Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed

If you read the text in the DU box in order to do a Repair Disk you need to boot from your OS installer disk.

You can't repair the disk you're running from.

Insert your Leopard Install disc and restart while holding down the "C" key. That will take a few moments.

Select your language, then on the next screen select Utilities from the menubar, then +Disk Utility.+ Use it to +Repair Disk+ on your internal HD.

In the unlikely event that it repairs some, but not all, the errors, run it again until it either fixes all the errors or you get the same ones continually, you need something more heavy-duty or a new disk. Post back if this happens.

But 99% of the time, it will fix them all, and you can just reboot normally.

Many things can cause this, but one of the most frequent is one or more abnormal shutdowns. Another is a failing drive, of course.

I just had the same thing happen. I couldn't get the Mac to boot normally or in Safe Mode. I booted in single-User mode and ran fsck. It failed with:
Invalid node structure
(8,1860)
** Volume Check Failed

After mounting / and exiting Single User Mode, it booted.

Disk Utility then reported
Error: Filesystem Verify or Repair Failed.

I understand that the next logical step will be to boot with the original OS X DVD and do a volume repair, but I'm away from my office until Monday.

Is there any alternative way to repair the volume?
Is it safe to continue to use the Mac until Monday?

Walt

walt_scrivens wrote:
I just had the same thing happen. I couldn't get the Mac to boot normally or in Safe Mode. I booted in single-User mode and ran fsck. It failed with:
Invalid node structure
(8,1860)
** Volume Check Failed

After mounting / and exiting Single User Mode, it booted.

Disk Utility then reported
Error: Filesystem Verify or Repair Failed.

I understand that the next logical step will be to boot with the original OS X DVD and do a volume repair, but I'm away from my office until Monday.

Is there any alternative way to repair the volume?

If you happen to have DiskWarrior or other such, it might work. But there's nothing on your Mac, as you cannot repair the disk you're running from.

Is it safe to continue to use the Mac until Monday?

One of two things has happened:

1. Some problem with OSX corrupted the file system on your drive. It may or may not get worse if you continue to use it. Other things may go wrong.

Disk Utility on (any) Leopard disc may be able to fix it; DiskWarrior or another 3rd-party app may be able to fix it; or your only choice may be to Erase and Install.

2. The drive is failing. Once they start, they may not get worse for a while, but *they do not get better.*

If you have a good backup, and want to roll the dice, maybe.

If you don't have a good backup, I'd shut it down until you can get to an external disk you can use and try to back up your data.

walt_scrivens wrote:
Is it safe to continue to use the Mac until Monday?

Perhaps, but be sure you back it up before doing anything else.

Walt

Thanks everyone.

I suspect that this may have to do with Boot Camp; at least the trouble started immediately after a native boot with BC, and then the Mac refused to boot.

I will shut down after posting this and wait until Monday. It's the weekend and nothing is THAT urgent that it can't wait. I was/am afraid that any files I save right now will be lost or corrupted. Certainly if I have to restore from Time Machine (as of last Saturday) I'll lose anything done this week. I'll save that to a thumb drive before I shut down.

I hope DR on the system DVD will work. I'm sure SpinRite will fix the problem, but that would involve removing the hard drive and connecting it to a Windows PC, which I can do but would rather not take the time.

I understand about not repairing the volume you are running from. That's essentially what SpinRite does, booting from a CD so it cna repair the hard drive. The trouble is that some essential device drivers for the Mac are not available publicly, and therefore Steve Gibson can't create a SpinRite version for the Mac. That's too bad, it's a great product and has saved the day for many Windows machines for me and others.

As a side question, does anyone know if there is a way to make a bootable CD or USB drive for the Mac? If one could somehow get the Mac booted with the Boot Camp Widows drivers intact, possibly a utility like SpinRite could be amade to work.

Thanks for the info. Enjoy the weekend - I plan to!

Walt

walt_scrivens wrote:.

As a side question, does anyone know if there is a way to make a bootable CD or USB drive for the Mac? If one could somehow get the Mac booted with the Boot Camp Widows drivers intact, possibly a utility like SpinRite could be amade to work.

DiskWarrior seems to be the one most recommended for Macs, and also comes on a CD, and you can also install it on your Mac. If you then make a bootable "clone" of your Mac, you can boot from the clone and use it's copy to repair your internal HD. It's about $100.

I'm one of many who use both a bootable clone and Time Machine, partly to have two separate, independent backups, but also to get the advantages of both.

Hi guys,

I also have the same problem and it came from updating iWork, don't ask why!! Now my apple logo just comes with the gray screen and wheel and reboots after 2 minutes with the same cycle.
since I couldnt get into the mac partition, I booted from the CD and ran the disk utility. But the problem is that it fails to repair. Its giving me some sort of error and I have tried everything.
There is too much on my mac and I don't know what to do. Please help me.
I am opposed to reinstallation because it means I will lose all my mails and I cannot afford that! Thanks.

indoscot wrote:

I booted from the CD and ran the disk utility. But the problem is that it fails to repair. Its giving me some sort of error and I have tried everything.

"Some sort of error?" That doesn't tell us much. Please be specific.

There is too much on my mac and I don't know what to do. Please help me.
I am opposed to reinstallation because it means I will lose all my mails and I cannot afford that!

I take it that means you don't have backups?

You don't really have a lot of choices. As posted at least twice above, if Disk Utility can't fix it, try DiskWarrior or TechToolsPro or another heavy-duty 3rd-party app.

If nothing can fix it, and you don't have backups, the only (remote) possibility is to connect to another Mac in Target Disk mode and use the other Mac to recover some or all of your data. Then erase or replace the disk.

indoscot wrote:
Hi guys,


I am opposed to reinstallation because it means I will lose all my mails and I cannot afford that! Thanks.

An Archive and Install will not cause any data loss under normal circumstances, but a backup is the only way to protect yourself.
If you cannot afford to lose email, then you cannot afford to not backup.