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User profile for user: HippieTheRabbit
HippieTheRabbit Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Internal hard disk error

Hey, I'm having some issues with my internal hard disk.

So awhile ago I tried to boot my iMac and it wouldn't boot when I tried.

I plugged a 2 tb external hard drive and installed macOS onto it with the recovery partition, hoping I would be able to troubleshoot a bit. I ran First aid and got this:

No clue what to do now... can anyone help me think up a solution? I have attempted some ideas but they are a bit risky and i don't want to lose files.


Thanks so much!

iMac 21.5", macOS 10.13

Posted on May 18, 2020 1:15 PM

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User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
361,765 points

Posted on May 18, 2020 1:47 PM

If the disk hasn't died, then something has gone badly wrong. You will need to reformat the drive and start from scratch.


Install El Capitan or Later from Scratch


If possible, back up your files.


  1. Restart the computer. Immediately, at or before the chime, hold down the Command and R keys until the Apple logo and progress bar appear. Wait until the Utility Menu appears.
  2. Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on the Continue button.
  3. When Disk Utility loads select the target drive (out-dented entry w/type and size info) from the Device list.
  4. Click on the Erase button in Disk Utility's toolbar. A panel will drop down.
  5. Set the partition scheme to GUID.
  6. Set the Format type to APFS (SSDs only) or Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
  7. Click on the Apply button, then wait for the Done button to activate and click on it.
  8. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
  9. Select Install OS X and click on the Continue button.


If you are unable to do this on the computer, then boot from the external drive's Recovery HD and do it from there.



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User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
361,765 points

May 18, 2020 1:47 PM in response to HippieTheRabbit

If the disk hasn't died, then something has gone badly wrong. You will need to reformat the drive and start from scratch.


Install El Capitan or Later from Scratch


If possible, back up your files.


  1. Restart the computer. Immediately, at or before the chime, hold down the Command and R keys until the Apple logo and progress bar appear. Wait until the Utility Menu appears.
  2. Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on the Continue button.
  3. When Disk Utility loads select the target drive (out-dented entry w/type and size info) from the Device list.
  4. Click on the Erase button in Disk Utility's toolbar. A panel will drop down.
  5. Set the partition scheme to GUID.
  6. Set the Format type to APFS (SSDs only) or Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
  7. Click on the Apply button, then wait for the Done button to activate and click on it.
  8. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
  9. Select Install OS X and click on the Continue button.


If you are unable to do this on the computer, then boot from the external drive's Recovery HD and do it from there.



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Internal hard disk error

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