I need a new hard drive so I bought and manually installed a OWC SSD 240GB drive and when i booted the computer up it booted up yo the operating system fine with all my files and what not on there. After about twenty minutes, it froze again. I forced a shut down, restarted and the same thing happened. I am not able to choose my SSD to boot up, although thats probably because it doesn't have an operating system installed on it??
i have a Macbook Pro 13" 2011
any help would be great, I'm overall confused.

ryansaint11,
this isn’t Apple support; this is a user-to-user forum. We’re just fellow users of Apple products here.
If you want to boot from your SSD, then you should put the SSD where your HDD currently is, and put the HDD into the optical bay. (That setup will also get you the best performance.) At the moment, you’re still booting from your HDD. Note that you will need to format your SSD in Disk Utility [with the “Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)” format] so that you can install OS X onto it.
Since you have an Early 2011 model, it might or might not have originally come with grey installation DVDs. You will be able to find out whether it did or not by trying to use OS X Internet Recovery to install OS X onto your SSD. If it does not work, or if the installed OS turns out to be Snow Leopard, then it will have originally come with the DVDs, and you should purchase a replacement pair of DVDs from Apple or iFixit; those discs will have your MacBook Pro’s Apple Hardware Test and its iLife apps. If the installed OS turns out to be Lion, then it will not originally have come with the grey installation DVDs, and your Apple Hardware Test will be installed along with Lion, and your iLife apps will be downloadable from the Mac App Store.

Need help with Mac & PC not recognizing external drive (disk not readable)

I am having trouble getting my computer(s) to recognize my Seagate External Drive.
Have tried on my MacBook, iMac, 2 Mini's & my roommate's PC and all reveal the same issue: The Disk you inserted was not readable by this computer.
MacBook/iMac both are working off of Leopard
Both Mini's are on Tiger
It won't show up in finder, rendering it unobtainable. I need to get the information if at all possible off of this hard drive (very important!!) so any help I can get would be greatly appreciated!
It allows me to go into disk utility where it shows up with this information:
Name : ST316002 3A Media
Type : Disk
Partition Map Scheme : Master Boot Record
Disk Identifier : disk4
Media Name : ST316002 3A Media
Media Type : Generic
Connection Bus : USB
USB Serial Number : 3LJ07T540000
Device Tree : /PCI0@0/USB7@1D,7/@4:0
Writable : Yes
Ejectable : Yes
Mac OS 9 Drivers Installed : No
Location : External
Total Capacity : 149.1 GB (160,041,885,696 Bytes)
S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
Disk Number : 4
Partition Number : 0
And it is in the "about this mac" section with this information:
Seagate Mass Storage:
Capacity: 149.05 GB
Removable Media: Yes
Detachable Drive: Yes
BSD Name: disk4
Version: 0.00
Bus Power (mA): 500
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Seagate
Mac OS 9 Drivers: No
Partition Map Type: MBR (Master Boot Record)
Product ID: 0x0500
Serial Number: 3LJ07T540000
S.M.A.R.T. status: Not Supported
Vendor ID: 0x0bc2

Additional info:
on the disk4s1 info in disk utility, this information is seen:
Name : disk4s1
Type : Volume
Disk Identifier : disk4s1
Mount Point : Not mounted
Connection Bus : USB
Device Tree : /PCI0@0/USB7@1D,7/@4:1
Writable : Yes
Capacity : 149.0 GB (160,022,790,144 Bytes)
Owners Enabled : No
Can Turn Owners Off : No
Can Be Formatted : No
Bootable : No
Supports Journaling : No
Journaled : No
Disk Number : 4
Partition Number : 1
so it looks like a whole lot of no's that need to be turned around! I can't understand why it won't be read by either Mac or PC with all of this, or how I can fix it

Blinking folder with question mark, and disk utility doesnt recognise hard drive, please help!!!

So today i was using my macbook pro and for some reason my CD/DVD drive was causing noise when i put a DVD inside it, and for some reason it did not recognise my DVD. I force ejected it using the restart and clicking, but after that my computer showed a blinking folder and question mark during start up. I restarted my computer to Recovery HD, but instead it took me to internet Recovery HD (i have mountain lion), and so i went to disk utility to repair my disk, but in the left it did not recognise my hard drive. Please help! Im not that experienced in computing!

Sounds like some sort of power issue and now your drive is not working.
You'll have to take this to Apple for repair.
You should read this if you don't have recent backups of your data off the machine.
My computer is not working, is my personal data lost?

Help! Can I recover Disk Utility erased files?

Hi guys,
Yesterday I was trying to install Leopard because I had software problem that made my ibook get stuck on the loading screen.
Anyway, I was on my last step before it started to install when I got a message saying that I didn't have enough disk space to install the CD. I had just 2.7 GB available and the system required 11 GB. After trying to figure out what to do, I saw the Installer Menu Bar, clicked Open *Disk Utility*, clicked on Erase window, then clicked on one of the drives I saw on the left window. I didn't choose the 27.9 GB TOSHIBA disk, but the one under.
Then from the Volume Format drop-down menu, I selected Mac OS Extended, and selected security option: "Don't Erase Data". Finally, on the right pane of the Disk Utility window, I clicked the Erase tab., and suddenly I had 27 GB available
I thought that this “Erase” option just deleted previous deleted files, but not my whole hard disk.
Then I went back to the install window, and clicked “Install"...knowing that I maybe lost all my data.
I have tried to find my pictures and documents, but they are no where to find.
Have I lost all my data? Is it possible to get it recovered?
Please help me!
Thanks in advance!

sorry, but you are too far into this in order to be able to recover much. Data Rescue II or File Salvage are 2 decent utilities but you then installed software on top of your drive. This is assuring that a huge chunk of that drive is gone forever.
what disk utility meant was that it wouldn't securly delete the data - that is write stuff on top of it. you did just a basic delete / format which deletes the info containing pointers to the files, not the actual files themselves.
but installing OS X after that is going to permanatley delete 11GBs or so of data.
you will need an external drive to even begin this process & there's no garuntee it will work. you can try data rescue for free to see if it finds anything, as file salvage does too.
at this point, it's a shot in the dark.
ALWAYS keep backups & NEVER erase a drive with such important info.
http://subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?mainpage=product_info&productsid=1
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
Message was edited by: kmac1036

Restoring .dmg image from external to Mac HD in Disk Utility: "Unable to scan image (Input/output error)"

Hi guys,
So I've got a problem with restoring the image backup I did (using Disk Utility) of my 500GB HD on my MBP which was acting weird or maybe even crashed a few months ago. After creating the backup image and putting it on my external device, I installed Mavericks back to see if everything was alright (mainly the HD) and everything seems okay.
I did try restoring the backup image through disk utility before installing mavericks (thus erasing everything again on the HD) AND after. But nothing..
The whole process starts fine and then it starts scanning the image when after maybe a good 10-15min in I get a message that says that it was unable to scan the image. I tried verifying the disk(s), everything came out "OK". Also tried scanning it through Images > Scan image for Restore... with the same results.
While searching I've seen people getting messages like "Unable to scan filename.dmg (Invalid argument)" and "Unable to scan filename.dmg
(Internal error)" but none have (Input/output error)
The screen grab is below.
I also came across something about using terminal/commands but I'm not that savvy with it, especially considering that those there had issues with either mounting or trouble finding the image.
I've also tried moving the backup image to a different external device 2TB and also the desktop because I read it may have to do with the format of the externals or maybe free space. But THEN I would get a message saying
"The Finder can't complete the operation because some data in "Mac HD Backup.dmg" can't be read or written. Error code -36"
Fyi ALL my externals are HFS+/Journaled and the backup image format was compressed.
I REALLY don't know what to do next. Was it the wrong move to create a dmg image? Have I lost everything? Is there still a way out?
If anyone can help, THANKS!
2012 MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.9.3)

Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider. You may have to leave the machine there for several days.
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.
If privacy is a concern, erase the data partition(s) with the option to write zeros* (do this only if you have at least two complete, independent backups, and you know how to restore to an empty drive from any of them.) Don’t erase the recovery partition, if present.
Keeping your confidential data secure during hardware repair
Apple also recommends that you deauthorize a device in the iTunes Store before having it serviced.
*An SSD doesn't need to be zeroed.

Help with Mac to PC

Hello,
I want to format my Macbook which (I assume) means I need to get everything off it and on to another computer temporarily. (If I don't have to then that would be awesome, can someone tell me how?)
Unfortunately for me, the only computer available is a lame PC. I've read guides and instructions galore but they either don't work, tell me to select some option that I don't seem to have or just confuse me.
If someone could tell me, simply, how to set it up so I can dump everything onto the PC I would be very appreciative.
I am running Tiger 10.4.11 (too poor to upgrade) and the PC has XP Pro with service pack 2. PC is ethernet to the modem and Mac is wireless via a router to the modem.
Let me know if you need any more info.
Thanks heaps to anyone who can help!

I think the majority (or maybe it's the vocal majority) would say you do not need to defragment the way you do on a PC. OSX does automatic defragmentation of files under 20MB. Read the articles below and decide for yourself but I think you will find that not many OSX owners have a defragmentation utility.
Apple KBase article [About disk optimization with Mac OS X|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25668]
Two different view about defragmentation:
[Optimizing Disks Is a Waste of Time|http://db.tidbits.com/article/7254]
[Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance|http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html#Anchor-31774]
There is a difference between defragmentation and optimizing. Defrag. makes files occupy contiguous space, optimizing puts things in a specific order. Techtool has a defragmentation feature. idefrag also does optimizing.
You can defragment a drive by completely copying off all the files (use a cloning tool), reformatting it and then copying all the files back on. Again, I don't see mention by many people here of ever doing that.
Try some of the suggestions in the articles below for speeding up your computer:
Mac Tune-up: 34 Software Speedups
[http://www.macworld.com/article/49489/2006/02/softwarespeed.html]
52 Ways to Speed Up OS X
[http://www.imafish.co.uk/articles/post/articles/130/52-ways-to-speed-up-os-x>
Tuning Mac OS X Performance
[http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/performance.html]
11 Ways to Optimize Your Mac's Performance
[http://lowendmac.com/eubanks/07/0312.html]
The Top 7 Free Utilities To Maintain A Mac.
[http://mac360.com/index.php/mac360/comments/thetop_7_free_utilities_to_maintain_amac>
Mac OS X: System maintenance
[http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=607640]
Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
[http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html#Anchor-31774]

Help with Mac OS X Lion clean install

I have a late 2008 15" MacBook Pro that has Lion installed which was upgraded over Snow Leopard. I have heard that performing a clean install can freshen up the system and is just generally a good thing to do. When I downloaded Lion from the Mac App Store I made a bootable disc because I heard it's something good to have just in case. I have also been backing up to an enxternal hard drive using Time Machine. So I was thinking about doing a clean install but I wanted to make sure of a few things and to get your thoughts on if it is actually a good idea or a waste of time.
I would format my hard drive then restart and hold down the option key, choose to boot from the disc and clean install. Once finished use Migration Assistant to move my data from the external hard drive with my Time Machine back ups and that should be everything done and dusted.
I know I have probably got something wrong somewhere and have maybe even got the completely wrong idea about the whole thing.
I would appreciate any help and advice, thanks.

Install or Reinstall Lion from Scratch
If possible backup your files to an external drive or second internal 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:
Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Install button.
Note: You can also re-download the Lion installer by opening the App Store application. Hold down the OPTION key and click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar. You should now see an active Install button to the right of your Lion purchase entry. There are situations in which this will not work. For example, if you are already booted into the Lion you originally purchased with your Apple ID or if an instance of the Lion installer is located anywhere on your computer.

Help With Mac OS X Disk Utility -

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