HT203176 automatically run Disk Utility on startup

Is there a way to run Disk Utility on startup? (Mac OS X 10.7.5). If so, can this process be scheduled for a certain day of the week only? Is there a command sequence in Automator to do this?

I'd like to run the "Repair Disk Permissions" on my main OS disk, automatically. I also have another USB mounted drive (through a powered hub) that often times loads as a Read Only drive. Once I "Verify" it, it can be written to again. A real pain to try to remeber to do manually on each boot up so hoping I can set an Automator action in place that automatically does this for me on startup. Thanks.

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HT203176 i have a slow macbook, i ran live disk utilities and said I need to repair disk from a cd. did that, I got volume repaired from the external disk. when I reboot from hdd, then run disk utility, I get the same error message i did b4 repair

i have a slow macbook, i ran live disk utilities (from hard drive), turned out I needed to repair disk from a installation disk. Did that, I got the volume (Hard drive) repaired from the installation disk disk. To this point, great!
When I reboot from hdd, then run disk utility, I get the same error message i did b4 repair. I went thru two rounds of this.....
Can anyone help? thanks

Sorry guys, I don't see how to reply to you so I use reply to "me" basically.
So the error I get is "volume header needs minor repair" and then you need to perform repair from the installation disk message.
I did repair not verify from the disk twice. Every time ending in the "the volume had ha been successfully repaired". Then I reboot from the internal disk. Run disk utilities from it, do verify and get the same error message I got before repair. I hope this can shed some light fr you guys. Sorry I didn't include details in the original
MEssage.

Running Disk Utility off External Hard drive

To run "repair disk" in disk utility on my internal hard drive I'm supposed to insert my Install DVD, restart my mac and run disk utility - however running this program off the disk is much slower than running it off my 800firewire external hard drive. I've tried a few different ways of going about this:
1) Partitioning my hard drive in two (both HFS+) with more than enough room for the DVD, I've tried both making a Disk Image of the Install DVD and dragging it into the source field in the "restore" tab and dragged my Install partition into the destination field, after that was complete, I restarted my computer while holding the "alt" key I wasn't even offered the option to boot to my external hard drive
2) I've also tried after partitioning the external drive, in the restore tab just dragging the Install DVD (not the disk image) from the left of the disk utility window into the "source field" and again the partition into the destination field, and when restarting both with the "alt" key and by going to system preferences -> start up disk and choosing my external drive to boot from, I was still unable to boot off my drive.
Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions! This would be such a big help for me since I'm constantly helping people with diagnostic issues with their macs and this would save me so much time. Thanks in advance
George

I'm not sure why you can't make a bootable copy of the installer DVD using Disk Utility but as Niel suggests, it is much better to install the OS on a partition on the external drive using the DVD & then use that instead of a 'clone' of the DVD as a boot source to run utilities. There are several reasons for this:
1. You can update the installed version of the OS on the external to take advantage of any improvements, including to Disk Utility, that may be released in the future.
2. The version of Snow Leopard that runs from the DVD is a special one that among other things is optimized for read-only media. For instance, it doesn't write log files to the startup disk since it doesn't expect that to be possible.
3. You can include other utilities on the external & easily customize it to your liking. For instance, configure it for automatic login to an admin user account, drop Disk Utility into that account's login items & it will automatically launch at the end of the boot process. You can do the same with shell scripts or Applescript applications for just about as much automation as your scripting skills & imagination can dream up.
However, one thing to keep in mind: since a HD is not read-only but a DVD is, you can never be as certain that your external is as reliable as the DVD, since it is possible for something to change or corrupt files on the HD but short of physical damage the DVD is immutable.

How to run disk utility mac book air

how to run disk utility mac book air it is very slow on boot up

Here's a general article about slow startup: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10929
It suggests there may be a third party hardware issue.
Otherwise, you can boot from your recovery disk as shown here: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10603
Your recovery disk was automatically created when Lion was installed. You'll have it as a separate partition and be able to boot from it as if it were a separate disk.

Need to run disk utility on iMac G4 with OSX 10.3.9/Hardware disk 10.2.7

I have an iMac G4 currently running with OS X 10.3.9, which was installed on it after it crashed a few years ago. I don't have any retail disks that match OS X 10.3.9, but I have the original manufacturer's hardware disk that came with the computer, which contains Mac OS version 10.2.7.
My question: In order to run disk utility and repair errors on this computer, do I need to purchase a retail version of the OS X 10.3 disk, or is there some way to run disk utility without the proper OSX disk? I read about checking for possible file system issues using fsck with OS X 10.3 or earlier—is fsck a viable option for me?
My computer is not having any substantial problems, but I want to avoid any by running Disk Utility now ...
Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

Welcome To  Discussions poptartsheart!
"...OS X 10.3.9, which was installed on it..."
How was it installed, and by whom?
You should have been provided a set of the Full Retail Version, of the Panther Install CDs, at that time.
"I read about checking for possible file system issues using fsck with OS X 10.3 or earlier—is fsck a viable option for me?"
You can run fsck, as instructed in this KB Article Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck, but you really need to have a set of the Panther 10.3.x Full Retail discs.
If you know what to look for, a Full Retail Version, of the Panther Install CDs, can be purchased, sometimes inexpensively, at some online Apple retailers, Amazon, eBay, FastMac, HardCore Mac, AllMac, etc.
ali b

URGENT!!!!- INTEL MAC "INVALID SIBLING DISK" error when run disk utility

I am very upset, I ran my verify disk permissions, everything fine, repair disk permissions, everything fine, do t periodically just to mae sure all my stuff is in order,,,, then I decided to run te VERIFY DISK, because do not do it as much and want to mae sure my macbook pro is running fine, and I get:
Verifying volume “minimal minimal”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid sibling link
The volume minimal minimal needs to be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ***?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! there is no way of repairing the disk, and when I search for possible solutons it says I need to run it from the original osx installer disk, and even when it does not necessarily repir this error. besides the fact that the original cd is in atlanta and I am currently in barcelona, some say that I would need to reformat my drive and either way this might not solve the problem. I HAVE WAY TOO MUCH IMPORTANT INFORMATION on my macbook pro to reformat, and i do not have the money to buy an external hardrive, I A VERY UPSET, A BRAND NEW COMPUTER, LESS THAN TWO MONTHS OLD, AND ALREADY I HAVE THESE KIND OF PROBLEMS WITH IT, WHERE IS MY SUPPORT?! please tell me, what do i do? I expect a decent, viable slution to the problem. I need my computer ad the information in it, I work from it and also use it to produce music. why would I have this kind of problem, when I search for answers, everything relates to external hardrives, ..... this is my internal hard drive that I am talking about--- WHAT DO I DO?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Perhaps, since you are under warranty, they may have a boot disk to attempt to run disk utility and see if the problem can be repaired before resorting to reformatting. Disk error may occur because of a number of issues (installed software, crashes, shutdowns, physical movement of the drive while disks spinning, etc.)
In addition you may want to boot in the single user mode to access the FSCK command as follows: The following is from the Apple support site
Mac OS X: How to Start up in Single-User or Verbose Mode
You may use a key combination when starting up the computer to enter single-user mode or verbose mode, either of which can be used for troubleshooting and in software development. This document applies to Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server versions 10.0 and later.
Steps to Enter Single-User or Verbose Mode
1. Shut down the computer if it is on.
2. Press the power button to start the computer.
3. Immediately press and hold the Command (Apple) key and one of the following:
the "s" key for single-user mode.
the "v" key for verbose mode.
4. To exit single-user mode type: reboot
5. Press Return.
You have successfully entered single-user or verbose mode when you see white text appear on the screen.
Then you may try to repair as follows using the FSCK
fsck is a command-line utility that may be able to verify and repair a disk. If you can successfully start up in Safe Mode or use Disk Utility while started up from a disc, you don't need to use fsck. However, here are some situations in which fsck may be necessary.
Your Mac OS X disc isn't available.
Your optical drive isn't available.
You can't start with a Safe Boot.
Tip: If you use a Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) formatted volume, such as with Mac OS X 10.3 or later, you probably won't need to use fsck. If you do use it for any reason, please be aware that benign error messages can appear.
If you're not sure how your volume is formatted and you can't start up from your Mac OS X volume to find out, type the following command in a command-line interface and then press Return: diskutil info /
If you see "File System: Journaled HFS+" returned, you have a Journaled volume.
To use fsck, you must run it from the command line. Unlike using your mouse to open an application to do something, you'll need to type a text command at the prompt (#) to tell fsck what to do. The Terminal application (/Applications/Utilities) and single-user mode are two examples of command-line interfaces in which you can type such commands. To use fsck:
Start up your computer in single-user mode to reach the command line.
Note: If necessary, perform a forced restart as described in the Emergency Troubleshooting Handbook that came with your computer. On desktop computers, you can do this by pressing the reset/interrupt button (if there is one) or holding down the power button for several seconds. On portable computers, simultaneously press the Command-Control-power keys. If your portable computer doesn't restart with this method, you may need to reset the Power Manager.
At the command-line prompt, type /sbin/fsck -fy
Press Return. fsck will go through five "phases" and then return information about your disk's use and fragmentation. Once it finishes, it'll display this message if no issue is found:
** The volume (nameofvolume) appears to be OK
If fsck found issues and has altered, repaired, or fixed anything, it will display this message:
*** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED ***
Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command you typed in step 2 until fsck tells you that your volume appears to be OK (first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues, so this is a normal thing to do).
When fsck reports that your volume is OK, type reboot at the prompt and then press Return.
Your computer should start up normally and allow you to log in.
About live verification in Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later
In Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later, you can verify your Mac OS X volume while started from it. This is known as live verification, and can be used in three different ways.
Option 1: Verify your disk using Disk Utility while started from the startup disk. To find out how to do this, see this article. Please note that live verification does not involve any disk repair, so if verification finds something that should be repaired, start up from your Mac OS X Install disc and use Disk Utility as described above in "Try Disk Utility."
Option 2 (advanced): Use the command line and the command-line utility, diskutil.
Start up your computer and log in as an administrator.
Open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities).
At the prompt, type the following command and then press Return:
diskutil verify /
Note: Don't use this method to check non-startup volumes.
You should see messages such as the following during the disk check:
Could not unmount disk for verification, attempting live verify
Started verify/repair on volume disk0s3 Macintosh HD
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK.
Mounting Disk
Verify/repair finished on volume disk0s3 Macintosh HD
Option 3 (advanced): Use the command line and the fsck_hfs -l command.
Start up your computer and log in as an administrator.
Open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities).
At the prompt, type the following command and then press Return to determine your filesytem ID:
df -hl
Look for some lines of text that look like this:
Filesystem Size Used Avail Capacity Mounted on
/dev/disk0s3 37G 20G 17G 55% /
/dev/disk0s5 37G 37G 641M 98% /Volumes/Storage
Make a note of the first "disk" name that appears after /dev/, such as "disk0s3." This is your filesystem ID for your startup volume.
At the prompt, type the following command and then press Return:
df -hl
Then type the following command, where "disk0s3" is your filesystem ID you noted in step 4, then press Return:
sudo fsck_hfs -l /dev/disk0s3
When prompted, enter your admin password, then press Return to begin the verification.
You should see messages like these during the disk check:
** /dev/rdisk0s3 (NO WRITE)
** Root file system
** Checking HFS Plus volume.
** Checking Extents Overflow file.
** Checking Catalog file.
** Checking multi-linked files.
** Checking Catalog hierarchy.
** Checking Extended Attributes file.
** Checking volume bitmap.
** Checking volume information.
** The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK.
Additional Information
If you're interested in UNIX-style command-line syntax, here's a look at how a couple of flags used in our instruction can influence fsck:
The -y flag: Tells fsck that you want to answer "yes" to all questions about fixing, repairing, or salvaging information. This is the optimal approach, as answering "no" to any question causes fsck to stop. You cannot determine that all necessary repairs have been made until fsck completes and gives its final report.
The -f flag: Forces fsck to check "clean" filesystems when preening.
Macbook Pro 17" 7200 HD 1GB Powerbook G4 (15 inch FW 800) Mac OS X (10.4.6)
Macbook Pro 17" 7200 HD 1GB Powerbook G4 (15 inch FW 800) Mac OS X (10.4.6)
Macbook Pro 17" 7200 HD 1GB Powerbook G4 (15 inch FW 800) Mac OS X (10.4.6)

OS X System Freezes While Running Disk Utility repair permissions

While trying to pepair permissions systom freeze up. So I put in the startup disk hit restrat holding down c and tried to repair permissions that way and it froze up that way too. I had to manually turn off machine. What is going on?

Thanks for your response, I only have one disk. 10.5.1 I have 10.6 on usb drive. I will try running Disk Utility from the first DVD and instead of repair permissions try to repair your drives. The reason I was repairing permissions is I have an app called video converter and when I opened it I got an error window. Ok I will try repair disk. If that doesnt work I guess I will have to reinstall the os? Is that right? Ok, here I go to try it.

Can one PPC Mac run Disk Utility for another's HD?

I have a PPC PowerBook that needs help. The Admin users are getting corrupted for some reason. I can still use other Users in Safe Mode.
I have another good PPC G3 desktop. Both running 10.5.8.
I can mount the bad HD on the good Mac's desktop but I can't run Disk Utility for it.
I've mounted with Ethernet and USB. Do I need Firewire? Do I need do try to use Target Mode?
Basically, I'm trying to use the good Mac as a startup disk for the bad one, I think.
Easy way? Thanks! JP
ps: My hunch is Firewire. I don't have any so I'm going to buy a cable soon. Unless someone here stops me! : )

Yes, you need Target Mode Firewire on both, a FW cable, then Disk Utility should be fine from one to the other.
Target mode...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
Sometimes Laptops need to have the FW cable unplugged & replugged after they'e in t mode to have it finally show up.

Need to run Disk Utility from OSX Disk to fix my hard drive.. help!

I have a newish early 2010 Macbook Pro. The standard 10.6 DVD will NOT boot my computer and yet I need to boot to DVD to use Disk Utility..
I'm nowhere near my restore disk so using that is not an option. Is there anything I can do to boot to "single user" mode and run Disk Utility so it can repair my HD?
Thanks,
Ricardo

Without your discs you're really out of luck. The 10.6 SL DVD contains too early a version to boot your computer. You would need a retail disc with a version of SL later than the one that came installed on it. If it came with 10.6.3 or earlier then the latest retail copies of SL should be 10.6.4 and would boot the computer.
Meanwhile if the computer is functional download and install AppleJack - CNet Downloads or MacUpdate. Read the documentation then run the utility.
If your computer is not functional then you can try this:
Boot into single-user mode. After startup is completed you will be in command line mode and should see a prompt with a cursor positioned after it. At the prompt enter the following then press RETURN:
/sbin/fsck -fy
If you receive a message that says "*** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED ***" then re-run the command until you receive a message that says "** The volume (nameofvolume) appears to be OK." If you re-run the command more than seven times and do not get the OK message, then the drive cannot be repaired this way.
If you were successful then enter:
reboot
and press RETURN to restart the computer.

[10.3] Is it necessary to run Disk Utility as a preventive measure

I have here a small Mac environment of about 50 Mac's all running 10.3.9
A certain user now says that I should run Disk Utility regularly on all machine's since it gives a performance boost and fixes errors.
I think that as long as a user doesn't display any weird errors, the disk utility should stay where it is.
Does anybody have any good or bad experiences with this?

1149/3595
Hi Guru Evi,
The only two things that are required for a healthy Mac OS X are:
- Backup
- Enough free hard drive space on the boot volume (at least 10 or 15%)
Then some further precaution, safe, quick and easy:
- Run Disk Utility (from the Utilities folder) "Repair Permissions" feature, after using an Apple installer or Software Update.
- Manually run the nightly automatic maintenance: Once a month, open Terminal and paste this command:
sudo periodic daily weekly monthly
If you have more time, another safe and good precaution:
- Before any important software update, upgrade or reinstallation, or say twice a year,
run Disk Utility (from the Mac OS X install DVD or CD) "Repair Disk" feature.
Rerun it if errors found, again and again until it finds all was clear.
Good or bad experiences:
Using Disk Utility is completely harmless, you can do it as often as you wish (although it would be just useless of course).
Good luck!
Axl

Trying to run Disk utility on internal HD

Okay, I'm trying to install BootCamp, and the utility says that there are problems with the hard drive, run Disk Utility. Which I do, it finds several problems, but can't fix them because it is the startup disk. It tells me to boot from the install DVD that came with the computer.
Well, I tried that this morning, and here's the results:
1) Put in DVD, double click on the "Install" icon. Window comes up, I press the Restart button, enter my password, and the computer restarts from the hard disk, not DVD.
2) Select "Startup Device" from the System Preferences. DVD doesn't appear in the list.
3) Run the "Startup Device.app" program on the DVD. DVD appears in the list, but selecting it and clicking "Restart" does nothing (computer doesn't restart)
4) Holding the 'c' key down while restarting the computer results in a black screen with a flashing underscore/prompt in the upper left corner of the screen. Computer is unresponsive, have to hold the power key down to shut it off.
What do I need to do to fix this? Why won't the computer boot off of the DVD that it came with?
Thanks!

Out of curiosity...did your machine have its logic board replaced? If so, the install DVD that came with the MBP originally will not work; you will need to use the ones provided with the replacement logic board. (It's a 10.4.5 vs. 10.4.6 issue).
If that isn't the case...it sounds like you may have a bad install disc OR that your machine's NVRAM is a bit confused... To see if that's the case, try resetting the PMU (which also clears the NVRAM). Instructions are here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303319
Good luck.

Cannot run Disk Utility, use terminal, or boot from CD, all HDs locked

I have a Mac Pro with 4 internal drives and 3 of them suddenly locked themselves. I can't run Disk Utility -- I get "underlying task reported failure on exit."
I can't boot from Disk Warrior CD. I hold down the C key til the Apple logo appears, and then the computer just restarts into my regular system on my hard drive.
I can run some apps from my startup drive, (obviously I can get on the internet). I downloaded Drive Genius but it will not install.
I cannot use the terminal to try any of those fancy tricks I read about here.
Here's what I get when I try Terminal:
login: PAM Error (line 396): System error
login: Could not determine audit condition
[Process completed]
And after that, I cannot type in the Terminal window.
Man, this is crazy. 2 of my other internal drives have backup systems on them, but they will not show up as choices in the startup disk section of my system preferences - cuz they are locked.
Any suggestions? I'm about to install a new drive and try and clone my working system on it and put Disk Warrior on it.

DJWillis wrote:
Wait, can I use Terminal from another computer in target mode?
yes, but do you mean you can boot it in target mode but not from a DVD? this is very strange. try booting fro a DVD in a different way. reboot and hold "option" at the chime. this should boot you into startup disk manager. normally you can insert the DVd at the point and choose to boot from it.

My 3 year-old macbook pro is very slow. I have run disk utility and virus scan with no improvement. The "beach ball" will spin for minutes at a time when opening, closing or changing windows. Apple Store looked at it a few months ago with no help.

my 3 year-old macbook pro is very slow. I have run disk utility and virus scan with no improvement. The "beach ball" will spin for minutes at a time when opening, closing or changing windows. Apple Store looked at it a few months ago with no help. What can I do?

Under CPU: 3.5% user; 5% system; 91% idle; 441 threads; 90 processes.
Under System: out of 2GB - 54.7MB free; 530MB wired; 603MB active; 862MB inactive; 1.95GB used.
Is too much of the system memory tied up? If so, what can I do to free some up?

Unable to reload os or Run Disk utility off osx dvd

Late 2007 Macbook Pro ( 2.53 , 4gb Ram, 320 GB hd) Will Load into osx but has the grey status bar at every boot ( Approximate 10 Mins for full boot) Ran disk utility in osx found issues and says run off DVD to repair the disk. Ran disk utility off the original DVD that came with the mac, wont find the hard drive to run disk utility. try to reinstall the OS. The installer wont find the hard drive? any idea how to resolve the issue so I can re install the OS to remove the grey status bar.

CentCorey wrote:
I can make a partition on the HD.
You'll have to decide which works best for you:
-boot from install disc, partition the external HD, install OS X on it, boot from it and see if HD shows up there so you can try to repair it (make sure you don't wipe out your TM data; your internal HD may not be reliable).
-get DiskWarrior or TechTool Pro or another disk repair utility and see what it can repair (note that these are more expensive than a new HD, but can come in handy to have around).
-get one of the SMART utilities that supposedly tell you more about your HD (I'm not a fan of either of the ones I've seen/tried and am far from confident in their results).
-get a new HD and try restoring from your TM backup.
-get an external enclosure (15 bucks or so for a USB model from newegg, amazon, macsales and others).

How do I run Disk Utility in Tiger?

I want to run Disk Utility and it says I need to run it from a start-up disk, but it won't let me from the installer disk.
How do I make a start-up disk so I can run Disk Utility?

Hi! HERE are the instructions. Tom

HT203176 automatically run Disk Utility on startup

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