Corrupt internal HD causing Finder and Disk Utility to crash

Question

Corrupt internal HD causing Finder and Disk Utility to crash

Hello,

A couple of years ago I migrated from using my internal HD to an external Samsung T5 SSD. At the time I didn't wipe/Erase my internal HD after I stopped using it.

Fast forward to now and partly in trying to fix some Time Machine/Migration Assistant issues, and partly just to tidy up, I attempted to Erase the internal HD. I believe this process got interrupted/failed part of the way through, as Disk Utility froze and I had to manually shut down (hold power button) and switch back on.

Now I believe the disk has corrupted, as Finder and Disk Utility both freeze as soon as I open them. I also can't get into Recovery mode anymore from startup. Also when I hold 'alt' on startup and choose a Bootable USB disk, the loading bar takes ages to get to the end then hangs, and does not do the Recovery menu. Trying to get into Internet Recovery Mode does the same.

I have gone into Terminal and tried to Erase the disk and/or Volume but it says the volume cannot be unmounted. I have tried a 'diskutil repairVolume disk1s5' and this still running after 4 days (Terminal says 'Repairing file system' with the loading backslashes). In Activity Monitor the 'diskutil' process is consistently at 0.3%, however I would have thought the command would have completed/failed on a 1TB drive within 4 days(?) so can't help but think nothing is actually being done.

Please does anybody know where I can go from here, without manually opening the iMac and unplugging the drive?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jun 27, 2022 6:18 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Mike Shore 67 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 2, 2022 7:23 AM in response to Mike Shore 67

Hi,

I opened the iMac and removed the offending internal HD. All of these issues are now resolved and Finder, Disk Utility, etc now all run fine.

Interestingly, removing the HD also solved another issue I was experiencing with the iMac not shutting down or restarting.

Many thanks

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Answer 2

JovonaP.

Community Specialist

Jun 28, 2022 9:48 AM in response to Mike Shore 67

Hello Mike Shore 67,

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. You've done a great job trying to get this resolved so far. We recommend that you contact Apple Support for further assistance with this issue.

Contact - Official Apple Support

Take care.

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Answer 3

Jun 29, 2022 1:48 AM in response to JovonaP.

Many thanks for your reply JovonaP.

I have just contacted Apple Support and they have advised that I have already tried everything that they would suggest, and that I should therefore book in to see a technician.

I am starting to think (after watching a couple of videos) that buying an iMac tool kit for around £10 and simply opening it up and unplugging the drive might be the most straightforward option here. I will update the thread with the result if I do this.

The 'diskutil repairVolume disk1s5' command is still running after 6 days, so I have all but given up hope that this is doing anything.

Many thanks

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