Is my hard disk telling me it gonna die?

Hi all,
I have all sorts of troubles since I install (after initialising it, with zero write) Snow Leopard on my MacBook 2.'GHZ, 2008-11.
Now, a newly created window opens in the top middle of the screen (instead of some pixels from the left).
I also get tons of errors using the MacBook (most of the AppleScripts created after the install) works or not, I never know before executing them if they will work or not (most of the time, they just do not work).
Extensions off boot leads to the same experience.
Disk Utilities: check or Repair hard disk find no error, repair the permission does not modify anything.
Every advice will be checked carefully.
Greatings from Strasbourg, France.
Emile

LuckyEmile wrote:
I am not sure if installing SL on an external hard disk is an effective test.
Yes, an external is a perfect way to test a new system. Then, when you're sure it's OK just clone it over to your internal using SuperDuper or CarbonCopy Cloner.
I believe what Barry is suggesting, is that you reapply The 10.6.3 Combo Update This is a fuller install, as opposed to an incremental "delta" update so it should overwrite any files that are damaged or missing. It does not matter if you have applied it before.
Remember to Verify Disk before update and repair permissions after update from /Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility.
When you reformat, make it "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)"
-mj

Similar Messages

Time capsule 2TB,connected to mac mini server leopard, LG DP1W mediacenter/player for watching movies on my tv from my harddisk tower connected to time capsule by usb/hub on G-technologie 8 TB G-SPEED Q RAID-oplossing(hard disk tower) is this gonna work??

hello,
ik have a question about the hardware i wanna buy
i have a IMAC that is 3 years old and running on leopard snow 10.5, i want to upgrade the software from this mac to 10.6 and put 4GB workmemory into it, i have now 1GB.
I have ordered a MAC MINI SERVER leopard snow 10.6(also ordered a dvd superdrive, wireless typing, and a wireless mouse for the mac mini)
i have ordered a Time Capsule 2TB
i want to connect to the Time capsule this:
G-technologie 8 TB G-SPEED Q RAID-oplossing (hdtower)
UPC of EAN nr.: 705487185744 in the mac store
i want to connect to the Time Capsule this for my TV to play movies from the harddisktower connected to my time capsule:
LG DP1W MEDIAPLAYER/CENTER without harddisk build into it, with WiFi connection butt, i'm gonna use te 2.0 USB connection that is faster and stabile.
-Connecting the Time Capsule to the Internet
i'm also gonna use this: gear4 PG467 UNITY REMOTE(control everything with iphone)
i'm also want to connect by 2.0 USB my canon all in one foto printer, WiFi is not working properly and i have many times problems with connection my printer wireless.....
And for the future i also want to connect a Dymo Labelprinter by 2.0 USB
in total 7 usb connections: only the time capsule have one port, so i can split to more ports by a usb-hub????
Well i have another question: i want to store a movie database on the external harddisktower that is connected to the time capsule.....
How can... let me say: my sister, and father who live on 2 different adresses get access to the movie database and watch them at their own home?????
can i secure it with a password given to my sister or father that is only works for 1 file???? so that i get multiple passwords
how does this works??? to share/upload/download to the internet only to one person????
i hope someone can help me????

hello,
ik have a question about the hardware i wanna buy
i have a IMAC that is 3 years old and running on leopard snow 10.5, i want to upgrade the software from this mac to 10.6 and put 4GB workmemory into it, i have now 1GB.
I have ordered a MAC MINI SERVER leopard snow 10.6(also ordered a dvd superdrive, wireless typing, and a wireless mouse for the mac mini)
i have ordered a Time Capsule 2TB
i want to connect to the Time capsule this:
G-technologie 8 TB G-SPEED Q RAID-oplossing (hdtower)
UPC of EAN nr.: 705487185744 in the mac store
i want to connect to the Time Capsule this for my TV to play movies from the harddisktower connected to my time capsule:
LG DP1W MEDIAPLAYER/CENTER without harddisk build into it, with WiFi connection butt, i'm gonna use te 2.0 USB connection that is faster and stabile.
-Connecting the Time Capsule to the Internet
i'm also gonna use this: gear4 PG467 UNITY REMOTE(control everything with iphone)
i'm also want to connect by 2.0 USB my canon all in one foto printer, WiFi is not working properly and i have many times problems with connection my printer wireless.....
And for the future i also want to connect a Dymo Labelprinter by 2.0 USB
in total 7 usb connections: only the time capsule have one port, so i can split to more ports by a usb-hub????
Well i have another question: i want to store a movie database on the external harddisktower that is connected to the time capsule.....
How can... let me say: my sister, and father who live on 2 different adresses get access to the movie database and watch them at their own home?????
can i secure it with a password given to my sister or father that is only works for 1 file???? so that i get multiple passwords
how does this works??? to share/upload/download to the internet only to one person????
i hope someone can help me????

Hard disk faild, iTunes library gone

I had move all my library to a external hard drive but it broke down. tryed to have it repair but it was imposible. the sad thing is that the hard drive was supouse to be my back ut. is there a way i can get my songs and apps back without me having to buy them allover again?

Yes, all your purchased music and apps can be recovered. Once you get your new computer (or hard drive), simply sign in to iTunes using your Apple ID and password. From iTunes' help:
Download previous purchases from the iTunes Store
You can download many types of content previously purchased from the iTunes Store to your devices and authorized computers. This way, you can add items to your devices and computers without having to sync or copy files. It’s also useful if your iTunes files are lost or deleted for any reason.
Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store.
Note: Some types of previously purchased content might not be available in some countries.
HideDownload previous iTunes Store purchases to an authorized computer
Click iTunes Store near the top of the iTunes window.
Click the Purchased link at the right of the iTunes Store homepage (below Quick Links).
In the page that appears, select a category.iTunes shows you which of your purchases are available for download. You can view all of your past purchases, or just the ones not currently in your iTunes library. Items already in your library aren’t available for download.If you select Music, you can view your purchases by song, artist, or album. If you’re viewing by album, click an album to see which songs on it are available for downloading.To search for an item, type its name or a keyword in the search field, and then press the Return key to view your search results.
To download an item, click its Download button .To download all available items, click Download All.
You can also download previously purchased music, movies, and TV shows by clicking the Download button next to an item in your iTunes library.
To hide previous purchases you haven’t downloaded yet, choose View > Hide Music in the Cloud. This also hides any iTunes Match songs you haven’t downloaded.
You can download previous purchases on a total of up to ten devices and computers, combined. You can authorize up to five computers at a time with an Apple ID.
To find out how to download previous purchases to your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad, see the documentation for your device.

Disk Utility Unable to Repair External FireWire Hard Disk

Hello all.
This is the External FireWire Hard Disk that has been giving me problems for days, it is a Backup/Clone Disk of my sis's Mac mini Core Duo, and may explain why it was so hard and took so much pain to copy some of the data out, at times it failed to mount, and I manage to rescue some data after using Disk Warrior, but Disk Warrior was also unable to replace it with a new directory.
Anyway, so I (was able to) mount the hard disk, and I was successful in erase and reformating it.
But when I (try to) repair it with Disk Utility's First Aid, this report is what I get:
(The usual 'Checking...' text lines, text in BOLD indicates RED colour text)
Checking HFS Plus volume
Checking Extents Overflow file
Checking Catalog file
Checking Catalog hierarchy
Checking volume bitmap
Volume Bit Map needs minor repair
Checking volume information
The volume Untitled could not be repaired after 3 attempts
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error
Repair attempted on 1 volume
1 volume could not be repaired
Then a window dropped down from the top says:
First Aid failed
Disk Utility stopped repairing "Untitled" because the following error was encountered:
The underlying task reported failure on exit
(OK Button)
I guess this hard disk is really a gone case?? I am quite OK just to replace it with a brand new one... maybe all the trouble I had in the beginning is because I may already have a faulty backup drive to begin with???
Thanks and cheers

Hi Kappy,
I knew there was something about "not mixing" PPC and Intel versions of dealing with the external drive.
The drive was originally prepared on an Intel Mac mini Core Duo. But it should also mount normally on a PPC mac as an external hard drive right?
Here's the sequence of events:
1. Tried to boot from the Back Up/Clone Drive of the Mac mini Core Duo, through my MacBook Core 2 Duo, but failed to boot up
I had to shut down the MacBook (prolonged Bluescreen)
2. When I reboot the MacBook, and tried to mount the ext drive as normal, nothing happens, I knew something was wrong
3. Able to reach the vendor, use the Mac mini again to erase and reformat the drive, then check with DU, everything is OK
Clone with SuperDuper
After that check again with DU, not everything is alright, there are errors.
4. Brought the drive home, try to mount on my iMac G5, nothing happens.
I did a check on this forum, and the reply was that I should be able to use Disk Warrior 4 (Universal) on a PPC to fix an Intel-based ext drive. I was very specific and detail in my post/question
5. So anyway, I have no other option, I ran Disk Warrior 4 from my PPC iMac G5 and scan the ext drive, trying to fix it.
It reported the drive is too damaged to be replace with a new Directory, but gave me a Preview Mode. I use this to copy some data out.
But not sure if the data is OK or not.
6. After that, I was able to mount the drive in my iMac G5, so I just use DU and erase and reformat the drive, with Zero Data
7. Ran DU again, and that's where I am now, at the very first post, getting error messages that I cannot fix the drive
Thanks and cheers

How do I access virtual "Hard Disk 2"?

I have created a new virtual machine. I have a initially created a Parent drive and set it as READ ONLY. In my new VM I created Hard Disk 1 as a Differencing disk that references the parent drive. I created Hard Disk 2 as a Dynamic Disk. When I launch
the machine I only have the single virtual "C" drive available. I was expecting another drive to be available. How do I access Hard Disk 2 - or am I not understanding the purpose of the additional hard disks?

Have you gone into Disk Manager and initialized the drive? When you create a new VHD, it's just a blank virtual hard disk. You need to initialize, partition, and format it before it's usable in Windows.

Satellite 1900-704 hard disk replacement

Hi!
I have problems with my hard disk, I think it's dying...
So I want to replace it with a new one, but I don't know where the hard disk is located.
Does anyone know where it is and if it is easy to remove?
thank you ^_^

Hi Tatiana
The HDD exchange is really not a problem on this unit. Before you do anything remove the battery at first and power supply cable as well. At the bottom side you will find HDD cover. Be careful and gently when you do this.
In my opinion in 20 minutes you will be ready for new OS installation.
Good luck!

New hard disk on old imac - best way to transfer back-up from Time Machine??

Hello,
The hard disk on my 2008 iMac died and I just got my computer back from the repair guy, who installed a new hard disk (and the latest Yosemite).
Which is the best (and most fail-proof) way for me to transfer all the stuff from the old hard disk - which is on my Time Machine – to the new one?
Before getting repaired, my iMac was running on Mavericks. My Internet access has also changed (it broke down the same week… ). Don't know it that makes a difference.

Connect your backup drive to the computer. Because you had Mavericks installed before you can only restore your Home folder from the backup. Use Migration Assistant in the Utilities folder to transfer your Home folder, third-party applications and support files, and system preferences. Upon completion you will have two user accounts. The one you are now using and the migrated one. Log out of the account you are using then log into the migrated account. Open Users & Groups preferences, click on the lock icon and enter your admin password for the migrated account. Select the account you were using and click on the Delete [-] button. Select the option to delete immediately.
How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac
Migration Assistant tips and tricks

Hard Disk (Macintosh HD) gone from my desktop and Finder sidebar.

Hello. My hard disk is gone from my desktop and I can't find it in Finder as well. I tried logging into a different user account and it doesn't show up either. I don't know if a cache file in my first account might be the problem. Also if I try Shift>Command and press C, it is not there either I just see my network icon. Any help is appreciated.

Click here and follow the instructions.
(42547)

I want to give away or sell a 6500/250 running 7.6.1. How can the hard disk be erased so that the data are gone, not recoverable? thanks, LifeisRich

I want to give away or sell a 6500/250 running 7.6.1. How can the hard disk be erased so that the data are gone, not recoverable? thanks, LifeisRich

I'd recommend that you check for Mac User Group(s) in Orange County. That's where you'd likely find a diehard Mac fanatic who might want to add your 6500 to his/her collection. Even if you got nothing for it, it would be better than e-cycling it. I upgraded my 6500/275 with what was a "large" hard drive at the time (15 GBs), maxed the memory at 128 MBs, installed the 512K L2 cache card, a better ATI Rage Pro PCI graphics card, a USB PCI card, and an internal 56K modem. With it running OS 9.1, it did all of the pre-OS X stuff I needed it to do. As I previously mentioned, it's a nice-sounding MP3 player. Internet Explorer 5.1.7 (the final release from 2001) kept it useful for surfing the web up until 2005, when it became too outdated/incompatible with many web sites. Unfortunately, the demands of the internet and the need for a modern browser, as well as faster processing to digest it all, are what retired many older Macs from active duty. So my (2) 6500s and (3) 6400s (same tower design) sit in storage. There is one concern that I'll pass along: The motherboard has a 4.5-volt alkaline battery, that's a small, black plastic cube, secured in place by velcro. If your 6500 has been disconnected from electricity for a long time, the battery will undoubtedly be dead. Unlike the many Apple computers that used a small ½AA lithium battery (that I've never seen leak when completely dead), the 6500's battery can and usually does start leaking. Because the motherboard sits vertically oriented on its side edge when installed, the leaking battery will drip alkaline solution down the board, corroding any components in it path. I've seen motherboards ruined from this. If you're going to give it away or sell it, you might want to pull the motherboard (remove the two machine screws on the rear I/O panel, next to the pull tabs). Slide out the board and unplug the battery's small connector (has red & black wires), then lift up on the battery, while holding down the "toothed" velcro mount with something non-conductive, like a popsicle stick. Once it's free, dispose of the battery. If you're interested, a replacement can be purchased for about $5-$7 from battery specialty retailers - it's a Rayovac 870 or 871. Even if you don't replace it, removing one that will eventually leak is a good idea, (hopefully) before any damage is done.

Powering down/sleeping hard disk when gone?

I really have never thought about this until recently that I've been leaving my desktop on 24/7 (acts as part server here or there too). I am wondering:
1. Is ability to power down or "sleep" hard disks when not in use for extended time (like sleeping/gone to work/etc.) reliable in linux? (Maybe silly question but just checking )
2. Is it worth it/makes sense? I mean, would it warrant the effort to set up the process, that it would be good for the hard disk and/or save power...
Thanks a lot fellow Archers

1. I don't really know whether it is reliable, but this thread assumes that to much spin downs can shorten hdd life:
...you could use smartd to tell you how many times the hdd spins down per hour. if its too much you could use hdparm to turn off or decrement power management on the hdd in order to preserve its life
2. I have a device to measure power consumption directly at the electric plug. My rather old desktop computer consumes normally, when no tasks run, 65 Watts. If I put my only hdd to standby with hdparm, consumption decreases to 60 Watts. Now just make some calculations...
(Actually cpu has a larger effect on energy consumption.)
Last edited by barto (2009-10-27 20:09:19)

Macbook Pro hard disk has gone

I got the spinning beachball on my MacBook Pro 15" Intel Core2 unibody 2009 OS X 10.6 and then crash.
I zapped PRAM and did Disk Utiliy from Install disk but no hard disk to be seen.
I took out HD and put it in external USB drive, it works perfectly (I can even boot and great, no data loss)
I tried brand new HD inside the Macbook and this can't be seen either.
Help!

Likely something major unless you're lucky and it's a cable (do they have those in MBPs?) If it's out of warranty and you're comfortable poking around inside of computers you could investigate, otherwise take it to somebody who does know computers.

Desktop hard disk icon gone

After installing Yosemite update (10.10.2 (14C78c)), hard disk icon on the desktop has disappeared.
Of course, I checked "Hard disks" from finder preferences.
How can I make the icon visible?

Obviously the harddrive is still working
You may have a corrupted .plist file, but which one I don't know. Someone else might.
If you plug in an external drive does that Icon behave the same way? Or does it work normally?
If you right-click the icon when you see it and select "Get Info" and leave it up does it stay when the icon goes away?
Is the name Macintosh HD?
Try changing the color of the icon - see if that does anything.
Lastly, create another user with limited power and see what happens to the harddrive under that other user.

I think I have a virus - hard disk full and administrator rights gone

I think I have a virus - my hard disk is full allthough I only have about 20G of 60 used. I cant install a virus checker as I have lost my administrator rights (when I check in accounts, I am just a "standard" user. This means I cannot install any software as it will not let me run the installer program - says incorrect username / password

You may have a corrupted disk but you do not have a virus. Boot using your original system installation DVD and run Disk Utility. Repair the disk.
If you have no Administrator accounts at all, follow this procedure to create a new, temporary Administrator account from which you can fix your normal one.
Power on or restart your Mac.
At the chime or grey screen, hold ⌘ and S on your keyboard to enter single-user mode.
At the prompt, type
fsck -fy
and press Return.
This is a simple check for file system integrity and is optional. It will take a moment or two to complete. Wait for it to finish before proceeding.
Type the following exactly as written, one line at a time, each line followed by the return key. There is a single space preceding the first "slash" ( / ) character in each line:
mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
shutdown -h now
When you restart the machine, it will take you through the entire setup and registration process all over again. When you do so, create a brand new account with Admin privileges. Give it a simple and disposable name since you will delete it later. Do not choose the option to transfer or migrate information to the Mac.
When it completes, log in under that new account, change your previous account back to Admin, and log out.
Log in using your old account, which will now have its Admin privileges restored. Delete the throwaway account you just created.

Window for my hard disk looks entirely different suddenly/icons gone!

When I usually open the icon on my desktop for my hard disk (the internal hard disk), on the left-hand side is usually the standard array of icons for pictures, movies, etc. etc. (and when I open other folder icons on my desktop, I still see those same items - nothing has changed there). But when I now open the icon of the internal hard disk, all of those usual items (and the whole look and feel of the window) has changed. The only icons on the left side are network, the hard disk icon itself, and the icon for my MobileMe "air" disk (I think it's called iDisk - whatever... you probably know what I'm talking about).
I can't figure out what happened?! I ran disk utility and it supposedly did repairs that were necessary on my system. I rebooted and restarted and even shut down entirely and then restarted again. I really miss that usual interface giving me all of those options so easily available. What's up here and how do I fix????!!

Select Preferences from the Finder's menu, click on the Sidebar tab. Be sure what you want displayed is checked.

Error when trying to install Mountain Lion - says hard disk is damaged :(

I downloaded and installed Mountain Lion on my iMac today - without any problems. But when I downloaded it to my Macbook pro (bought 2010) I get an error message telling me the installation cannot continue due to hard disk error My harddisk was fine before the installation, to my knowledge ...
Of course I tried disk utility (during the installation) and it tells me the disk needs to be repaired but I can´t choose "Repair disk" since it is grey (no write permissions it says). What can I do? I really need help!!!

I rarely post, however, because of a major screw up with Mountain Lion, I will. I have been using mac computers since 1987, have obviously installed and upgraded multiple OS new and upgrades and never, I mean never had a problem with any of them, until now. The install stalled with the message that the hard disk needed repair. I thought all of my data was lost, except for time machine backup, which was not as current as it should have been. Losing that data would have been a royal pain.
Went through the restore OS from Time Machine, then tried to repair the disk with apple disk repair utility. Not repairable. Why? I still don't have a clue. After reading multiple threads, decided to go ahead and buy DiskWarrior. This was a weird experienc. Loaded it onto external hard drive, hooked my MacBook Pro as Target disk. Loaded in DiskWarrior as hardware probelm. ???? Immediately went online to see what advice about this message. Looked like a massive coincidence had hit my laptop. Worked perfectly until loading Mountain Lion, the decided to have hard disk melt down. Suddenly, DiskWarrior indicated it was ready to rebuild my directory. The hardware warning was gone. A few minutes later, directory repaired. Rebooted, same problem. Can't load OS X, need to repair hard disk. Apple disk repair still unable to repair disk. Used DiskWarrior, repaired it no problem.
Deleted original OS 10.8 dmg. Rebooted and downloaded fresh copy of OS 10.8. This time install went flawlessly. Mountain Lion transferred all info flawlessly. Mid 2009 MacBook Pro running flawlessly and actually more smoothly now than in Lion.
1. I think original download was somehow corrupted and that is what screwed up the disk directory.
2. I do not know why apple Disk Utility would not repair the disk and Disk Warrior would. Expensive fix, but ultimately worthwhile. Did it mysefl and did not have to mess with "Genius" bar.
3. I will never go so long without backup again. That was a big mistake.
My advice:
1. Be sure you have smooth download of entire Mountain Lion file, if not, start over. My download was paused a couple of times.
2. If the install is messed up and you need Disk Repair, buy DiskWarrior and repair directory, it works flawlessly. If it initially says your disk has hardware problem, wait a few minutes while it finishes entire evaluation. It may well disappear like mine did, then actually repair the directories without a problem.
3. Be sure you have deleted old OS 10.8 Install file and load fresh one.
4. Install OS 10.8 and you should be OK.
5. Good luck.
Mountain Lion seems to have some problems, but many of them may be due to server overload at apple, delayed download with incorporated unrecognized code problems. If there is any delay, start over and get a smooth download.
Disk Utility is too light weight. Apple needs to beef it up. This is my biggest complaint. Apple utility should be able to fix disks. We should not have to spend $100 to fix a disk, but there you are.
Once fixed however, back to usual beautiful, flawless apple experience.

Is my hard disk telling me it gonna die?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for