Repairing Disk Utility more

Ok so I had this question earlier today:
"Ok, last night there was an update for OSx Lion. I installed the 3 items, it said I needed to restart, which I did. When it restarted there was another box, which was checking the updates or something. After that finished, it logged into my home screen, and I shut it off. Today, I tried turning it on and it was stuck. After 10 minutes, I held the power button to shut it off and try again. I did this twice, and on the third time a loading bar showed up at the bottom of the screen, went for a while and almost reached halfway, then it dissappeared. I waited, but nothing happened. What's wrong and how to I fix it?"
I was told to fix the start-up disk with Disk Utility by using command-R. When I tried that, It gave me the options of a 500.11 GB thing, the Macintosh HD, SuperDrive, disk1, and Mac OS X Base System. I tried repairing all the them, and they were all fine except the "Macintosh HD" Heres what the report said exactly:
Checking the system
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Invalid index key (in red)
Rebuilding catalog B-tree.
The volume Hacintosh HD could not be repaired. (red)
Volume repair complete.
Updating boot suppport partitions for the volume as required.
Error: Disk Utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backed-up files.
Also, this box came up:
Disk Utitly stopped repairing "Macintosh HD"
Disk Utitity can't repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.
My question is, what do I do next to get my computer up and running, in simple terms.

...didn't back up anything with time machine, which is what I think is what you mean...
No, I did not mean Time Machine. (FWIW, Time Machine backups should be made to an external drive, not to another volume on the same drive as the primary boot volume. Reason - if you lose the drive, you lose everything inluding the backup.)
The files you need to copy off are the ones you spent time creating - financial files, word processing files, whatever you've spent time making. Software, programs etc., can be replaced simply by re-installing them. But the manhours you've invested in creating documents can never be recaptured if the files themselves are lost.
So, where are they? Unfortunately, the answer is wherever you placed them.
Everyone's work habits are different. For example, I do not use the Documents folder for anything. I make project (like "ABC Club" or "IRS") folders and kind (like "pictures" or "thoughts") folders, place them where they're convenient, and put the files I make or get in those folders as appropriate. The arrangement of those folders, which are in what and where, follow my own personal logic - after all, the purpose of a filing system is not to have a place to put things, it is to have a place to find things.
So, where they are is where you put them.

Similar Messages

"Volume needs Repair" -Disk Utility--what do i do?

So, my computer was freezing & I had the insight to run Disk Utility on the Repair part, everything comes up great, but on verify, under "Network"--Volume comes up needing repair. I looked it up under About the Mac & see that Volume is empty of info. Here is the report:
"Checking volume bitmap.
Volume bit map needs minor repair
Checking volume information.
Invalid volume free block count
(It should be 3922629 instead of 3922551)
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit"
Don't know if it matters but the indented portions of the report were in red, otherwise, in black.
What exactly am I to do with this information? Thanks!

In this instance, "Volume" refers to the hard drive. (I quizzed my fiancée - she thought of speaker loudness too... )
10.1, 10.2 etc is the Mac Operating System version number. (ie My eMac is running Mac OS 10.4.9)
If you flip down the CD/DVD drive door on the front of your eMac, there is a sticker that has the serial number, a barcode, then a series of information.
In my case:
1.25G HZ/512MB/160GB HD/DVD-RW/CD-RW/56K MDM
Which means
1.25 GHz processor
512MB of RAM
160GB hard disk drive
DVD & CD burner
56k modem
Note that the "160GB" drive actually only holds 149GB of data - and will show up in Disk Utility as such, because of the difference between binary and actual bit sizes... (check out wikipedia...)
When looking at the list of drives to examine in Disk Utility, the internal hard drive will show up as "internal" in the list of attributes at the bottom of the page... (ie when you click on it, it then shows you
Disk Description - ST.......
Connection BUS - ATA
Connection Type - Internal
Connection ID - Device 0
SMART status should "work" (ie tell you if the drive is good/bad) because you're looking at the internal drive, not an external one.
All that said and done... I still strongly suggest looking inside the eMac's inspection hatch on the base of the computer... if your eMac is freezing up for no apparent reason, it's much more likely to be the capacitor issue than an error found by Disk Utility...

Permissions repair/ disk utility

Hello:
I believe I have a permissions repair problem as but I'm not entirely sure.
I'm very untechnical and somewhat shakey on my conclusions and how to
proceed.
My computer slowed down this week after downloading freeware. I dumped all but one program. My space bar doesn't work properly as of last night, It only moves on the sides when hit hard. Most words just run together as I type.
Then today, I suddenly can't open Word documents. I forced quit and then restarted and then couldn't open PDF files either after working on the computer all day. Forced quit on Preview then couldn't open the hard drive as well. I was able to get into it through the applications icon.
Apple help suggests it's a permissions repair problem, but I'm confused. Went to disk utility and it says to install the OS X cd. I only have the PowerBook G4 Software Install and Repair disks. Are these one and the same?
I'd really appreciate any guidance on figuring this out and then how to proceed.
Thanks so much.

Hi Don:
Thanks for your help a couple of weeks ago. Just now attempting to solve.
Have used Mac Janitor and Cache Out X tonight and the inability to open files
on the desk top remains, as well not being able to open bookmarks in Safari in addition to having the same problem using the spacebar.
Wanted to ask some questions about your recommendations:
1) When using Cache Out X, do I want to delete Caches from the User Domain
as well as the Internet?
2) Do I launch all of the icons in Onyx? The help menu was very confusing.
3) I was unable to find Gullivers Link. Can you please explain this as well?
Additionally, while this note is correctly laid out while typing it, the preview page reveals line breaks that are not evident to me. This happens all the time
in emails. Any ideas?
Many thanks--
Beth
Welcome, there are several links available that cover
your issue as well as recommended System Maintnence.
Here they are and, all are good and all will work.
There are a few little differences. Read them and use
the software that is mentioned, they are good and
work well.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1220
21
I personally use Gullivers link and I use Macjanitor,
Cache Out X, and Onyx every week.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=196
61
Here is Apples recommendations.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303602
Good Luck
Don
PowerbookG4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Strange occurrence with permission repair/disk utility

Aloha all, I'm having a strange problem with disk repair and wonder if anyone else has seen this and/or how to fix it. If I have my external HD used for Time Machine turned off and open Disk Utility to check/repair permissions, none of my drives show up in the column on the left, and Disk Utility just hangs with the little spinning symbol. I let this run for over an hour before I had to force quit it. If however the external drive is on, everything works as normal in Disk Utility. Anyone know what might be causing this? I often eject and turn off my external drives at night, after I turn off Time Machine. I don't really need it backing up every hour during the night, and the drive is getting full so every little bit of space helps. I have deleted the permission file on my main drive and that didn't help. I'd like to be able to turn the external drive off and still be able to use disk repair. Mahalo for any tips, suggestions, or info you can provide. JB

jettyboy wrote:
I have deleted the permission file on my main drive and that didn't help.
Exactly what did you do?

Repair disk utility

I checked my macbookpro with Onyx as usually, result: minor problems and disk needs to be repaired. Cmd + R and this time I can't access to the disk utility, simply the apple logo disappears and a symbol appears, nothing happens.
How can I access to disk utility to repair my Macintosh HD disk?
Thank you very much
Jordi

Hmmm.. a bit late to mention this:
OS X Lion: About Lion Recovery Disk Assistant -http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4848#
Maybe:
OSX: About Lion Recovery - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

AirPort disk 'needs repair', Disk Utility finds nothing wrong...

I have a 640GB hard disk that was just formatted for use as an AirPort disk. I zeroed the disk on my PC and then formatted it in Disk Utility while it was attached to my USB hard disk dock. Because the original partition scheme I tried to do would not format as specified (i.e., Disk Utility decided that since I put free space as the first partition with four partitions, that what I really wanted was just the three partitions), I repartitioned the disk as follows: 64.00GB for HFS+, 32.00GB for FAT32, 512.00GB for HFS+, 32.00GB for FAT32 (using Master Boot Record). After this completed, I ran Windows XP on my PC and diskmgmt.msc with the intention of deleting the first partition 64.00GB HFS+ and replacing that with 64.00GB NTFS. This seemed to work fine on Windows XP, but I could not do it on Windows 7 because Windows 7 automatically makes the last partition on MBR an Extended Partition without asking if you want it to be a Primary/Extended Partition. Next, as I only intended to boot this on my old PC, which I rarely use, I installed Windows XP on to the first partition (now 64.00GB for NTFS). The installation went fine, as well as the software I installed in Windows that will allow me to see the HFS+ partition from a Windows boot. This software recognized the partition and mounted it in Windows. Next, I shut down the PC and put the disk back into the USB dock to see if all was well from the Mac side. Disk Utility did not report any issue with the disk and was able to see and mount all of the partitions correctly; however, when I attached this disk to my AirPort Extreme, the light started blinking amber and, upon further inspection, was told that the "AirPort disk needs to be repaired". I went back to Disk Utility and verified the disk without issue, but no problems were found. To be complete, I also repaired the disk in Disk Utility, but still it seemed to find nothing wrong and the repair had no effect on the AirPort error message. When I attach the disk to my AirPort Extreme, it will only mount the two partitions that are FAT32. The HFS+ partition does not show at all. I understand that the NTFS partition will not show over AirPort, which is why I chose a small size for it. My main reason for creating the NTFS partition is so that if I ever have a problem with my AirPort Extreme or need to work with a large file, I will have faster access if it is on a SATA connection inside my older PC than over WiFi or connected to my USB hard disk dock. Windows XP does not recognize the default OS X partition type, so that was not an option. Any assistance on how to address this issue would be greatly appreciated. The applicable operating systems are: Snow Leopard (my Mac mini), Windows XP Pro SP3 (on the old PC) and Windows 7 (on the newer PC that is attached to the AirPort Extreme).

Hi, i had experienced the same issue. After resetting tc to factory settings and reconfiguration everythings works as before.

Will repair disk utility delete all files on harddrive?

I have a "Mac OS X Install Disc 1 2008 Apple Inc." disk. Will this get me to the Disk Utility?
Will my harddrive be, mostly, unchanged or will it delete all?
Any other advice would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance,

Mostly unchanged. Back up the data anyway.
Since you're running Lion, restart with the Option key held down, tab to its recovery partition, and use the Disk Utility from there.
(62347)

HT2711 I used the "repair disk utility" to see why my computer is running slow but it gives me an error message saying, "disk utility can't repair this disk, and restore your backed up files. My computer was running slow and taking some time to load page

I haven't used my computer in a month, so when I turned it on, I saw it was running slow. The circle that is used to load the page kept coming up and it took sometime for things to load up. I tried to go Into safe mode, and it worked, but I know your limited on what you can do in that world. I also tried to repair the disk but it kept giving me an error message. How can I resolve this problem?

Time Machine is a back up you have to set up to back up before there is a problem like a hard drive failure.
It is possible to recover files from a failed drive, but it is an expensive proposition.
There is a faint hope that an app like Disk Warrior or TechTool Pro might repair the drive. You could try making an appointment at an Apple store and ask a technician there to take a look... the diagnosis will not cost you.
http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/

Can't repair Macintosh HD in Disk Utility (extended attributes)

Hi all,
I have a Retina Macbook Pro with one of them new fancy SSDs in it. I'm running 10.9.3 all up-to-date and am a bit computer-savvy, but I'm more than puzzled by what my Mac has been doing as of late.
When trying to install Windows via Bootcamp, I ran into an error message in the Partitioning step of the process. I hopped into Disk Utility, figuring I could simply partition from there (something in me trusts Disk Utility more than the Boot Camp Assistant). Partition failed!
I then executed the "Verify Disk" command in Disk Utility, only to be told I needed to restart from the Recovery Partition and use the "Repair Disk" function of Disk Utility then. Log of this whole event is at the end of this post, but the offending line seems to be
2014-06-12 20:59:30 -0400: Checking extended attributes file.
2014-06-12 20:59:30 -0400: (It should be 15783744 instead of 14437995)
I then restarted and followed these instructions. "Verify Disk" found no errors, nor did "Repair Disk." I rebooted, only to be met with the same problem!
Is there some sort of lower-level command I can use to repair my disk if I boot in Single User mode or something?
Thanks,
Nathan
2014-06-12 20:58:30 -0400: Disk Utility started.
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Verifying partition map for “APPLE SSD SD512E Media”
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Starting verification tool:
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking prerequisites
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking the partition list
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking for an EFI system partition
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking the EFI system partition’s size
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking the EFI system partition’s file system
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking all HFS data partition loader spaces
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking booter partitions
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking booter partition disk0s3
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking file system
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking extents overflow file.
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking catalog file.
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking multi-linked files.
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking catalog hierarchy.
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking extended attributes file.
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking volume bitmap.
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking volume information.
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: The volume Recovery HD appears to be OK.
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking Core Storage Physical Volume partitions
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking storage system
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking volume
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: disk0s2: Scan for Volume Headers
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: disk0s2: Scan for Disk Labels
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Logical Volume Group D79A3F82-3153-4DCC-A58F-C9B3ADAD2F6E on 1 device
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: disk0s2: Scan for Metadata Volume
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Logical Volume Group has a 16 MB Metadata Volume with double redundancy
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Start scanning metadata for a valid checkpoint
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify Segment Headers
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify Checkpoint Payload
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify Transaction Segment
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Incorporate 0 newer non-checkpoint transactions
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify Virtual Address Table
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify Segment Usage Table
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify Metadata Superblock
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify Logical Volumes B-Trees
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Logical Volume Group contains 1 Logical Volume
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify BDEE2B2F-6770-4707-AE0A-3862965E6414
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify B761A88F-B034-44A9-8F54-F7732861C825
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify Freespace Summary
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify Block Accounting
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify Live Virtual Addresses
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Newest transaction commit checkpoint is valid
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Load and verify Segment Cleaning
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: The volume D79A3F82-3153-4DCC-A58F-C9B3ADAD2F6E appears to be OK
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: The partition map appears to be OK
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400:
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Starting verification tool:
2014-06-12 20:58:36 -0400: Checking storage system
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Checking volume
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: disk0s2: Scan for Volume Headers
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: disk0s2: Scan for Disk Labels
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Logical Volume Group D79A3F82-3153-4DCC-A58F-C9B3ADAD2F6E on 1 device
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: disk0s2: Scan for Metadata Volume
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Logical Volume Group has a 16 MB Metadata Volume with double redundancy
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Start scanning metadata for a valid checkpoint
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify Segment Headers
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify Checkpoint Payload
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify Transaction Segment
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Incorporate 0 newer non-checkpoint transactions
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify Virtual Address Table
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify Segment Usage Table
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify Metadata Superblock
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify Logical Volumes B-Trees
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Logical Volume Group contains 1 Logical Volume
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify BDEE2B2F-6770-4707-AE0A-3862965E6414
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify B761A88F-B034-44A9-8F54-F7732861C825
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify Freespace Summary
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify Block Accounting
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify Live Virtual Addresses
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Newest transaction commit checkpoint is valid
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Load and verify Segment Cleaning
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: The volume D79A3F82-3153-4DCC-A58F-C9B3ADAD2F6E appears to be OK
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Checking file system
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Performing live verification.
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Checking extents overflow file.
2014-06-12 20:58:37 -0400: Checking catalog file.
2014-06-12 20:58:59 -0400: Checking multi-linked files.
2014-06-12 20:59:30 -0400: Checking extended attributes file.
2014-06-12 20:59:30 -0400: (It should be 15783744 instead of 14437995)
2014-06-12 20:59:30 -0400: Error: This disk needs to be repaired using the Recovery HD. Restart your computer, holding down the Command key and the R key until you see the Apple logo. When the OS X Utilities window appears, choose Disk Utility.
2014-06-12 20:59:30 -0400:
2014-06-12 20:59:30 -0400: Disk Utility stopped verifying “Macintosh HD”: This disk needs to be repaired using the Recovery HD. Restart your computer, holding down the Command key and the R key until you see the Apple logo. When the OS X Utilities window appears, choose Disk Utility.
2014-06-12 20:59:30 -0400:

I'm having a similar problem with my G4 Desktop.
I have a 2nd internal hard drive and 2 FW Drives.
None of them are able to be verified or repaired using DU.
I get the following message: "Verify volume failed with error Could not unmount disk." And then some message about "make sure that all your files are closed."
I tried soft-booting by holding the shift-key down just as a trouble-shooting idea and I was able to verify and the drives were working well. However, when I restarted in normal mode I was not able to verify or repair.
What is my G4's problem? Why does it need to use that secondary drive in order to operate? What do I need to do to fix it?
Any suggestions?
G4 Dual 1.42 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 1 Gig Ram / 2 Internal Hard Drives

Disk Utility - repeated need for minor header volume repair...

Hi...
Three times in the last week and a half, Disk Utility has reported "Volume header needs minor repair". Each time, I've dutifully started up from my Tiger install CD, and successfully repaired the problem. On at least one of the three occasions, I also ran Disk Warrior and rebuilt the disk directory. Today, the same volume header problem is being reported again.
I've had similar minor disk problems in past, but the repairs always 'stuck' for some while. I'm thinking it's time for an archive and install (at least), but I'm wondering if others have run into the same problem and found alternate remedies.
I routinely run Onyx for maintenance and cleaning, by the way.
Is there anything else I might try before the archive and install? And/or is a complete reformat in order instead?
Data is backed up as of yesterday.
Thanks for any/all suggestions.
Peter B.

Allan... thanks.
When running Disk First Aid repair via Disk Utility when booted from your Tiger install disc, is anything reported as being successfully repaired?
If I recall correctly, yes... the specific volume header.
I typically re-verify when I boot back to my startup drive, and initially get passing verifications... then (only recently) within days (sometimes hours) the header problem is reported again.
I don't normally check in with Disk Utility more than (about) once a week... but since the problem has recurred, I am of course checking more often.
I have never had this recurring problem before. Reports from Disk Utility have been almost always 'in the green' - i.e. successful verification.
Peter B.
-----

Permissions not repairing with Disk Utility

I booted off my internal backup drive to run Disk Utilities on my main drive as I've been having some display problems and wanted to check for viruses and check the integrity of my drive. No viruses, disc verifies OK, but I had a lot of permissions needing repair, which I did.
I then cleared history and ran Verify Permissions again and even though the repair said all permissions were repaired except the last SUID file, these 7 came back. I ran repair again. Disk Utility said all except SUID were repaired like before. Ran verify again and they same 7 plus SUID showed up needing the same repairs Disk Utility said it fixed twice before.
Is this indicative of a serious problem? Any ideas how to fix them? Do I even need to?
Have MacPro1,1 - Running OSX 10.6.7, 8 GB RAM
Thanks,
Steven
Permissions differ on "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.6.0/Classes/jconsole.jar ", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Deploy.bundle/ Contents/Home/lib/security/cacerts", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Deploy.bundle/ Contents/Resources/Java/deploy.jar", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Deploy.bundle/ Contents/Resources/Java/libdeploy.jnilib", should be -rwxr-xr-x , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Deploy.bundle/ Contents/Resources/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Java/deploy.jar", should be lrwxr-xr-x , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.6.0/Resources/JavaPlugin Cocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Java/deploy.jar", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.6.0/Resources/JavaPlugin Cocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Java/libdeploy.jnilib", should be -rwxr-xr-x , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent" has been modified and will not be repaired.

Thanks re permissions. I was going to try DiskWarior, to see if it could repair them, but won't now.
For viruses I ran MacScan. Only found some tracking cookies and removed them.
(PS: with the new Discussions points, is it better to click Correct Answer or Helpful Answer? I wanted to click both, but after clicking Helpful, Correct disappeared. Guess I should have clicked Correct for you. I assume this is how we acrue points?)
Thx,
S

Disk Utility cannot repair Macintosh HD

Hey everyone,
My computer has been faulty for a while now, been running on Mountain Lion OS X 10.8.5.
I originally noticed the issue at hand when i tried to download maverick, but Macintosh HD was not a viable download location as it was already being used by Time Machine, I tried fiddling around with it but to no avail.
Eventually, I decided to verify if there was any problem with my HDD, and when I verified in Disk Utility, it said it needed repairing ("Disk Utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backed up file"). It kept on telling me that the "volume Macintosh HD could not be repaired after 3 attempts"). Now I've just tried restarting my computer and I'm getting the notorious grey screen of death where I get the progress bar and a scroll, at the end of the bar, my MacBook Pro just switches off!
Luckily I have all my stuff backed up on a WD external HD, so my whole computer is backed up. Can anyone please resolve this for me? I have been through the step by step guides already available, but want to avoid erasing and re downloading if possible.
Thanks,
Felix.

Install or Reinstall Mavericks or Mountain Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
OS X Mavericks- Erase and reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Erase and reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Erase and reinstall Mac OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
because it is three times faster than wireless.

What does disk utility really do ?

I downloaded a lion 10.8 dmg from internet and wanted to make a installation portable disk.
And when I loaded the dmg, and used the 'disk utility' to restore installation files to one of my disk partitions, it just failed. And what is real annoying is that I got my disk partitions after the partition lost. And I can't get my important files back.
Maybe the 'disk utility' want to change the partition to be bootable and made the partition tables damaged.
Hope someone can help me to repair the disk and make the disk utility more secure !

varjak paw wrote:
There is no DMG of Lion, at least not anything legal. From where did you get this file?
Well there is a DMG of both Lion and Mt Lion. But it is included in the Lion/Mt Lion OS X Install.app package files and can be copied out.
But that is Not the Operating System. It is the Install files for the operating system. Restoring that DMG would, supposedly, give you bootable media for installing the OS on a drive.
To the OP I have found that the Restore feature/function in Disk Utility doesn't always work as expected. Best thing to do is use this program for creating a Dual Layer DVD or USB thumb of the Mt Lion install files. It works every time.
Make the USB thumb as most of the, Not So, Superdrives can't really write to Dual Layer DVDs. You will be very lucky if you have a Superdrive that will actually write to Dual Layer DVDs.

Unable to erase external hard drive with Disk Utility

Macbook Pro (mid 2010) running 10.9
Hello
Recently, my Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1 TB external hard drive has not been showing up on my desktop or in finder. The light is on when connected, and in the Disk Utility it appears.
1. It was naturally created with a partition on it (all of the 1TB allocated to it) and it appears in the Disk Utility as well; however, it is grayed out.
2. I clicked the actual drive in DU and it was verified as being ok. I clicked on the partition next to verify and it said "Error disk needs repaired"
3. So I clicked repair, "Disk Utility cannot repair the disk..restore as many as your backed-up files...etc."
4. No problem (the data on the hard drive is used for my Time Machine back ups and my current internal hard drive is working fine with all the data intact)
5. Ok, so I click the erase tab on the entire external hard drive...erase..."Disk cannot be unmounted"
6. Ok, I try to erase the invidual partition..."Could not open disk"
It seems every time I try to erase this drive completely im hitting blocks. I even tried this method from the OS X Recovery menu (Command+R on startup). I would greatly appreciate any help to just get this whole thing external hard drive erased and start anew. How else would I go about this?
(pictures for reference)
Thank you all

If this is your only backup device, you need to start a new backup on another drive immediately. Don't erase (or try to erase) your only backup.
After you have the other backup, boot into Recovery and try again to erase the volume. You will have to unlock it before you can do anything with it, because it's encrypted.
If you still can't erase it, the drive has failed.

Disk Utility application won't launch

After repairing some errors which appeared on my main drive and which I have now repaired Disk Utility.app no longer launches and I can no longer mount disk images. Can anybody suggest a fix? Everything else in the system seems OK. Running on 10.4.10

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Look for the com. Apple Disk Utility plist file and delete it from the Library/Preference folders. If that doesn't work one of the cache cleaning applications may have corrupted your cache or the Disk Utility application needs to be reloaded. You can extract that file with http://www.charlessoft.com/ 's Pacifist from the installer disk for 10.4 and apply the relevant 10.4.10 combo update:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10410comboupdateppc.html
If it is the G4 533 that is having trouble. If you have an Intel Mac which is having problems, use this update:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10410comboupdatev11intel.html

Repairing Disk Utility more

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