This article tells what to do when Disk First Aid reports errors.

Disk First Aid reports "Problems were found but Disk First Aid cannot repair them".

Solution

If Disk First Aid reports 'Problems were found but Disk First Aid cannot repair them', back up important documents and files and reformat the hard disk.

Symptom: Missing Thread Record

Disk First Aid reports the following:

- Checking catalog file.

- Problem: Missing thread record, 3499, 160

- Rechecking catalog file.

- Test done. Problems were found, but Disk First Aid cannot repair them.

Solution

When Disk First Aid reports that the thread for a file is missing and it cannot repair it, this means that it is unable to reconcile the entry for the file in the directory (catalog B-tree) with the location of the file on the volume. Usually Disk First Aid is unable to repair the missing thread record due to one of the following three situations:

Situation A

Disk First Aid cannot repair the startup disk, nor the disk from which Disk First Aid is opened, nor a disk that is being shared.

Situation B

The file has been overwritten or characteristics changed. The file has become damaged and cannot be repaired.

Situation C

The catalog B-tree is damaged. The file cannot be repaired.

Symptom: Disk First Aid Internal Error

Disk First Aid reports an internal error during verification or repair of a disk.

Solution

If Disk First Aid detects a fault with the volume structure that does not conform to what it knows a reliable volume should look like, and it cannot identify it among its list of known issues, Disk First Aid reports the fault as an internal error.

If Disk First Aid cannot repair the disk, try these options:

• Try to repair the disk again. Sometimes repeating the process yields success.
• Use another disk repair or recovery program. Another program may allow you to recover information from the disk, even if the program is unable to correct the faults found.

Symptom: One Item In Trash, Cannot Be Emptied

Sometimes the Trash has one item in it and cannot be emptied.

Solution

Folders that cannot be thrown away may suggest a directory issue or a Finder flag issue. If it is the latter, programs such as UnlockFolder or Rename Rescue may help.

Symptom: "Disk With Bad Name" Error

Disk First Aid reports a "Disk with Bad Name" error. The disk seems fine in every other way.

Solution

Disk First Aid's error messages may sometimes seem a little unclear because it defaults to the "closest" error message. More than likely Disk First Aid has found a bad bit of data in the boot blocks of the hard drive--possibly a bad pointer.

Be sure that the drive you are checking is not the startup volume.

Symptom: Keys Out of Order

Disk First Aid reports "Keys Out of Order".

Solution

B-tree records or referenced records have become damaged.

If Disk First Aid reports this condition, you should back up important documents and files and reformat the hard disk. In some cases third-party disk utility may be able to resolve this condition.

Symptom: Bad Leaf Node/Index Node

Disk First Aid reports "Bad Leaf Node/Index Node".

Solution

A node has been changed and no longer correctly refers to other nodes or records.

Symptom: B-trees Damaged

Disk First Aid reports "B-trees Damaged".

Solution

This is obvious: the B-trees are damaged.

Symptom: Volume Bitmap Incorrect

Disk First Aid reports "Volume Bitmap Incorrect".

Solution

The volume bitmap does not accurately reflect the use of allocation blocks on the drive. Disk First Aid repairs this and the extents file by comparing the two with each other, then comparing against the actual allocation blocks on the drive.

Symptom: Bundle Bits Need to be Reset

Disk First Aid reports "Bundle Bits Need to be Reset".

Solution

The Bundle Bit flag needs to be reset for one or more files. (Other Finder flags may also need resetting).

For related information on this topic, please see the following articles:

Article 7565: " Disk First Aid: Purpose "
Article 19516: " Mac OS: Technical Overview of Disk Volume Structures "
Article 8647: " Macintosh: File System Specifications and Terms "
Article 30344: " Mac OS: About Mac OS Extended Format "
Article 24601: " Mac OS Extended Format: Volume and File Limits "