How to fix strange problems at startup

By On August 10, 2010 · 3 Comments
Disk Utility

The Disk Utility sometimes saves your butt from trouble.

Question: Everything was working normally but all of a sudden, I got an endless loop of errors telling me that system files could not be found. I did a shutdown and my Mac has refused to start up no matter what I did, including a Safe Boot. What should I do now?

Answer: It looks like your hard disk drive needs some repairs. The best recommendation we can make is to start up your Mac with the Single User mode.

To do this, hold down the Command and S keys on the keyboard when you press the power button. Keep holding the two keys on the keyboard. You will soon get a command prompt which requires you to type something to go any further.

Type the following: /sbin/fsck -fy

This will perform disk maintenance on your hard drive. Normally, this should fix the problem.

Should it fail, there is another solution. Go get your Mac OS X install DVD. Put it in your CD drive and restart your Mac while keeping the C key pressed on the keyboard. This will force your Mac to start up from the DVD.

From there, launch the Disk Utility and use it to repair your disk.

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  • Jeff Wragg

    Use Applejack utility. I manage a lot of Macs and Applejack is invaluable. It is part of my basic install on any machine.

  • http://www.wizardits.com Ralph Sharp

    Try Disk Warrior. It rebuilds/replaces the volume directory, and it not only recovers otherwise unsalvageable disks but also guards against data loss when used on a regular basis. I’ve used Disk Warrior to save a bunch of hard drives that otherwise would have been completely pooched.

  • http://www.tennishits.com/ Tennis Raquet

    ok! very good!
    wonderful!
    you are right!
    thank you!