Disk Utility cannot repair Macintosh HD

Install or Reinstall Mavericks or Mountain Lion from Scratch

Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.

OS X Mavericks- Erase and reinstall OS X

OS X Mountain Lion- Erase and reinstall OS X

OS X Lion- Erase and reinstall Mac OS X

Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible

because it is three times faster than wireless.

Replace the disk. Failed hard disks cannot be permanently repaired, and yours has been giving you warnings for a while now.

Replacement is a fairly straightforward operation. Besides the hard disk itself the procedure requires only inexpensive tools. Consider it an opportunity to upgrade to a solid state drive.

First, one must prove that the drive is bad and needs replacing. That isn't yet proven. If Disk Utility says it cannot repair the disk, it is not stating that the disk must be replaced. I'd prefer sticking to the Ayn Rand philosophy of logical proof. 🙂

Have you tried running Verify and Repair Disk from a Recovery HD assuming you can boot to it?

Restart into Internet Recovery (Command+Option+R) which boots to Apple's server and their Recovery HD. Don't restart into Recovery Mode (Command+R). This way you're not running Disk Utility from your internal drive but rather from Apple's server. If you still can't repair it, then I agree with John Galt and your disk may need to be replaced. You could also go to a local Apple Store and have their techs run diagnostics to validate replacement.

Have you tried running Verify and Repair Disk from a Recovery HD assuming you can boot to it?

Restart into Internet Recovery (Command+Option+R) which boots to Apple's server and their Recovery HD. Don't restart into Recovery Mode (Command+R). This way you're not running Disk Utility from your internal drive but rather from Apple's server. If you still can't repair it, then I agree with John Galt and your disk may need to be replaced. You could also go to a local Apple Store and have their techs run diagnostics to validate replacement.

I had a 15" 2010 MBP's drive fail shortly after a year so it's very possible.

Great Suggestions, Guys

I have just used internet recovery option and erased troubled drive and now re-installing OS!

Thank you very much!!!

Ok im having a similar thing happen. I haven't turned in MacBook pro in months and after charging it then shuts down on me. I try to start back up and it's a gray screen with Apple logo and spinning circle and loading bar and then doesn't start just shuts off.

i Proceed to open disk utlitly and get the message error: the disk need to be repaired.

I click repair disk (has in red incorrect number of thread records & incorrect number of extended attributes should be 418994 of 418906. The volume Mac hd could not be repaired after 3 attempts. The message then says error disk utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backed-up files. Does that mean my hard drive is done or something else? Thanks.

ive ive also tried to erase it says fail. I've tried to reinstall and says recovery is locked. What is causing this and how do I fix the problem. I hope this all makes sense.

If you live near an Apple Store, make a Genius Bar appointment to have the computer tested. Supposedly there is no charge for testing. Use 2nd link if not near an Apple Store or aren’t in the US. Hardware Repair - Keeping Confidential Data Safe

Genius Bar Reservation US

Authorized Service Provider

Got the same "unrepairable" error with Sierra, but running Disk Utility from Internet Boot (Cmd+Option+R), as suggested by Keg55 and pavel.mere, worked just fine. By the way, my impression was that a somewhat different (older?) version of Disk Utility was run than the one available in the "normal" repair mode (Cmd+R).

how did you do it? plesase

Try Disk Utility that is offered when you restart into Internet Recovery: simply hold Command+Option+R when your system boots (obviously, you need a working connection to the Internet). At least this did the trick with my system.

Provided, of course, that the hardware of the disk is still sound--if not, you must replace it. If you're willing (and able) to do that yourself (and the guarantee period has elapsed), you can consult ifixit.com on how to proceed for your particular model.