Iphoto won't start - disk utility can't fix file volume

I've posted my iphoto problems on the iphoto forum and they suggested I post here on the Tiger forum.
It all started when I completed the automatic software upgrade for iphoto and other applications (can't remember which) and when I started iphoto, all my pictures disapeared in front of my eyes. Tried a number of tricks suggested on the iphoto forum and one worked for a while but now iphoto won't even start up.
One suggestion was to fix disk permissions. This did not work and got a message that there was on error in one of the file volumes. When trying to fix that using disk utility, the application can't exit properly and the problem persists. Another suggestion was to use DU from the start up disk and I did that with no results, same problem as before.
HELP! I can't use iphoto and it appears I have something wrong with my hard drive. All other applications appear to work fine and I have all my photos and music backed up on a backup drive.
Do I need to re-install Tiger? Help Please
Intrepid 007

If you have run Disk Utility and it cannot repair the drive then you have a couple of choices. First, you could purchase a more robust utility such as Disk Warrior or Tech Tool Pro or Drive Genius. Disk Warrior is an excellent program for repairing the disk directory.
You could do a reinstall, just make sure to backup all of your files first. If it were me I would do a reformat and reinstall rather than an archive and install just to insure that whatever corruption is on your system is gone, but that is me.

Similar Messages

'volume check failed', and disk utility can't fix it

I was planning to create a new bootable backup today and ran 'repair disk' from an install disk before cloning.
Unfortunately I grabbed a Panther disk by mistake, and only discovered it was the wrong disk as I took it out. By then, DU had run through the 'repair' - changing quite a few things - until it showed 'volume cannot be repaired'.
I've tried to correct them using DU from the Tiger install disk, but without any luck. DU shows:
+Invalid catalogue record type+
+Volume check failed+
+Error: the underlying task reported failure on exit+
+1 Volume could not be repaired because of an error+
My iBook still appears to be running perfectly, but obviously I need to repair the disk before I can clone it. Disk Utility can't do it - could DiskWarrior?
I'd really appreciate some advice on the options open to me, and the best way to do it.

Success!
I powered down and ran DiskWarrior a 2nd time to rebuild the directory. This time I skipped the recommended Preview stage and went straight to confirming Rebuild. Everything now seems to be fine again. DU finds no faults with the disk, and the iBook feels significantly quicker and snappier.
Two things I learnt that might be helpful - the first is, it's easy to be careless for just a moment and end up in a time-consuming mess. It's the first time I've done it, and I won't be doing it again.
Second thing is, when people say DiskWarrior is slow to boot, they mean it - it took at least 10 minutes to show up on screen, which is unsettling. And the Preview stage, for me, was equally unnerving.
Still, it worked - superbly - all my data is intact, the iBook is overhauled and working faster than ever.

Disk utility can't fix my disk!

I have a MacBook Pro 15" with OS X Mavericks. Latley programs have crashed for no reason, so i checked disk utilities, it found a problem, I turned off my computer, held down cmd + R, and disk utilities can't fix it there either. So I know I have to delete my disk, install OS X again, and all that... I know how to do this, but I don't want to loose all my files and programs (yes, not all of them are downloaded from appstore...). But since it's my startup disk that is broken, I can't start it normally, to take a Time Machine back up.
Is there another way to take a backup without start up normally? Are there some codes in terminal I can use?
Thanks for all answers.

I tried CCC, and this happened... I had it on "Administrators" because I didn't want everyone to log on my comuter..
But since my startup disk is broken, I can't start it and log on and fix it. Is there another way to turn it off?
I used my hostname to remote clone it, would the IP adress have been better?

Powerbook won't start - Disk Utility error "Invalid Key Length" - help plz!

Hello
I am having problem with my Titanium powerbook. Since it was refurbished I have only been using it for internet browsing and email and I don't know why it suddenly started freezing. After a couple of freezes it stopped starting up. I don't know why, as I wasn't doing anything unusual. I have run a few checks and don't know how to proceed. Please help.
This is what I have done so far:
1. Tried to start up in Safemode. Made the startup sound but then went dead.
2. I tried Single User Mode and did fsck -fy and the results were:
** /dev/rdisk0s10
** Root file system
** Checking HFS Plus volume
** Checking Extents Overflow file.
** Checking catalogue file
Invalid key length
(4, 135)
** volume check failed
localhost:/ root# Firewire (OHCI) Apple ID 18 built-in: no valid self IDs for more than 2 minutes after bus reset.
3. No problems were detected by the Hardware Test disk.
But the powerbook still won't start up properly. I can't get past the blue screen with the 'thinking' (rotating) circle icon (pinwheel?).
4. When I try to access the computer using a firewire cable the hard disk doesn't appear on the host computer.
5. I tried Disk repair Utility from startup using a disk but got the same result as with fsck -fy.
Any ideas?

Hi, Can't. Your hard drive's directory is damaged in a way that exceeds the limited repair capabilities of Disk Utility or fsck. DiskWarrior can fix "invalid key length" errors, as this short FAQ explains. If you have DiskWarrior, use it to make the repair. If you don't, you can either buy DW, or reformat the hard drive with Disk Utility and start over. Note that reformatting the drive will erase everything on it, so if there's any important, un-backed-up data on it that you can't afford to lose, buying DW will be the better option for you.
Message was edited by: eww

Help! PB G4 won't boot and Disk Utility can't fix it!

I have an insufficiently backed up PowerBook G4 1.67MHz (1GB RAM) that suddenly nosedived last night. I was surfing the Web and OmniWeb froze up. I couldn't force-quit it because the Finder was also locked up. So I held the power button until it shut down. When I restarted it, it got to the grey apple screen and hung there. I booted off the Tiger CD and ran Disk Utility, but it couldn't fix it. Then I tried booting into single-user mode and it also failed. Finally I tried reinstalling the system, but the CD couldn't find the hard drive. Aaargh!
I have a bunch of documents that I really cannot lose, and the most updated versions of them are only on this drive. Anyone know any tricks or third-party utilities that can help? I have another Mac; would Firewire Target Mode or Network booting help?
Some details:
Here's what Disk Utility said:
Invalid volume header (this was written in red)
Checking Catalog file
Keys out of order (in red)
Rebuilding Catalog B-tree (in green)
The volume [name] could not be repaired (in red)
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit (in bold red)
1 HFS volume checked
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error (in bold red)
Repair attempted on one volume (in bold)
1 volume could not be repaired (in bold red)
Then it popped up a dialog box:
First Aid Failed
Disk Utility stopped repairing [name] because the following error was encountered:
The underlying task reported failure on exit (in bold)
Here's what single-user said:
It all booted normally, then I got these ominous entries in the list:
disk0s3: I/O error.
jnl: dojnlio: strategy err 0x5
jnl: open: could not read 512 bytes for the journal header.
hfs: late jnl init: failed to open/create the journal (retval 8).
nfs_boot: networking is not initialized
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x001F2634): nfsbootinit failed with 6
[then there's two backtraces here]
panic: We are hanging here...
PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

As Mr Peck advised, DW is your best chance of getting out of this.
The important point of your post is the hard shut down (were you running Classic?) and the mention of Keys Out of Order. Do a search on these boards for Keys Out of Order for a quick education of the problem.
Make sure of the version of DW you use, get the disk and don't download, and make sure of your firmware version.
Joe

Disk Utility can't fix error...

Hi people...
I have a G4 iBook, 933mhz, 640ram, 80g HD. It's on OS 10.4.11. Everything has been running fine, no problems for a long while, until this morning.
I turned the computer on, and it loaded/booted fine up to the 'Login' screen. I popped my password in, pressed Enter. Usually, with in a matter of milliseconds, my current wallpaper appears, followed by the menu bar and the HD icons etc. However, today, after entering the password, the login box disappeared and left the Aqua default wallpaper in the backround. I left it for about 5 minutes and it just stayed as it was, so i powered down. I put in my install DVD and booted up Disk Utility. I got the permissions checked and verified, all were fine. I then done the disk verification. Within a matter of minutes, it came up with an error in bold red (apologies in advance, i didn't record the code). I tried both the repair and varify options and neither could solve the problem.
I restarted the computer and it loaded fine, until i'd put my password in again. So this time i left it for about 15 minutes. When i returned, it had managed to load my current wallpaper, but nothing else.
Does this sound like a serious problem? I don't want to re-install as i'll lose lots of information on the computer. Has anybody else experienced similar? Could i re-install if there's a HD error?
Any advice welcomed!
(if i remember correctly, the error on screen was something like: "HD error, 90, unable to complete process" or similar).

Hi guys
Well, last night, i ran Disk Utility, an the error was that bad that it still couldn't fix it. I started the computer up as normal, and after login, i left it for nearly 2 hours. Desktop eventually loaded up, and once loaded, the whole computer behaved as normal. I backed-up my files/pics etc (not alot thankfully as i'm a regular back-upper (you learn after losing a hard-drive with major projects on!)).
I then ran DU in situe, and it reported the same error-"Error -9445. Keychain length not long enough: 0 volumes repaired". As i had backed up the info, i restarted it and tried again. This time it booted up as normal. So i ran DU again, but it still reported the same error. Everytime i tried to 'Repair' on first aid, the option was ghosted-so upon selecting Verify, it started to check, telling me it needed to be repaired, then Repair wasn't a option. Unfortunately i was without Internet access last night, so was unable to accesss this information, and i can't tell you what the S.M.A.R.T. status was.
I figured that as i had backed up the info i needed, i'd start up with Install the disk, try erasing the HD, and then run First Aid Repair Disk, knowing full well that i would be 'Zeroing' the HD and reinstalling in the next few days. So. i bravely erased the HD.... i ran the Repair Disk....the result? Tune in tomorrow folks!
No, just kidding-the result was fine. No errors reported, volume 'Dan's G4 was successfully repaired' (in green type, something i had begun to miss!). So i now know that i'll need to install the OS again, but at this moment in time it appears the the HD is ok. Obviously i won't know until the system is re-installed, but i do have access to a PC with internet connection at the moment, so if it all goes pair shaped then i can report back. However, when i'm all up and running, i need to learn about partitioning, so i'll be back to report regardless...
The only further question i have is concerning re-installation. My iBook came with OS 10.3.4 over 3 CD's, plus the 4 software CD's. I upgraded and bought OS 10.4.7 on DVD. So what do i use for installation? Do i use the original 10.3 CD's, or do i use the 10.4 DVD? I'm not sure if the CD's contain vital info that the DVD doesn't? Sounds a silly question i suppose, but i don't want to spend 2+ hours installing, then another 2 upgrading when i put in 10.4!
Cheers for your help, and thanks in advance for your info!
Dan
Message was edited by: Dan the 480 Man

Disk Utility can't fix problems, and is very sow...

Every time I run Disk Utility on my system's "Macintosh HD", it returns this error list:
Repairing permissions for “Macintosh HD”
Warning: SUID file "usr/libexec/load_hdi" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DiskManagement.framework/Versions/A/Resources /DiskManagementTool" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DesktopServicesPriv.framework/Versions/A/Reso urces/Locum" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Install.framework/Versions/A/Resources/runner " has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Admin.framework/Versions/A/Resources/readconf ig" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Admin.framework/Versions/A/Resources/writecon fig" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/libexec/authopen" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/OwnerGroupTool" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Permissions repair complete
Is this OK? If so, why it does show this? If it's not OK, why it can't fix this problem?
And it takes 4-5 longer to run "Repair Disk Permissions" than it was on OS X Tiger.
I sent this report also to the Apple Mac OS X Feedback. Just wanted to know is this Disk Utility report normal?

But this repairing process takes about 4-5 minutes, while on Tiger it took about 1 minute.
That is normal in Mac OS X 10.5.
(26351)

Aspire V5 Laptop won't start and I can't fix without being an administrator

I did a system restore from a recent restore point. After rebooting, my laptop started normally, but then a message came up saying "Preparing Automatic Repair." After a few moments it said "Diagnosing your PC". Then a blue screen came up saying "Automatic Repair." There were two options, "Restart" and "Advanced Options". Restart didn't work (I tried several times), so eventually I tried the Advanced Options. From Advanced Options, I went to "Troubleshoot," and then a different "Advanced options". From the Advanced Options screen, there were several choices that looked promissing; but almost all of them say I need to be an administrator and won't let me continue. To start with, I am an Administrator on my machine, but it says it can't find any Administrator accounts. How can I get past this? My computer is useless and my only options seem to be refresh or reset. Why do I have to be an administrator to save my computer? Please someone tell me there's a way to do a "System Restore," bring up the "Command Prompt," or do "Startup Repair" without being an administrator. Those are the three options that require me being an Administrator. I've never had a System Restore fail before and can't believe it did. :-(

Hi SixSigmaGuy, If you were able to do a system restore it should let you do a refresh or reset and "yes" it looks like that will be your only 2 options and at this point if you have everything back up i will go ahead and do a reset to factory default.

Disk utility can't repair disk, back up and restore files......I need help, I'm worried I'll lose all my photos, files etc

Mac started hanging up while streamlining a kids show. Restarted and got the screen with the apple and the circle. restarted with control-option p and r. Ran disk repairitem got the following results;
invalid index key,
it rebuilds catalog b-tree,
volume repair complete,
updating boot support partitions for the volume as required,
Error disk utility can't repair disk
I'm then prompted to back up all files, reformat the disk and restore backed up files.
Obviously need help here as I think I'm in danger of losing my files, photos etc if I don't do this right.
Can anyone help
Steve

You might want to back up the disk as soon as possible, do the repair, then back it up again. First time will have the issues that Disk Utility can't fix, however, you'll have the data saved. Then, once you get things repaired, make a new backup, and go from there.
If you're going to use a hard drive directly connected to your iMac for backup, this is what I mentioned earlier: http://twelvesouth.com/products/backpack/ Great way to use space behind the iMac without adding something else to the desk top. You can buy it through Apple online/stores or Amazon, and there are probably other sources too.
For external hard drives, I like those sold by OWC at http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/ as many of them use Oxford chip sets, wihch work well with macs (I've used several for years with no issues). Most pre-packaged drive/cases have a 3 year warranty, although you can buy a case and add your own hard drive. I like Western Digital Scorpio Blacks that have a 5 year warranty.

Macbook w/ whole slew of problems...Won't Start Up, Disk Utility Can't Repair Disk, Horizontal Lines on Screen, Etc.

I purchased my Macbook in the summer of 2011 and before it went berserk it was running Mavericks. 3 years later, it's finally seemed to have run its course.
It won't start up normally and it won't start up on safe boot. Attempting to use disk utility to repair the disk only gives me the message: "Disk utility can't repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible." There are also horizontal lines across the start screen (before it inevitably shuts down) and the screen looks very faintly purple-ish/off-colored.
This actually didn't come out of the blue. On Monday, my macbook suddenly froze, went white, and beeped three beeps repeatedly. I restarted it and backed up all my important work files and set up an appointment at the genius bar for Friday once work ended. It remained buggy during this process with the beeps returning an occasionally a blue screen popping up.
Unfortunately, there wasn't enough space to back up my important photos and by the time I returned on the next day with an external hard drive to store them on, my macbook would no longer turn on.
Is there anything I can do to bring my macbook back to life? Ideally I'd like for it to last one more year before I graduate college. Is it still salvageable, and if so, is it worth salvaging?

I hate to spread gloom, but that computer has serious problems. The only people who can diagnose the problem(s) are technicians. I would take it back to the Apple store for further testing.
Barry

Macbook pro won't boot and when I tried to back up the hard drive I got "disk utility can't repair this disk backup as many of your files as possible"

My macbook pro froze and initially would not even recognize the power chord. Now it charges, but will not load up. I opened in in disk utility to try and back it up so that I could take it to apple to have it fixed but I got the message that said "disk utility can't repair this disk backup as many of your files as possible". How do I back up the files???

Nichelle215,
you can try the method described on this Apple page, in the “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility” section. (You can skip step 6, since you already know that your disk is irreparable.) Note, however, that this method is not guaranteed to work. Once you get your disk straightened out, you might consider purchasing an external hard disk for use as a Time Machine backup destination, so that a similar problem in the future won’t wipe out the only copy of your files.

Iphoto won't start. photo won't start because I need Library Upgrader? where can I get I as don't have the original disc.

iphoto won't start because I need Library Upgrader? where can I get I as don't have the original disc.

Sounds like you have a damaged library7 To check launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and try to create a test library. If you can import a few photos. If that works then your original library is damaged so make a temporary, duplicate copy of the library and try the three fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
1 - delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your Home/Library/Preferences folder.
2 - delete iPhoto's cache files that are located in your Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.iPhoto folder.
3 - reboot, launch iPhoto and try again.
NOTE: If you're moved your library from its default location in your Home/Pictures folder you will have to point iPhoto to its new location when you next open iPhoto by holding the the Option key. You'll also have to reset the iPhoto's various preferences.
Fix #2
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions to rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #3
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

Had a new hard drive installed last month. now iphoto won't start up, popup says "you can't open the application iphoto because it may be damaged or incomplete. can this be repaired without going to the repair shop?

had a new hard drive installed last month. now iphoto won't start up, popup says "you can't open the application iphoto because it may be damaged or incomplete". can this be repaired without going to the repair shop?

What installed iPhoto there in the first place? Was it the same version of iPhoto that came with the Mac? Was iLife added at a later time from a Mac Box Set? You can selectively install iPhoto, and then apply the appropriate iLife update without taking it to the shop, after removing the application, or recover it from your backup.

Disk Utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backuped-up file.

Computer got uber slow.
I started to worry.
Now computer won't start.
VERY worried.
Tried to repair disk. Received error message above.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

sulaver wrote:
Computer got uber slow.
I started to worry.
Now computer won't start.
VERY worried.
Tried to repair disk. Received error message above.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
You can't have received an error message "Disk Utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backuped-up file." since that is pure gobbledegook and isn't even good English.
What may have happened is that
(a) your hard drive has become so full that the operating system can't find any space in which to.... operate.
(b) as macjack says, it has crashed - possibly as a result of (a).
(c) you have been allowing Time Machine to back up to your internal hard drive instead of to a backup disk, which has caused (a) to happen.

Disk utility recomends backing up files after hard drive can not be repaired?

My Mac mini will not complete the boot process. I am able to get to the disk utility by using the Snow Lepard disk that I recently purchased and pressing the option key. Disk utility is telling be that my disk can not be repaired and I should back up as much data as I can and reload the software.
Is there another disk repair program that could possibly fix what disk utility can not? Is it worth a try?
If not...
How do I back up data on the mounted disk since I can not access it? Do you recommend a perticular external hard drive and software to manage my backups?
Thank you.

Welcome to Apple Support Communities allensood!
You will get a wider audience and won't confuse the original poster with solutions that don't apply to them, if you start your own topic here
https://discussions.apple.com/community/desktop_computers/mac_mini?view=discussi ons
Unless you have a solution to try for the original poster, it is always best if you start your own topic.

Iphoto won't start - disk utility can't fix file volume

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for