Disk Repair failure even when using the OS X install disc.

[elocs]

Here's what I get:

Volume Bit Map needs minor repair.
Volume header needs minor repair.
The volume Macintosh HD could not be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit.
1 HFS volume checked: 1 volume could not be repaired because of an error.
Repair attempted on 1 volume: 1 volume could not be repaired.

I have a Mac Mini 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 with 1 GB of RAM and I am only using about 1/3 of my hard drive space. It seems like I had some of these errors that needed to be repaired a couple of years ago and Apple advised erasing the HD and reinstalling, so I wonder if I will need to do that again. I get the spinning beach ball on simple things, but not for long.

Other than a reformat, are there any other options I can try?

[Pierre.Suave]

1. Do you have applecare?

If you do then check your box for a cd containing TechTool on it.

if you dont have that, you can either purchase TechTool or purchase what I consider to be the better option, DiskWarrior.

http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/index.html

Either of them will most likely fix the problem without the need to erase and reinstall.

[elocs]

2. You know, I think I do have AppleCare, but I think I have only used it once in 3 1/2 years.

Now to find it.

[elocs]

3. I tried it, but it did nothing. Now I think it's backup, erase, and reformat.

Thanks anyways.

[Pierre.Suave]

4. tried what?

techtool?

[elocs]

5. Yes, AppleCare--TechTool.

I ran the tests and most everything passed, but it showed the error and then I clicked "Repair" and I could hear the disk cranking away. The thing is that it never showed the results of the repair, whether it failed or not. After all of this, when I restarted and ran the verify disk it came up with the exact same errors as before. It's too bad because I was hopeful about TechTool because it seemed to be doing so well except it didn't do the repairs.

[Pierre.Suave]

6. Did you boot from the techtool disk?

it can not repair the hard drive while you are booted from that hardrive.

[elocs]

7. Yes I did. I restarted with the TechTool disk loaded and pressed c as instructed.

When I clicked "repair" the disk made a lot of noise like it was working and then it was quiet and never indicated if the items were repaired or if it had failed.

Well, I'm off to buy an external HD. After reading about a hundred pages of reviews I have no clear choice as to what brand to get because there are all kinds of people who have found something wrong with every single brand.

[Elwood P Dowd]

8. DiskWarrior fixed a similar problem I had with a G4 iBook.

It cost 99.95, but it's an excellent utility to keep your Mac running smooth. I also borrowed a friend's Drive Genius disk, but it couldn't fix my problem.

http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/index.html

Here is part of a review of for DiskWarrior....

http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=693649&seqNum=4


Although it doesn’t provide many bells and whistles, DiskWarrior is often the last-resort tool for problem drives and it more often than not can repair them successfully. It also has a very clean and easy-to-use interface that includes very good explanations of each feature and step in a repair process. When rebuilding a disk’s directory, it also offers the option to preview the replacement directory to ensure that it resolves problems and to copy data from a drive experiencing physical failures. If you are looking solely for a tool for resolving hard drive problems and checking for certain types of file corruption, DiskWarrior is an excellent choice.

[Adelante]

9. This is what I do when things are going a bit wrong

I suggest you print this out and keep it handy. I haven't had a repair person in four years after learning these steps from him. I just did the volume header repair you mentioned, for an example of what I mean by a bit wrong.

So when little things start going haywire for you, do this:

I. Single User Mode

1. Shut down

2. Power up

3. Immediately press and hold simultaneously AppleKey and "s"

II. At command line

1. Type /sbin/fsck -fy and Return

2. Let it go through its cycles

3. If at the end there is the message "File System Was Modified" repeat II. until "OK"

4. Type Reboot at command line

Note: You may notice your fans running really loud after rebooting - if so:

1. Shut down

2. Unplug electrical cord from wall

3. Press the Power On button (with no electricity) for the count of 20, then reconnect power.

4. Start up as usual


If above does not resolve the problems:


III. Safe Mode

1. Shut Down

2. Power Up

3. Immediately after Startup tone, press Shift

4. Release Shift at gray Apple

5. Let it load to sign-on

5. Restart normally


--

If the above doesn't clear up the issues, and it almost always has, I turn to Disk Warrior or TechTool Plus.

--

If there are still problems after all this, I use the original software disk to run Disk Utility and repair (I only got this far once).

--

I did have to replace a hard drive once in five years, but other than that the above practices have always worked for me. Don't ask me why. I don't understand any of it, just that it works. :hi:

[MattSh]

10. Fix this yet?

This sounds like a problem I had earlier this month.

Disk Utility could not fix the disk. Disk Warrior said this disk could not be repaired. This all occurred a month after I erased the HD and couldn't reinstall from the install disks (they hung).

How did I fix it? I tried again, but when erasing the HD, I selected the "Erase Free Space" and "Zero Out Deleted Files". Apparently the process of "zero out" marks trouble area of the HD so that they will not be used. I reinstalled from the install disks (they worked this time) then copied everything else over from a backup.

It's been three weeks now, and it's been running flawless. Better than it had in six months.

[elocs]

11. Not yet because I haven't gotten an external HD yet. n/t