Where to Turn when all util apps fail?

If you have another computer, try doing a target mode, and use a fire wire cable to connect the computers. Then copy off what you need, then reformat the drive and start from scratch. Your drive sounds like it has a major problem.

(edit: oops sorry, wrong thread)

Backup. Replace hard drive. Restore/Re-install.

Probably not worth your time to have someone tell you in person your HD is failing.

Try Norton.

There are a lot of folks who are afraid of it but it works better and for a broader variety of problems.


Just remember these important prerequisites:

* MUST be a current version of the bootable CD.

* MUST READ THE MANUAL. If you do and still don't understand what it says ASK.

* DO NOT INSTALL. Unless you're really familliar with it and can keep a leash on it.

BTW: If TechTool didn't show a failure in the SMART tests or in the read/write it's very likey that it's just FUBAR directories, which Norton certainly can fix.

I'd still back up and start from "writing zeros" after recovering enough using Norton to make backup feasable. Best backup solution is a FW drive or second machine via Ethernet or FW.

Writing Zeros (using Norton cuz the OS X disk doesn't offer the option) is a diagnostic step too BTW... It will show any bad sectors or if the heads are bad because reformatting will fail.

MrMacman said:

As I said, my backup process is very painful when you have to burn 4.4 GB at a time (less because I can't find a DVD bridging program -- ARG) and no ability to use other hard drives.

(iPod has little space... and other computer, while on my network, can't see my computer for whatever reason.)

Click to expand...

You don't have to backup everything, just get your documents/preferences/etc. You can always reinstall the applications and such. Your iPod is a good backup for your music, so how much data do you really have that can't be replaced?

MrMacman said:

How can I say:
'all of my applications weren't installed by cds?'

Also I basically maximized the complete amount of my 80 GB hard drive, before i deleted some usless stuff i had about 72 GB of it full. (tho I optimized/defraged regularly so to now hamper my HD speed and such)

I also have a few DVD's on my computer 4.4+ GB and all, so thats hard to transfer onto a blank DVD disk that says it only has 4.4 GB writable on.

But backing up prefs is a good idea.

Click to expand...

Hold it, you hard drive is full, this is probably why your mac is having problems. OS X I believe doesn't like it when it has little space to work with. Delete something or get another drive for storage, then the issues will probably stop.

MrMacman said:

Its nearly full, but my mouse is still double clicking instead of single and my icons are still missing and the applications aren't launching word when I double click a .doc file.

I deleted a bunch of stuff, but still not working.

Click to expand...

Those aren't typical hard drive failure symptoms... you need to narrow down your possibilities. It may simply be corrupted software on the drive.

Have you tried a different physical mouse?

I have never heard of DiskWarrior offering to reduce the size of the hard drive... Something is incomplete in your description.

I think a clean OS install is a good idea, but you should do the backup and reformat first.

At any rate if you can scrape up a hundred or two dollars, get yourself a 120 Gb Firewire external. It'll allow you to back up, reformat, reinstall the OS, etc. You can then use it to make regular backups and get some of the baggage off the internal drive. If you have to, see if you can rent a firewire external and do this right.

MrMacman said:

Its nearly full, but my mouse is still double clicking instead of single and my icons are still missing and the applications aren't launching word when I double click a .doc file.

I deleted a bunch of stuff, but still not working.

Click to expand...

Missing icons and broken links are often indicators of serious file, directory and/or boot block dammage that I've ONLY seen fixed with Norton. I've used Drive 10, TechTool Pro, DiskWarrior and Norton quite extensively on dozens of macs of all generations from PPC 8100's on. Norton's the only thing that works for particularly FUBAR disks. The trick is matching the version of Norton to the OS that is maintaining the disk in question.

YOU MUST USE A CURRENT VERSION on a current machine.

( I cannot stress this next one enough) NEVER USE P2P ACQUIRED SYMANTEC PRODUCTS. Symantec can be a sneaky and underhandedly nasty company in their efforts to suppress piracy.

If you feel that your only choice is piracy please just borrow a friend's bootable Norton Utilities 8 or Norton Systemworks 3 CD and boot from that.

Most people's problems w/ Norton happened during the OS 9 to OS X migration or similarly funky times in Mac OS history. This was due to the rapidly evolving nature of what was on the Volumes in combination with people continuing to use old copies as if nothing had changed.

I agree with other key advice you've gotten here:

*OS X needs disk space for Swap Files. The bigger the running operations are, the more space it'll want.

*Your mouse-funkiness reeks of corrupted driver and OS files. Get your ass a copy of norton and stop using your machine until you can use it.

* The most essential files on your HD are in your User folder.

* An external FW drive can save your ass in a pinch.

MrMacman said:

How can I say:
'all of my applications weren't installed by cds?'

Click to expand...

Take some of that money you saved by - apparently - pirating gigabytes of stuff and buy a new hard drive.

It's hard to feel a lot of pity for your inability to save stolen software and movies. It'll take you less than 20 DVDs to back up, and that's if you keep all the stuff. If you don't back it up, and your drive fails while you try to tinker with it with - as a guess - other pirated software, it'll be hard to feel too much pity for you.

If the stuff on the drive isn't pirated, sorrry for the comments. If it is, well, you'd be losing stuff that wasn't yours anyway.

As mentioned, backup up your User folder, minus big files, first, then deal with the rest.