Disk Utility says HD is failing

M

mspain77

Registered
Went ot Disk Utility to repair permissions and my 57.3 GB Maxtor was written in red. The app reported a fatl hardware error msg.
I'm pretty sure there's nothing I can do, but hopeful that I'm wrong. Any ideas?
Thanks guys.
 
Boot from the MACOSX disk? I've never tried Disk Warrior. What order should I execute this process in? Thanks Bob.
 
I'm assuming your Maxtor is an external drive? I'd recommend backing up all files on that drive before you start making repairs. Don't want to lose something!

If you still have the OS X install disc you can boot up with that by putting it in the cd drive and holding 'c' key on restart till you see the restart screen.

then go to File/Open Disk Utility and run Repair Disk. Then Repair Permissions.

I'm not really sold on Disk Warrior anymore since you'll need the absolute latest version for it to be very effective (it took them a while to get up to speed with OS X).
 
Put your OS disc in and restart holding the C key down
Under the Utility Menu (10.4 disc) or Installer Menu (10.3) open Disk Utility and run Repair Disk.

In 10.4, you have to choose the Language, go to the next screen then up to the Utility Menu.

If that doesn't fix it, then try Diskwarrior.
DiskWarrior
 
Unfortunately the Maxtor drives I've used had the nasty habit of losing interface integrity. I had a friend fix one drive by putting it in a new case and it worked fine and showed up on the desktop.
 
just makin sure Mikey! if you have access to an external drive I recommend backing up all your files before making repairs.
 
This is actually a coworker's computer, but she'susing my login. There's nothing on this machine that hasn't been backed up on the server, and we have all the install disks for the apps.
Will try to boot from the OSX disk now and let you know. Thanks a bunch guys.
 
One thing I usually do with any mac I work on is to create two accounts: The main one I use and a 'Test' account. That way I have a 'clean' account I can use to test defective situations.

Good luck fixing the drive; should be okay with a good repair.
 
I tired to help her as much as I could, but when we rebotted from the system disk the disk utility options to verify or repair were grayed out. We got the exact same thing as when we launched disk utility the first time.
The window where the repaired permission are usually written is now gray with a maeesage saying that 'fatal hardware errors have been detected' and 'to please back-up files'.
The descirption of the HD is now written in red.
If these options are unavailable, I think we might have to just boot fromt he disk and reinstall everything, right? Any more thoughts?
 
Since all files are backed up to your server, you could try your Hardware Test disc (I think this till comes with OS X these days). See if the hard drive has gone bad. If so you might need to get a new one.

My guess, though, is the master directory for your drive is now bad and you're lucky you can see it or its contents. A reinstall from the install cd can replace your OS X without wiping your hard drive. (If you do a "wipe and install" this will remove all apps and settings and wipe all data from your hard drive and instally a fresh OS X, minus any updates available for it.)

The other thing you can try is to do a repair while booted in single user mode:
reboot while holding command + s; hold keys till black screen with white text appears/type fsck -f/type reboot when finished. Hopefully this gets your directory back in order.

You might need to wipe and install to fix this issue, but try this Single User Mode first.
 
WOW!! The Dept. head just decided to buy a MacPro G5 for her. Guess it's about time to accidentally spill some coffee on my dinosaur. :) Just kidding.
I would like to still see if I can rectify this issue, but I think the dept. has already removed it from her desk and the new one comes in today. If only we could all be so lucky.
 
for a complete disk check without the OSX cd, try booting while holding down shift, it boots into safe mode, and does a disk check/repair on the way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top