Mavericks related hard drive "failures" - some fixes

I managed to save 2 devices that were bricked by Mavericks and another that was only partially paralyzed. I apologize in advance that you may need to search other threads for more details.
After deleting a lot of plist files, my newer (2009) iMac seemed to recover, but the older (2008) iMac didn't. It periodically froze up (spinning beachball) and would only restart in Safe Mode on a good day. Word has it, Mavericks creates a partition for itself, with some persistant errors, including a boot up failure loop in some cases. I was concurrently getting a lot of "BUG in libdispatch" errors. A Genius erased my HD and reinstalled Mavericks OS, but that didn't help, so I used my original recovery disk to put Leopard OS back on, used old install disks to upgrade to Snow Leopard, and then re-downloaded and installed Mountain Lion from the App Store (yes, it can be done, despite what the support folks say, but the website is very buggy and you have to keep trying). It took 2 days, but now, my 2008 iMac is working wonderfully.
I pulled out my bricked Time Capsule, plugged it into an unused circuit, and voila!, I got a flash of green. There may be an issue with circuit noise sensitivity or insufficient power transfer per some internet threads. I used my old Time Capsule installation disk to install Airport Utility on a PC and was able to talk to the Time Capsule via ethernet cable, so I could reconfigure it. I then plugged it into my iMac running Mountain Lion and it was immediately recognized (for the first time since Mavericks installation). It also still had my old backups on it. I am currently creating a new backup on it with Time Machine and it's fine (another Genius had assured me with absolute certainty that it was dead, time to buy a new one). It's been a heck of a lot of trouble to get back to my pre-Mavericks world, but it's sure better than having to replace all this unaffordable stuff and adding to the ever growing mountain of tech trash.
Good luck!

I find today pretty good and have seen no such behaviour on any of our five Macs running Mavericks. Most likely Third party incompatability or pending hardware failure. When you say
Word has it, Mavericks creates a partition for itself, with some persistant errors, including a boot up failure loop in some cases.
Where did you read that? Do you have a link? Lion, Mountain Lion and Mavericks all created a Recovery Partition, but Mavericks does not install any other partition, so I would be interested in reading the article.
Good luck with things.
In Advance
Pete

Similar Messages

Slow Mavericks - internal hard drive failure?

Hi
I recently updated my iMac 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 4GB RAM to Mavericks. Before I was working on OS X Lion 10.7.5. Until the day I updated I never had any problems with my computer being slow, unless when I was using heavier applications or heavy files like in Adobe PS for example.
Since I've updated however, it often happens that the icons in my launchpad load slowly, my computer shows the spinning circle more often, and especially Microsoft applications (Word and Excel) take much longer before they are launched. I don't think I have to explain how this is bugging me, since we all like a fast computer. So I kind of regret updating.
I wanted to downgrade to 10.7.5 again, but this doesn't seem that easy even though I know my way around reformatting Apple computers…
So this is kind of a last option. Now I went to the Apple store in Belgium, and they told me that it could be a bug and that I should wait for the next version (yeah right…) or that it could be my internal hard drive was failing. Now I tried to find some information on how to recognize a failing hard drive, but I mostly bumped in to extreme errors. So I was wondering how to know your internal drive is failing? Second of all could it be failing all of a sudden? Since I hadn't had those problems before I updated. Thirdly is it possible that the next update would solve these problems, as they mentioned? Could a clean install help?
Anyway, I find it pretty weird, and there's a lot of different opinions and options, so I would like a more expert view on the problem, so get to a solution and an answer whether or not my disk could be failing, cause then I would like to get it replaced.
Thanks in advance for your advice!
Grts
Matthias
In a previous topic, I was asked to deliver some information in order to get a diagnosis, but there has been no more answer. This is why Now I would like to ask if anyone can interpret this info below… Cause I have no idea what it means…
When I entered the following query in Terminal this is what happened:
syslog -k Sender kernel -k Message CReq 'GPU |hfs: Ru|I/O e|find tok|n Cause: -|NVDA\(|pagin|timed? ?o' | tail | awk '/:/{$4=""; print}' | open -ef
It produced a text editor window without any content. It didn't take long either, just one or two seconds. (Is this normal?) Does this mean my hard drive is intact?
Disconnect all non-essential wired peripherals and remove aftermarket expansion cards, if any. - there are none
Reset the System Management Controller. - does this simply imply that I have to hold the power button for 10 seconds?
Run Software Update. If there's a firmware update, install it. - done
If you're booting from an aftermarket SSD, see whether there's a firmware update for it. - not the case
If you have a portable computer, check the cycle count of the battery. It may be due for replacement.
- not the case
If you have many image or video files on the Desktop with preview icons, move them to another folder.
- not the case
If applicable, uncheck all boxes in the iCloud preference pane. See whether there's any change. - not an icloud user
Check your keychains in Keychain Access for excessively duplicated items.
- not the case either
Boot into Recovery mode, launch Disk Utility, and run Repair Disk. - is this necesary if the former step didn't bring up any text in the text editor window?
If you have a MacBook Pro with dual graphics, disable automatic graphics switching in the Energy Saverpreference pane for better performance at the cost of shorter battery life.
- not the case
Since I am doing jack right now and am solely typing this topic, the highest %CPU is about 2-3 percent and is "Safari web material". In the second place there is Safari with about 1-1.5%.
System is about 0.76, user 0.89 and inactive is the leftover. 98,"something".
In the memory tab:
In the disk tab… It varies a lot:
After launching the Console application, I copied the 50 or so most recent entries in the log All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. This is the result:
27/01/14 18:13:56,000 kernel[0]: IOThunderboltSwitch<0xffffff80356b5200>(0x0)::listenerCallback - Thunderbolt HPD packet for route = 0x0 port = 1 unplug = 0
27/01/14 18:13:59,000 kernel[0]: [ PCI configuration begin ]
27/01/14 18:13:59,000 kernel[0]: [ PCI configuration end, bridges 14, devices 18 ]
27/01/14 18:14:10,094 fseventsd[49]: could not open <</Volumes/"name"/.fseventsd/fseventsd-uuid>> (No such file or directory)
27/01/14 18:14:10,095 fseventsd[49]: log dir: /Volumes/"name"/.fseventsd getting new uuid: "…"
27/01/14 18:14:10,000 kernel[0]: hfs: mounted "name" on device disk1s3
27/01/14 18:14:19,385 mds[39]: (Warning) DiskStore: Server returned -1 setting attributes
27/01/14 18:14:37,139 sandboxd[330]: ([1116]) mdworker(1116) deny file-read-xattr /Volumes/"name" 3TB/Backup Januari 17:01:2014/Mailboxes (pre-plugin fstype:hfs fsflag:"…" diag:0 isXCode:0 uti:com.apple.mail.mbox plugin:internalPlainTextImporter - find suspect file using: sudo mdutil -t 71392)
27/01/14 18:14:37,164 sandboxd[330]: ([1122]) mdworker(1122) deny file-read-xattr /Volumes/"name"/Backup Januari 17:01:2014/Mailboxes (pre-plugin fstype:hfs fsflag:4A09018 flags:250000005E diag:0 isXCode:0 uti:com.apple.mail.mbox plugin:internalPlainTextImporter - find suspect file using: sudo mdutil -t 71387)
27/01/14 18:15:29,970 WindowServer[87]: disable_update_timeout: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Safari" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.
27/01/14 18:15:32,310 WindowServer[87]: common_reenable_update: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Safari" after 3.34 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.00 seconds)
27/01/14 18:17:35,918 ntpd[113]: ntpd: time set -0.367612 s
27/01/14 18:17:35,943 com.apple.time[150]: Interval maximum value is 946100000 seconds (specified value: 9223372036854775807).
27/01/14 18:17:35,946 com.apple.time[150]: Interval maximum value is 946100000 seconds (specified value: 9223372036854775807).
27/01/14 18:17:48,846 com.apple.SecurityServer[14]: Killing auth hosts
27/01/14 18:17:48,846 com.apple.SecurityServer[14]: Session 100029 destroyed
27/01/14 18:18:45,357 mdworker32[1162]: CGSConnectionByID: 0 is not a valid connection ID.
27/01/14 18:18:45,357 mdworker32[1162]: CGSGetSpaceManagementMode: No connection with id 0x 0
27/01/14 18:23:57,000 kernel[0]: CODE SIGNING: cs_invalid_page(0x1000): p=1219[GoogleSoftwareUp] final status 0x0, allow (remove VALID)ing page
27/01/14 18:24:32,979 VDCAssistant[1221]: AVF encoder error: fail to create accelerator instance
27/01/14 18:25:15,338 com.apple.SecurityServer[14]: Killing auth hosts
27/01/14 18:25:15,338 com.apple.SecurityServer[14]: Session 100038 destroyed
27/01/14 18:25:15,342 com.apple.SecurityServer[14]: Session 100040 created
27/01/14 18:25:15,345 com.apple.security.XPCKeychainSandboxCheck[1229]: Can't get sandbox fs extension for /Users/Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ELS/com.adobe.amp.4875E02D9FB21EE389F73B8D1702B320485DF8CE.1/ PrivateEncryptedDatak, status=-1 errno=No such file or directory ext=(null)
27/01/14 18:25:15,346 com.apple.security.XPCKeychainSandboxCheck[1229]: Can't get sandbox fs extension for /Users/Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ELS/com.adobe.amp.4875E02D9FB21EE389F73B8D1702B320485DF8CE.1/ lck~PrivateEncryptedDatak, status=-1 errno=No such file or directory ext=(null)
27/01/14 18:25:15,346 com.apple.security.XPCKeychainSandboxCheck[1229]: Can't get sandbox fs extension for /Users/Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ELS/com.adobe.WidgetBrowser.E7BED6E5DDA59983786DD72EBFA46B159 8278E07.1/PrivateEncryptedDatak, status=-1 errno=No such file or directory ext=(null)
27/01/14 18:25:15,346 com.apple.security.XPCKeychainSandboxCheck[1229]: Can't get sandbox fs extension for /Users/Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ELS/com.adobe.amp.4875E02D9FB21EE389F73B8D1702B320485DF8CE.1/ .fl89CB8354, status=-1 errno=No such file or directory ext=(null)
27/01/14 18:25:15,346 com.apple.security.XPCKeychainSandboxCheck[1229]: Can't get sandbox fs extension for /Users/Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ELS/com.adobe.WidgetBrowser.E7BED6E5DDA59983786DD72EBFA46B159 8278E07.1/lck~PrivateEncryptedDatak, status=-1 errno=No such file or directory ext=(null)
27/01/14 18:25:15,346 com.apple.security.XPCKeychainSandboxCheck[1229]: Can't get sandbox fs extension for /Users/Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ELS/com.adobe.WidgetBrowser.E7BED6E5DDA59983786DD72EBFA46B159 8278E07.1/.fl89CB8354, status=-1 errno=No such file or directory ext=(null)
27/01/14 18:25:16,750 Mail[1227]: Could not create query for expression ((null)) && (kMDItemContentType == 'com.apple.mail.emlx')
27/01/14 18:25:17,116 WindowServer[87]: disable_update_timeout: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Mail" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.
27/01/14 18:25:18,209 WindowServer[87]: common_reenable_update: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Mail" after 2.09 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.00 seconds)
27/01/14 18:26:58,258 WindowServer[87]: CoreAnimation: context hosting changed while locked!
27/01/14 18:29:03,058 com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.WebKit.WebContent.4A179DCB-D12E-433B-B053-89B6CA18DF91[1233]) Exited with code: 1
27/01/14 18:30:53,000 kernel[0]: hfs: unmount initiated on "name" on device disk1s3
27/01/14 18:31:01,000 kernel[0]: IOThunderboltSwitch<0xffffff80356b5200>(0x0)::listenerCallback - Thunderbolt HPD packet for route = 0x0 port = 1 unplug = 1
27/01/14 18:31:01,000 kernel[0]: [ PCI configuration begin ]
27/01/14 18:31:01,000 kernel[0]: [ PCI configuration end, bridges 12, devices 18 ]
27/01/14 18:31:01,000 kernel[0]: Fixing incorrect zfree from zone kalloc.16 to zone kalloc.32
27/01/14 18:31:40,520 login[1261]: USER_PROCESS: 1261 ttys000
27/01/14 18:34:18,863 mDNSResponder[40]: 48: Could not write data to clientPID[1131](com.apple.WebKi) because of error - aborting connection
27/01/14 18:34:18,863 mDNSResponder[40]: 48: DNSServiceGetAddrInfo v4v6 e4233.b.akamaiedge.net. PID[1131](com.apple.WebKi)
27/01/14 18:46:49,368 com.apple.IconServicesAgent[225]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/ShareKit.framework/Versions/A/XPCServi ces/com.apple.ShareKitHelper.xpc/
27/01/14 18:46:49,450 com.apple.IconServicesAgent[225]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/WebKit2.framework/Versions/A/XPCServic es/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent.xpc/
27/01/14 18:46:49,701 com.apple.IconServicesAgent[225]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MailService.framework/Versions/A/XPCSe rvices/com.apple.MailServiceAgent.xpc/
27/01/14 18:46:49,834 com.apple.IconServicesAgent[225]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/XPCServices/com.apple.doc k.extra.xpc/
27/01/14 18:46:49,988 com.apple.IconServicesAgent[225]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/WebKit2.framework/Versions/A/XPCServic es/com.apple.WebKit.Networking.xpc/
27/01/14 18:50:27,143 com.apple.IconServicesAgent[225]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/InternetAccounts.framework/Versions/A/ XPCServices/com.apple.internetaccounts.xpc/
27/01/14 18:53:26,913 WindowServer[87]: _CGXSetWindowBackgroundBlurRadius: Invalid window 0xffffffff
27/01/14 18:53:26,942 WindowServer[87]: _CGXSetWindowBackgroundBlurRadius: Invalid window 0xffffffff
27/01/14 18:55:40,974 login[1261]: DEAD_PROCESS: 1261 ttys000
27/01/14 18:55:55,199 Console[1343]: setPresentationOptions called with NSApplicationPresentationFullScreen when there is no visible fullscreen window; this call will be ignored.

I was copying files to my external drive a few minutes ago, and my computer was reaaaally slow at that time. So I figured opening the Activity monitor and I took some screen shots:
The only thing I tried to interpret is the CPU tab. It shows 94.67% was inactive, and still my computer was being terribly slow… Is this normal and is this the right interpretation?

Installing Maverick caused hard drive failure

I am only posting this to be sure that the Apple community gets more information concerning this update. I "had" a perfectly functioning 18 mos. old Mac Book Pro and when I attempted to install Maverick I was notified that my Hard Drive was damaged beyond repair. The computer was returned to an Apple Store, new hard drive installed and still the computer does not work!!! I cannot open Cloud, log on with my Apple ID (and yes, I am using the correct user name and password!), or open Itunes. I have had over 1 hour long phone calls with very nice people from Apple, but even after a deleting and attempting to re-install Maverick....nothing. Now, Maverick will not even load. Something is wrong with this update and Apple has got to get it fixed!

Hi RStyle1,
Answeres are below:
a) Yes, you can use the same disc and serial number to install on a new laptop, if you get an activations error message then you would need to contact Adobe support.
b) The same serial number will work on both Windows and Mac.
c) You can still use Lightroom 4 if you upgrade to version 5, it's upto you to use both the versions on the machines available to you.
Thanks!
Ankit

Following hard drive failure on iMac running Maverick I have recovered from TimeMachine backup but now app store does not connect. All other internet connections normal. Does anyone know of a fix?

following hard drive failure on iMac running Maverick I have recovered from TimeMachine backup but now app store does not connect. All other internet connections normal. Does anyone know of a fix?
Also mail not loading. The error report suggests that I look for updates from the app store?

http://www.apple.com/support/mac/app-store/contact/

Macbook Pro 2011 extremely slow wondering if hard drive failure

Hello, I want to start off by saying I'm not a huge computer guru, so that is why I'm coming here first. My Macbook Pro worked very well for a year, and then it has slowed down drastically. I've always been a windows user so mac is kind of foreign to me, but I'm trying to learn.
Some problems I've encountered are 1. Extremely slow running whether internet related, or just an application. I have checked the activity monitor and nothing is hogging up my memory. 2. Spinning wait cursor (rainbow circle) when I try to do ANYTHING. It takes minutes to start computer once it makes it to home screen. The circle just spins for a few minutes. Even just web surfing it's there. 3. Battery drains from 100% to less than 20% in 30 minutes, which again is annoying. 4. When battery drains the fan turns on and seems to drain battery even faster. 5. I get a lot of random errors forcing shut down of programs. I have ignored this problem for two years by not using my laptop or using it very minimally, but I am going to be needing a laptop again for school and not just my iPad and phone so I was planning on taking my macbook to genius bar, but wanted to check here first since Apple is an hour away. Plus I want to be able to use the piece of equipment that I spent a decent chunk of change on. I used time machine to back up everything today. I know its not a space issue as I have 300+ free GB on hard drive. I have tried to read through similar posts, but its overwhelming so I came here to post my own question.
I ran disc utility and there were some errors, which were able to be corrected after a couple tries. Computer still slow though when trying to do anything and running rainbow circle.
In recovery mode I reinstalled OSX
I was finally able to install updates after completing the above that were not able to be installed before.
I ran etre check, this is the report that came up:
Problem description:
Extremely slow computer, possible hard drive failure
EtreCheck version: 2.0.11 (98)
Report generated November 3, 2014 9:25:29 PM EST
Hardware Information: ℹ️
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2011) (Verified)
MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,1
1 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2-core
4 GB RAM
BANK 0/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Video Information: ℹ️
Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 384 MB
Color LCD 1280 x 800
System Software: ℹ️
Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63) - Uptime: 0:6:50
Disk Information: ℹ️
Hitachi HTS547550A9E384 disk0 : (500.11 GB)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.25 GB (357.49 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5970H
USB Information: ℹ️
Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
Apple, Inc. MacBook Pro
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
/System/Library/Extensions
[not loaded] com.Logitech.Unifying.HID Driver (1.2.0 - SDK 10.0) Support
/Users/[redacted]/Downloads/LCC Installer.app
[not loaded] com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver (3.5.1 - SDK 10.0) Support
Startup Items: ℹ️
HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO
Startup items are obsolete and will not work in future versions of OS X
Problem System Launch Agents: ℹ️
[failed] com.apple.coreservices.appleid.authentication.plist
Launch Agents: ℹ️
[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[loaded] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist Support
[running] com.Logitech.Control Center.Daemon.plist Support
[invalid?] com.luthresearch.savvyconnectmenu.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
[invalid?] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist Support
[invalid?] com.luthresearch.scservice.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
User Login Items: ℹ️
iTunesHelper Application (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)
Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
SavvyConnect UNKNOWN (missing value)
Google Chrome Application (/Applications/Google Chrome.app)
HP Scheduler Application (/Library/Application Support/Hewlett-Packard/Software Update/HP Scheduler.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Support
Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Mismatch! Adobe recommends 15.0.0.189
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 67 Check version
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
Flash Player Support
Growl Support
Java Support
Logitech Control Center Support
Time Machine: ℹ️
Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
      11% Safari
      3% WindowServer
      0% fontd
      0% Google Chrome
      0% ps
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
245 MB WebProcess
206 MB System Preferences
168 MB Safari
99 MB mds
82 MB Google Chrome
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
1.37 GB Free RAM
1.57 GB Active RAM
318 MB Inactive RAM
1.03 GB Wired RAM
436 MB Page-ins
0 B Page-outs
Basically I'm wondering if anything sticks out in this report. I was thinking it could be a possible hard drive failure. I know my computer has been dropped on the floor at least a few times. Thoughts are appreciated. Thank you for your patience.

Eab, I feel your pain! I am replying simply to share my similar ongoing experience with my early 2011 17 inch MacBook Pro, running Mavericks with seeming ample hard drive space, [applications requiring less than 100GB, about 200GB data (total drive space of 500GB)] & 4GB RAM. (Disclaimer: I am not a wise or computer-savvy mac guru - simply a fellow traveler who has had a very similar set of problems - apps taking forever to load, rapid battery depletion & super overheated MacBook. While I am a Genius Bar groupie, getting to the Apple store is, for me, akin to an antarctic polar expedition (i.e. problematic). Having spent endless hours struggling with a similar issue, I offer you a synopsis of my struggle/experience.
STEPS TO DATE:
1.Installed several memory utility programs (Daisy Disk & MacCleanse) system
maintenance program to regularly and thoroughly empty application caches (Adobe apps & internet browsers being tremendous hogs), identify and remove language elements and other redundant space hogs, etc.   Result: Small, but real improvement when I forced myself to perform a "scan and delete" session every second major computer run (typically about 6-8 hours in length). However, this did nothing to help the problems regularly detected when I run the Disk Utility which almost invariably demonstrates disk permissions that need to be repaired and, with increasing frequency, has demonstrated actual disk errors that require restarting and walking through a disk repair protocol. I did bring it to the Genius Bar where they kindly reinstalled Mavericks which they could do in about an hour versus the several hours that doing this at home requires. This did identify that my RAM was, on fact, a limitation on the speed at which I could run certain apps.
2. My next move was to install an additional 4GB of RAM. I bought the new RAM on eBay for about $90 because, with 3 kids equipped with MacBooks & iPhones, I simply couldn't afford the official Apple RAM. I even installed it myself, with the help of a YouTube video. Result: Giant improvement in speed (starting up or switching apps. If I had realized how simple it turned out to be, I would have done it well over a year ago. Some minor improvement in the overheating problem, but persistent problems with disk permissions continually requiring repair and periodic disk repairs (using Disk Utility) required.
PLANNED FINAL INTERVENTION:
3. I am purchasing and installing a solid state drive (ssd) and simply chucking the original hard drive, after considerable discussion with my savvier mac friends. It has become clear to me that, sadly, every hard drive has a finite life affected by a variety of factors. I am, in fact, hard on my equipment - running multiple graphic apps simultaneously, transferring massive GBs of data between my laptop, time capsule and an array of hard drives. I will let you know how it goes, but can share that the decision to get a solid state drive followed many conversations with multiple Mac guru-types (in the hope of saving you similar painful tribulations). The cost varies according to the size of the drive, but $400-$500 would buy a reasonable starting size. I am waiting for Black Friday sales, myself. Amazon (where I will likely purchase the ssd) is already offering a number of pre-Black Friday deals. While I don't really feel like putting out that amount of cash, I reassure myself that a new drive will almost certainly solve the disk errors (with a solid state one offering more durability) & will help me prolong the life of my MacBook Pro by a couple of years hopefully. It beats buying a new Apple MacBook only three and a half years after investing close to $3k for this one!
I am certain that more experienced forum users could point you to software that could help defragment your drive or may be able to offer other solutions. I've simply had enough of struggling with burning thighs and head-banging behavior triggered by slow performance. I hope this is helpful to you in some small way. The war is not yet over, but I'm feeling good about the battle plan!

Hard drive failure - options for data recovery and AppleCare coverage

I have been handed a relative's 12 month old MacBook Pro with a factory-installed 500GB hard drive which appears to have failed. When attempting to boot the MacBook I am met with the classic clicking and grating noise which I know is a tell-tale sign of hard drive failure. The drive will not boot and I am shown the question mark folder icon, indicating that the operating system cannot be found. Have booted into internet recovery mode, Disk Utility appears to have found no sign of the hard drive's existence and shows none of its partitions. I have attempted putting the MacBook into FW target-mode and mounting the disk from another laptop, but to no avail; while it will go into target mode the drive simply isn't visible. The SATA connection to the drive is definitely OK - I have tested with another 2.5 inch hard drive which showed up fine in Disk Utility and was bootable. Have run Apple Hardware Test/Diagnostics but this returned no errors. It seems like a pretty clear cut case of drive failure.
I put this all to the relative whose laptop this is and asked them whether the MacBook had been dropped recently, explaining to them that this is one of the likeliest causes for such sudden failure. Sheepishly they admitted that they had indeed dropped it, although not from too great a distance and onto a carpeted floor. Apparently in the days immediately after the shock the hard drive continued to boot but the system was very slow and beset by spinning beech ball hangups. It is only in the last few days that the hard drive has become completely unbootable, and seemingly unreachable.
I have two questions that I would be grateful for some help with.
Firstly, is there any possibility of recovering data from this drive without going to a data recovery specialist? The user did have backups of most important data, but some recently imported photos were not backed up. Is it any use me trying any third-party data recovery software utilities, bearing in mind that I can't even mount the drive in target mode?
Second, the MacBook is still covered by the extended AppleCare warranty for the next two years. Is it worth my relative's while making a Genius Bar appointment to see whether Apple would replace this drive for free, given that the damage was most likely user-inflicted? Is there any chance that this sudden failure could be unrelated to the drop the MacBook suffered the other day - perhaps just a result of the 'normal' failure rate? I am more than happy to exchange the drive for a new one myself and my relative is happy to pay for the new part (I was amazed at how cheap hard drives are now), but would we be better off trying an Apple Store? My prediction would be that while we might get lucky and have an obliging genius who agrees to swap the drive without asking too many questions, we could also have one who concludes the damage is not covered by the warranty and insists on charging for the new hard drive (at a mark-up I assume) and labour.
Any thoughts about these two issues or the hard drive failure more generally are very welcome. Thanks.

1, Data recovery software is your only alternative if there is no backup. It may or may not be able to revoker anything from that hard drive. If it does then the only other choice is to go to a data recovery service. If have to go that route expect to pay for it, like $$$$.
2, Yes. They will at least tell him what the problem is and the cost if any to fix. There is a good chance they will fix it for nothing and only charge for data recovery if they can do it.

What if computer run into "Bootmgr is missing" or "Hard Drive Failure"

Most of us have the experience of computer run into error,such as bootmgr is missing. The most common reasons for BOOTMGR errors include corrupt and misconfigured files, hard drive and operating system upgrade issues, corrupt hard drive sectors, an outdated BIOS, and damaged or loose hard drive interface cables. Hard drive failure is another frequent error,it is arouse by physical damage or logical error. Once this problem occurs to you, any data stores in it would be in danger. If you want to Fix Bootmgr Error by yourself. These following steps may be available for you to deal with the problem. Step one. Burn a rescue boot disc or USB drive. You need to download Fix Genius and install it into a computer ,then insert the CD/USB and run the program to burn it . Step two. boot your computer from CD/USB Enter into the BIOS and change the Boot Device Priority ,then save the changes and exit. Step three.Fix "Bootmgr is missing" or "Hard Drive Failure" Insert the CD/USB then you will enter into the WinPE system, and click the Fix Genius icon there on the desktop. After run up the program, config the parameter according to your problem. This rescuing process would last within minutes. It is the best one I can find among the solutions. As the time past, it is a time information refresh very quickly, Maybe there is a better one for you to fix bootmgr is corrupted and Hard drive failure if you have time to search online. please let me know if you find it, I will be glad with you.

There are some caveats to be aware of when replacing the hard drive! While in theory any SATA drive is compatible, I have experienced problems with a Seagate Momentus 5400.6 500GB and a Western Digital Scorpio Blue 640GB recently.
With my WD drive I have had to adjust the power management settings (using a command line tool called "hdapm") to prevent it from spinning up and down every 20 to 30 seconds, and which was also leading to momentary freeze ups. While this may kill my battery a bit quicker, I'm hoping the drive will at least live an average lifetime. (Batteries may be more expensive, but they're a lot quicker to replace than a hard drive).
My Seagate drive has exhibited far less frequent problems but the occasional noises it made have never sounded healthy and after 6 months is now being replaced under warranty. There were also a number of days where I would get excessive beachballing for no reason I could identify, and that I concluded must be hard disk related. I couldn't find anything here or elsewhere on the internet to indicate what the cause of that might be.
So my limited experience of hard disk replacement hasn't been a great success and I'm beginning to wonder if getting an official replacement from Apple might be a safer option in the long run, despite it being more expensive. I read somewhere that the hard disks supplied by Apple have custom firmware that works better with Apple's own power management strategies.

Mac book pro freezes hard drive failure?

Hi mac users,
I'm new to mac. But i have a problem. My lap top mac. Is freezing and is unresponsive for 20 minutes at a time. IF i click one thing the entire screen is frozen until it can complete the one command.
I went into disk utility and clicked on first aid to try and do repair disk. Which it is doing it say's will take about 8 hours.
The box is displaying this infomation over and over again.
Open error 5: "input/output error" on Applications/textedit.app/contents/resources/english.ipro...
Open error 5: "input/output error" on System libary/coresystems/apple8211agen.app.conte...
I have no clue why it's saying or why it's repeated a thousand times. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the software. That didn't work. It still giving the same error. I tried reformatting it and rebooting it from the original CD it came with. It seemed to work for a couple of days. Now it's back to acting really really slow.
It's not covered by apple care or a warranty. So i know it's going to cost lots of money to fix. I was hoping i could fix it myself.
My guess it's 1. hard drive failure or 2. I need to reformat it again and reinstall the programs again. Though i don't want to do that. Because it takes all day long.
Thanks for any helpful suggestions. I hope i can get this computer fixed soon.
Julial

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Sometimes there are just some damaged sectors on the hard drive, but that does not mean the drive is totally unusable. The first step is to make sure your data is backed up as completely as possible. If you aren't able to access your Mac normally, sometimes you can restore data with data recovery tools listed on my backup FAQ*:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
Sometimes then you can repair access to the drive by repairing the directory*:
http://www.macmaps.com/directoryfaq.html
Since a bad directory, and a damaged hard drive can often elicit the same symptoms, data recovery initially is a must, and only then repair the directory.
If after repairing the directory, you aren't able to use your computer, the latter file you mention may have to deal with your wireless drivers. The first one simply has to do with TextEdit, which can be custom reinstalled from the operating system disc that installed the operating system on your Mac. Let us know if you need help with this.
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

Hard drive failure with OSX 10.4.3 + 10.4.4

Not sure if it is related to 10.4.3, 10.4.4., or my attempt to connect to a Windows server? I have had Had 2 hard drive failures since yesterday(bad node)on an old G4 + a G5. Disk Utilities could not repair it. FSCK could not be run.
I was able to fix the G4 by resetting the motherboard (PRU?) and resetting the PRAM. Hard drive showed no errors afterwards and it works fine now.
No such luck on the G5. Apple Genius at the Apple store erased the hard drive and re-installed the operating system. After my first restart, I now have a similar hard drive failure. (Invalid sibling link).
I am now zeroing out the hard drive and will try again with installing 10.3. I'll keep posted.
Franz
G4, G5, PowerBook Mac OS X (10.4)
G4, G5, PowerBook Mac OS X (10.4)

Thank you for your helpful and quick advice.
Unfortunately, I did not have the latest version of Disk Warrior. Your probably right that zeroing the drive was overkill, but what a great feeling to start over! I feel like I just took a shower, broke up with my girlfriend, and moved to Italy to start a new life.
I went ahead and installed a retail version of OSX 10.4.3 and I am back up and running. I am going to stay a away from the latest OSX software updates for now to see how things play out.
--Franz
Zeroing is not necessary in most cases. A bad node
can frequently be repaired by Alsoft Disk Warrior
(assuming your data is backed up). If your data
isn't backed up, a bad node can often be read through
by Prosoft Data Rescue.
If I didn't catch you in time to stop your zeroing,
if installing the operating system you have
difficulty with zeroing, then perhaps the drive has
failed or its connector has failed. Be sure when you
go to install to only install the operating system
that came with the computer or a newer retail
operating system.

Experiencing strange performance issues after a hard drive failure - Help!

I bought my mid-2012 i5 Macbook Pro in December of 2012. I realized when shopping for computers that I wanted an SSD installed, but that it would be a lot cheaper if I bought the SSD and installed it rather than customizing it in the Apple Store. So I bought a nice Samsung 128GB SSD (820 or 840 - can't remember which) and did the installation. I went ahead and installed two 4GB sticks of RAM while I was at it. Everything was just dandy: my boot time was just under 9 seconds, and all of my data-heavy apps booted in no-time at all. Then all **** broke loose.
About two weeks ago, I opened my computer and I got the dreaded "? File Folder" notification with a gray screen. I immediately thought hard drive failure. No matter how many times I tried to boot, the computer just would not talk to the SSD anymore. I used Internet Recovery to get into my Disk Utility, and the entire partition was gone. I assumed the worst but wanted to be sure - I bought a hard drive enclosure and hooked the SSD up to an older Macbook, and lo and behold: it worked perfectly. I was not only able to recover data, but I could write data to the drive. Nothing appeared wrong with the drive when I plugged it into the old Macbook, but my newer Macbook still would not recognize it. Even my fiance's Windows 7 PC recognized the drive as "?" (since it was formatted for Mac, but hey - it recognized that it existed!).
I decided to re-install the original HDD that came with the 2012 Macbook Pro (the one I removed in favor of the SSD). I was able to re-install the OS and I can boot up at will, but everything is different. The performance issues are extremely noticeable. I can't have more than two programs running at one time without the spinning wheel of death appearing. My boot time went from 9 seconds to 2 minutes. I know that SSDs increase performance, so there is some slight performance downgrade to be expected since I am using a mechanical drive now -- but these are not normal issues. Sometimes I can't even type a web address into Safari without the wheel appearing. iTunes, and specifically the App Store, take minutes to open - and I have no media is on iTunes.
Here's the thing: I have tried just about anything to fix this problem that Google can pull up. I've verified the HDD, I've booted into Safe Mode, reset RAM and cache, run benchmarks and other performance tests, entered all sorts of weird language into Command Prompt, and studied Activity Monitor - I can't find a single red flag that would indicate anything being wrong. It appears to be a perfectly functioning, updated computer.
I'm thinking a piece of hardware failed that triggered the error with the SSD. I'm not really sure though since all of my performance tests indicate perfectly functioning hardware. I'm a little afraid to take it to the Apple store because I know they'll tell me it's my fault for opening the computer and replacing the hard drive in the first place.
Any ideas? At this point anything to salvage this computer would be helpful.

Spin Cycle,
were those other computers which were able to recognize your SSD in its external enclosure also Macs? Do you know if your SSD has its most recent firmware revision installed? (If it doesn’t, its installer can be downloaded from the Samsung SSD firmware page for burning onto a bootable DVD.) I haven’t used the 830 myself, so I don’t know what its reputation is with Macs. I have an 840 PRO in my MacBook Pro, which has been trouble-free for me, but my understanding is that the 840 EVO has had trouble with Macs in its earlier firmware revisions — so I’m wondering if the 830 has a known track record with Macs, good or bad.

My 13" black macbook keeps having hard drive failures -- I'm on my third hard drive

The first one lasted 2 years. It failed within the special warranty period that Apple offered because so many computers like mine were also having hard drive failures. I didn't know about the special warranty they were offering, even after contacting Apple and telling them about my problem and describing the exact symptoms of the problem they were fixing for free. Thank you for that. So I went to a local store and paid ~$130 to have it fixed. This time I was paranoid about not moving my computer, and if I did have to move it, make sure it was off. Then without warning, it happens again less than 2 years later. I would expect a computer hard drive, especially one that is taken care of as well as mine, to last more ~20 months (less than 2 years) TWICE. It seems that this is a problem not with the hard drive but with the computer. I'm pretty upset that hard drives are now basically disposable -- I'm afraid to use it now unless absolutely necessary, otherwise I'll feel like I'm making its clock tick closer and closer to the next time it fries the hard drive. For as much as I paid for this computer, I expect a bit more than that. Unless there is some magical fix to this, I can safely say my next computer will be a super cheap net book.
Does anyone have any more info on this, any ways to avoid frying more hard drives, or has any one had any luck resolving this issue with Apple? I greatly appreciate any help. Thank you!

Mechanical hard drives have moveable parts and they are going to fail eventually. Every drive has an MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) rating in the thousands of hours, but that is an average (half will fail sooner, half will fail later) not an absolute longevity guarantee.
I've used an original (Apple-OEM Fujitsu 120Gb 5400rpm), a Hitachi 320Gb 7200rpm, and currently a Seagate 500Gb 7200rpm drive in my mid-2007 MacBook. I replaced the 120Gb because I was running out of room. I still use it as an external backup for certain files. The 320Gb Hitachi failed after less than two years, but had a three-year-warranty, so it was replaced at no charge. I'm using the Hitachi replacement externally to clone my current drive in order to test OS X and software updates before installing them 'for keeps' on my working system.
A solid-state (SSD) drive might be less prone to mechanical failure, but that is still no absolute guarantee that it won't EVER fail, and SSD's are still about double or more the cost of mechanical drives.
The best thing is to simply be prepared for the eventual failure with a strategy for frequent and reliable backups.

Mac Pro 1,1 Hard drive failure... sorta. Then not.

I have a MacPro 1,1 Quad core 2.66 processor, with what I believe is the original 250 Gb hard drive. I'm running OSX 10.7.5.
Today when I powered it on, I could hear the hard drive spooling up (same sound as normal) then I heard 6 clicks and could hear the hard drive spooling down for a few seconds. It then spooled up again, heard 6 more clicks and it spooled down. Finally it attempted once more to spool up which was followed by 1 click and then spooled down with no more tries at booting up. Monitor showed blank grey screen until about the single click which brought up the grey screen with folder symbol with the question mark in it. I pressed the power button which turned it off. I tried powering up several additional times all with the same pattern of clicks and visuals on the monitor.
I did some research and tried to run the Apple Hardware Test by inserting the second of my original install disks and holding down the D key. Instead of bringing up the Apple Hardware Test, my hard drive managed to boot up completely with no clicks, and now appears to be running fine. I restarted and also did shutdowns... my Mac is booting up completely normally. I took the opportunity to make sure I have a recovery disk and the ability to download and install a new copy of Lion if the need comes up any time soon.
The main question is... was this likely an indication of a hard drive failure about to happen, as I tend to want to assume, or was the clicking sound and failure to boot a symptom of something else? Booting up while pressing "D" with the second install disk inserted shouldn't have fixed a hard drive problem... I wouldn't think. Also, anyone know the max size a replacement hard drive could be? I'll go with the same kind of hard drive as is currently in it, but not sure on if I'm limited to the original 250 Gb size.

BTmy1andonly wrote:
I'm not sure I understand your reference to "clone and backup." I assume it's something else besides a standard backup done with Time Machine?
The main things to realise…
Clones are a static copy of an OS or disk.
Generally they don't have the history of older files (some can).
OS clones are usually bootable - a really fast solution to 'oh carp my disk died' moments.
Schedule one to be made as often as you can afford to lose data (e.g once a day, or every other day etc).
Time Machine is a 'rolling backup'.
TM copies new files, preens older stuff & then deletes when space is running out.
It also excludes some inessential system files (like logs) - technically you will not get an identical copy back from a TM restore.
Archives are for the occasions where you want to store on another media for permanent safekeeping.
These need to be capable of being read in whatever timeframe you need to store for (a year, a decade…)
Don't archive with proprietary backup software or proprietary media, otherwise you will have a tough time finding a machine to connect it to it & run the software.
Several copies on different disks, probably on different media too (e,g. HD + Flash storage + archival DVD's…).
You may want to revisit archives & duplicate them to new media once in a while depending on how important it is.
Ideally you would have some offsite copies to protect against fire/ theft etc.
If you are in business you need to employ all options, if it's just iTunes music & some family photos, you still need to employ 3 types of backup

Hard Drive Failure (Flashing folder with question mark!)

After reading some of the topics on the forum, I know that the flashing folder with the question mark that I get when I try to turn on my Macbook is hard drive failure. I know to fix it that I need to Boot with the Installer Disk in the Drive, holding down The C key. But, will doing this destroy all of my pictures and other content? My pictures are really important and I dont want to lose them and I never backed them up ( dumb move, I know!).
Thanks!!

There are two basic possibilities when you get the flashing ? : 1) the hard drive is physically damaged or dead and 2) the hard drive has data errors
When you attempt to boot up with the system disks and then switch to Disk Utilities, the first thing to look for is if the program sees your drive. If it doesn't the drive is almost certainly dead and getting data from it will be costly. If the program does see the drive you'll want to attempt to repair it - press the repair button. If the repair fails, another repair utility may be able to repair the damage, at least well enough to get your data off. That program is DiskWarrior. If the repair succeeds the computer probably will need to have the OS reinstalled - my experience is about 90% of the time the repair fixed the drive but left the OS damaged.
When you reinstall the OS select options on the first screen beyond the language selection screen. Here you can (hopefully) select Archive and Install. This option will install a new operating system but leave the programs and data unchanged.
<short lecture on>As you've learned, it isn't if your drive sill sometime fail, it is when. Hard drives are relatively inexpensive. Buy one and backup your drive at least weekly. At the very least purchase a flash drive large enough to copy your very very important data and burn a DVD every week or month.<short lecture off>

Data Recovery After Hard Drive Failure!

Ok, basically, I've got a 2 1/2 year old iBook G4 with a bombed hard drive, and unfortunately, the last time I backed up was around 3 months ago. Here's what happened right before the crash: some applications like Widgets and Safari were acting fluky, and it wouldn't let me open Word documents, so I restarted, because I thought it might have something to do with the fact that i had downloaded the new version of itunes not that long ago and hadn't restarted since. well, when i restarted, the gray screen with the wheel and the apple symbol went on for a really long time, and then the blue screen came up with the cursor, but nothing else happened, and the blue screen just stayed there. as far as i know, the hard drive wasn't making any unusual noises, just the usual occasional soft sounds that my hard drive has always made (there are usual sounds, right?) a piece of information that might be useful is that the hard drive was almost full (it only had about 5 GB left, which i understand is how much you should leave) could this have caused the failure maybe? anyway, i tried using the hard drive as a target and tried getting another computer to recognize it and pull the files off, but that didn't work. so, i brought it into the apple store, and they got it to boot up but using some external hard drive, i think. they tried disk utility, but that didn't see my hard drive. then the tried disk warrior, and that saw it and repaired it or something, but then it couldn't get the drive to mount. so, i'm assuming that because disk warrior didn't work and couldn't get it to mount, then other software like data rescue, etc... won't either. like all computer users, i've got some REALLY REALLY important data on there, and all the data recovery places i've gotten quotes from are pretty pricey. if the drive doesn't require physical data recovery, only non-physical, as i hope, the cheapest is still $350. even so, the person on the phone there didn't seem to know nearly as much as the people at the more pricier places. so, are there any other options besides expensive data recovery? i read something about using dd - a unix thing, but i don't know the first thing about it (http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20050302225659382) so i'm not sure i want to risk messing it up even more. and, if worse comes to worst, then i'll use a data recovery place... but can anyone tell me if they've used any of the data recovery companies below, and which ones are good?
(first three do evaluation for free, and then you decide if you want to continue based on more accurate price idea)
MacintoshDataRecovery.com
$500 non physical
$1100-1600 physical
Heroic Efforts
http://www.heroicdata.com/data_recovery
$350 non physical
ships to another (very expensive) place if physical
ACS Data Recovery
http://www.acsdata.com/index.htm
$600-700 non physical
DriveSavers.com
(recommended by Apple, probably the best, but the most steep, too)
could cost anywhere from $500-$2700 and $200 evaluation fee even if data is unrecoverable
Since this is our fourth hard drive failure in four different iBooks in 2 1/2 years, i am starting to become seriously disillusioned about the quality of the hardware Apple uses...not that i would ever get a dell or anything, but still....
THANK YOU in advance for any tips you might be able to offer, and also for reading this extremely long post!
katie
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.3)
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

I have read good reports concerning Data Rescue although I have not used it myself.
Once you get your data back, focus on a regular (even daily) backup routine, because as you know only so well, the question is not if a drive will fail, it's when.
My condolences, by the way.

Satellite A-35-S159 Hard Drive Failure

Hi,
I am getting a message that a hard drive failure is imminent. I am prepared to replace the hard drive. (I might need your help there, hope not!) Prior to this, I tried to upgrade the memory, and was having crash events. Do you think that the crash events were hard drive related and not memory upgrade related, as I originally thought? Do you think with the replacement of the hard drive that the memory upgrade might take?
Also, will I be able to get the drivers I need from here? i don't have a Toshiba recovery disk, i will have to install WXP on the new drive.
Thanks for any help!

Satellite A35-S159
All your Toshiba drivers and utilities are here.
But you are far better off ordering the recovery media from Toshiba by calling Customer Service at 800-457-7777. (Have the computer's serial number and a credit card handy.)
When you restore the hard drive from there, all the drivers and utilities have been preinstalled in the correct order.
-Jerry

Mavericks related hard drive "failures" - some fixes

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