Macintosh HD can't be mounted, keys out of order and repairing can't be completed

Hi,
English isn't my mother tongue so I'll make my best to be understood.
I have a Macbook Pro from 2012, running on Yosemite (latest version). I installed Onyx which told me my disk needed to be verified and repaired. Following this advice, I restarted my computer with Disk Utility and completed a verifying and repairing. Which led to a terrible outcome. Since then, everytime I boot with my user on my Mac, my computer shuts down in the middle of the progress bar. I tried to find an explanation to it and fix it, so I tried the following things:
1) I booted with CMD + R to go into Disk Utility
2) I runned a verify Disk on "Macintosh HD" Core Storage Logical Volume Disk, which didn't give me any error
3) I unlocked "Macintosh HD" Mounted encrypted partition and runned a verify disk, which says :
"Keys out of order
The volume Macintosh HD was found corrupt and needs to be repaired.
File system check exit code is 8.
Error : the disk needs to be repaired, Repair disk."
4) Unfortunately, the "repair disk" button is grayed.
5) So I runned repair Disk on "Macintosh HD" Core Storage Logical Volume Disk, which didn't give me any error.
6) I tried to boot my computer again but it still shuts down when trying to open my user.
7) Did all the same process again, but now the error is "Keys length incorrect" and repairing is now always blocked in the middle of the progress bar.
Is there any way I could extract the data I care about (photos, etc.) before erasing the disk or buying a new one?

There's hardware and software.
Your drive could physically be in good condition but something has caused the file structure to be messed up (it just happens sometimes). The directory that keep track of files is corrupt. Disk Utility can help determine if that is the issue. In some cases it can repair the problem but it cannot do it to a drive that is being used to boot the system while you are doing that. You have to boot from another drive. Some things DU cannot repair and you need to try a stronger utility such as Diskwarrior.
A failing hard drive (one with mechanical issues) can be a cause of file structure issues but this is by no means always the case. Apart from looking at the SMART diagnosis feature of Disk Utility (and smart isn't totally reliable) there often isn't a way to tell if a drive is failing until it suddenly happens, which is why you need to maintain backups.
In your situation it does sound serious and not just minor directory corruption. You can try erasing (formatting) the drive, You may need to do this if it is really corrupt, in which case there could be underlying physical issues. I use old technology but if you have the patience you can try erasing the drive with the security option of writing zeros once (don't do more unless you are going on a 3 week vacation). This makes the drive not simply assume everything is okay by forcing it try every part of the drive by writing data. If something is gong wrong you may find it marks a lot of bad sectors, or flat out refuses to format. Then you know you need a new drive.

Similar Messages

I have an iMac mid 2010. After Disk utilities said the drive was corrupt, I ran the hardware test (extended) 3 times. No problems. I than ran Disk utility again and got 2 messages in red-keys out of order, and --Volume corrupt, can't be repaired. I tried

I have an iMac mid 2010. After Disk utilities said the drive was corrupt, I ran the hardware test (extended) 3 times. No problems. I than ran Disk utility again and got 2 messages in red…keys out of order, and ……Volume corrupt, can't be repaired.
I tried to do a system install, but message said…disk can't be changed. Will a complete erase and install fix this ?
Everything is backed-up.

There's hardware and software.
Your drive could physically be in good condition but something has caused the file structure to be messed up (it just happens sometimes). The directory that keep track of files is corrupt. Disk Utility can help determine if that is the issue. In some cases it can repair the problem but it cannot do it to a drive that is being used to boot the system while you are doing that. You have to boot from another drive. Some things DU cannot repair and you need to try a stronger utility such as Diskwarrior.
A failing hard drive (one with mechanical issues) can be a cause of file structure issues but this is by no means always the case. Apart from looking at the SMART diagnosis feature of Disk Utility (and smart isn't totally reliable) there often isn't a way to tell if a drive is failing until it suddenly happens, which is why you need to maintain backups.
In your situation it does sound serious and not just minor directory corruption. You can try erasing (formatting) the drive, You may need to do this if it is really corrupt, in which case there could be underlying physical issues. I use old technology but if you have the patience you can try erasing the drive with the security option of writing zeros once (don't do more unless you are going on a 3 week vacation). This makes the drive not simply assume everything is okay by forcing it try every part of the drive by writing data. If something is gong wrong you may find it marks a lot of bad sectors, or flat out refuses to format. Then you know you need a new drive.

What now? I got repair failed "Keys out of order" and "Invalid extent entry"

What now? I tried to verify & then repair disk and I got "repair failed" "Keys out of order" and "Invalid extent entry"

You've booted from your OS installer disk, ran Repair Disk from Disk Utility? If so then you need a stronger disk repair utility like DiskWarrier to rebuild the directory.
BTW, update your profile information.

Catalog B-Tree: "Keys Out of Order"

One day my ibook G4 suddenly stopped working. It started up, but there was only a blue screen. The cursor worked, but the desktop, dock, everything else was gone--nothing to click on.
I went to Apple support and discussions and followed info given there:
I ran the Hardware Test disk: It said everything passed. After that the apple and start-up window appeared, but it stopped, usually after "Starting Network..." came on, then it would become an all blue screen once again...and the cursor was frozen in the upper left hand corner.
I reset the PMU and tried to run the software restore disk, (shutdown and restarted holding "C" down). This time the start up got as far as "...time synchronization..." then stopped and went to blue screen again. (The disc icon didn't come up on screen, nor did it just start working as the Hardware Test disc did.)
After more research in the discussion groups, I started up in single entry mode and ran an "fsuk" check. It gave the "Catalog B-Tree: keys out of order" and Macintosh HD cannot be repaired message.
Then I read that if you have an "Extended" journal (or ?) the fsck might give benign error messages. So I don't know if the Catalog B problem is correct or not.
Further research led me to "Computer stops responding at "starting Network Filesystem" which is exactly where it stopped before I reset the PMU (which I understand resets the clocks).It suggests there is an NFS export Loopback problem and says to restore my network.nidb file from a good backup (what would that be?) or delete or modify the mount(s) causing the issue (also clueless as to what that might be).
I am hesitant to do anything else. (One bit of info said that if there is a file directory issue such as Catalog B, running and Upgrade or Archive and Install might worsen the problem.)
Can anyone here let me know what I should do, or if this is a fixable problem?
Thanks!

What Format is the Disk?
If it's HFS+ hen DiskWarrior® stands a good chance of fixing it, much better than fsck anyway.
Don't trust the Apple HW CD... it's next to worthless for finding problems last time I used it.
You can also pull ALL yhe Batteries and AX, let it set overnite, to reset everything.
If the HD is really shot, then you'll need an external HD and one of these...
http://subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?mainpage=product_info&productsid=1
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/datarescueinfo.php

Unrepairable: Keys out of order

hi,
I have a MacBook Pro, a few months old, and just recently, it refused to boot. I was able to boot in single-user mode and run fsck -fy, but it gave the error "Keys out of order" and says the disk can not be repaired. I was able to boot from my install CD as well; running Disk Utility shows the hard disk as unmounted. if I click the "Mount Drive" button, the DU log says it was successful, but the disk remains grayed out. Tryign to repair the disk from DU returns the same "Keys out of order" error, and exits without repairing.
I seem to be able to start the MacBook in FW target disk mode, but it does not show up on the connected computer. Disk Utility on the connected computer gives the same behavior as from the install CD - MacBook disk is visible but grayed out, unmounted, and can not be repaired.
any suggestions? none of the repair programs work with the Intel-based Macs yet (TechTool Pro 4.5 is coming in early July, supposedly, with full support for the new architecture) - I don't like being without my MacBook for that long though. help?
many thanks,
tim d

I'll have to see if my warranty is still effective
Obviously, keep troubleshooting as you have been to see if you can repair the problem. But if your issue turns out to be a hardware problem, you are still covered. Your MacBook Pro has a one-year hardware warranty. (After 90 days, your free phone support for any issue under the sun expires - if you don't have an extended AppleCare Protection Plan - but you still have hardware warranty support and can call to get that support. More details are in this FAQ: Is phone support and warranty service free? and the links within the FAQ.)

Keys out of order?

i think this is a command line question. i recently unplugged my B&W G3 so i could use the space to play with my new (to me) G4. i also "borrowed" some RAM from the G3 to install in the new machine. when i tried to hook up the G3 again, it would not load anything. i did the usual 'zap' and 'option' dance, which did finally bring the beast to life, but it would go to black screen where i would get "root". i know very little about Mac OS command line, so i didn't try to do anything there. i would type 'exit' which would give me a run down of the start-up POST and end in a "panic, stops here" line [sorry, not the exact term, but your get the idea].
so i put in the OS install disk (OS 10.4) and run the first aid utility to see whats up. i get a red line that reads "Keys out of order, needs repaired". what does that mean? i ended up erasing the hard drive and am now reinstalling the OS, but was wondering what mistake i may have made to crash the system in the first place.
Message was edited by: rtabish

The "keys out of order" message indicates your hard drive has file directory corruption. Disk Utility can't fix, but usually DiskWarrior can. I don't think the RAM removel/reinstall could have cauised this problem.
Besides using DiskWarrior, the only other option is to erase & reinstall the system which you have done.
 Cheers, Tom

Keys Out of Order - Startup Problems HELP!

Hi
I have an iMac G5 running OS10.4.5. It has the following problem:
- Wont boot up off internal HD - I get flashing ? alternating with smily mac on folder icon
I tried booting up on instal CD and running disk repair, get message "keys out of order" and can't repair disk
tried reinstalling OS from original disks to do archive and reinstall - when it gets to point of asking about target disk, nothing happens, no disk icon - nothing, zippo - only option is "go back"
tried booting in single-user mode - won't let me
tried booting in Safe-mode - won't let me
only option I can see now is scrub HD - but can't boot ext hd to do backup first
any other suggestions? or just scrub it?
please help - have desperate teenager who wants his computer back with all his music intact (not worried about homework of course!)
thanks
mel

Keys out of Order is a fairly serious error. Probably the easiest way to fix it is to invest in Disk Warrior, which should be able to handle it with no problems.
EDIT A free alternative if you have another machine available would be to boot from the other drive, copy over everything you want to keep and do an erase/install on the imac, but you will lose all the data on the imac. If you do this, I would check the Zero All Data Option on the erase tab.

Keys out of order error message?

My PowerBook had a very bad crash after awaking from sleep. DiskWarrior will not work but I was able to use Apple disk utilities disk. The error message reads "keys out of order." After many attempts, I was able to use it as hard drive to back up all my files. I have been using a Mac a very long time and subscribe to numerous magazines but I have never heard of this. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I should probably add that it still will not start.
G4/15 inch Mac OS X (10.4.3) 2 gigs of ram
Quick Silver G4/933
Quick Silver G4/933

Happy New Year Tuttle and ROdan,
This is an interesting problem, unless of course it is happening to oneself!
FWIW, there has apparently been success with a G5 booting in OS 9 without extensions. See:
This got me thinking. If the machine is already on, and the OS tries to mount the disk, but the disk driver is damaged, well, bad things happen. Also when he writes, “When the drive spins up, the system loads the drivers from the device, and then executes it.” Really got me thinking. So obviously I cannot have the OS load the driver. But how do you make the Mac NOT load the driver? And more, even if you could, would the Mac even “see” the drive and mount it?
In OS 7, 8, and 9, a common work around to get your Mac to boot when it was having problems was to hold down the Shift key to turn off extensions. Most problems in OS 9 and earlier were caused by extensions, so it was a very handy tool to use when troubleshooting problems on your Mac. But there is no equivalent in OS X that I am aware of. So what to do?
Step Five: OS 9 with no extensions.
I remembered from my IT days that if I booted Mac OS 9 without extensions on, any attached FireWire drive would also appear on the desktop. So I shut down the G4 running OS 9.1, fired up the G5 in Target mode, waited for it to get up and running, and restarted the G4 9.1 machine with extensions off.
Victory! There was the bad drive, as well as the good one, in the G5 mounted on the G4’s desktop!
Step Six: Copy! Copy! Copy!
Before I did anything else, I quickly copied all the files I was missing since my last backup. Unfortunately, that also meant copying around 40GB of music files. So late Saturday night, I started the copying, and by Sunday morning, all my files were now safely on the good G5 250GB hard drive.
Step Seven: Repair Time!
The first thing I did was run the OS 9 version of Disk Tools on the bad drive. As expected, it could not fix the problem. But I had, prior to connecting the G5 the first time around, installed the OS 9 version of Alsoft’s Disk Warrior on the G4.
I ran Disk Warrior on the bad drive. It took a LONG time. What Disk Warrior does is builds a new directory on a drive, which I was hoping would cure my problems. After three hours, Disk Warrior was done. It found a BUNCH of problems. To be on the safe side, I ran it again. This time it took only a little more than an hour, and did not find any more trouble.
Shutting everything down, I rebooted the G5. I held down the Option key so that I could tell the G5 which drive to start from. It only saw the new drive as a viable boot disk. Oh-oh...
I held down Command-S to bring up UNIX after the next boot, and ran FSCK-F on the bad drive. It worked, fixing a few thousand items. Yikes! What did Disk Warrior do? I ran it again, and it repaired some more. Three times, and it was done.
Restart.
Welcome to Macintosh!
And all was well in the world.
A few things to take away from this:
Not all problems are as bad as they seem. There are usually always solutions to your computer problem. Some involved thinking way outside the box. How many people would have figured that Mac OS 9.1 with extensions off would be the solution to this Keys out of Order problem? Certainly not I.
In most cases, Disk Warrior would have fixed this problem without all the run around I had to do. If you don’t already own it, you may want to go pick up a copy. It’s well worth the small investment.
FSCK is not always going to repair or fix your problems. So be sure to back-up your data often.
Having two hard drives is WAY better than having only one. If you have an iMac or Portable in which you cannot cram in another drive, look at external Firewire hard drives.
It is also helpful to have another Mac laying around for the Target Mode trick. Can’t afford one? I see them on eBay all the time, REALLY cheap!
Hope this article helps someone else out there if you ever run into a similar problem
The full link is:
http://www.mymac.com/showarticle.php?id=1817
Joe

Grey screen, keys out of order

Hello and ...help, hard drive problems!!
My iMac G4 with 10.2.8 was acting strangely - Word & Excel wouldn't work, long spinning beach ball. Upon restarting got stuck at the grey screen with the spinning cog. I have tried a variety of suggested fixes without success. Using disk utility ended with messages such as "disk not mounted" and "keys out of order" in red print. Repair completed was indicated but no joy with startup. Started in Single user mode, tried fsck - same "keys out of order"(4, 3140) & Volume can not be repaired.
When starting with a firewire link to my iBook the message was "you have inserted a disk containing no volumes that MacOX can read. Am i looking at a. Full reintitialising or
b. a new hard drive
Is there a way to retrieve any files??
Thanks in advance
Geoff

I don't know if Disk Warrior will cure all your problems but it is known to fix "keys out of order" problems and to rescue hard drives that seem impossible to fix.
Here is more information about this program:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19441
So I would certainly try that first. It is a great utility to have around so would not be a waste of money even if you do have to replace your hard drive.
If you don't get your hard drive running again the only way to get your files is from a disk retrival place which is very expensive.
Renae

Keys out of order - help!

Hi, all I hope osmeone can help:
Background: I run 10.3.9, have 1.12 GB RAM, and use Adobe CS2. Try to maintain about 10GB hard disk space, using an external drive for storage. InDesign has been a little buggy, strange resetting of defaults, crashes when exporting, tried the usual repair permissions, run sudo commands, helps some but after a strange hanging (repair permissions lost contact with Utility Manager) I tried running fsck -y and fsck -f and got some error messages. On restart, I got something like "restart your computer immediately" after my desktop opened and I tried to start an app. I booted from the CD, ran DU and the computer seems fine BUT>>>>>>BEFORE I mess around again as a single user (I am intrepid, but not knowledgeable)
HEre is the message I got before I booted from the CD(as best as I could copy).
/deo/rdiskOs5
Root file system
Checking HFS Plus volume
Checking Extents Overflow file
Checking Catalogue file
Illegal Name
Illegal Name
diskOs5: I/O error
Keys out of order
(4,36067)
Rebuilding Catalogue B-tree
diskOs5: I/O error
The Volume MacHD could not be repaired
I have been working in InDesign on one document and all seems okay, but after reading some of the forums, I'd like to be sure.
NOTE: sometimes I get a soft grinding sound when the computer is starting up, it is intermittent. I can't afford a new computer or lots of software at the moment, and I hope someone can help!

annexit:
if I download it and there is no software to make it a startup disk, what can I do? Can I install it on another computer and firewire them or something?
I am assuming that by "it" you are referring to Disk Warrior.
If you download the file, you will not be able to boot from the downloaded file. However, as you correctly anticipate, you can install it on another computer and run the tests in Firewire Target Disk Mode.
• Download Disk Warrior.
• Install DW on a second Mac.
• Connect computers via Firewire.
• Start up other (Host) computer and log in
• Hit power button on affected computer (Target) and immediately after chime hold down the "T" key. The firewire symbol will flash on the Target computer screen and the Target HDD will mount on the Host computer's desktop as a Firewire Drive.
You are now ready to launch and run Disk Warrior.
Please do post back with further questions or comments.
Good luck.
cornelius

Keys out of order, disk utility fails

PowerPC (?, whatever came just before Intel-based machines) iMac running 10.3.something failed to boot - hangs at "Logging into OSX" window but never gets there to log in. Booting from Install CR-ROM and running Disk Utility fails to repair Catalog. Booting in single user mode results in "Keys out of order (4, 51882)" "The volume Macintosh HD could not be repaired". Also tried to boot from Prosoft "Data Rescue II" CD-ROM but no help
Any suggestions to repair/recover?
Files all appear to be there - can navigate around in Unix and list them. Also have external Lacie hard drives connected (unconnecting does not resolve problem) - Would there be a way to cp or rcp some key files to these external drives to at least recover some?

Welcome To  Discussions jeff_st!
If all else fails, and you have access to another Firewire enabled Mac, you can also use Firewire Target Disk Mode, to backup as much data as possible.
Then reformat the HD, zeroing all data, and perform an Erase & Install.
ali b

PowerBook doesn't boot. Keys out of order?

A few weeks ago my powerbook's keyboard stopped working properly - unresponsive or nonresponsive keys. It seemed to right itself after a couple of boots.
Last time I was using it (weeks of use later) it started to make a high pitched whine and I had to shut it down using the power key as nothing else would work. I have not since been able to boot it up. The boot process gets as far as the 'bong' and the grey screen with the spining time cog and then the screen goes black and it goes off.
I have just tried running disk first aid from the installation disk and got the following message:
Disk utility stopped repairing "macintosh HD" because the following error was encountered:
The underlying task reported failure on exit OK (the blue button)
I noticed in the report box the following:
in red-
Keys out of order
in green-
Rebuilding catalogue B-tree
The first aid got no further than this
Please can somebody help me?
Has my drive failed? Is there any thing else I can try to do with my installation disk or do I have to resort to target mode to try to rescue my files before flinging it through the window?!

Hi, Christie. If you're planning to fling your Powerbook out the window, please be sure to open the window first, and give me time to get out there in the yard to catch it before it lands.
What you need is DiskWarrior (the best option) or TechTool Pro, which should resolve the "keys out of order" problem in your hard disk directory in just a few minutes. That problem may have been caused when you forced the machine to shut down after it began to whine, or it may have been present beforehand. Directory corruption of that kind is most often caused by abnormal operations like forced shutdowns and freezes, but it can also cause them later on if it isn't corrected. A failing hard drive can also cause its own directory to be corrupted, and bad RAM and other hardware faults are also possible causes of directory damage. But much more often the culprit is just a one-time glitch in software that can be remedied using DiskWarrior or TTPro and won't soon recur (as it's likely to do very soon if there's an underlying hardware cause).
If you have a complete, recent backup of your hard drive, another option to consider is erasing the drive completely and restoring everything to it from your backup. That too will write a new, undamaged directory to the disk, but it's more tedious than using DiskWarrior or TTPro. Of course it's also free.

10.4.10 'Keys out of order' - unable to repair disk!!

After getting sick and tired of endless problems with my 3 month old iMac, which only seem to get worse with every update, I've just run the Disk Utility. It found many problems with permissions and sorted those out. So then I thought I'd just verify the disk to make sure and got this....
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Keys out of order
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair
But no, it can't repair the disk.... Help!

I have to say I bitterly regret switching to Macs
- very expensive, unstable, and clearly susceptible
to fundamental problems like this.
All modern computers are susceptible to this sort of problem (file system corruption) -- that's why it is a fundamental problem. If you want to avoid the possibility, you have to avoid using a file-based OS, which limits you to OS's embedded in ROM ... like maybe a 30 year old Commodore 64.
Seriously, if you want to protect yourself from this sort of problem -- no matter what OS you use -- there is only one reliable option: backup your files regularly to something other than your startup drive.

Weird "keys out of order" problem

So, keys out of order was new to me, but I've read up about possible fixes... My situation seems strange, here's why...
I was working on my dual 1.8 G5, 10.4.11, clicked on a video link, then got the greyed out screen, and the multilingual restart message.
So, I did several restarts, but the fans would go to full, and it would shut down before showing any activity on screen. So I entered single user mode, and typed the command for checking the disk (thankfully I could get info from the web on my macbook). That's when the 'keys out of order' message was first seen. After reading up I tried to run the fsck thing, which I read could be an option. I got an 'unable to repair' message. Then I put my workmates machine into target disk mode and started from that disk and tried to run disk utility over my startup disk, of course it didn't work, with several warnings in read about keys out of order etc.
So I'm learning that DiskWarior is probably my best bet, but in the meantime I put my machine in target disk mode, and using a handy hint I found online, dsragged out my g3 iMac, booted it into OS9, extensions off. Connected by firewire, my G5 HD showed up and I was able to drag off some recent files, Mail folder etc. (At this point let me say I did a system back to a DMG file on a separate partition of an external USB drive several months ago, and that maybe 99% of my work and important files are on another external drive, so it's not life and death here.)
NOW... comes the strange part. I go back to my machine, and just for a lark try to start it up again.... and it starts up fine, no problems, everything normal. Wow I think, I'll go and run disk utility over it now, so I restart using my friends powermac, and run said program, and get exactly the same errors, keys out of order. hmmm.
So I go back to my machine, restart using its own system, all good, all fine. So I plug in another external HD and do a clone of the internal drive while its all working fine.
So, since then its been running fine, (about a day and a half). But what should I do, and what's going on? Should I reformat my drive and out the earlier cloned system on it? Would the recent system clone I did likely be corrupt? Does it seem right that my system should work OK now, when Disk Utility was still reporting keys out of order? Should I pony up and buy DiskWarrior? (can't really afford to to be honest)
I'm a bit flummoxed, thanks for any help...

Hi, weird but not completely inexplicable.
Indeed Disk Warrior is your best bet, IMHO every Mac oener should have it.
I wouldn't completely trust any clone/backup once you get that error.
Generally the only real fix for that error is DW, or Zeroing your drive & reinstalling.
http://supportdb.alsoft.com:591/FMPro?-db=alsoftsupport&-lay=main&-max=15&-forma t=AlsoftSupport-qa.html&-script=counter&-token=182&-Skip=101&-find

How can I get rejected photos out of LR5 and off the HD?

When I try to deleted rejected photos in LR5 on my iMac, I get a dialog saying they can't be sent to the trash. How can I get unwanted photos out of LR5 and off the hard drive?

Instead of hitting just the delete key, you need to hit ⌘+Del and one of the choices will be to remove from hard drive.

Macintosh HD can't be mounted, keys out of order and repairing can't be completed

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