Disk Utility error -206

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Level 1

5 points

Disk Utility error -206

I am building a restorable image of 10.4.9 - or rather, trying to build an image, as I just ran into error -206 for the 2nd time.

I add stuff to my source in logical groups, then make and test an image. The error occurs at the end of a block restore, when Disk Utility is comparing checksums (running in dutch, so this may not be the wording in english). There is no error message, aside from the number. The target volume is unmountable after this. File restore is OK, except for the odd invisible file turning visible. Block restore appears fine when I skip the checksum comparison.

The 1st time it happened I made my 'install portions' smaller, and found that the error occurred after adding iTunes 7.1.1 to the image. However, now that it happened again with some 3rd party software I am really puzzled.

My work volume runs 10.4.4, the source partition is on the internal drive, and my test partition is on a Lacie Porsche drive.

So what's this error -206??

Imac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Imacs G3 & G5 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Posted on May 4, 2007 1:08 PM

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Answer 1

cornelius

Level 6

17,826 points

May 4, 2007 2:55 PM in response to teobaldo

teobaldo:

Here is what I found for Error Code -20:
-206 badFormat Resource is corrupt or unusable [handle to 'snd ' resource was invalid]

I am not sure I grasp the complexities of your setup. However, it seems like one of the volumss is improperly formatted. That is a guess, not not a wild one.

Good luck.

cornelius

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Answer 2

teobaldo Author

Level 1

5 points

May 5, 2007 6:59 AM in response to cornelius

Cornelius,
Thanks for supplying the error msg. I'd like to know where you got it.
It leads to more questions, though.

The msg itself points to a file (sound?) being corrupted in the restore, yet you suggest that one of the volumes is not OK. Can you eleborate? How would I find out if this is the case?
I think that a formatting problem would manifest itself either randomly or every time. However, error -206 occurs only after adding iTunes 7.1.1 to the image source, regardless of the order in which I add updates.

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Answer 3

cornelius

Level 6

17,826 points

May 5, 2007 7:31 AM in response to teobaldo

teobaldo:

The msg itself points to a file (sound?) being corrupted in the restore, yet you suggest that one of the volumes is not OK...error -206 occurs only after adding iTunes 7.1.1 to the image source, regardless of the order in which I add updates.

You are very likely right about the iTunes theory. What I said was a guess based on the fact that I did not quite understand your set up of what you are trying to do. And you are right that a formaatting problem would have other ramifications.

Mac OS System Error Codes: 0 to -261 is the resource to which I refer for Error Codes. Sometimes you can paste the code in Google, and might even come up with a helpful article. There is also an application/utility you can download at Error Codes - 1.0 which can supposedly help with all Mac error codes. I have never used it, though.

Good luck.

cornelius

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Answer 4

teobaldo Author

Level 1

5 points

May 5, 2007 8:49 AM in response to cornelius

Cornelius,
Both of your links seem to apply to OS 9.
Yet, there may be something here, as they both indicate a problem with 'sound'; the msg itself claims a corrupt snd resource, and the app "Error codes" says it's a Sound Manager error.
So I went looking in iTunes.
In its Resources folder there's "Complete.aif".
When I doubleclick this, it shows up in iTunes as "sappy.snd".
Now I am really puzzled.
FWIW: DiskWarrior 3 had a problem with the same aif file when Quicktime was updated to 7.0.x (forgot which one).

I will see what happens when I remove this aif file, then post back.

Another open point; I found I could block-restore an image with iTunes 7.1.1 if I checked 'skip checksum' in Disk Utility. The man page for asr calls this 'dangerous' but doesn't specify the dangers. Would you know anything about this?

About my setup: I do not update my working volume. Instead, I start from scratch on a spare partition, then migrate when this turns out OK. I make and test images while building.

Thanks (again) for your help.

Imacs G3 & G5 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Imacs G3 & G5 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

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Answer 5

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

May 5, 2007 1:03 PM in response to teobaldo

Your best source for OS X errors is the MacErrors.h file located in /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/CarbonC ore.framework/Versions/A/Headers/. I keep a copy on my Desktop and just drag&drop it onto TextEdit and then search for the error number.

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Answer 6

teobaldo Author

Level 1

5 points

May 7, 2007 2:26 AM in response to baltwo

Thanks, Baltwo.
Didn't find it on my startup volume, though.
So I dug through some Installer packages with Pacifist, and found it in Developer Tools.
This is the message for -206:
badFormat= -206, /*Sound Manager Error Returns*/

@Cornelius:
This is the exact same result as given by Error Codes, so my assumption about it being OS 9 only was wrong.

So we have a restore that aborts (while checksumming) with a Sound Manager error. How can this be? I have never heard Disk Utility beep at me.

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Answer 7

cornelius

Level 6

17,826 points

May 7, 2007 9:22 AM in response to teobaldo

teobaldo:

I checked but found no reference to OS 9, so I guess your later discovery confirmed that.

Did you go ahead and delete that "complete.alf" file? Here is one of the results I got for it.

So we have a restore that aborts (while checksumming) with a Sound Manager error. How can this be? I have never heard Disk Utility beep at me.

I suggest you just do a regular Repair Disk in DU.

Good luck.

cornelius

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Answer 8

teobaldo Author

Level 1

5 points

May 7, 2007 10:48 AM in response to cornelius

Cornelius?

That link you posted - they sell music there! it's a dead end.

I suggest you just do a regular Repair Disk in DU.

Sorry, I may have been unclear. I'm talking about restoring from a disk image, which does end with the obnoxious -206. The disk is unmountable after that, so Repair disk is unavailable.

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Answer 9

teobaldo Author

Level 1

5 points

May 7, 2007 11:03 AM in response to teobaldo

It seems the Sound Manager idea is dead. I restored the offending image from Terminal. This is what I got (lightly edited):

$ sudo asr -s /Users/*/Desktop/Base\ Install\ 10.4.9b.dmg -t /Volumes/BuildMeister\ 2/ -erase
Password:
Validating target...done
Validating source...done
Erase contents of /dev/disk1s9 (/Volumes/BuildMeister 2)? [ny]: y
Erasing target device /dev/disk1s9...done
Retrieving scan information...done
Validating sizes...done
Restoring ....
Verifying ...
asr: Checksum failure! Expected 8FF90F55 but got F3D79B15
asr: couldn't restore - error -206
$

So clearly an asr error; the Sound Manager stuff may just be a legacy thing.

Fact: a restorable image is broken after addition of a specific item.
Question: how might a file be consistenly modified by restoring (which would give a different checksum for the target volume)?

Imacs G3 & G5 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

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Answer 10

cornelius

Level 6

17,826 points

May 7, 2007 11:59 AM in response to teobaldo

teobaldo:

My suggestion at this point is to run Disk Warrior or Tech Tool Pro and see if they can sort things out.

If you, your best option might be to be sure that your backup is current and tested reliable,
Reformat HDD
Zero all data,
Reinstall and update OS,
Restore data.

Good luck.

cornelius

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Answer 11

teobaldo Author

Level 1

5 points

May 7, 2007 12:23 PM in response to cornelius

No, that would be an answer to another problem. This is not about losing my primary drive. It is about iTunes breaking restorable images.

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