Major Hard Drive Issues

Hi guys, I have a 2011 MBP (Trying) to run osx 10.8.
Recently, the finder and web browsers started crashing, then it would not boot to the OS at all. I figured it was probably a bad hard drive so I replaced it with a new one and reinstalled OSX 10.8 and now it just did the exact same thing. First chrome starts crashing every webpage, then the finder wont open and it just becomes unbootable.
I've run the hard drives through tech tool pro and they both come back with no errors whatsoever. I also have tried installing multiple OSX versions to no avail.
Could it be that java or flash on my browser is corrupting my OS install? Or is this a hardware issue with the logic board?? Note: I tried running run of the HDs through USB 3.0 and have the same problem. Any Ideas as to what this problem is or how I can address getting it fixed? I don't even know what to tell the apple store techs! I have a feeling they will replace the HD and I will still have the same issues.
Any help is much appreciated! Im totally lost now!

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.
*Note: If FileVault is enabled under OS X 10.7 or later, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode. Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin. Test while in safe mode. Same problem? After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

Similar Messages

Permissions Issue, Colour Wheel, Hard Drive Issue??

Hi!
I have had issues with my mid 2009 MBP recently and I'm wondering what the best way to fix them would be.
First off, I have some major permissions issues with my accounts. I am using 3 different users regualrly on the same machine and needed to access files from the home folder so I changed them a long time ago, and am not sure how to fix that. I have repaired the permissions countless times in the disk utility and it seems like there's always loads more to do each time. When I varify the disk, it says its all okay.
Secondly, I have had the machine freeze on me several times while doing very little on it. This happened awhile ago, and thought that it was just the permisions thing and so I did that again, and it started working better, for awhile. It would go a few days or weeks before doing the same thing, sometimes not even getting past the apple logo on startup before freezing. This makes me think it may be a hard drive issue???????
This morning, I tried dozens of times to boot, with no success at all..... until about the 25th time when it miraculasly booted. I have run permissions repair a few more times and it seems to be working okay at the moment, but the problem seems to be happening more often over time.
To complicate matters, I am traveling at the moment and will not be home for several months. I purchased an external harddrive last night and was able to successfully back up my data.
Question 1: Is it the permissions that are causing these problems, or is it related to something else. The computer seems to work fine when its working, and then once in awhile, decides its not going to do anything.
Question 2: Would upgrading to Lion (currently running 10.6.8) fix the permissions issues or just carry them forward? I would like to consolidate the 3 users into one, if that would solve it. Does the migration utility preserve permissions or does it give you a brand new start?
Question 3: If neither solving the permissions or the OS upgrade would fix the problem and it does need a new harddrive, is it possible to buy one and install it myself? I do not have apple care left on this machine and am on a very tight budget. I am used to taking things apart and all that as part of my job and it seems simple enough. Where can you buy a replacement??
Hopefully someone out there will be able to help me out on this one.
Cheers!!!!
Brian

bgroot422 wrote:
First off, I have some major permissions issues with my accounts. I am using 3 different users regularly on the same machine and needed to access files from the home folder so I changed them a long time ago, and am not sure how to fix that. I have repaired the permissions countless times in the disk utility and it seems like there's always loads more to do each time. When I verify the disk, it says its all okay.
Disk Utility permissions are separate from User account permissions.
This link is how to fix them
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2181549?start=0&tstart=0
Disk Utility will always show something to be needing repair, but that's ok
Apple supoort doc.
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448?locale=da_DK
Verify Disk is good, that's a good thing.
To complicate matters, I am traveling at the moment and will not be home for several months. I purchased an external hard drive last night and was able to successfully back up my data.
Your data is backed up, hopefully not with TimeMachine alone, but if you did, then get another drive and backup data manually to that as well. If the TM drive gets messed up, it's a pain to get your data off of it.
Question 1: Is it the permissions that are causing these problems, or is it related to something else. The computer seems to work fine when its working, and then once in awhile, decides its not going to do anything.
Well you could call Apple for replacement 10.6.x disks, and just reinstall 10.6 and bundled programs, but this can kick out kext files out of the /System/Library/Extensions folder installed by some third party software.
This method fixes OS X, but doesn't touch your files or most programs.
Nor will this method fix your Users accounts if the issue is in there.
A creation of a new user, then deletion of the others, return files from backup (set permissions) will fix User folder issues if the above user permissions fix doesn't work.
(Of course you could wipe the drive from the 10.6 disk, but you have to install all software again)
Would upgrading to Lion (currently running 10.6.8) fix the permissions issues or just carry them forward?
No, you don't want to install Lion, it won't fix those issues in User folders, not only that Lion has it's own issues and doesn't work with a lot of older software etc. No use clusterfscking a already bad situtation when it's seems it's only localized to the User accounts.
I would like to consolidate the 3 users into one, if that would solve it.
Yes that could very nicely and tidy up things in the process.
What you do is transfer all files to one regular powered storage hard drive.
(Don't use/disconnect the TimeMachine drive for this as it preserves the users seperated and you don't want all those users back restoring with Migration Assistant)
Create the New User on the machine as Admin, log into it and delete all the other Users, transfer all your files back from the regular storage drive, changing all the permissions to yourself before placing them into their respective folders as they will have three different permissions.
Notes:
If you have a extensive iTunes playlists on one User (say #1), then create the new user with that same name (will require some work, create User 4, delete Users 1-3, reboot, create User 1, delete User 4) then transfer your iTunes folder to Music of that User 1 (same name as before). This will preserve the pathnames of your song locations and your playlists will be preserved.
(before you ask, no you can't combine playlists)
Also if you have photo's in iPhoto Library, you have to right click on it and "show package contents" inside is a folder called Originals, copy them out and import into the iPhoto of the User #1.
Does the migration utility preserve permissions or does it give you a brand new start?
Yes it preserves user permissions, no it doesn't give you a brand new start. Only a fresh install, creation of new users and then just transferring of files does that.
Nothing about TimeMachine or Migration Assistant gives one a "fresh start", it's if hosed, so is your restore.
If you want that sort of pristine protection, you need to clone your ideal boot partition/drive using Carbon Copy Cloner (free/donationware) occasionally as a hold the option key bootable drive, then you can erase and reverse clone the pristine saved clone.
One can also update the clone on occasion, this way keeping the clone pristine.
I maintain 3 clones time dated, even have my boot drive partitioned 50/50 and auto-cloned, this way I have two boot partitions on the road and two externals at home.
I never use TimeMachine, it's not bootable (well it is on 10.7.2 only to restore though)

Sometimes my computer takes too long to connect to new website. I am running a pretty powerful work program at same time, what is the best solution? Upgrading speed from cable network, is it a hard drive issue? do I need to "clean out" the computer?

Many times my computer takes too long to connect to new website. I have wireless internet (time capsule) and I am running a pretty powerful real time financial work program at same time, what is the best solution? Upgrading speed from cable network? is it a hard drive issue? do I only need to "clean out" the computer? Or all of the above...not to computer saavy. It is a Macbook Pro osx 10.6.8 (late 2010).

Almost certainly none of the above! Try each of the following in this order:
Select 'Reset Safari' from the Safari menu.
Close down Safari; move <home>/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Cache.db to the trash; restart Safari.
Change the DNS servers in your network settings to use the OpenDNS servers: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
Turn off DNS pre-fetching by entering the following command in Terminal and restarting Safari:
defaults write com.apple.safari WebKitDNSPrefetchingEnabled -boolean false

Hard drive issues after update 10.10.3

Question also posted here:Hard Drive Issues (Both new and old)
I'm trapped in a HDD nightmare with my MacBook Pro mid-2012.
I updated to Yosemite 10.10.3 (with the Photos app). A couple of days after the update, I was watching a movie on my TV screen via HDMI. In the middle of the movie I removed the HDMI cable from the MacBook Pro and everything freezes. I forced shut down (Note: My HDD was encrypted). After I forced shut down, I tried to turn on and the loading screen would never stop loading - like, 14 hours stuck with the progress bar. Since I have backups, I decided to access DU and format my HDD. I tried everything. For real. Every command line I could type on Terminal to format, repair, erase and/or partition. I read almost every issue-related questions on the forums and stack exchange groups for a week (even posted my issue here: http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/181090/erasing-and-partitioning-hard-dr ive-from-internet-recovery?noredirect=1#comment215695_181090).
So, I decided that it was a HDD failure and bought a new one.
I bought the Seagate 1TB SSHD Hybrid - ST1000LM014. Installed the new fresh disk and guess what? All those same problems again. I´m not able to restore from Time Machine because it doesn't recognize the disk in the restore page. But the disk is recognized in the DU. When I try to erase or partition the new SSHD, the same old errors: File system formatter failed. Yes, I tired GUID Partition Table, all of the security options, etc.
Please. Any light that you can throw at this issue, I'll be very grateful for. BTW, the new SSHD is recognized and the SMART Status says: Verified.
Any ideas on *** is going on?
Thanks in advance!
MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012), i7, 8GB RAM

After I erase the hard drive (I assume one pass of writing zeros is good enough, 7 passes not needed?) do I turn off the laptop, then turn on and insert the Install Disk? Will there be a prompt telling me when to put in the disk? Or do I put in the disc right after erasing?
One pass is fine. If you've previously backed up your hard drive to an external hard drive using SuperDuper!, which is what I use and recommend, or another program, if it created a bootable drive, you want to boot off of it, bring up SuperDuper! and copy the drive back to the internal hard drive. SuperDuper also makes the drive bootable. When done, reboot, and you should be all set. If you're using Time Machine, you'll want to install the operating system, then restore the Time Machine backup. SuperDuper! is available from http://www.shirt-pocket.com/superduper/superduperdescription.html
Finally- should I update the OS? Is there a problem with the newest update that caused this crash, or was it just a spurious glitch/bad luck?
I've been running 10.5.8 for awhile with no issues, and would recommend moving to it.

How do I find my tab history? I had hard drive issues and when I launched my browser after getting it back their was no "restore session" option. I know a tab history is kept, just don't remember where or how to exercise it. Thanks

Question
How do I find my tab history? I had hard drive issues and when I launched my browser after getting it back their was no "restore session" option. I know a tab history is kept, just don't remember where or how to exercise it. Thanks

Firefox 4 saves the previous session automatically, so there is no longer need for the dialog asking if you want to save the current session. 
Use "File > Exit" or "Firefox > Exit" if you want to restore multiple windows. 
You can use "Firefox > History > Restore Previous Session" to get the previous session at any time. 
There is also a "Restore Previous Session" button on the default about:home Home page.
Another possibility is to use:
* [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Menu_differences Firefox (Tools) > Options] > General > Startup: "When Firefox Starts": "Show my windows and tabs from last time"

Toshiba Satellite a505-6005 hard drive issue and questions regarding options I may have

Issue: start up computer and windows does not start. It eventually goes to a startup repair screen and eventually says "resolving disk errors...", and that's if it even gets to that screen. Unfortunately I never made a recovery disk or system image discs (I know that was not smart). I did however kept my files backed up so that was good.
Steps I took: Took it to Best Buy and the tech advised me that the Black Tie 2 year protection had expired on Jan 30th 2012, and so it could not be repaired for free. I asked the tech there how much it would cost to fix and they had advised me that it was most likely a hard drive issue and that it would cost nearly $400 to replace/fix it. So I decided to buy a new Asus K53E-BBR14 laptop since it was not much more. When I got home and loaded everything up and got the computer to how I want, I went ahead and made a recovery disc and system image disc's. I tried using the recovery disc that I had made with my Asus in the Toshiba laptop and boot it from the dvd drive and it did not get anywhere. So I ASSUME that it really is a hard drive error because the RAM worked just fine in my new laptop and "repairing disk errors.." means something is wrong with the hard drive:
Now that you know the background of what has happened my questions are as followed:
1. Can I buy a new hard drive for the Toshiba and use the recovery and system image disc's i created on the new hard drive that i install in the toshiba? and just removed the bloatware from Asus (or does that not even get added to the disc's I created)?
2. If so, will it prompt me to enter the Windows 7 product key? and therefore using the product key located on the bottom of the toshiba?
3. What other steps could I take to make this toshiba laptop salvageable? This way i can turn around and sell it.
Thanks,
Russell States

Also,
I noticed that i can purchase (well pay the shipping anyways) recovery media from Toshiba. Can I use that on a new hard drive installed in the toshiba?
BTW ran the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool and no problems were found with the memory. and i do not care about the old hard drive as I have MY files backed up. I just want to try to get this toshiba laptop back to being "like new".
Thanks,
Russell

Incredibly slow MacBook, Internal Hard Drive issues...

Good morning everybody! I'm apologize if this post is extremely wordy...
I am extremely baffled by a particular issue with a MacBook 2.0GHz C2D which belongs to a friend of mine. The warranty is expired.
_Brief history:_
Several months ago, this MacBook could not find a bootable volume. The drive would not mount when booting from an external FireWire hard drive. It would not mount when the MacBook was put in Target Disk Mode and connected to another Mac. When booting from an external USB hard drive or with my MacBook Pro connected to the MacBook via Target Disk Mode, the MacBook booted up quickly. I came to the conclusion that the internal hard drive must have failed and needed to be replaced. Ultimately, the data was not recoverable from this drive.
I then proceeded to swap out the defective Apple OEM Seagate hard drive with a known working Apple OEM Fujitsu hard drive. When booting from the Leopard Install DVD, the MacBook would boot incredibly slow, but would finally reach the Installer Language screen. When proceeding to install Leopard, the drive would take a very long time to have data written to it, and ultimately the install failed. I removed the new hard drive from the MacBook and placed it in an external USB enclosure, attached it to the MacBook and booted from the Leopard Install DVD. Leopard would install successfully. I removed the hard drive from the enclosure and reinstalled it the MacBook. When booting from the freshly installed OS, the MacBook would take a very long time to boot. The MacBook is extremely slow!!!
I checked the Activity Monitor to ensure CPU & System Memory Usage was not going crazy. All Processes where normal with adequate CPU & Memory headroom.
I took the MacBook apart thinking that the SATA Controller Cable might be loose. No, it was firmly in place. I reassembled the MacBook and booted it up again. Still incredibly slow!
Finally, after several reboot attempts, the MacBook would book up quickly and operation was perfect. I applied all updates and continued testing the MacBook with great success. Gave my friend his MacBook back and he was grateful.
_Now for the kicker..._
My friend brought me his MacBook a week ago complaining that the MacBook was operating extremely slow (much like when I was initially testing it before). I verified the MacBook was slow when I tried using it. I tried several reboots and then it would get stuck on the gray Apple with spinning gear.
I tried booting into Single User Mode, but it gets stuck on "Waiting for root device"
I put the MacBook in Target Disk Mode and connected it to my G5 2.0GHz Dual Core. The hard drive would mount quickly on the G5 and I used Disk Utility to create a Restore Image. The disk operation would perform normally and the image would be created successfully.
I then partitioned the MacBook's hard drive when connected to the G5, ejected and proceeded to attempt OS reinstall. No dice! The hard drive is not even detected by the Disk Utility on the Leopard Install DVD.
Finally after several reattempts, the hard drive is recognized, but is extremely slow when trying to reinstall...and again, ultimately install fails. Using Disk Utility from Leopard Install DVD, the hard drive fails to unmount when I try formatting.
I don't have Apple Hardware Test disc for the MacBook or Apple Service Diagnostics disc for this model. Running TechTool Pro shows hardware to be okay, disk controller onboard the Fujitsu drive is okay, but running SMART & Surface Scan takes a long, long time (which I'm certain will ultimately error out). Running Drive Genius takes a long, long time as well.
Conclusion:
I think the SATA Controller Cable is defective. I can't think of anything else that would cause disk errors or performance issues like this. Your input is truly appreciated!

Even though no one responded to my post, I thought I'd share the resolution with the entire Apple community. I hope this information will be helpful to some of you with MacBooks or MacBook Pros that may be running painfully slow or may be exhibiting hard drive issues because your machine won't recognize the boot drive or fails to properly boot on a perfectly healthy S.M.A.R.T. verified hard drive. It just might be the hard drive connector/cable. Here it goes...
I visited my local Apple Retail Store and asked a "Genius" at the Genius Bar about this issue and told him my thoughts about a possible failed hard drive connector/cable. First, he didn't even know what a hard drive connector was! Then, he arrogantly stated that he never heard of such a thing and that these cables never fail. Finally, he blatantly dispelled this as a possibility.
On the contrary with my experience, I have had many failed PATA controller cables that required replacement when supporting the desktop PC's at work. I have personally owned and supported many Apple manufactured laptops and desktops and have never encountered this issue on a Mac...until this MacBook!
So, after looking at the Service Manual for the MacBook, I went over to my local Apple Authorized Service Provider and purchased the Hard Drive Connector Apple Part #922-7579. I replaced the original cable, reassembled and proceeded to boot the MacBook with the Leopard DVD installer. The Fujitsu drive was immediately recognized and was able to be formatted and Leopard installed without incident. The MacBook boots off the internal hard drive as normal again and works nice and fast again.
Thank you all for your time!
:D

All of my computers have had hard drive issues and I can't authorize the new hard drive. What can I do?

I have itunes on 5 of by 8 computers and 6 of the 8 had hard drive issues.
I was unable to deauthorize any of the computers and now I can't watch or listen to any of the tings I've purchased from the iTunes store.
Help
Tsuki56

Can you not deauthorize all?

Switching iTunes (older version) from an old latptop with mechanical issues to iTunes on a new computer. The hard drive, issue free, was placed in external drive enclosure. How do I recover iTunes?

I'm trying to moves iTunes (older version) from an old latptop with mechanical issues (non working screen, keyboard, and battery) to iTunes on a new computer. The hard drive, issue free, was placed in external drive enclosure. This was a cost effective way instead of dumping lots of money in an outdated old laptop while I can invest it into a new laptop. How do I recover iTunes?
I'm switching from a 3G phone to a blank 4GS in the process. I would like to have everything that was on my 3G phone and iTunes on my new phone and computer.
Thanks

iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music [library] to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Open iTunes and immediately hold down the Option (alt) key (shift on Windows), then guide it to the new location of the library.
Windows users see tip at: https://discussions.apple.com/message/18879381

Has anyone else been having hard drive issues with 13" MacBook Pro barely a year old?

Has anyone else been having hard drive issues with 13" MacBook Pro barely a year old?

Yes, BUT...
... there are many problems that are really easy to eliminate by replacing the Hard drive, including ones that have nothing to do with actual Drive Hardware failure. These include corrupted install of Mac OS X, its EFI partition, clobbered partition tables, or the appearance of Bad Blocks in a critical area.
Any of these problems can sometimes be eliminated by re-initializing the entire drive and writing Zeroes, and re-installing from scratch. The trouble is, this process takes hours to complete, and is not guaranteed to be successful -- you may still need a new drive after all that effort.
I learned from my Plumber that consumers have no appetite for solutions that might work, and detest return visits for any related problems whatsoever. You or your friend may have had your drive replaced, not because it actually failed, but because the situation was troublesome, and the provider thought you would not tolerate anything less than a crisp, complete fix on the first attempt. And based on the cost of technician time, it may have even been cheaper that way.

Do i need to shut down my macbook pro before carrying it around? Considering hard drive issues

I am a uni student. I have a MacBook Pro early 2011. been using it for 3 years now.
i have a couple questions just out of curiosity.
do we really have to shut down our mbpro before carrying it around?
couldnt we just leave it sleep mode?
i mean, is it harmful to our hard drives if we put our mbpro in sleep mode and move it around?
does apple have a mechanism that kinda "stops" the hard drives from spinning in sleep mode?
I wanna know for sure, since some told me that it's okay to move my mbpro around in sleep mode, and some told me that it's not okay and i have to shut it down first.
i did occasionally transport my mbpro in sleep mode.... and i think.... i'm having some hard drive issues.
Thanks before for your kind answers.
Best Regards,
Moses

Moses,
your MacBook Pro has a sudden movement sensor which will park your disk’s heads in case it senses a sudden G-force change. By default, this sensor will be active. Carrying around your MacBook Pro while it’s sleeping (and applying some common sense while doing so) should not be harmful to its hard drive.

Logic Board or Hard Drive Issue?

Recently my PowerBook G4 failed to boot from the internal hard drive. Gray Apple screen, spinning wheel and after a couple of minutes restart is all I get. What happened initially was the computer froze not allowing Safari to quit for restart. I had to manually shut down after all other means did not work (Force Quit, etc.). I have been able to get it to boot from an external Firewire drive running 10.4, but it will not recognize a USB drive, though the USB ports work for a printer and scanner. I was also able to get it to boot from a 10.5 Install DVD that came with my wife's MacBook. Since I bought this PowerBook used, it had no disks included, but did have 10.5 installed. The other thing is the lower RAM slot has not worked from the day I got it. When I run Disk Utility the drive checks out, though there were some Permission repairs. SMART checks verified. I seem to be able to access the internal disk when booted from the external. Reset PMU & PRAM, no difference. Should I try replacing the hard drive or do I have another issue here?

First up, PowerPC-based Macs can't boot up from a USB external drive (per se... there is a workaround and "hack"). Only Intel-based Macs can do that.
Second, since you say it works and boots up when connected to a FireWire external drive, I believe it is a hard drive issue. S.M.A.R.T. status is not ("not") always a reliable indicator from what I've heard. It may say it's verified, but really it's failing. By the same token, it may say failed, but really it's fine.
That is not always the case however. 95% of the time, S.M.A.R.T. status is highly accurate.
If you are so inclined, you can open up your PowerBook, take out the hard drive, and place a new one in there and see what happens. If it works, you're in business. And you only spent a $100 or less on a new drive (which you might end up needing anyway if your current drive is indeed broken).
(If your drive isn't broken, then you have a backup drive ).
If the new drive installed doesn't work, then it is a logic board issue or something else. But since you say it works fine and boots up from a Leopard install DVD, I think it may just be the hard drive. And a new logic board usually starts at $300 so think about that as well. (You could get a new used one for a bit more and sell that one for parts).

Major External Hard Drive Issues... Please Help!

Hey Everyone,
I own an Iomega Silver High Speed USB 2.0 Hard Drive 250 GB... I used to use it to store files for my old XP machine... and would now like to use it for my Macbook running 10.5.2 since my PC died.
The problem I have:
The drive does not mount on the desktop and when I go into Disk Utilities, it shows the drive as having 744.9 GB of space rather than 232.9 GB as it actually has.
Furthermore, I cannot "Erase" or "Partition" the drive because I get the error "Resource Busy". However, when I plug the drive into a Macbook running Tiger and try to partition the drive, the blue progress bar at the bottom jumps to 1/4 done and then does not move at all.
I have plugged the drive into a Windows XP machine and it cannot partition the drive properly either..
Please help! You guys are my last hope since I called Iomega... who say it is clearly NOT a hardware issue and referred e to Apple Tech support who did not resolve the issue and had me on hold for 40 minutes...
I beseech you, please help fix my hard drive... I don't need the data on it, I just need a hard drive that works as soon as possible...

Hi! "However, when I plug the drive into a Macbook running Tiger and try to partition the drive, the blue progress bar at the bottom jumps to 1/4 done and then does not move at all." If the disk is damaged (which is is) then the format would likely take 12-24 hours to complete so if you interrupted it it could have damaged the disk. I have a new disk that I never could get partitioned and is damaged beyond repair. Ok try this restart the computer with the disk off. Then turn the disk on and see if it brings up the message that the disk is unreadable and takes you to the disk utility. Also sometimes changing usb ports or trying to format it on another computer works. Tom

IMac Internal Hard Drive Issues

Here's the story thus far:
I've experienced random system freezes/lock-ups infrequently over the past month or so. I would have to do a hard reset and everything would be back to normal. I didn't really think any major issues were occurring.
Tuesday night my iMac booted to my SuperDuper bootable clone external HD. Upon loading of the desktop, I was greeted with an error message about the disk not loading, and I was presented with options to 'Initialize' 'Ignore' or 'Eject'. I was able to restart and everything was fine.
Yesterday, the same thing occurred again. When I restarted and disconnected my external HD that was being booted from, I was greeted with the ominous flashing question mark folder icon. I shut the computer down for the night, presuming the HD dead or on its way out.
This morning, I was able to boot up the computer normally, but it randomly froze/locked-up, forcing me to restart and the same issues would occur. I performed all of the normal housekeeping chores. I verified/repaired the disk through Disk Utility (when I could boot from it), also through booting into safe mode (which performed successfully), resetting the PRAM, disconnecting all peripherals, and running Disk Utility through the OS X install disk.
I spoke with AppleCare on and off throughout the day. 2 representatives I spoke with seemed to believe it was some sort of directory corruption. So we erased the HD through the OS X install disk and reinstalled Snow Leopard. I restored everything from the latest Time Machine backup, and everything appeared fine.
A few hours ago, upon waking up the computer from sleep, it froze up with the spinning beach ball, forcing me to hard reset. It then booted onto the external HD again. I immediately called AppleCare and the representative said it seems like it's on its way out. I agreed, and we scheduled an appointment at an Apple store. I wanted to know the procedure because, like most people, I absolutely cannot live without the computer for long. I'm a freelance web designer and I need it ASAP. She got me the numbers for a few Authorized Apple Service Providers in my area, and I will be contacting them in the morning because she said that is the quicker path.
Mainly, I'm looking for advice on the best, and quickest, way to ascertain the problem and remedy it. I also want to know if these are signs of a failing hard drive, or just corruption that leads to a need for replacement. Am I taking the correct path to get everything fixed?
Side note: I turned it on about an hour ago while holding the option key, and the main, internal HD did indeed show up. Is this stuff normal (the back and forth mounting/booting and then not)?
Sorry for the rant, and the ambiguous questions (or lack thereof). Let me know if you need more clarification.
Thanks in advance.

Start up from the clone and run Disk Utility.
First, select the internal drive in the sidebar and right (control) click on it. Select Information from the menu. Check the S.M.A.R.T status. It should say Verified.
If you don't mind erasing your internal drive again, you can run a sort of +stress test+ on it. Select the drive in the sidebar (select the drive and not the volume indented under the drive). Go to the Erase tab. Click on +Security Options+. Select to do a +Zero Out Data+ erase. This will write zeros to every sector of the hard drive, and doing so is a good way to test the drive for reliability. If it is having problems related to hardware, it is likely that this procedure will error or stall out. Even when working normally, it does take a long time to complete (even a few hours depending on the drive capacity), but you should see steady progress on the bar.
If it completes successfully, you should try starting up from the installation disc and running another standard installation in it. +Zero Out Data+ will also map out bad sectors, so if the numbers were manageable, it is possible that the drive will now work more reliably. But you may not want to trust it completely (do more backups).
Since it sounds like the iMac runs reliably off your clone, I think the problem is related to the internal drive.

Hard drive issues related to a recent install of iLife 2005

SOS!
I have a G3 iBook (18G internal memory) that I use with a LaCie 250GB FireWire external drive.
Since I have so many Gigs of music, pics, etc. I've removed all my personal files off the startup disk and have them stored on the external drive leaving only operating system and applications on the start up disk.
So...I just purchased iLife so that I could use the upgraded iPhoto. In the process of trying to install iPhoto I was told I didn't have enough room on the start up disk to load the application. So, I went through my hard drive and deleted a few unnecessary applications (like games, NOT anything essential to run the OS) and moved every byte of personal files to the external drive. In the process I was able to remove only enough to make about 1.7G available left on the HD. The iPhoto upgrade did install successfully.
So, now I have the upgraded iPhoto but I've got two issues, the second one seems to be directly linked to this install.
1 - I can not figure out what is taking up so much room on my startup disk. I don't have any large applications except the Apple applications and MS Office X -- no other games, database software -- I even moved my copies Illustrator and Photoshop onto the external drive. I am concerned that having so little space left on my startup disk is going to cause problems through I can't figure out what else to delete. Is there a software I can run to uncover any hidden files?
2 - Since this install my MS Word will not open documents. It simply freezes up. All the other apps in the Office X suite work fine --- MS Word is the only app effected.
These are perplexing issues -- any help in diagnosing what is going on and/or what I should do next would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for listening!
Meredith

Hi,
The trash file is a good suggestion --- I did delete pictures from iPhoto but perhaps didn't purge them from the Trash so there is a "copy" still in the trash. I'll give that a try tonight and if correct will change this question to answered.
Otherwise, yes, I moved files/apps then trashed the main copy.
Thanks for your help!
Best, Meredith

Major Hard Drive Issues

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