Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

AirPort disk 'needs repair', Disk Utility finds nothing wrong...

I have a 640GB hard disk that was just formatted for use as an AirPort disk. I zeroed the disk on my PC and then formatted it in Disk Utility while it was attached to my USB hard disk dock. Because the original partition scheme I tried to do would not format as specified (i.e., Disk Utility decided that since I put free space as the first partition with four partitions, that what I really wanted was just the three partitions), I repartitioned the disk as follows: 64.00GB for HFS+, 32.00GB for FAT32, 512.00GB for HFS+, 32.00GB for FAT32 (using Master Boot Record). After this completed, I ran Windows XP on my PC and diskmgmt.msc with the intention of deleting the first partition 64.00GB HFS+ and replacing that with 64.00GB NTFS. This seemed to work fine on Windows XP, but I could not do it on Windows 7 because Windows 7 automatically makes the last partition on MBR an Extended Partition without asking if you want it to be a Primary/Extended Partition. Next, as I only intended to boot this on my old PC, which I rarely use, I installed Windows XP on to the first partition (now 64.00GB for NTFS). The installation went fine, as well as the software I installed in Windows that will allow me to see the HFS+ partition from a Windows boot. This software recognized the partition and mounted it in Windows. Next, I shut down the PC and put the disk back into the USB dock to see if all was well from the Mac side. Disk Utility did not report any issue with the disk and was able to see and mount all of the partitions correctly; however, when I attached this disk to my AirPort Extreme, the light started blinking amber and, upon further inspection, was told that the "AirPort disk needs to be repaired". I went back to Disk Utility and verified the disk without issue, but no problems were found. To be complete, I also repaired the disk in Disk Utility, but still it seemed to find nothing wrong and the repair had no effect on the AirPort error message. When I attach the disk to my AirPort Extreme, it will only mount the two partitions that are FAT32. The HFS+ partition does not show at all. I understand that the NTFS partition will not show over AirPort, which is why I chose a small size for it. My main reason for creating the NTFS partition is so that if I ever have a problem with my AirPort Extreme or need to work with a large file, I will have faster access if it is on a SATA connection inside my older PC than over WiFi or connected to my USB hard disk dock. Windows XP does not recognize the default OS X partition type, so that was not an option. Any assistance on how to address this issue would be greatly appreciated. The applicable operating systems are: Snow Leopard (my Mac mini), Windows XP Pro SP3 (on the old PC) and Windows 7 (on the newer PC that is attached to the AirPort Extreme).

Early 2009 AirPort Extreme, Other OS

Posted on Sep 1, 2010 7:22 PM

Reply
1 reply

AirPort disk 'needs repair', Disk Utility finds nothing wrong...

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.