"Volume header needs minor repair" on MacBook Pro

[Mac-rs]

My MacBook Pro went to sleep yesterday and when prompted out of it asked for the Administrator login, which it has never done and was not accepting (Not sure if pw is right?).

Used install disc to reset password, but the Mac HD drive was not showing up in the window.

Ran disk utility through the install disc today and this is what was found:

Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.

Volume Header needs minor repair
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.

Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit


1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair

.... So, not knowing a whole lot about computers I ask, What is my next step? My instinct is to run the disk repair, correct? Keeping in mind that I have no access to the computer other than through the install disc.

Also, Is this a precursor to a more serious, full on, hard drive failure? If it is able to be repaired through the disc, should I replace the hard drive anyway? And finally, how much are we talking to replace a Hard drive for a 2006 15" MacBook Pro?

Thanks in advance for the advice!!

 

[sushi]

Definitely run Disk Repair and see if that fixes the problem

This is a good time to bring up the topic of backups. You should be backing up your data on a regular basis.

One technique is to use SuperDuper (SD) or Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) to clone your internal HDD to an external HDD. Cloning creates an exact copy and allows you to boot from the external HDD to make repairs, recover data, etc. if the need arrises.

Personally, I do complete clones on a weekly basis using CCC to alternating external HDDs.

 

[Mac-rs]

Very true Sushi!

Time Machine backed up the day before this happened, but I'm always nervous that something hasn't been backed up.... Moral of the story is meticulous backups and often!!

About to try disk repair, wish me luck!

 

[davidlv]

About to try disk repair, wish me luck!

In my experience, running Disk Utility will repair the drive, but you should run it twice or until you get the "drive appears to be OK" message. Better yet, run Disk Warrior on it to replace the directory with an optimized, repaired version.
And immediately backup, because the cause of the corruption is/was unknown and may be the first signs of a failing HD (not definitely so, but why take a chance?).
As mentioned you would be best advised to have a cloned external 2.5" drive available to replace a dead HD in case that happens. If you have a cloned replacement drive, you can be back up and running in a matter of minutes if your HD kicks the bucket!

 

[Mac-rs]

Appears you are right on running it twice davidlv. Ran it once and said it was repaired, but still getting the Admin login at start up, and still can't login. Also still not seeing Mac HD in reset password window to be able to login. Running repair again....

Is it correct that once the repair is finished, I can quit disk utility, and restart to quit install disc like I have been doing up to this point? Is there something else I should do after the repair?

 

[Mac-rs]

Ok, frustration setting in.... Ran the repair again, it said that it did not need to repair. Great, right? Well I went to reset the password and the Mac HD is still not there, only the install disc. I restarted and still got the Admin login. I restarted again with the install disc, and I'm still not seeing the Mac HD in the window to select.

I have no way into this computer if I can not change my Admin password, if my disk is repaired why wouldn't it show up in the reset pw window? If I choose the install disc, the only option to choose is System Adminstrator (Root). I keep seeing to NOT choose the root, but no one says why?

I'm not very experienced with computers in general so the thought of entering UNIX commands is a bit terrifying. Is this my only option though? Or is it time to take it in to be looked at, even if I'm way past my warranty?

....... I don't have Disk Warrior at the moment, can I even get it on my MBP if I can't log in?

 

[davidlv]

Ok, frustration setting in.... Ran the repair again, it said that it did not need to repair. Great, right? Well I went to reset the password and the Mac HD is still not there, only the install disc. I restarted and still got the Admin login. I restarted again with the install disc, and I'm still not seeing the Mac HD in the window to select.

I have no way into this computer if I can not change my Admin password, if my disk is repaired why wouldn't it show up in the reset pw window? If I choose the install disc, the only option to choose is System Adminstrator (Root). I keep seeing to NOT choose the root, but no one says why?

I'm not very experienced with computers in general so the thought of entering UNIX commands is a bit terrifying. Is this my only option though? Or is it time to take it in to be looked at, even if I'm way past my warranty?

....... I don't have Disk Warrior at the moment, can I even get it on my MBP if I can't log in?

Disk Warrior can only be run on a disk other than the startup disk, so you would need the DW DVD and boot up from that, or have it installed on an external HD and use it from there to repair the internal HD. However, your issue may be more than just HD related. Can you take it in to Apple and have them give you a diagnosis? Not being able to change the password is - possibly - a sign of HD failure or even something more serious. Do you have an external HD you can boot up from? Or one to install a system on? Do you have a friend with a Mac with a firewire port? If so, you could try starting your Mac in Target Disk Mode (psuh the "t" key at start up) and then connect your computer to the other Mac by firewire cable, your computer's HD should show up on the desktop of the other computer, so you could run DW on it, or try to reset the password for that HD.
Good luck.
If possible I would ask Apple to take a look at it first.

 

[Mac-rs]

After many hours of confusion and frustration, everything appears to be ok now. The disk was repaired and is coming up as not needing any repairs. And after a lot of tries I finally was able to get the Mac HD vol to show up to reset the password. Now that I'm back in the system, I'm making sure to back up everything (several times!).

Thank you all for the advice and help!! I will be getting Disk Warrior and an external hard drive. I just rely on this machine too much to not make sure I'm protecting everything on it! Since there is always a possibility of a full HD failure at any moment, I can't take any chances.

I also want to say that despite these recent problems, in the end it was so easily fixed on a Mac compared to what I've gone through with past PC's. I still think the MacBook Pro is an excellent computer as long as you don't over task it! And I can not be more thrilled with my iMac which has not given me one single problem in the 3 yrs I've had it! *knocking on wood*

 

[davidlv]

I will be getting Disk Warrior and an external hard drive. I just rely on this machine too much to not make sure I'm protecting everything on it! Since there is always a possibility of a full HD failure at any moment, I can't take any chances.

After you get the external drive, copy the Disk Warrior application to your internal HD, it will ask for your SN the first time you run it, and then use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone your internal HD to the external. That will take a long time the first time, incremental backups are possible later, much faster too. I have found it best to run DW on the external drive after a backup. Then when the backup drive is ready to go, boot up - option key down - and select the external drive, and run DW on the internal drive. Doing this once a month or so should keep you up and running as long as the hardware is OK.
Nice to hear the issue has been resolved, but keep an eye on the health of that internal drive, after all, something casued that issue in the first place. Just hope it wasn't hardware failure.