Invalid directory item count

Hi all
I have a 2008 model iMac running Snow Leopard 10.6.4.
After installing the most recent security update this weekend, the machine rebooted and hung on start up (it was stuck on the circular activity indicator / gray screen for well over an hour). In the end I killed the power and restarted. The machine came up straight away.
I verified the disk using Disk Utility and it reported errors. So I rebooted into single user and ran fsck -fy, which fixed a whole bunch of stuff. Booted the machine and ran Disk Utility again, and it still reported errors!
Back into single user and fsck -fy the disk until it reports no changes twice in a row. Start the machine and run Disk Utility and again it reports a problem!
So now I am stuck in a loop:
- Boot in single user
- Run fsck -fy
- fsck reports that 'Invalid directory item count' error and corrects it
- Boot the machine
- Run Disk Utility, the 'Invalid directory item count' has returned
- Back to single user and it starts again
Can anyone advise on this? Do I need to worry about that message? It's the same error every time - and every time I fix it in single user and it's back by the time the machine boots. Do I just need to go out and buy DiskWarrior? I'd rather not - on the surface there's nothing wrong with the machine and I never would've known if I hadn't run Disk Utility after that hang.
Thanks in advance for any help

Thank you for the reply.
SMART validates as 'OK'.
I will try the hardware test. The OEM hard disk that came with this machine failed last year and the hardware test identified that before it finally died. However that had a lot of problems leading up to it - the machine would hang and was often very slow - checking Console showed a lot of I/O errors. Fortunately nothing like that is happening this time.
Hopefully this disk is OK. Thanks again.

Similar Messages

Solution for invalid directory item count, startup disk corruption and regular crashes

Hi,
My late 2006 MacBook (10.6.8) has recently started crashing quite frequently. The screen becomes dark and a multi-language dialogue appears stating that the computer must be restarted with the power button. When this occurs any audio which was playing begins to repeat/skip and the computer goes into complete lockdown. This is now happening perhaps twice a day or more under moderate use.
This morning I ran 'Verify Disk' in Disk Utility and the process was stopped, stating that I had two 'Invalid directory item counts' and 'the volume Macintosh
HD was found to be corrupt'. Here is a screenshot of the Disk Utility window:
I have rebooted, run a software update and rerun the disk verification but to no avail. I also booted using CMD-S, advised by an older post in another forum which suggested using 'fsck -yf' which ran and stated that the disk had been repaired.
I bought the MacBook second hand from an Apple dealer but it didn't come with an install disc so I am unable to reboot and repair the disk like that.
My questions, therefore, are what does this mean for my computer in the future, will either of these issues cause me more trouble?
What can I do about it without the install disc
And are these issues directly related to the crashes? (I have been running the computer connected to an external drive and monitor - for watching movies)
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!
Twitch

Not much you can do without an install disc which can be purchased from Apple Store > Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.)
multi-language dialogue appears
That is referred to as a kernel panic. OS X: About kernel panics
Regardless of the kernel panics, you will still need the install disc to repair and reinstall OS X if necessary.
And are these issues directly related to the crashes? (I have been running the computer connected to an external drive and monitor - for watching movies)
Could be part of the problem.

How to proceed from Disk repair "invalid directory item count" "this disk needs to be repaired"?

I'm trying to repair the hard drive on a MacBook running Mac OS X 10.6.8. To be honest I'm surprised the machine has lasted so long. It's very sluggish at the moment.
When verifying the hard drive, I get these details:
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Performing live verification.
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking catalog hierarchy.
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 37 instead of 35)
Checking extended attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
The volume Macintosh HD was found corrupt and needs to be repaired.
"This disk needs to be repaired. Start up your computer with another disk (such as your Mac OS X installation disc), and then use Disk Utility to repair this disk."
How should I proceed from here? Is the only path to use a mac OS X installation disk (which I don't have, so would have to source and borrow)?
Many thanks

Get the disk and insert it in the optical drive, then restart holding down the C key. You will come to an install screen to pick language. Unless you want some other language click inter. Then before you go any further, look to the top of the screen for a drop down utilities menu. Go to disk utilities open an select your Internal hard drive use repair option in the menu and repair drive . You may have to do this more than once. If this will not repair you drive,you will need a third party repair tool such as disk warrior or a new drive.

Disk Utility: Invalid Directory Item Count

I have noticed a minor problem with my Mac Pro when restarting. Sometimes it will fail to restart correctly and simply displays the grey screen (but not the apple icon). Usually powering down the Mac Pro will get it to start up correctly. Not ideal, but manageable.
I ran Disk Utility earlier to check what may be causing this issue and was given the following after Verifying Disk:
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking file systemPerforming live verification.
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking catalog hierarchy.
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 33 instead of 32)
Checking extended attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
The volume Macintosh HD was found corrupt and needs to be repaired.
Error: This disk needs to be repaired using the Recovery HD. Restart your computer, holding down the Command key and the R key until you see the Apple logo. When the Mac OS X Utilities window appears, choose Disk Utility.
If I restart and launch Recovery HD will I lose any data or mess things up? The machine works perfectly fine once booted and I was none the wiser to this error until I ran disk utility. The timing is unfortunate as I have just ordered a replacement drive for Time Machine due to an unrelated external hard drive error, so I don't have a recent backup which is a bit unnerving.
I want to run Recovery HD but I'm worried its going to cause a problem on an otherwise fully operational machine. I don't want to create an issue unless there is one (especially when I dont have a secure backup for a few more days). I also have Disk Warrior which has been fantastic in the past, but I cannot use it on the Mackintosh HD as it wont allow rebuilding of the startup disc.
So my question is: Should I run recovery HD now or just wait until I have a secure backup just in case it screws up? Is it possible Recovery HD may "create" a problem for me on my machine which runs and operates perfectly (minus the restart problem).

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.

Invalid Directory

I am receiving the following error after receivng countless ones telling me my drive was corrupted and needed to be repaired after upgrading to Mountain Lion. I rebooted in safe mode and it now gives me this error when verifying my disk:
Invalid Directory Item Count
(it should be 929 instead of 930)
The disk was found corrupt and needs to be repaired.
Anyone know of a fix for this if so thanks in advance for your assistance.

Bootup holding CMD+r, or the Option/alt key to boot from the Restore partition & use Disk Utility from there to Repair the Disk, then Repair Permissions.

Imac G5 will not start up correctly? invalid directory count 52 instead of 53

Hi, i have a Imac G5. it had been working fine for many years untill a year or 2 ago when it stopped all of a sudden and just would not start up as it should. instead, it went to this grey screen with horizontal lines. eventually after trying just about every combination of keys held down on startup, the only way i could get the mac to restart was by starting it in safe mode. (at this point i rescued all my photos and music and moved them onto my macbook pro) i thought it was working fine in safe mode untill i realised that it could not connect to the internet, the sound would not work at all, and when i went to preferances it could not find any output device for the sound. it also keeps coming up with a message saying that my internet communication device does not exist. allot of the programs worked fine, such as word, or photoshop, whereas others would not. i verified the disk, and discored that it would not let me repair it.
Invalid directory count
it should be 53 instead of 52)
checking attributes file
checking volume bitmap
checking volume information
repaired.",1)
macintosh hd
error: the underlying task reported failure on exit
HSF volume checked
volume needs repair
it then came up with a message saying that he disk utility stopped verifying the macintosh hd because of it reporting the failure on exit.
i have tried doing this a few times but the exact same result is gained
i tryed using disk repair whilst starting up from the original install disk, but this also did not fix the problem. eventually, i decided to reinstall the os x 10.4.11. this had absolutely no effect, and i am at the same point. i would be very gratefull if anybody would be able to come up with any ideas of how i could fix this problem?
additional details: i have tried using the proxy reset
i have also tried running a apple hardware test
i have tried repairing the macintosh hd disk using the original install disks
also: all of the sockets at the back work fine, e.g. usb, but the microphone and headphone sockets do not work.
it will read disks fine

but this also did not fix the problem. eventually, i decided to reinstall the os x 10.4.11. this had absolutely no effect,
I'd have guess you reformated at that time. The file system is messed up. You need to reformat.
Format a disk using the installation DVD
To format the startup drive, you will need to run disk utility from your installation DVD.
This article will tell you how to get to disk utility. Once in a disk utility, you can go and format the disk.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
To format your startup drive, you will need to run disk utility from your startup DVD.
Mac OS X 10.4: About the utilities available on the Mac OS X 10.4 Install DVD
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2055
How to run disk utility from your startup DVD.
Insert your startup DVD into your reader. Power down your machine. Hold down to the c key. Power on your machine. This will bootup your startup DVD. ( Alternatively, you may hold down the control key, this brings up the startup manager. Click on the desired volume. Click on the right arrow. )
This will bring you to a panel asking you for your language. Pick your language.
You you come to the Install Mac OS panel. Do not install.
Click on Utilities menu item. This will give you a pulldown list of utilities.
Click on the disk utility.
Start up disk utility.
On the left pane view, you will see a list of all your disks. Click on the external disk.
Click on the partition tab.
You will now see how your external disk is currently set up. Fill in the information as appropriate. You should pick Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
More details on formatting.
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/partitioning_tiger.html

Invalid volume file count and directory count

My wife's macbook pro started shutting down by itself randomly, so i performed Disk Utility Verify Disk and found these errors:
Invalid volume file count
(It should be 800651 instead of 800653)
Invalid volume directory count
(It should be 191005 instead of 191003)
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.
As i do not have the Mac OS Leopard disks physically with me, I target-disk started her mac on my mac, and use my mac to run Disk Utility on her hard-disk, and repaired the disk without problems.
However, this is the 3rd or 4th time this has happened. After the 1st time, i figured something is causing it, so i checked this forum, and found that for some, the Blackberry Messenger app causes programs, so i promptly uninstalled it fully (including associated system files) and this problem didnt come back for a while.
Or could this be a sign the hard disk is physically failing soon? It is out of warranty now. We have regular TimeMachine backups. We are actually kinda waiting out until the new line of macbook pro's come out.. (hopefully in June at WWDC)
Any suggestions as to how else to address this? Thanks!
Laptop stats: MacBook Pro 15"
2.4 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB RAM
HDD: 250GB
Graphics: NVDIA GeForce 9400M VRAM 256MB
OS: Mac OS Leopard

Well, the disk errors are due to corruption caused by the random power downs, so focus on getting that issue solved first. What's the stats on the battery?

Verify Disk gives message invalid volume file count/invalid directory count

My Powerbook G4 (running Leopard 10.5.5) was running slower and slower. So I ran Disk Utility. When running “Verify Disk”, I received the following message -
Quote
At “checking volume information”, got the following message –
Invalid volume file count
(it should be 608262 instead of 608269)
invalid volume directory count
(it should be 126277 instead of 126270)
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.
Unquote
A friend told me my hard drive was DEAD and needed to be repaired. Is this true or is there some way to fix my drive?

I started up from my latest OS X Installer (Leopard) and opened Disk Utility (although it seems to give me the Disk Utility that's on my Hard Drive, NOT one on the installation disk). Repair Disk was NOT an option (even after running Verify Disk again to see if that helped).
So, now what do I do now? Disk Warrior may help (or it may not) and a new hard disk isn't THAT expensive. Should I just go ahead and bite the bullet and get a new hard drive???
Oh, and while I'm asking questions - my PowerBook G4 is 5 years old. Besides the dodging hard drive everything else is running ok. But after 5 years (mainly run on mains power, not the battery), is it about time for a new battery? Is there a way to tell whether your battery is about to die before it actually dies and you can't start up?
Message was edited by: paswines

INVALID VOLUME FILE COUNT and INVALID VOLUME DIRECTORY COUNT

Every few days, something on my machine is causing an invalid volume file count and an invalid volume directory count. Error message will read something like:
Invalid volume file count
(it should be 520176 instead of 520178)
Invalid volume directory count
(it should be 152750 instead of 152748)
This causes the machine to lock up.
This is my SECOND machine (same set up on the previous machine) that is experiencing these issues. Once I run the disk utility off of the original OS disk everything is fine.

This is my SECOND machine (same set up on the previous machine) that is experiencing these issues. Once I run the disk utility off of the original OS disk everything is fine.
Invest in a couple things - backup drive, Disk Warrior, and SuperDuper
Install OS X to part of your external (small and just big enough for an emergency system and minimal programs).
Booting off DVD is fine, but no Finder and you are limited to the (older) version of Disk Utility on there (and it does get updated and changed).
Clone your system for boot backup, especially before updates and changes.
Disk Warrior recognizes and repairs more issues, some of which Apple First Aid doesn't even look for.
So even though it appears okay afterward...
Next would be to run Apple Hardware Test, and along with that check your RAM with MEMTEST (REMBER is handy and is just GUI wrapper to memtest program) or run Memtest yourself from the Terminal.

Invalid Directory Count

My system starting acting up today--I ran verify disk and get the following msg: "invalid directory count" Next steps? Cannot repair due this message. Looks like I have some corrupted directories--Next steps?

If you have SL, then use your boot DVD and restart your computer holding down the option key as soon as you hear the chime. This will let you boot from the DVD. Once you are there, select disk utility to repair your HD. The reason for booting from the DVD is so the HD can be unmounted and fixed.
If you have Lion, then restart your computer holding down the option key as soon as you hear the chime. Select the recovery partition and then launch disk utility. Repair your HD.
Either way, if you get errors then repair it once again until you are error free. Once that is done, you may as well repair disk permissions.

Disk Utility: invalid volume file count & directory count

My MacBook OS X version 10.5.8 has ran quite slowly occasionally but I think that's due to the fact I've had it for almost 5 years. But then yesterday it kept on freezing every few seconds so that it was impossible to do anything. I then left it overnight and in the morning cleared the safari cache and kept rebooting it which eventually stopped it freezing so often. But now certain applications such as iTunes keep quitting before they even open properly and applications that do work still freeze every so often. So then I ran disk utility and verified the disk which came up with this:
"Performing live verification.
Checking Journaled 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.
Invalid volume file count
(It should be 759557 instead of 759584)
Invalid volume directory count
(It should be 157930 instead of 157903)
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed."
However the 'repair disk' button is dimmed so I can't click on it. Then when I typed in my problem on the help bar it said I need to use the installation disk to be able to repair this but I don't know where this disc is, so was wondering if there are any ways of fixing this without needing a disc?

was wondering if there are any ways of fixing this without needing a disc?
No.
You cannot do this from the same start-up disk. Reboot from your install disk (holding down the C key). Once it opens, select your language, and then go to Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Select your hard disk as before and click Repair:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1782?viewlocale=en_US
Once that is complete reboot again from your usual start-up disk.
Call Apple Customer Support 1-800-767-2775, provide the Serial Number and specifications of the Mac, and for a reasonable fee, they will supply a replacement set of system discs (if available).
The discs will be for the original version of the OS that was pre-installed when the Mac was manufactured.

Disk Utility cant verify or repair - invalid directory count

Hi there, I perform disk utility fairly often, about once a month. But this has come up and the button for 'repair disc' is not available, what should I do. I'm not very advanced so if you could break it down for me simple, should anyone be able to help. Thank you so much.
Nick
this is what it shows -
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
Invalid volume file count
(It should be 694264 instead of 694266)
Invalid volume directory count
(It should be 163922 instead of 163920)
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.

I had a similar problem and your solution (restart holding down the shift key) worked. I though I was going to have to purchase a disk utility program. What does that key combination do?
thanks!
Bob

Invalid File/Volume Count

Over many years I've had many Macs, but I've never seen this problem. I recently purchased a new unibody MacBook 13.3 and LED Cinema Display. I didn't use Time Machine to populate it...I installed all my apps from scratch.
Every couple of days, if I run "Verify Disk" from Disk Utility, it finds the file count off by two or three and the directory count off by two or three. Each time I run "Repair Disk" and it fixes the problems, but they always return. I'm not changing anything on the computer, running new software, etc., just normal computing, albeit quite a few hours a day.
Could this be caused by hardware (read: is there something wrong with this new MacBook)? Thanks in advance for any hints.
Larry

Use your install disc instead ...
Check out this thread > Disk Utility: invalid volume file count...: Apple Support Communities

Verify Disk: Invalid Volume File Count

So... I'm not really sure what to do or what exactly is wrong. I'm hoping not to reboot or reinstall all together, but if I have to... I suppose there's no choice.
I tried 'Verify Disk' from the utilities, but is fails and says
Invalid volume file count
(It should be 712836 instead of 712840)
Invalid volume directory count
(It should be 171417 instead of 171413)
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.
I tried doing a 'Repair Disk' from the installation CD, but it says it fails because it could not unmount the HD.
what am I doing wrong and how can I fix it and is it really bad?
I've heard some suggest to go buy Disk Warrior. Will this fix it... or.. probably not?

*"Will this fix it... or.. probably not?"*
You won't know until you give it a try. You should own a copy of Disk Warrior anyway for at least some peace of mind in the future.
If it doesn't work, then you'll need to backup your files, erase the drive and start from scratch.

Recurring invalid volume file count (I repair, it comes back)

On my desktop system (10.6.8), every once in a while Disk Utility says there is an invalid volume file count (off by 2) and an invalid volume directory count (also off by 2). I boot off the DVD, use Disk Utility to repair the file system, and a couple of weeks later, it recurs. Any way to figure out what's causing this and put an end to it?

A Cortez wrote:
I generally don't post here unless a problems has become a REAL problem. I upgraded a few months back to MacOS10.6.8 and have experienced some pretty strange behavior. It starts with horizontal lines across the screen and these can appear for several hours and then hang or within 10-15 minutes of starting up. The obvious check for me is to run disk utility because it looks to me like something is getting overwritten - virtual memory maybe. When I run disk verify I get:
Performing live verification.
Checking Journaled 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.
Invalid volume file count
(It should be 759557 instead of 759584)
Invalid volume directory count
(It should be 157930 instead of 157903)
I then have to repair the disk by starting up from original install disks...
I'm getting the horizontal lines right now and I just ran disk repair!
I can't run/find/access Apple Hardware test - seems to have disappeared from this release!
Any ideas as to how to fix/stop it from happening. It seems to be happening daily, today it has happened at least 3 times....
making me nuts!
Appears you have directory damage & need a stronger 3rd party utility to fix. You should not use your computer until the damage has been repaired to avoid damaging your directory any further.
Utilities are best run from the CDs to avoid system interference & false readings/reports. You must use the versions that are compatible w/your OS system & keep the utilities updated to avoid damaging/harming/trashing your system.
You need to make your own decision on which to purchase. Read up on them on their websites because each do something a little different.
DiskWarrior (Highly Recommended for Directory Damage Repair)
Techtool Pro
Drive Genius
================
Check out:
Apple Hardware Test

Invalid directory item count

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