How to back up Files on Disk Utility

My Mac Book Pro doesn't start. when I press the start button It chimes, apple logo, line loading and turns off. Once and again. I tried the Comand-option-P-R and nothing. Tried a lot of tricks I found online and nothing. Finally -And Im not sure how, I think it was the Comand-R opened the Disk Utility and could hit the repair the disk, It said that It couldn't repair -I have almost full capacity 499GB used- but cant remove files since I cant start the computer. Disk Utility told me to Back up Files and Restore -meaning it will wipe out the data, but i will have it on my back up- How do I back up using external hard drive. Thanks for any help.

You need to boot from your backup disk using:
Boot Using OPTION key:
1. Restart the computer.
2. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the
      "OPTION" key.
3. Release the key when the boot manager appears.
4. Select the desired disk icon from which you want to boot.
5. Click on the arrow button below the icon.
Once booted from the backup drive then:
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility in the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag
       it to the Destination entry field.
5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
      the Source entry field.
6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the now erased internal drive. Source means the external backup drive.
Once booted from the backup drive you need to partition and format the internal drive:
Drive Partition and Format
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your internal 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 Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply 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 Security 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.
Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.

Similar Messages

How to back up when using Disk Utility off the DVD

Hello. i ran into some problems installing snow leopard and can't get back into 10.5. i can only boot into my windows partition. how would i go about creating a back up from Disk Utility being run off of the installation dvd?

If your OS X partition cannot be accessed then you may not be able to back it up. If you have another computer with FireWire then you can try booting the computer into Target Disk Mode. If you can access the drive from the other computer, then you can try recovering your files. Otherwise see the following:
Basics of File Recovery
Files in Trash
If you simply put files in the Trash you can restore them by opening the Trash (left-click on the Trash icon) and drag the files from the Trash to your Desktop or other desired location. OS X also provides a short-cut to undo the last item moved to the Trash -press COMMAND-Z.
If you empty the Trash the files are gone. If a program does an immediate delete rather than moving files to the Trash, then the files are gone. Recovery is possible but you must not allow any additional writes to the hard drive - shut it down. When files are deleted only the directory entries, not the files themselves, is modified. The space occupied by the files has been returned to the system as available for storage, but the files are still on the drive. Writing to the drive will then eventually overwrite the space once occupied by the deleted files in which case the files are lost permanently. Also if you save a file over an existing file of the same name, then the old file is overwritten and cannot be recovered.
General File Recovery
If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten with recovery software such as Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive.
The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.
Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.

Backing up files on Disk Utility question

So I followed this steps:
Clone Yosemite, Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
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.
     1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
         button.
     2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
     3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
     4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
         to the Destination entry field.
     5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
         the Source entry field.
     6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
Note that the above clone includes both your internal boot volume and the Recovery HD volume you used for the above. I suggest that the backup disk you use has a larger capacity than the one in your computer. That way you should be able to boot from this backup. Since the drive you have is 500 GBs then the external drive you use for the backup clone should be at least 750 GBs.
And I followed the steps mentioned. Source: Macintosh HD ... Destination: My Passport for Mac. It asked me if I wanted to erase the content on My passport for mac and I said yes. But then it says "Restore Failure: Source volume is read/write only and cannot be unmounted, so it can't be block copied". What does that mean? And what do I do?
I already tried:
Disk ulitiy and click on "Macintosh HD" and then click "New Image" and then select "My Passport for Mac" to save on there. I put "compressed"for Image Format AND For encrytion, i pick "128-bit AES encryption (recommended)"
I put in a password when prompted but after that it says "Disk Ultitiy wants to use the "login" keychain." I put in my ususally login password that I use to get on to my desktop but that doesn't work. I have the option to press ok or cancel. I pressed cancel and the progress bar to saving my macintosh HD to MY external hard drive portable didn't show any blue bar progress for 15 mins or so...

So I followed this steps:
Clone Yosemite, Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
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.
     1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
         button.
     2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
     3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
     4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
         to the Destination entry field.
     5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
         the Source entry field.
     6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
Note that the above clone includes both your internal boot volume and the Recovery HD volume you used for the above. I suggest that the backup disk you use has a larger capacity than the one in your computer. That way you should be able to boot from this backup. Since the drive you have is 500 GBs then the external drive you use for the backup clone should be at least 750 GBs.
And I followed the steps mentioned. Source: Macintosh HD ... Destination: My Passport for Mac. It asked me if I wanted to erase the content on My passport for mac and I said yes. But then it says "Restore Failure: Source volume is read/write only and cannot be unmounted, so it can't be block copied". What does that mean? And what do I do?
I already tried:
Disk ulitiy and click on "Macintosh HD" and then click "New Image" and then select "My Passport for Mac" to save on there. I put "compressed"for Image Format AND For encrytion, i pick "128-bit AES encryption (recommended)"
I put in a password when prompted but after that it says "Disk Ultitiy wants to use the "login" keychain." I put in my ususally login password that I use to get on to my desktop but that doesn't work. I have the option to press ok or cancel. I pressed cancel and the progress bar to saving my macintosh HD to MY external hard drive portable didn't show any blue bar progress for 15 mins or so...

Hi, how do I manage storage? Disk Utility says "other" is taking up most of my storage but I don't know where to find "other". Please help!

Hi, how do I manage storage? Disk Utility says “other” is taking up most of my storage but I don’t know where to find “other". Please help!

For information about the Other category in the Storage display, see this support article. If the Storage display seems to be inaccurate, try rebuilding the Spotlight index.
Empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. If you use iPhoto, empty its internal Trash first:
iPhoto ▹ Empty Trash
Do the same in other applications, such as Aperture, that have an internal Trash feature. Then restart the computer. That will temporarily free up some space.
According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation—not the mythical 10%, 15%, or any other percentage. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of the data. There is little or no performance advantage to having more available space than the minimum Apple recommends. Available storage space that you'll never use is wasted space.
When Time Machine backs up a portable Mac, some of the free space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of recently deleted files. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown as Backups. The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself. If you followed bad advice to disable local snapshots by running a shell command, you may have ended up with a lot of data in the Other category. Ask for instructions in that case.
See this support article for some simple ways to free up storage space.
You can more effectively use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) or GrandPerspective (GP) to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can also delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one. Note that ODS only works with OS X 10.8 or later. If you're running an older OS version, use GP.
Deleting files inside a photo or iTunes library will corrupt the library. Changes to such a library must be made from within the application that created it. The same goes for Mail files.
Proceed further only if the problem isn't solved by the above steps.
ODS or GP can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
Back up all data now.
If you have more than one user account, make sure you're logged in as an administrator. The administrator account is the one that was created automatically when you first set up the computer.
Install the app you downloaded in the Applications folder as usual. Quit it if it's running.
Triple-click anywhere in the corresponding line of text below on this page to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:
sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper 2>&-
sudo /Applications/GrandPerspective.app/Contents/MacOS/GrandPerspective 2>&-
Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. Type carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator. Ignore any other messages that appear in the Terminal window.
The application window will open, eventually showing all files in all folders, sorted by size. It may take a few minutes for the app to finish scanning.
I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means. When in doubt, leave it alone or ask for guidance.
When you're done with the app, quit it and also quit Terminal.

IMac (27-inch, Mid 2011) 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 running10.10.2 (14C1514). Trying to install Windows 7 64 bit from an install disc. When attempting to create an ISO image I can save the file in disk utility but can convert cdr to iso

iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011) 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 running10.10.2 (14C1514). Trying to install Windows 7 64 bit from an install disc. When attempting to create an ISO image I can save the file in disk utility but can convert cdr to iso. I select the file and the hit return as in step 8 of the Creating an
iSO image document but the box that should open to select use iso does not open. How should I proceed?

The Mac SuperDrive built into your Mac is the Optical drive.
1. Insert your Windows DVD in Optical drive. Disconnect any external storage.
2. Insert a USB2 Flash drive. This will be used to hold the BC drivers.
3. Start BCA. Check the options to download software and Install Windows. You do not need to download Windows. The BCA will download the BC drivers to the USB.
4. Partition your drive.
5. You can see the Windows installer screens at https://help.apple.com/bootcamp/mac/5.0/help/#/bcmp173b3bf2.

Moving backed up file in disk to tape using RMAN

Hi All,
Is there a way in RMAN to move an already backed up file present in disk to tape?
The scenario is as follows:
RMAN backs up database to disk on week days initially. At a particular day, say during Saturdays, those backed up file (made on week days) in disk will be moved to tape (to clear disk space). I wish to know if RMAN has this capability to move the backed up file from disk to tape (FLASHBACK is not enabled in the database). This will help RMAN to restore the files from tape in case of restore/recovery. I don't want RMAN to take the backup on tape straight away.
Oracle Database Version : 10.2.0
OS : SunOS 5.10
I'd be grateful if you can provide me with suggestions.
Thanks,
...

RMAN will not move the already backed up files.
Instead you can use CATALOG START WITH option to move the files from disk to catalog.
Schedule this as a job then RMAN will move the backup files.
refer this,
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B19306_01/backup.102/b14192/maint007.htm#i1007978
Thanks
Edited by: Cj on Dec 14, 2010 1:29 AM

Error When Burning ISO File via Disk Utility to DVD

I am trying to burn an ISO file from Disk Utility onto a DVD but I keep getting an error message. "The device failed to calibrate the laser power level for this media." I have had success burning ISO files before, but haven't done it in a while.

Try Burn instead
http://burn-osx.sourceforge.net/Pages/English/home.html

Help with corrupted HD: how to back up files

ok so i had a problem yesterday: when i hit the power button, my macbook would stay at the white screen with the spining load indicator and the apple logo. same would happen when i started up while holding the option key. anyways i started it up with the original OS disk. in disk utilities i tried to repair the hard drive, unsucessful and is says this:
Invalid sibling link
rebhuilding catalog b-tree
the volume macintosh HD could not be repaired
updating boot support partitions for the volumes as required
ERROR: DISK UTILITY can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backed-up files
how do i back-up my files?
Message was edited by: timxj
Message was edited by: timxj

Welcome to the Apple discussions.
When there is an issue like that, often Disk Warrior or TechTool Pro can fix it. Disk Warrior is generally the preferred program. http://www.alsoft.com/diskwarrior/index.html
You can then back up the files once you get the drive back in shape.

How to back-up files on Tiger?

Question,
I know that Time Machine is used on Leopard and Snow Leopard, but how do you backup files on an external hard drive using Tiger? Thanks

Basic Backup
Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Retrospect Desktop (Commercial)
2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
3. Synk (Backup, Standard, or Pro)
4. Deja Vu (Shareware)
5. Carbon Copy Cloner (Donationware)
6. SuperDuper! (Commercial)
7. Intego Personal Backup (Commercial)
8. Data Backup (Commercial)
9. SilverKeeper 2.0 (Freeware)
10. MimMac (Commercial)
11. Tri-Backup (Commercial)
12. Time Drawer (Commercial - similar to Time Machine)
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Although you can buy a complete FireWire drive system, you can also put one together if you are so inclined. It's relatively easy and only requires a Phillips head screwdriver (typically.) You can purchase hard drives separately. This gives you an opportunity to shop for the best prices on a hard drive of your choice. Reliable brands include Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. You can find reviews and benchmarks on many drives at Storage Review.
Enclosures for FireWire and USB are readily available. You can find only FireWire enclosures, only USB enclosures, and enclosures that feature multiple ports. I would stress getting enclosures that use the Oxford chipsets (911, 921, 922, for example.) You can find enclosures at places such as;
Cool Drives
OWC
WiebeTech
Firewire Direct
California Drives
NewEgg
All you need do is remove a case cover, mount the hard drive in the enclosure and connect the cables, then re-attach the case cover. Usually the only tool required is a small or medium Phillips screwdriver.

Save Log file from Disk Utility App running from Recovery HD?

Background:
I had an issue with QT and screen recording; it was coming out solid green. I read on Apple Support that I should restart holding down Command-R. I did that, booted into Recovery HD, then opened Disk Utility. I repaired permissions, then decided to repair my HDD for good measure. I noticed that Disk Utility did make a repair to my HDD. Something like "found 57" instead of "56" files in the directory on the HDD; directory needs to be updated. Not sure, I just remember those numbers… "56" is what the system knew of but there were really "57" on the HDD. I sound ignorant… I know.
After I rebooted QuickTime worked correctly (maybe merely repairing permissions was the solution) however another issue, I have been struggling with for years, was also resovlved!
I have been having an issue for years with an Icy Dock external enclosure in RAID 1 mode with my older 2009 iMac. The issue remained after upgrading from Snow Leopard to Tiger to Mountain Lion and resetting PRAM and repairing permissions and repairing it's HDD etc. many times over. After powering up the enclosure a message would appear: "The Disk you insterted was not readable by this computer." "Initialize…" "Ignore" "Eject". Then the volume would mount on the Desktop behind the warning and work perfectly. I would then click "Ignore". I had modified the old iMac with an internal SSD in place of the optical drive… at one point.
I recently sold that iMac and bought a 2012 iMac
Regardless I continued to have the same issue with the enclosure and my new iMac. However, after repairing the internal HDD today, the external Icy Dock RAID now mounts without giving me a warning to, "Initialize…" "Ignore" "Eject". This warning was appearing just before I repaired permissions and repaired the internal HDD on the iMac using the Recovery HD. In fact the reason I was tyring to use QT screen capture was to make a screen capture of the terminal window process while runing a "diskutil activity" command during powering-on my external enclosure to send to Icy Dock to troubleshoot this cross computer and cross OS incompatibility with their enclosure.
My external RAID enclosure wasn't even powered on during repair of the internal HDD?! So how could a brand new iMac's HDD directory be effected in such a way by an external RAID enclosure as to make changes to it's directory. And now how could an issue with mounting an external RAID enclosure be corrected by repairing the directory structure on the internal HDD on the iMac? Could it be a conflict with USB IDs? Are those written to the directory? The internal and external sharing the same ID and the external having to be unmounted and remounted using a new ID each time? How could it have been repaired? Lots of questions…
Main Question:
Anyway,,, I want to copy the Disk Utility Log from my Recovery HD so I could see exactly what was repaired and report it to Icy Dock. But I am not sure if the log files are saved or not when rebooting from Recovery HD. Not sure how I could find the log file at this point. Are logfiles saved when running DiskUtility from the Recovery HD???
Sorry for the length.

Oh crap. The enclosure was working properly, now it's exhibiting the same problem as before and I haven't even rebooted the computer yet. So, what's up?

I can no longer make dmg files in disk utility since upgrading to Mountain Lion

Hi everyone,
I'm a videographer, and have been using the facility in disk utility to make dmg backups of my media cards. It's proved to be a neat and tidy way of doing things, and is my equivalent to storing videotapes.
However, I no longer can make them.
My technique has been to:
1. select the memory card in disk utility
2. press new image
3. browse to destination for the dmg/hit save
4. sit back and wait for the process to complete.
this has been working for me in Snow Leopard, but not in mountain lion. I can't identify any other variables that have changed except the OS upgrade.
Firstly 'Authopen' prompts me for username/password. After username/password it starts creating the image, but stops with an error;
"Unable to create "SD-Card.dmg." (Device not configured).
The card is sitting in a media card reader. I tried another card reader that resulted in;
Unable to create "SD-Card.dmg." (Input/output error)
Anyone experienced this, or any ideas on what to try? As the card readers both work insofar as they show the memory cards in the finder etc, could there be a disk-utility-specific problem with them? Or do I need to change my procedure? I can copy the files to the hard drive and make a dmg from a folder, but I'd rather not have to do that.
thanks.
Andrew
Mac OSX 10.8.5, 2.66 GHZ Quad core Intel Xeon Mac Pro, 16GB Ram

Maybe just corrupted Disk Utility preferences ...
Open the Finder. From the Finder menu bar click Go > Go to Folder
Type or copy paste the following:
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.DiskUtility.plist
Click Go then move the com.apple.DiskUtility.plist file to the Trash.
Restart your Mac then try creating a .dmg file.

How to reinstall OS X? Disk Utility error. HELP!

My iMac failed start up normally so I have to enter the recovery mode (by holding the option key or command+R).
After researching online, I found my mac might have been corrupted. So I tried to use the first aid option in disk utility to verify and repair it but evertime I clicked repair, it shows a message "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.""
I don't think I have a time machine backup as I tried the time machine back up option but there were no back-ups found. I can't create one now either since I'm on the starting gray screen. So I don't want to erase and reinstall since I don't have a back up.
So then I tried to reinstall OS X (Yosemite). But after following the first few steps, when it asks to choose the disk where you want to install the OS, it either says "this disk is locked" or "cannot install on Macintosh/Recovery HD." I still have about 273 GB available.
I've tried all this many times but it doesn't seem to work. I'm really stuck now and don't know any other option so please HELP!

If you want to preserve the data on the startup drive, and it's not already backed up, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is not fully functional. You need an external hard drive or other storage device to hold the data.
1. Start up from the Recovery partition, from Internet Recovery, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.
If you use FileVault 2, then you must first unlock the startup volume. Select its icon ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) It will be nested below another disk icon, usually with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar. Enter your login password when prompted.
2. If Method 1 fails because of disk errors, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.
3. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
4. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.

How to Restore OS X in Disk Utility?

MacBook Air
OS X 10.9.1
Reinstall because of corrupted files on Macintosh HD
Not clear with next steps?
1. Do I install the top line disk image: disk1 or the indented startup disk: OS X Base System?
2. Once order is determined, I would select restore?
3. How do I determine the destination?
4. Then what?
I tried to follow a great discussion around this but lost my confidence. Thanks for the assist.
James

James,
Why do you think you have corrupted files and need to reinstall Mac OS X?
Where did you get those steps to do a reinstallation?
You do not reinstall Mac OS X 10.9.1 that way. Do do so you need to have the computer connected to the internet, restart while holding the Command and R keys. Then from the options displayed, choose Install Mac OS or it may say Reinstall Mac OS. That will then install the Mac OS X operating system.
If your goal is to erase the hard drive, you must first choose Disk Utility, and then Format or Erase Macintosh HD.
Then choose Install Mac OS.
You will have nothing on the hard drive after that except the operating system. You will have removed all applications and data.
So, is that your goal?

Alias Files and Disk Utility Repairs

Hey there,
I recently moved a whole lot of movie files from iTunes on to my harddrive, they are no longer on the computer, however the space that they were previously taking up has not been reduced. I found that there were " alias " files that only appeared under All My Files. These alias files for the movies I removed cannot be opened, as the original file is not there, and cannot be moved or deleted. I ran Disk Utility verification to try and fix the problem and came back with some issues:
Volume bitmap needs minor repair for orphaned blocks.
Invalid free block count.
The volume Macintosh HD was found corrupt and needs to be repaired.
I followed the prompts, restarting my computer and holding down command and R and opening Disk Utility and running disk verification and repair, coming abck with no problems and this restarting the computer again. However once I had done so, I found the alias files still to be stuck, and running the disk verification and repair AGAIN it's still corrupt and repair just comes back with
The disk "Macintosh HD" could not be unmounted.
Any suggestions?
Thanks, Connie
I press Delete Alias and it just reappears.
I followed the repair prompts and these issues still appear.

Some are movie files, some are documents, some are backups of documents, some are music files.
The only options that appear when right click are :
> Open
> Open enclosing folder
[does nothing]
> Get Info
> Quick Look

Invalid File Count (Disk Utility)/slow machine. Possible RAM/HD issue?

I have an entry-level macbook (2010, white plastic unibody). Over the past year, every few months or so my system would become painfully slow (30 minute boot times, the rainbow beach ball popping up every few minutes). I would run the disk verification via Disk Utility and it would often come back with the error "Invalid Volume File Count". After booting into the OSX cd and running a repair, everything would be back to normal and the system was working as good as new. However, over the two months, this issue has been happening a lot more frequenty (almost once a week). I've ran the "Apple Hardware Test" and memtest and both came up with nothing. I decided to format the system and start from scratch. The boot time is now as fast as it was when I first bought the machine, however it's still hanging up on the most trivial processes (opening finder, typing a URL into Safari). Now that i've reformatted, I ran all of the diagnostics again (Disk Utility reports that "The Macintosh HD appears to be ok", memtest reports no issues, and neither does the Apple hardware test). Due to the number of times I had to run the disk repair, and the fact that the system is still having issues after formatting, i'm leaning towards this being an issue with the hard drive, however, all of the diagnostic tools I've tried so far want to tell me otherwise haha. Does anyone have any ideas/have experienced anything like this?

I went into Recovery HD and ran Disk Utility. It verified and repaired the permissions without any data loss or problems. As a bonus the boot problem seems to have been recitifed.

How to back up Files on Disk Utility

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