Why does my startup disk need repairing?

Twice in the last month I've had to repair my startup disk? Any ideas why?

Disk Utility repairs inconsistencies in the Disk Directory, which holds information like the name, size, and which actual blocks on the disk store the data. The Directory has a balanced tree structure for rapid searching.
Occasionally the Directory gets minor errors in it. File length errors can occur when a new file is opened at the default minimum size, and its size is never adjusted to its actual size when closed. It is not a major problem.

Similar Messages

I have repaired startup disk in disk utility but still get message saying startup disk needs repair, help.

I am on a macbook pro running the latest version of yosemite. I was going to use Onyx to clean it, but I got a message stating that my startup disk needs repair. I command R went to disk utility to verify and repair and the disk was fine. However, I still get the same message when using Onyx. What should I do? Should I command R and reinstall? Will the fact that my startup disk needs repair cause a problem?

Thank you @EricRoot, I think you may be correct. I don't get that message with other programs. However, I did locate files on my computer taking up way too much space...

Why does my startup disk fill so quickly?

I have a Macbook 2007 and for the past few days, I have been getting notices while running Photoshop Elements 8 and iTunes that my startup disk is almost full. A friend recommended restarting, which I did. I would start with 200MB left of memory but within a few hours, the notices would pop up and my memory would be Zero KB available all over again. Has anyone else run into this problem? It's so frustrating. I know it's time to upgrade computers, but I don't want to make my parents pay for one for next year and then one for college the year after, so I am hoping to make it last one more year!

Disk Utility repairs inconsistencies in the Disk Directory, which holds information like the name, size, and which actual blocks on the disk store the data. The Directory has a balanced tree structure for rapid searching.
Occasionally the Directory gets minor errors in it. File length errors can occur when a new file is opened at the default minimum size, and its size is never adjusted to its actual size when closed. It is not a major problem.

'Disk Needs Repair' warning on base station w/ Hitachi 2TB USB Drive

Trying to use my new 2TB USB Hitachi XL Desk Drive (mac formatted) on my extreme base station. Drive works perfectly on my MacBook Pro but when I plug it in to the base station both with & without a powered usb hub, airport utility says 'Disk Needs Repair' & amber light flashes. Disk shows up in utility as a 1.8TB Hitachi but disk title is not listed. Other drives work just fine on the base station. Not sure what else to try at this point.

Connect the drive back to your MacBook Pro.
Open Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility
Click on your drive on the left side of the window to highlight it, then click Repair Disk over on the lower right of the window. May take 30-90 minutes or so depending on how much data is on the drive.
You may also need to click Repair Disk Permissions in Disk Utility as well.
IF...you are using the drive for Time Machine backups, Apple does not support backups to a drive at the USB port of the AirPort Extreme. You will have issues if you try this.

What does the startup Disk do ?

i'm a new mac user, and i still don't know what all the option on the mac does, one of those is the startup disk
i really like to know what does the startup disk do .
thank you

The hard drive would need to be formatted properly and have a valid operating system on it.
For example, if your computer shipped with OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), the external hard drive would have to be formatted correctly and have Snow Leopard installed on it. Once the installation is completed, the drive should be bootable.
~Lyssa

Booting with DVD problem!!! Disk needs repair

Hello,
Ran disk utility and I got the «disk needs repair» error. Please boot from install DVD
Okay no panic I try to do it.
First try holding C key and with the snow leopard DVD (retail not the one I got with the computer) = failure keeps me on the apple window
Tried it with the DVD I got with the macbook pro while holding the C key again = faileure keeps me on the apple window
The computer works fine except it tends to bog down
I'm running lion and my macbook pro is less than a year old
I also have Norton antivirus (because YES there are viruses again - anyway norton told me there were when I scanned my HD a while back -). I tried disabling it totally and tried the same things but to no avail...
Can anyone help? Have I overlooked something obvious? Or is somehting more complicated necessary?
Thanks in advance

If you've installed Lion, the 10.6 disk won't help you. You need to hold down Command-R during boot to bring up Lion recovery ... you can then run Disk Utility.
Oh, and agree with Allan, dump Norton. If you want an antivirus, install ClamXav from http://www.clamxav.com

Why does word startup when Mac is turned on?

Why does Word startup when computer is turned on? I looked in my startup menu and it is not there.

Hi I have a similar question. I checked Docl icon and Login Items. Nothing there.
When my computer boots up I have all Microsoft programs running (word, power point, excel).
Please help me, it's starting to drive me crazy.
I have also tried to see if I can disable it in microsoft itself, but no luck.
thanks

7.5.2 Firmware Update causing Ambar Flashing / Internal Disk needs Repair

I just updated my firmare to 7.5.2 on my 2TB TimeCapsule, and after a couple of days my access to the TimeCapsule feature stopped working because I got a message theta says: "internal disk needs repair".
I been noticing that a lot of people here, in the forum, are having the same problems. I have tried downgrading to a previous version of the firmware to no avail. It's really dissapointing because there really you can do but wait for a solution from Apple, because you information is being held hostage until there is a solution. If any body has a better solution please help!!!!

FMPENA27, welcome to the discussion area!
If you are getting a message that your "internal disk needs repair", you might consider repairing your internal disk.
See #A5 in Pondini's excellent Time Machine Troubleshooting Guide

Time Capsule - Internal disk need repair message

Hey.
Got TC -2 TB version with latest firmware.
was used to be my media server.....formally
now it's just white box...
suddenly one night , wasnt able to connect to TC, on check green light was active..
but wasnt communicating and internet was down.
did restart- power down and up.
after that HDD not showing in finder window at all, and airport shows "internal disk need repair" tried few things but no luck
any idea to recover datat, how reliable is diskwarrior, data recovery softwares. can they see unmounted disk at all????
help.

All hard disks have stated MTBF.. Mean Time Between Failures.. but that is Mean ie average.. some disks go early and some go seemly forever.. but 50% of the disks will be dead at the MTBF point.
A TC that is only 7 months old is under warranty.. Apple will replace the TC for you. They will not recover data.
If you have data on the TC it should only be Time Machine backups which means they are not important if you immediately make a new backup to another target disk. If you copied files to the TC without making backup you are very naughty.. you broke the rules.. that you never ever trust files to a single location. Now you have to pull apart your TC voiding the warranty (although if you do it carefully who is to know).. remove the hard disk and attempt recovery.. !! It is usually a simple loss of format.. tools like mentioned above can fix that and recover the files.. if not you send the drive to a data recovery centre where your data is mangled and recovered as best as they can do.. at a cost of around.. $500-1000 depending on size and problems.. get a quote first.

False Disk Needs Repair?? Help Please!

Every maintenance app I have (MacPilot, Onyx..) keeps telling me my disk needs repair BUT when I put in my install cd and go into disk utility and do a verify disk it says my volume is okay... I am confused.
I can not run a verify disk with disk utility however, when logged on. It goes unresponsive and I have to force quit.
Also if I try to run a verify permissions while under disk utility running on the install cd, I get an error that there is no catalog??
Any help would be greatly appreciated before I make The Call for help.

I booted up to my install disk and ran disk utility verify disk and it passed.
My problems however have multiplied since my first post beyond getting that "volume needs minor repair"... my Pioneer optical drive won't read my install disk (spits it out) or any dvd formats, it only reads music cds at this point.
In fact it stopped cold reading in the middle of running disk utility from my install disk. I had to power down and power up just to get the disk out.
Methinks I have a problem requiring a trip to the Apple store.. ugh.
I always backup daily, with Time Machine and another backup program, just in case this happens.

Computer says disk needs repair

My laptop keeps on saying the disk needs repair or back up. I have done the backup disk and the problem still continues.

Your hard disk may be starting to fail and will have to be replaced.
What model is your laptop?
Are you still under warranty?
******Clicking the Thumbs-Up button is a way to say -Thanks!.******
**Click Accept as Solution on a Reply that solves your issue to help others**

Airport Utility says "Internal disk needs repairs".

I've had my Time Capsule for quite a while, and never had any problems with it. I keep my iTunes library on it, which is around 130GB of music. Recently, I had my iPod that held all my music had a hard-drive problem and I had to get it replaced and haven't received the new one yet. So the only place my music library is is on the Time Capsule. Lately it had been giving me problems while I was copying files in iTunes to it, and would disconnect in the middle, but when I unplugged it and plugged it in again (resetting did nothing) it would be fine until I was copying files to it again. Today, it did this multiple times, and then Airport Utility popped up saying the "internal disk needs repairs". I've read other people who had this problem, but the only thing I can find is that they had to erase it and then it was fine. I have the music library backed up on CDs from a few months ago, but I would really prefer to have the complete one as it stands now. Is there any way for me to fix this problem without erasing the entire hard-drive? I want those files!

Welcome to the discussions!
Open your Hard Drive and look for your Time Capsule on the left under the SHARED heading.
Click the TC icon and a TC folder will display to the right.
Double click this folder to display the xxxx.sparsebundle files that contain all of your backups.
Double click on the xxxx.sparsebundle file for your computer. If a window pops up with a "skip" option, click "skip". A white disk image of your backups will appear on your desktop in a few minutes.
Open Hard Drive > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility
Select your backup image in Disk Utility and click Verify
Depending on how large your backup is, it may take hours for Disk Utility to check your disk
If Disk Utility reports errors, click Repair to see if that will fix the issues.

Why is my "Startup Disk" filling up so fast?

I've already asked the question, "How do I create more space, or is there a way to 'clean-up' my Mac"? The answer I recieved was quite obvious, "get an external drive or delete things."
I don't think this is really the solution to my problem.
Every couple weeks is seams, I get a message, "Startup Disk is almost full". The problem is, I go in and delete GBs worth of info (usually in the form of movies) and I'm not really adding anything to my computer, other than perhaps a few photos here and there and I'm not talking hundreds of photos either. I also get many emails everyday, however I delete the ones I don't need.
So my question/problem is: Why is my computer filling up all the time? AND, How can I get rid of unnecessary stuff/info that may be stored on the computer without me knowing it? Does that make sense?
Couple things. It seams as though once I signed up for ITunes Music Match this past summer this problem has gotten increasingly worse. Is there anything in Music Match that may cause increased memory usage?
Also, I watch a lot of Hulu+, HBO Go, and use ITunes Radio. Is it possible that these apps/sites are storing large chunks of info on my computer?
And...about 3 weeks ago or so, I deleted around 8-10 movies I had on my Macbook freeing up at least 10GB of space and I can't imagine how in the past several weeks I've added 10GB of info back on the computer. So again, why is my space being taken up so quickly?
I appreciate you taking the time to read this and provide any ideas you think may help!
Thanks,
Ehren

Here are links regarding the start up disk, maybe something will lead you to the issue:
Keeping your trashes empty, trash can and iPhoto trash, cleaning cahes, like Safari preferences, empty cache, and in privacy clearing website data. Movies take up a lot of space.
http://pondini.org/OSX/DiskSpace.html
http://thexlab.com/faqs/freeingspace.html
http://pondini.org/OSX/LionStorage.html
http://www.macworld.com/article/1052495/slimharddrive.html
http://www.macworld.com/article/1165698/seven_ways_to_free_up_drive_space.html
Maybe you'll find something here.
All the Best

Why does start up disk lose/gain memory?

I keep getting the "Your start up disk is almost full" message.
I delete (+empty trash) or transfer files to an external HD freeing up space (then delete/trash).
Often when I delete files my HD memory decreases! but reappears if I restart. I don't restart regularly preferring to sleep my computer.
Sometimes the HD memory decreases when I haven't downloaded anything.
Any hints please

Hi Stephen!
"13GB HD...try to leave 1GB free...but rapidly fills up."
If you are running Panther 10.3.x with only 1GB or less, of available free space, on a 13GB HD, I fear that may be your problem.
During everyday use, you are crossing the safe threshold.
You need to create additional free space.
Insufficient available space, can cause performance issues, system corruption, and possible loss of data.
Depending on Mac system usage habits, it is a general recommendation, to keep 10% to as much as 20%, of the Total capacity, available at all times.
Review the suggestions, in the documents that I have linked to below.
Authored by Dr Smoke:
Problems From Insufficient RAM And Free Hard Disk Space
Freeing Space On Your Mac OS X Startup Disk
Have you ever run any routine Maintenance procedures, as suggested in the articles linked to below?
Mac OS X 10.3/10.4: System Maintenance, authored by Gulliver
Maintaining Mac OS X, authored by Dr Smoke
Is the Mac shutdown overnight, or does it run 24/7?
If you turn the Mac off nightly, the Background Maintenance Tasks, are never run.
These can also be run, using a Third-Party utility, or manually using Terminal, to run the CRON Commands.
I use MacJanitor, when necessary.
INSTRUCTIONS TO RUN CRON MANUAL COMMANDS
Quit all applications/programs.
Navigate to HD > Applications > Utilities.
Double click on Terminal, to open.
At the prompt, type:
sudo periodic daily
Press Return.
Enter your Admin password when prompted, then press Return.
This will execute the daily script that is sheduled to run every night.
When completed, repeat this procedure, but change the command to:
sudo periodic weekly
This one rebuilds a database or two, and usually takes somewhat longer to complete. It is scheduled to run once a week.
Repeat again, with command:
sudo periodic monthly
Or they can all be run in one pass, which is preferable, with this command:
sudo periodic daily weekly monthly
When the tasks complete, and return to the prompt, you may quit Terminal.
Restart the Mac, and run Repair Permissions.
TO REPAIR PERMISSIONS ON THE STARTUP DISK
1.Open Disk Utility, located in Applications/Utilities, and select the startup disk in the left column.
2.Click First Aid.
3.Click Verify Disk Permissions to test permissions or Repair Disk Permissions to test and repair permissions. (I never "Verify". Just run "Repair".)
Rerun RP, until the only messages reported, are listed here Spurious Permissions Errors Using: 10.3.x, authored by Michael Conniff.
When "Repair Permissions" is complete. Quit "Disk Utility".
ali b

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.

Why does my startup disk need repairing?

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