MacBookPro5,5

Question

Hello. I have a 2009 model 13" MacBook Pro 5,5 with a 2.53GHz Core2Duo running OS 10.6.7 (fully updated). The internal hard disk that was packaged with the computer at the time of purchase is a Fujitsu MJA2250BH FFS G1 and the file system is Journaled, HFS+. The capacity is 249.7 GB with 235.3 GB currently available.
Lately, I have been experiencing a sporadic system failure, in which any attempted action that involves writing to the internal Serial-ATA (e.g., moving, saving, or deleting a file) produces the following error message: "The operation can't be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code -50)." Hard disk write operations continue to fail until the system is rebooted at which point the hard drive seems to function normally for a period of time until the error message inevitably re-appears (usually within a few hours), mandating another reboot.
After experiencing this problem for a few weeks and failing to resolve it by fixing disk permissions, I formatted the hard disk and reinstalled OS X last night, including all OS and software updates from Apple. Then, within a few hours of use, the message recurred.
Is this a known problem? The error message is entirely uninformative so it is difficult to investigate. Given the recurrence of the problem despite reformatting the hard drive and beginning from a clean slate, is this a sign of hard disk failure? My presumption is "yes." Are there any other actions I might try besides acquiring a new hard disk from Apple?
My gratitude in advance.
-AB
PS. A bit more information that may or may not be useful in diagnosis:
The only software I have installed since reformatting is Adobe Acrobat 9.0, and when the hard disk failure occurs, I become unable to modify PDF documents (e.g., adding a highlight, drawing a box) irrespective of an attempt to save the file. Upon clicking one of the tools for adding comments or markup, I receive a similar message: "There was a Macintosh system error (-50)." I am able to navigate through the file system using Finder without issue and I am able to open files (e.g., PDF documents). However, upon trying to close said document (without trying to save), I receive the following error message in Adobe Acrobat: "The Organizer database is damaged and will be reset the next time Acrobat is launched. Quit the application and close any currently opened web browsers."
Also, Spotlight, which normally works quite appropriately, will only display a single entry corresponding to the Definition of the search query (referencing the Mac Dictionary). No files, folders, or applications are displayed in Spotlight.
All of these aberrant behaviors continue until rebooting the system, at which point they are temporarily abolished.
Message was edited by: mac_user_1

Answer 1

I would say do a full zero data reformat and reinstall OS X.  This should fix any disk-related problems assuming the drive has not suffered a true mechanical failure.  Backup your data first just in case.
Drive Preparation
1.  Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button.  When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area.  If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing.  SMART info will not be reported  on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
When formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer.  Complete the OS X installation.