Q: etre check summary, please help :)

Hello Nuance21,

It looks like the hard drive is failing.

For some menfolk, that RED alert is easy to miss

Backup your disk & come back for more help.

It looks like you could do with cleaning some older software if you don't use it, Blackberry Desktop, Perian, Flip4Mac, MediaLink, Eyeconnect all strike me as old apps that are probably not compatible or just not used anymore with 10.11.

Depending on the state of the disk it may be best to clean install OS X on a new disk & migrate just your user data back.

(ignore this post - it's an attempt to get the forum to update its caches so I can read your reply).

Yes, the drive that is currently fitted will need to be replaced by a new one.

I don't know what Etrecheck means by '124 errors Drive failure!'. It could be multiple repariable faults or it could be a drive that is about to totally die.

I suspect the failing drive is the reason the report took so long - if a disk is trying to re-read data it can effect performance.

Personally I'd try to back it up to a bootable clone (Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper! or even Disk Utility can do this for free provided you have a spare disk - ask if you want to do this). Time Capsules are slow to restore & frankly I don't trust Time Machine for an only backup copy - it has failed too many times in my experience. The disk may fail to backup anyway depending on the type of error/ failure too.

If your data is corrupt there is also the possibility that the Time Machine data is also corrupt too, perhaps there may be an older version that is OK but you would really need to know when the issue began to go back to get files from before that time - no easy task but Time Machine should have older copies.

The disk may need to be swapped, you may want to seek help at an Apple store to do this, removing the screen is required on iMacs & you may need to use a specific drive model otherwise the iMac may run the fans on full power all the time.

Read iFixit.com for more info on your specific model if you intend to do it yourself.

Drew Reece wrote:

 

I don't know what Etrecheck means by '124 errors Drive failure!'. It could be multiple repariable faults or it could be a drive that is about to totally die. 

Hello Drew,

That means that EtreCheck found 124 instances of "Kernel I/O error: /dev/disk[yadayadayada]" in the log files. In the archived logs files, there could be another thousand of those.

What those errors ultimately mean is always open to interpretation. Sometimes it is a drive failure. Sometimes it is a cable failure. Sometimes it is a logic board failure. Sometimes it is a conflict with very low-level software. In most cases, the rest of the EtreCheck report will provide some clues that might suggest one explanation over another. Some configurations, like old 2.5" mechanical drives in <2013 MacBook Pros, are known to be frequent failures. Older iMacs also score well on the drive failure front. Sometimes you can erase the hard drive, reformat it, and every thing runs fine. But in those cases, it may just be that there is less space used on the disk and it is no longer accessing the bad sectors.

As is usually the case, it is always an educated guess. I do like to jump to replacing the hard drive on non-retina MacBook Pros because it is so quick, easy, and cheap. You can replace it with an SSD for a huge performance improvement. iMacs, especially < 2011 models without thunderbolt, have far fewer viable options.

The iMac's hard disk drive has failed and must be replaced.

Thanks for the overview Etresoft

I think I'd be erring on the side of a replacement assuming this is the original disk. 5 to 6 year old drives can get creaky, I'm just not sure if this model is effected by the drive temperature sensor issue that happens when swapping disks on some iMacs.

Nuance21, you can also consider disk repair tools once you are sure you have a backup.

FWIW... I have been experiencing "more than average number" of Phantom Posts today myself.

I have suggested to someone having access to "upstairs" that they propose some 'signal' post (like the " . " but more specific that can be SEARCHED) be approved and instructions given on steps so that the AppleJiveTeam can have a means to troubleshoot this ongoing (years?) issue and finally tackle its "bug fix" - else, this cannot BE fixed as it is intermittent and affects random Users

Do not let anyone other than Apple or an Apple Authorized repair shop do anything at all with your Mac. For repair options start here: http://www.apple.com/support/repair/.

A Time Machine backup is sufficient and will enable you to restore your Mac to the exact same state that existed when you created that backup.

Please read Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support. Other options are explained here: https://www.apple.com/support/backup/

There is no reason to suspect any problems with Adobe software, other than the fact Adobe Flash Player appears to be outdated. Fix that Mac's hardware first.

Personally I don't trust Time Machine enough to depend on it as an only backup. Make a full clone if you want to be sure you have a copy. It should work OK but I have had it fail when it was most needed. It's also slow restoring across the network, so use ethernet connections if you must do that.

1)

I don't think want to restore everything from Time Machine - otherwise you simply reinstall the ancient apps you don't seem to use - Blackberry Desktop & the other things I noted earlier. 'Migration' or 'Setup' Assistant has some basic options that can allow to chose what gets restored. The choices are…

• Applications
  • This is 'all or nothing' every app & all it's supporting tasks, so you don't want to pick this option, you will have to reinstall any non system apps you use.
• Users
  • What user accounts are moved back to the Mac, they cannot already exist on the Mac, so don't create one that you plan on migrating back at a later date.
• Other data
  • This is often junk that you may have saved to the base of the disk, for most people it is irrelevant if you keep all your important files in the home folder (that is where your files belong).

NOTE: 'Setup Assistant' is the version that runs right after a clean install & prompts you to move data back from another Mac or backup. 'Migration Assistant' is basically the same thing, but can be launched from /Applications/Utilities at any point in time after setup is done.

2)

Hopefully the repair centre will know what to fit if they are an authorised Apple service centre. Otherwise look at ifixit.com - they have lots of info on what models of disk to fit for your iMac model. As I mentioned earlier if you fit an incorrect disk the fans can always run on full blast - this is loud.