Question re start up drives & disc utility under Lion

My startup drive is slightly buggy (I hope only slightly) and I need to fix it with disc utility - I know I need to first startup from another drive.
two questions:
1 - I have a backup drive (external USB) that's formatted with the 10.6.5 OS. If I start up from that USB drive, I can properly fix the new 10.7 drive, correct? (I can fix a 10.7 drive from a 10.6.5 drive - that's the question.)
2 - I remember reading that Lion has a restore partition built into it somewhere, so I don't have to attach a USB drive in the future, I can just boot up from a certain portion of the main start up drive. True? If so, how do I access that?
thanks!
W

I get it - start up holding Apple (command) + R... will try...
I was thinking I should install lion on my backup start up drive, but not sure how to do it - since there is no lion disc, how do I even find the app (or whatever it was) that installed lion (on my main drive) to begin with? I just downloaded it from the app store w/o any discs?
w

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Hard Drive Format Fails under Lion 10.7.4

Long-time Mac user, first time I've ever seen this problem. OS X 10.7.4, Mac Pro.
I am attempting to format a RAID JBOD disk through Disk Utility 12.1.1 (Lion version) and it fails consistently with this error:
"Partition Failed with the error: Wiping volume data to prevent future accidental probing failed."
Prior to Lion I've been using 10.5.8 since it's arrival and never had this problem using the 10.5.8 version of Disk Utility (11.x.x). Unfortunately, that version of Disk Utility will not run using Lion 10.7.4 (why???) so I have to restart from an external backup which still has 10.5.8 on it. Then I can properly format the drive. For what it is worth, I've been using the same brand and model of drive for my RAID setup for at least eight years.
Apple, this needs to be fixed. It is not a new problem, either; I found a thread dating back to 2008 with the same problem and still it manifests. Since I have never seen the error before, the previous thread leads me to wonder if it Is, perhaps, an incompatibility between my computer hardware (not the RAID card) and Lion's version of Disk Utility (12.1.1)?
Any thoughts on this issue?

G_Thomas wrote:
Long-time Mac user, first time I've ever seen this problem. OS X 10.7.4, Mac Pro.
I am attempting to format a RAID JBOD disk through Disk Utility 12.1.1 (Lion version) and it fails consistently with this error:
"Partition Failed with the error: Wiping volume data to prevent future accidental probing failed."
Prior to Lion I've been using 10.5.8 since it's arrival and never had this problem using the 10.5.8 version of Disk Utility (11.x.x). Unfortunately, that version of Disk Utility will not run using Lion 10.7.4 (why???) so I have to restart from an external backup which still has 10.5.8 on it. Then I can properly format the drive. For what it is worth, I've been using the same brand and model of drive for my RAID setup for at least eight years.
Apple, this needs to be fixed. It is not a new problem, either; I found a thread dating back to 2008 with the same problem and still it manifests. Since I have never seen the error before, the previous thread leads me to wonder if it Is, perhaps, an incompatibility between my computer hardware (not the RAID card) and Lion's version of Disk Utility (12.1.1)?
Any thoughts on this issue?
How did you install Lion without first updating to Snow Leopard 10.6.8?
Pete

Disc Utility doesn't see new hard drive

Hi Everyone.
I've just replaced my old 20gig IBM Travelstar 4200rpm with a new Seagate Momentus 7200.1 80gig hard drive. I used Carbon Copy to back a duplicate of the info on the Travelsdtar to an extrenal fireiwre drive. I can boot up from the fireiwre drive. When I go to format the new Seagate drive, disc utility doesn't see it. I even booted from a tiger install disc and tried it's disc utiltiy. Still couldn't see it. Before I go and reinsert the old Travelstar, maybe someone can tell me what I am doing wrong? thanks Andrew
PS. The Seagate had jumpers on it. The Travelstar didn't, so I took off the jumpers on the Seagate before I installed it..
Ti G4 Powerbook DVI Mac OS X (10.4.9) Ti Book upgraded from 400Mhz to 667Mhz
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Hi Eww. You are exactly right. What was I thinking (not). I reopened the laptop and had a good poke around. The Seagate comes with a jumper diagram on the case. I was correct to assume that no jumpers means " master". Why I didn't see that last night only wine will know.
It's not safe to surmise, because one drive has no
jumpers in place or jumpers in a particular
arrangement, that any other drive with which you
replace it should be jumpered the same way. Jumper
configurations may vary considerably from one drive
model and manufacturer to another.
If you find that the drive is already correctly
jumpered (with no jumpers in place), then the problem
may be a poor connection .
Yes that was it. In my haste to get the thing going I only connected one row of the pins. Problem solved. It's purring along as I type. For the record it is much quieter than the Travelstar. Thanks for everybody's replies.
Ti G4 Powerbook DVI Mac OS X (10.4.9) Ti Book upgraded from 400Mhz to 667Mhz
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How do I find "Disc Utility"?

Watching a how-to-speed-up-video video on-line and instructions start with opening Disc Utility; only info I've found is that I have to use my start-up disc(s) and "click on Disc Utility" and go from there; when I open my start-up disc, there is no listing of "Disc Utility" -- just an "unpack" icon, a read-me and one or two other things; clicking on the unpack just brings me to the "do you want to install this software...etc., etc." but still doesn't show anything about a Disc Utility; probably a very simple answer to my question, but, clearly, I'm simpler still... so any help is appreciated. Thanks.

1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair Disk, (not Repair Permissions). Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214

Trying to install snow leopard on my Macbook Pro. After already having problems with Grey screen, blinking file with a question mark, etc. Computer now says that one of the hard drives is failing.The "hitachi" drive says it's failing in disc utility.

o.k. So, I've been tinkering with several "self help" fixes for several days now with no positive results. I'll explain my initial problems and then end with my most current situation. In hopes that someone out there will have a good suggestion or possibly remedy for the issues i'm facing
First, my problem started after my wife played a game on my macbook pro and the computer froze. She went into a panic and decided to shut down via power button. When computer restarted she got the blinking file/grey screen and that problem continued for a couple of days before I began using steps from various support topics from apple concerning the grey screen/blinking file folder.
Ultimately, yesterday I decided to erase my Macintosh HD file as one tip suggested. Following the brief online and on screen (via the process) tips that were there. Once that was completed I attempted to reinstall snow leopard (my most current version on hand) into the pc.
At first, I thought this would work. It looked promising. But, after several hours the installation screen returned with failure. I attempted to repeat. And, even repair drives during this try and re-try process.
Now, today, one of the drives.. "hitachi..." states that it's failing and is in red letters with no ability to repair via the disc utility screen. The Macintosh HD drive shows that it's o.k. But, this drive is listed under the HItachi drive so I think that's where a problem might lay.
So, I guess my question really revolves around.. What if anything can I do to get the hitachi drive back up? (short of taking it to a repair facility and replacing.)
And, how on earth can i get my OSX back up to I have a laptop again.
Operating on a macbook pro here. It's my lifeline. Otherwise, I am using a Windows desktop that i'm not that fond of. lol
I'm trying to bring this 2006 laptop back to life. Trying to avoid a rather expensive repair or the purchase of a new laptop. Also expensive...
Any help would be appreciated.

Well, running on a 2006 model. I did not have a startup disc. Initially, it booted up on original software in 2006. Since then, I've upgraded to 10.6 via a box set. And, since then I think I popped it up to lion.
All I have on a disc is snow leopard. And, I can't get farther than the setup screen due to hard drive. I'm taking to a apple authorized repair store right now. We'll see what they tell me . I'm just going to weigh the cost of repair vs. buying new.
Another bad, stupid thing is I had no means of backing up my stuff. So, I might have lost things like music, vids, etc. we'll see if they can recover. If the cost is too much for repair I might just forget it and start over with a new system. Just not sure at this point.

TS2570 Question re: "Start from your Mac OS X Install disc; use Disk Utility"

I've worked my way through the step-by-step trouble shooting in the TS2570 article up to "Start from your Mac OS X Install disc; use Disk Utility". So far, every step results in the same outcome - my formerly trusty 2007 Intel duo core iMac (24") will not start up, freezing on a grey screen with a blinking question mark on a folder. I don't completely understand this next step. I have both a Leopard and a Snow Leopard disc. I'm not positive whether these were for the iMac, or my old Macbook Pro. I assume this makes a difference.

Question (?) Mark, Blinking Folder, or Gray Screen at Startup
These are related but not identical issues. Their causes are outlined in Intel-based Mac- Startup sequence and error codes, symbols. Solutions may be found in:
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
A flashing question mark or globe appears when you start your Mac
Mac OS X- Gray screen appears during startup
In most cases the problems may be caused by one or more of these:
a. Problem with the computer's PRAM - See Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.
b. Boot drive's directory has been corrupted - Repair with Disk Utility.
c. Critical system files are damaged or deleted - Reinstall OS X.
d. The disk drive is physically non-functional - Replace the hard drive.
Note that the information I have provided is what Apple recommends, If other users suggest different solutions than found here, then be sure what they recommend does not impact on your warranty, if any, or ability to get continuing Apple service.
Please don't start removing drives or changing cables unless you know what you are doing and have exhausted other non-invasive alternatives outlined here. If you perform any work yourself that is unapproved by Apple, then you will void any warranty you may have and lose all further Apple Support.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
The main difference if you are using Lion or Mountain Lion is that you must first boot from the Recovery HD. Simply boot from the Recovery HD to perform the above.
Reinstall Snow Leopard Without Erasing The drive
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing The Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

I messed up badly by trying to restore my brand new macbook pro by doing restart then command R and choose disc utility repair now when I start ,all I get is the white screen with a folder and a question mark,What can I do???help please

I messed up badly by trying to restore my brand new macbook pro by doing restart then command R and choose disc utility repair now when I start ,all I get is the white screen with a folder and a question mark,What can I do???help please

Can you still boot to the Recovery partition using Command and R whilst booting? Or did you wipe the Recovery partition as well?
If your Recovery partition is still intact, you can simply boot to it and reinstall the OS via the Internet. If you wiped the Recovery partition, you can hold down Command, option and R keys whilst booting and boot into true Internet Recovery mode. You'll be able to reformat the hard drive, erasing all partitions (format it as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" with a dingle GUID partition) and then reinstall the OS that shipped with your machine.
Note that you should use a physical Ethernet connection when restoring over the Internet - it's three times slower if you use wifi.
Try your Recovery partition first and if that doesn't work, use Internet Recovery.
Clinton

How long to partition a 500gb hard drive under disc utility

i opened disc utility for the purpose of erasing a drive and restoring it. following the erase portion, it automatically started partitioning it. this operation has been going on for 1 day and 4 hours! someone help!

etcetera wrote:
I have two 300GB drives I plan to mirror.
Now how many partitions and of what sizes do I create given 300GB size?That's up to the administrator.
Should I put everything except swap under / ?That's what I do, but others might prefer other setups.
Do I need a separate partition for /tmp, /var, /usr, /opt and so on?No. But that doesn't mean that they might not be useful in some cases.
Darren

Boots to flashing question mark folder and disc utility cannot locate internal hard drive

Bottling my MacBook Pro I end up with a flashing question mark folder. I reboot holding the option key to select discs and there were no options at all. I plug in an Ethernet cable and it shows a internet recovery option. I click and it downloaded a temporary recovery mode. From there I open disc utility but it doesn't find any internal hard drives. I reset the pram and I still get the flashing question mark folder. Thinking it was my internal hard drive that failed I bought and replaced the internal hd with a new one and repeated all the processes and still no internal hard drive was found. I'm stuck with the flashing question mark folder. Therefore I've concluded that it was my MacBook pros internal hard drive CABLE that had failed. Does anyone know of any other possible problems that is causing this for my MacBook Pro or know of any solutions? Or is replacing my internal hd cable the only solution? Please help!

It was the internal HD cable. I replaced it and now my MacBook Pro works

Started to run recovery disc assistant on a backup hard drve-stopped when it said it would erase all data-but now can't inialize the external drive nor repair it with disc utility?

started to run recovery disc assistant on a backup hard drve-stopped when it said it would erase all data-but now can't inialize the external drive nor repair it with disc utility. what to do?

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Safari wont open; disc utility says errors on the drive but cant fix them

Hi, Safari isnt opening despite my installing it again from the CD as well as trying to install it from the latest version available online (I saved it onto my thumbdrive from another computer). So I ran disc utility and it says there are errors but that its not allowed to fix them since its mac HD that has the errors.
I couldnt copy and paste the log as it says 'not enough memory to complete the operation' but this is what the last bit said:
Volume bitmap needs minor repair check volume information. The volume MacintoshHD needs to be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit.
Additionally a lot of other applications: tech tool deluxe (from the apple protection plan CD), word etc. have been quitting for no reason. Is this a virus? Is there anything I can download to fix this?
Please help, I'm desperately trying to fnish my thesis on time...any suggestions would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Welcome to Apple Discussions
I ran disc utility and it says there are errors but that its not allowed to fix them since its mac HD that has the errors.
There are no viruses on your machine. Macs to date have not been affected by the typical viruses seen on PC's.
It seems you have directory errors on your Hard Drive. These can be caused by the machine shutting off unexpectedly (power failure), corrupted application code, or even lack of routine system maintenance.
You cannot correct directory errors on the same drive you are operating from - in this case your Hard Drive. In order to correct the errors, you need to start-up from your Installer DVD. Insert the disc. Once loaded, restart the computer. When the screen turns momentarily dark, hold down the C key. This tells the machine to start up from the DVD rather than the Hard Drive.
You can release the C key once you hear the CD engaged and the grey Apple screen appears. When fully installed, go to the Installer Menu and select "Disk Utility". When the Disk Utility panel appears, single-click on your Hard Drive on the left side. This will open the First Aid Panel. On the right you'll see "repair disk". Select it. Errors will appear during the process. Once done, continue to rerun until you get a clean pass.
Once finished, quit DU and quit the Installer. This will automatically restart the computer. From here, the log-in screen ought to appear and ultimately your Desktop.
When complete, go to the Utilities folder and select "disk utility". Again, highlight your hard drive. In the first-aid panel on the left select "repair permissions." This will not take very long. Refrain from using the computer while it is running.
Post back with results - there is more to do.

Imac hard drive shows up in disc utility but repair greyed o

my imac will not start up without discs, and when it does and i try to use disc utility the drive shows up and i can select it but the repair and verify buttons are greyed out. same thing happens when i start it up in target mode. i did do nvram reset as well as power management reset.
I have a genius bar appt for saturday but as it is an hour a way i'd like to try and solve myself.

Ok select the drive model itself not the volume and check the information at the bottom to see if the SMART Status is Verified or not. If SMART is reporting an error it should say so in red letters in the Show Details section under the First Aid tab. Check screen shot for reference: http://ftp.georgetek.com/George/Disk_Util.png
George

TS1440 My hard drive is not showing up in the disc utility folder

My computer froze and I had to turn it off via the power button. Upon restarting, I encountered the screen with the flashing folder with a question mark. I followed the first couple steps, as well as some steps for the gray screen to no avail. I got to the step where you inset the OS disc and start from that, but when I opened the disc utility folder, my hard drive was invisible, as if it didn't even exist. The only thing that appears is the DVD. What does this mean, and how can I make it appear?

It means the hard drive has failed and needs to be replaced.

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Hi there,
Am using OS X on a 4 year old Imac. Suddenly when I started up I get a grey screen with a folder icon and question mark in it. These flash.
I tried to follow online help and installing the OSX disc to open the disc utility. This opens fine, but then I cannot see the HD anywhere.
At this stage not sure what it could be. There are no strange noises so I wonder if the HD is dead or not.
Any ideas or solutions would be great.
Cheers

Sounds dead, but try a Safe Boot by holding down the Shift key at the startup chime. Give it much longer than a regular boot. It will be trying to repair the drive directory if that's what is needed, and if possible. Try Startup Manager and some other ideas here,
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440

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I'm not very tech savvy but am trying my best to use Disc Utility to copy my hard drive to a brand new external drive and am having the error "Unable to create...(Cannot allocate memory)".
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I have done both. When I hold down the "C" key it pauses for a few seconds while the cd spins and then the flashing folder icon appears.
Could be you have the wrong cd/dvd. The mac will only boot a supported cd/dvd for your machine. The flashing question mark indicdates your machine could not find a valid os.
When I hold down the "option" key for the startup manager the cursor comes up and moves but the actually manager doesn't come up no matter how long I leave the laptop on.
Not sure. Could be your machine does not support the startup manager. You would think the machine would ignore the key.
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What machine do you have anyway?
This site provides more information, but lacks security.
"A serial number is a unique, identifying number or group of numbers and letters assigned to an individual piece of hardware or software. It's used for various things depending on the product / brand but what is your Mac's serial number for and more importantly... what is it hiding and what can it do for you ?"
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
or
This site provides more information, but lacks security too.
"A serial number is a unique, identifying number or group of numbers and letters assigned to an individual piece of hardware or software. It's used for various things depending on the product / brand but what is your Mac's serial number for and more importantly... what is it hiding and what can it do for you ?"
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html
( hint by K Shaffer )

Question re start up drives & disc utility under Lion

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