Invalid B-tree node size for external HD

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Level 1

0 points

Invalid B-tree node size for external HD

Hi, I was running a disk utility diagonise from my Tiger Start Up disk, when it was done I did a restart, however I forgot to have it restarts from my Computer HD, and I did a very stupid thing, I shut off the power suply to reboot the computer. Long story short, when I finally got back to my computer, my external Lacie HD no longer working.

Please see the error here:
http://lotusseeds.com/du2.png

There are important data in there which have no extra backup. How am I able to resuce my data without reformat my lacie hd?

I am running a data recovery from TechTool Pro now, but have no confindent if I am able to get back my data. Perhaps there is a way I can get the repair done without touching my data?

Thanks in advance

iMac Flat Panel Mac OS X (10.4.3)

iMac Flat Panel, Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Posted on Dec 4, 2005 5:27 PM

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Answer 1

Richard1

Level 3

592 points

Dec 4, 2005 5:40 PM in response to chinesedream

Do not run the directory repair utility of Tech Tool Pro, it is not compatible with 10.4.3!

Disk Warrior should be able to repair the problem for you.

Richard

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Answer 2

Dean Pahl

Level 4

3,870 points

Dec 4, 2005 5:45 PM in response to Richard1

Richard —

Would you please cite the basis for your statement?

Here is a pretty definitive statement made by MicroMat in the MacFixIt forum they sponsor:

"The builds of Mac OS X 10.4.3 that Apple released today were given to us as a registered developer last week. TechTool Pro 4.0.6 was tested with the updates, and no incompatibilities were found.

MicroMat Inc
Makers of TechTool "

Is that untrue?

Thanks,
Dean

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Answer 3

Dean Pahl

Level 4

3,870 points

Dec 4, 2005 6:09 PM in response to chinesedream

Hi, chinesedream —

Please accept a warm welcome to Apple Discussions!

"... Perhaps there is a way I can get the repair done without touching my data?
No. Any significant disk directory damage endangers your ability to access your data. Repairing the damage may solve your problems — but there are no guarantees.
Your first priority should always be backups that are appropriate to your needs, and functional for restoring to meet your objectives.
Did you notice the S.M.A.R.T. status of your LaCie drive when you launched Disk Utility from your Install Disc as part of running Disk First Aid? (It's shown in the lower-right corner of the DIsk Utility window.)
You may want to research and try Data Rescue II or FileSalvage — which might be able to help retrieve some/all of your data that isn't backed-up.
Contacting LaCie may also be helpful. Not knowing your location, here's their (US) / (UK) contact info; the site provides a pull-down menu to find support info for other locations.
You may find Allan Sampson's advice in this thread helpful.
I hope that DiskWarrior 3.0.3, TechTool Pro 4.0.6, or ProSoft's DriveGenius 1.1.5 is able to repair the problem. (Reserving judgment on Richard's comment for the moment.)
I hope this helps . . .
Good luck!
Dean

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Answer 4

chinesedream Author

Level 1

0 points

Dec 4, 2005 6:36 PM in response to Dean Pahl

Hi Dean, thank you for the warm welcome!

Did you notice the S.M.A.R.T. status of your LaCie drive when you >>launched Disk Utility from your Install Disc as part of running Disk First >>Aid? (It's shown in the lower-right corner of the DIsk Utility window.)

I can't remember. I can check it once my data recovery from TechTool Pro is finished; curious, if there is S.M.A.R.T status, what good does it do?

You may want to research and try Data Rescue II or
FileSalvage — which might be able to help retrieve some/all of your data >that isn't backed-up.

I used my Lacie HD for backups as well as storage for data that no longer stay in my internal HD, retrieving all data is the my only priority unfortuantely 😟
Visited ProSoft's site, it claims that "Data Rescue II is the best data recovery utility on the market for recovering files from a problem hard drive. Other utilities can cause more damage to your hard drive and files by trying to 'fix' the problem, instead of focusing on recovering your files."

It seems too much a used car dealer slogan!

Thank you again!

tee

iMac Flat Panel Mac OS X (10.4.3)

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Answer 5

Dean Pahl

Level 4

3,870 points

Dec 4, 2005 8:20 PM in response to chinesedream

Hello again, tee —

"... curious, if there is S.M.A.R.T status, what good does it do?"
It tells you about the status of your HD from a hardware perspective.
The S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) system was developed and adopted by most HD manufacturers in an effort to increase the reliability of HDs. It's basically a number of diagnostics that monitor many aspects of your HD on an ongoing basis — and can provide an early warning of potential problems. This is hardware-oriented stuff, unlike much of what the disk utilities do, that focuses on the disk directory software that enables use of the HD.
Some utilities (I believe both TechTool and DIskWarrior have this feature; don't know about others) provide an option for checking and reporting the S.M.A.R.T. parameters' status to you on a frequency of your choosing. If I'm not mistaken, Disk Utility simply allows for a check that the overall status (all parameters) is "verified." That's what I was referring to above.
If you'd like to know more about the details, read a discussion in this thread about the test parameters, and use the links at the top left of this webpage that lead to some pretty good explanation of various aspects of the diagnostics. (Note that the latter is site is from a company that develops Windows-compatible software only; but S.M.A.R.T. — and thus the info — is platform-independent.)
"...Data Rescue... seems too much a used car dealer slogan!"
Well, I guess they're a relatively small business trying to make a buck... Seriously, I haven't needed (fingers crossed!) nor used either Data Rescue or FileSalvage, so I can't really comment meaningfully. I can say definitively (and their sites do, too) that there're no guarantees. I have read some folks here in Apple Discussions (none of whom have any motivation to mislead) and elsewhere reporting good experience with Data Rescue. FileSalvage is less well-known. You may want to search for the names from the here — and perhaps with a web-wide engine like Google•Mac to find and read about others' experiences.
There are also data recovery firms out there whose promises range much higher — but I've heard their services are very expensive.
I hope this is useful to you. . .
Otherwise, I hope your directory rebuild takes care of everything.
Good luck!
Dean

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Answer 6

chinesedream Author

Level 1

0 points

Dec 6, 2005 3:47 PM in response to Dean Pahl

Hi Dean, I replied your message yesterday but strangely, my message didn't show up.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank you again for the info and to let you know my problem had solved. Out of desperation, I downloaded Data Rescue, the try out version allows 5mb file rescue per session. I was able to see all folders/files in my corrupted HD from Data Rescue - I purchased it right away. So the used car dealer slogan happens to be true 🙂

My Techtool was still running when I was working on Data Resuce, as soon as I was certain the rescue file is good as new, I clicked the 'cancel' button. It showed me a pop up window with the files that had been scanned and gave me option whether I want to rescue them. So that means Techtool would work too. The problem was that I spent 8 hours running the data recovery and didn't know what was cooking behind the scence, and absolutely no idea if it works until the 'cancel' button is clicked. Obviously Data Rescue exceeds its competitors - in just a few minutes I was able to see my files and manage to rescue all data within 3 hours.

However by no means I will disregard the usefulness of Techtool. I think Data Rescue is excellent for its own purpose with extreme power, whereas Techtool is a Swiss Army Knives that comes in handy, it can do what Data Rescue does, but a bit cumbersome I may add. Data Rescue however can't do other task that Techtool capable of 🙂

Cheers,

tee

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Answer 7

Dean Pahl

Level 4

3,870 points

Dec 6, 2005 6:06 PM in response to chinesedream

Thanks, tee, for posting back with a follow-up. Your positive experience is worth knowing.

So, I'm guessing you'll be reformatting the LaCie drive soon...? Please be sure to check and confirm that you have the latest driver(s).

A lot of folks here use LaCie external FireWire drives. Perhaps someone will "post in" to share experiences on that front.

I hope your first experience posting here in Apple Discussion has been a positive one. There are many wonderful folks participating — and an incredible wealth of savvy to be found.

Best wishes to you!
Dean

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