Main harddrive 'cant repair, cant verify' 'cannot remount'

[JJMorgan123]

I have been facing error -36 on Mp3 issues as of late, but that is not the basis for this post. I attempted to Verify & Repair my main hard drive in my powerbook g4 and could not, the message stated that it could not remount or something of that sort. I am considering backing up what I need and reformatting all together (which will include reinstalling macromedia/adobe suite microsoft office ETC ETC ETC) which I want to avoid at all costs, if anyone can help me get to the bottom of this I would really appreciate it.

 

[DeltaMac]

every time I see the error -36, it's referred to as 'I/O error (bummers)', and the posters usually say it's a really bad problem. It's a file system error of a serious nature.
Have you been able to run FSCK from single user mode?
Reboot, hold command-s, until you see the screen with text.
type /sbin/fsck -yf, and press enter
If this completes stating 'files were modified', run the same command again, until no files are modified and no problems found. If you get other errors, try it again to see if the errors repeat (exactly) I would run 3 times with the same error that won't clear.
Type reboot and then enter to restart your system, if it will.
If you get a message that problems were found and could not be repaired, well, it's too late to try a backup, probably. Sounds like possibly a failing hard drive. You can TRY an erase and restore from your restore DVD. On a fairly new machine, I would be inquiring about a replacement hard drive.

 

[ElDiabloConCaca]

When I encounter major errors on the hard drive, I always reformat and reinstall. It's like taking your totalled car to the shop and getting it fixed -- sure, it might look new, but think of all the underlying problems it might have.

Even if you manage to get the system back into a bootable state, there's no telling what kind of damage has been done. I would recommend a fresh format and reinstall procedure, after a thorough backup.