If I run disc utility (thinking probable startup issues, also had kernal panic?) will i lose data?

Hi
I'm having problems starting up macbook - I get the chimes and if I leave the wheel and apple symbol for long enough I get the instruction to restart in different languages - plus the old style type to the left with something about Darwin Kernel. Don't think this is too regular but seems to happen judging by online feedback.
So i think it is something to do with the startup and have discs - have tried turning on holding down C with disc inserted - but if I go through to run disk utility, will i lose data...I'll admit to not backing up work, as most stuff online but few pictures and settings which will be annoying to an upsetting lesson to learn, if I lose them..
Anyone have any thoughts please?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
You shouldn't lose anything, but note that Disk Utility may modify the filesystem, and if this fails, you won't be able to recover your files. It's important to have a backup.
Instead of trying to repair the drive, I recommend you to start up in safe mode by holding the Shift key while your Mac is starting up. There are different reasons for a kernel panic > http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3742

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Need to run Disc Utility - But dont have Boot disc to hand

Hi,
I have run Disc Utility in OSX on my main hard drive and it says it needs repairing, so I need to boot of one of the install disc's, unfortunately I don't have these to hand at the moment (there at home & I'm not)
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Thanks

Check out this info from Apple. Pay particular attention to Safe Boot and fsck. These operations perform steps that are somewhat like running disk repair while booted from your install disc.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
What problems are you experiencing?
Regards,
Steve M.
Message was edited by: Steve M.

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I have a 2009 MacBook Pro and recently (within the last 6 months) upgraded to Mavericks. I was working on a project in After Effects and noticed I couldn't resave my project as a different name. I tried to view my desktop using my hot corners, and that wouldn't work, so I minimized my window. I then noticed that all of my files on my desktop had disappeared except for my hard drive. I tried clicking on my hard drive and it wouldn't not open. I tried opening Finder from my dock and got the pinwheel as a response.
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IMac G5 running OS 10.4.11. Started playing with a bluetooth speaker (may or may not be related). Now I cannot get past the blue screen on startup. I can get into safe mode. Tried install disc for disc utility and reloaded OS. Still get blue screen.

I have an older iMac G5 running OS 10.4.11. The other day I started playing with a bluetooth speaker (may or may not be related). Now I cannot get past the blue screen on startup.
I can get into safe mode. But no regular startup.
I tried disabling bluetooth, thinking that might be related. It didn't help.
I even tried using the install disc to run disc utility. That didn't work so I reloaded the OS.
But I still get hung on the blue screen when trying a normal startup.
All help would be appreciated.

Try resetting the PMU/SMU and PRAM/NVRAM. You'd need to identify the mode of resetting depending on the model of your G5 iMac. The Apple support sites that would help you for this are –
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1436
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1939
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1767
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
I hope this solves your problem.

Archive and Install/Disc Utility issues -

I'm currently spending a summer abroad in South America, and have had issues with my Macbook Pro (early 2011 version) no longer starting up after some virus experiences last week. The computer hangs itself during loading on the white screen w/ grey apple and the spinning dial. In contacts with Apple Care as well as some Mac-saavy friends, the following situations have been tried:
Opening in safe mode - The loading bar (added at the bottom of the grey apple screen) loads about 1/4 of the way, disappears, and the computer hangs itself.
Opening in single user mode - I run the recommended sbin/fsck -fy command to clean up the hard drive. It comes back after having checked 6-7 parts, saying that the MacHD is in good shape, with a message following saying that something had been "modified" (forgive me for not remembering the correct verbage at present). I then run the same command again, resulting in a message that the HD is clean and without error. I then "reboot" and remain hung on the white screen w/ grey apple.
Opening in verbose mode - I reach the following lines of text, and then there is no further progress:
enable
IONetworkController::enable
createMediumTables
enable end
MacAuthEvent en0   Auth result for: 00:23:cd:1e:f2:c4 No Ack
same line as above saying "Auth timed out" at the end
Command+option+r+p - shock two or three times, (three startup chimes) and computer continues to hang itself in the normal spot.
- So, at this point I took the advice of Apple Care and a few other friends, and tracked down a "retail copy" of Mac OSX (10.6.3) in order to try to do an Archive and Install or any sort of Disc Utility via the startup disc.
Inserting the disc and holding "c" at startup results in the cd drive whirring the disc for a few moments, and then remaining hung at the same white loading screen.
Holding "option" during the startup gives me the option of loading from the HD, or the disc. Selecting the disc proceeds to whirr the cd drive, take me to the white loading screen with the grey apple, and... you guessed it... leaves the CPU hung.
My question is then, is my Macbook Pro unable to read this disc and execute Archive and Install/Disc Utility for hardware reasons as per the virus attack, or is the disc not compatible with my version of OSX (which I have since confirmed through my wife to be 10.6.6)?
Different sources have told me different things. The local AASP in Uruguay sold me what they professed to be the "latest" version of OSX - the 10.6.3, what's more for $55 dollars instead of the lower cost as available in the states (between $15-$30), so I am reluctant to go back to them for advice when they seem more inclined to cash in on my inexperience (Mac owner of less than a month) than actually fixing my issue. Apple Care told me that a standard "retail disc" should work, but I am assuming now that they believe I can snag the same version as initially came with my Macbook Pro. Should I be looking to have my wife mail my original OSX install DVDs down here to resolve this problem? Should 10.6.3-retail be working and is not for reasons I haven't identified? I have since done some online research and found mentions that doing any sort of HD partitioning or OSX reinstalls can only be accomplished by utilizing a disc of an equal or more recent version of the OSX (examples that 10.4 can't work on a notebook preinstalled with 10.5, etc). Does this translate to 10.6.3 not being able to function for my 10.6.6 MBP?
Any insight or thoughts would be much appreciated, as essentially all of my schoolwork and assignments are now trapped on an inaccessible HD. Thank you for your time.
- Joseph

I tried adding in a bunch of information about what your troubleshooting steps meant, but the server went into maintenance while I did. So, here it is again:
"Opening in safe mode - The loading bar (added at the bottom of the grey apple screen) loads about 1/4 of the way, disappears, and the computer hangs itself."
     This is FSCK running, and gives you an indication of it's progress.
"MacAuthEvent en0   Auth result for: 00:23:cd:1e:f2:c4 No Ack"
     This is either a failed DHCP request or ARP request.
"Command+option+r+p"
     Command+Option+P+R - Resets PRAM. That's why p+r.
"Inserting the disc and holding "c" at startup results in the cd drive whirring the disc for a few moments, and then remaining hung at the same white loading screen."
     This problem indicates that the disc is too old to boot your system. The reason for why this disc cannot boot is because it doesn't contain the necessary drivers for your model MacBook Pro. My mom and brother have similar models, and my brother had similar issues while in Japan. He went and got an install disc as well, which failed, I ended up stepping him through so that it would boot in Safe Mode, and then got it working in Normal Mode remotely.
FYI: Sophos has a free Mac Antivirus program, that is very processing friendly, and will scan in the background. You may wish to consider it as an alternative to Avast! if it continues giving you problems. Though I suspect it may be coincidence that your computer had problems shortly after Avast! cleaned up files. Let me know how it goes. You may wish to open up Disk Utility and check your S.M.A.R.T. Status. You want to make sure it says "Verified" If it doesn't say "Verified" then you have a problem.
-Phill

I have run disk utility- the drive is corrupted- I get the error message restart your computer holing down the Cmd

I have now tried every variant of key compbinations but I still get the grey lock icon with a box which won't accept my password.
When re-running disc utility all I get is the same error message

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OS X 'shutting down'...no install disc...workaround for disc utility?!

Greetings,
Recently I have been getting complete system crashes (grey screen 'drops' over desktop and I have to restart) while simply streaming Quicktime video through Safari.
I need to run the Disc Utility but I cannot find my install disc. Can I clone my system to an external drive, boot up from that and then run Disc Utility on my original boot up drive? This as good as running it from the installation disc or am I better off getting a replacement install disc (is that even something Apple offers?).
Any tips much appreciated.

Hi.
"Can I clone my system to an external drive, boot up from that and then run Disc Utility on my original boot up drive?"
This is how I run Disc Utility and a bunch of other maintenance programmes. Running them from another drive is the same as from a cd (only faster) you will, however, clone any problems over to the new drive and there's no guarantee that Disc Utility can fix your problems
"am I better off getting a replacement install disc (is that even something Apple offers?)."
You don't need the original disc that came with your computer, you just need a copy of Tiger, which you can pick up anywhere.
Also, you could invest in Disk Warrior, which you can run from the cd, to repair your disc
Regards

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First post, so heres my what i'm running - Mac Book 2.16, OSX 10.5.2, 2 GB RAM and 111 GB Hard Drive
I've been messing around with Boot Camp the last couple of days and I finally got windows xp SP2 to running, however I ended up deleting the partition so I could make it bigger. When I tried to make the partition again boot camp told me to repair my drive with disc utility. I ended up doing it from the installation disc and did the repair from there no problems. When I get back to boot camp it tells me to run disc utility to repair? Any help would be great!

Backup to another drive. 'nuke your current partitions and use the Partition tab in Disk Utility to set as 1 Untitled (rather than "current") and you'll be fine.
BCA needs to find one large free unfragmented contiguous chunk. Also, drives reformatted with Leopard (fresh) do better than systems upgraded in some manner from Tiger to Leopard. Partition maps seem better.
Lots and lots and lots of threads that are 100% identical to yours floating around - daily occurrence. Everyone that 'cuts it short' and wants larger, cutting corners, not planning for growth.
Plan for SP3 which will be out eventually, sooner more than later.
If you don't need to run native Windows, then Fusion/Parallels is a lot less troublesome.

Disc Utility - no valid packages

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Hi davey84jones,
disregard Federico's advice, under these circumstances this is useless (and actually produces this error).
You obviously deleted the packages in the /Library/Receipts folder. These are required by disk utility in order to check permissions. For instructions how to solve this problem please read this article: Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4: Disk Utility shows a "No Valid Packages" alert
If this answered your question please consider granting some stars: Why reward points?

I want to burn an iso image of my hard drive to an external backup drive. Is Disc Utility the best program to accomplish this?

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Thanks again for the advice.
i have lost several hours trying to get the free download of the latest Daemon to function.
i eventually sucumbed to buying the full Mac version.
i made a mistake in my email address and cant find a way of using the order number to effect a download.
i have emailed Daemon with my details and optimistically await their response.
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PLEASE: IS THIS A VALID ERROR WHEN RUNNING DISC ULTIL FROM INSTALL DISK 1

when running disc util from install disc 1..i'm getting "invaild leaf record count it should be 7 instead of 96" my install reads os vers 10.2.1.. my current os is 10.4.9

I would try running the Disk repair several more times. But more then likely you'll need a more robust utility.
DiskWarrior is the best there is at this.
If you have a backup, preferably a bootable backup from before this problem, you can Erase and Install to give you a new directory. If you don't have a backup, this procedure will erase everything on your drive.
Cheers!
DALE

Kernal Panic occurs because of a startup item.

I am getting a Kernal Panic when I startup my MacBook Pro, and I think it is because of a startup item. I notice it appears in the dock to startup and then the Kernal Panic occurs. I tried force quitting the app when it appered and still go Kernal Panic and was forced to restart. I have repaired and verified permission of the disk, and have repaired the disk using the OSX DVD and Disk Utility. Is there a way to disable startup items from the OSX DVD or am I looking at having to do a reinstall of the OS. I would rather not do that, so anything will help.
artcola - refreshing the gulfcoast

Thanks, That did it! I was able to go into the HD and get the files that were causing the problem. They were not listed in the Login Item under Account Prefs so I had to search the HD and bootin in Safe Boot allowed me to find them and delete them. Thanks a lot. I don't like reinstalling unless I have to. You saved me some time, and I didn't have to wait on the phone.
artcola - refreshing the gulfcoast!

Disc Utility always set wrong permissions of the startup disc

The permissions of the startup disc should be "drwxrwxr-t 39 root admin", right?
But everytime I repair my permissions with disc utility I get the (german) message:
Benutzer unterscheidet sich für ., Soll-Wert: 501, Ist-Wert: 0
Die Gruppe unterscheidet sich für ., Soll-Wert: 501, Ist-Wert: 80.
Die Zugriffsrechte unterscheiden sich für ., Soll-Wert: drwxr-xr-x , Ist-Wert: drwxrwxr-t .
And the permissions of the startup disc are set to:
drwxr-xr-x 39 Nomis101 Nomis101
(I've read that out with "$ ls -ld /")
Than I "repair" the permissions with "$ chmod 1775 /". And next time I use disc utility I have the same again.
I've repaired the permissions in single user mode, I've booted from the install DVD and reseted my ACLs, I've removed my ACLs. But nothing seems to help.
Sometimes I also have the issue that I cannot move any file on my desktop anymore or that I have suddenly no write permissions in the folder /Volumes/Macintosh HD
I suspect MacPorts 1.7 or Mercurial as the malefactor, because the issues accumulate after I've done something with MacPorts (or Mercurial). But I'am not sure with that.

{quote:title=V.K. wrote in another thread...:}If I'm not mistaken you told me once a while ago how to modify permissions database which seems to be required there.{quote}
Hmm, that's actually a bit of a tough one - Sorry, but I think it's beyond me.
My understanding of the permissions database consists of only what I have been able to piece together from tinkering, and while I have been able to edit individual entries and have "repair permissions" behave as expected with the edits, "/" is a bit different.
Basically, every time something is installed that results in an update to the permissions database, entries are added, i.e. the entry for a file isn't edited but rather a whole new entry is added. That applies to a given file in the update, as well as every folder on the path to that file. Since installations are pretty much all rooted in "/", that means a new entry for "/" is created every time any installer updates the receipt database, and other things may add entries as well -- I have 88 entries for "/" in there on my system. This does't display all of the entries, but a slightly more user-friendly way is to view most of them is to use:<pre>
pkgutil --file-info /</pre>
I haven't dug that deeply, but I don't know what determines which entry will be used during the actual permissions verification / repair operation (it's been a while but I seem to recall that it wasn't as simple a matter as "most recent", for example), so figuring out which one to edit might be a challenge.
And there are cases like "/" where there are entries in the database, but as you pointed out, that seem to be ignored when repairing of verifying permissions, and I have no idea what flags the system to ignore those.
Interestingly, of the 88 entries on my system, 83 call for "1775" permissions, but 5 of them (mostly "Safari" updates but also the "BaseSystem" package) actually say the permissions should be "1755"...
I think for the OP, the bigger issue is trying to figure out (and stopping) whatever it is that keeps wrecking security by changing the ownership to the user...

If I run disc utility (thinking probable startup issues, also had kernal panic?) will i lose data?

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