Help: Disk Utility "Invalid Node Structure" error

[Mr.Bullitt]

Hi guys!


The other morning 2009 July MPB failed to boot. When I pressed the power button, I got the usual "chime" and grey Apple screen with the spinning wheel and a progress bar.
Then, it turned itself off.

Then I ran the disk utility from the Snow leopard install disk and with "disk Check" and "Disk repair" I get the Invalid Node Structure" error and the message that it can not be repaired .

The MBP was all time on the desk and never dropped or anything.

So big question now is - can it be fixed? it is just a file issue or is it a hardware issue??

The HD is a 500GB 7200rpm Seagate drive that the MBP came with.

I do not have any Windows partitions or other OS running on it.

 

[Paulywauly]

I had this a few weeks back on an external drive, turns out the enclosure was broken meaning data couldn't be written to it properly. if its your internal drive it might be an issue with the sata connector on your logic board (possibly) or the hard drive itself.

I'd advise backing up as much data as you can and taking it for repair (if its under applecare)

 

[Elbert C]

Hi guys!


The other morning 2009 July MPB failed to boot. When I pressed the power button, I got the usual "chime" and grey Apple screen with the spinning wheel and a progress bar.
Then, it turned itself off.

Then I ran the disk utility from the Snow leopard install disk and with "disk Check" and "Disk repair" I get the Invalid Node Structure" error and the message that it can not be repaired .

The MBP was all time on the desk and never dropped or anything.

So big question now is - can it be fixed? it is just a file issue or is it a hardware issue??

The HD is a 500GB 7200rpm Seagate drive that the MBP came with.

I do not have any Windows partitions or other OS running on it.

If you have DiskWarrior, use it. If not, order it.

 

[Mr.Bullitt]

Hi guys.

Thanks for replying so fast, I am getting nervous about this situation as I have about 35GB of holiday memories on the desktop for processing in Lightroom


I have for some time been thinking of getting a bigger internal HD for my MBP.

So, would this be good technique for recovering my files?:

Replace internal disk
mount old internal disk in a 2.5" external USB 2.0 case
Copy files to new drive - or external drive.

- Do I at all have access to my files this way? I did not use filevault.

----------

If you have DiskWarrior, use it. If not, order it.

How do I get to use this, when I do not have a working Mac? I just have my work windows laptop to help me prepare recovery tools, burn disc etc.

 

[Mr.Bullitt]

Is there any alternative to Diskwarrior??? It is quite pricy and the apple store here shows shipping "2-3 weeks"

 

[Elbert C]

How do I get to use this, when I do not have a working Mac? I just have my work windows laptop to help me prepare recovery tools, burn disc etc.

You'll need another Mac or an alternate startup disk.

Is there any alternative to Diskwarrior??? It is quite pricy and the apple store here shows shipping "2-3 weeks"

It may seem pricey but what's your data worth to you?

 

[Mr.Bullitt]

You'll need another Mac or an alternate startup disk.




It may seem pricey but what's your data worth to you?

heey... I was up all night fixing my problems. And I made it!!!

1. Dug out an old WD Passport 250GB USB drive from a drawer.
2. Formattet it with Disk Utils and installed Snow Leopard on it from the Upgrade DVD.
3. Booted from this external disk and ran Diskwarrior from there.
4. DiskWarrior fixed everything!!!!!!!

Thank you very much all you guys! :-D

 

[Elbert C]

Glad you got it fixed.

 

[TyWahn]

I am glad you got it fixed, but this is most certainly a sign of bad things to come. You really should replace your drive. I had this exact problem last month. My situation didn't end happily.

 

[Mr.Bullitt]

is there any known issues with the Seagate 500GB 7200rpm drives that shipped in the summer of 2009?????

 

[Elbert C]

is there any known issues with the Seagate 500GB 7200rpm drives that shipped in the summer of 2009?????

IDK. You'd probably find something online if you googled your seagate's model number. All hard drives will eventually fail. I wouldn't worry too much about your startup disk as long as you monitor the S.M.A.R.T status AND keep a regular backup of your data using Time Machine, Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper!