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What The Heck is an "Invalid Node structure"? (Disk Utility)

Because repartitioning means wiping the drive and reinstalling OSX? This seems like overkill to me.

A invalid node structure being a hardware problem is a new one on me.

I also prefer Disk Warrior for this kind of issue, but I know some like Tech Tool so I wanted to be fair.
 
Well its free so for me it would be worth it.

The Hardware problem may of been unrelated.

Disk Utility told me it was an Invalid Node Structure and when I decided to run the hardware test, the hard drive test failed.

Tech Tool Pro detected the error but failed to repair it.

Disk Warrior was successful in getting most of the data off the drive by making a image of it and letting it mount.

I think its called "Mounting it Virtually," not sure.


EDIT: IF these two events are typically unrelated, then your right that one would not need to run the extended hardware test.
 
i've just done a extended hardware test and saids no problems found.

i booted up from the disk and asked to partition my harddisk.. i guess this is going to erase all my files.. so i'll have to backup my files on a external hard disk or something hey
 
Ya, partitioning your drive will erase everything. If you still have files to back up then you will need Disk Warrior($99) to repair the error.

You might be able to mount it "virtually" and access your files, however I don't recall though.
 
yeh i still have files to backup.but i can't back it up until i get my external harddisk in couple days...
why do i need disk warrior to fix this? doesn't repartitioning the drive do the job and fix this invalid node stucture? if it wasn't for onyx i wouldn't of thought i'd have invalid node stucture coz mac ox is still working ok for me for some reason.why is this if i have this invalid thing going on?
 
If your still booting and able to access your computer then I'm clueless. These errors in my experience bring the OS to its knees and it is unable to do anything.
 
but u still reckon i should repartition my drive and install osx again? would that solve the invalid node structure?

i'm actually using my macbook now and cannot seem to find any problems running it.. boots everytime i start it up. i'm just worried that there's gonna be something wrong with it in the long run if i don't fix this asap.

:confused:
 
someone else is probably more qualified to answer that then me since as far as I know it should not work at all.

Unless Disk Utility says its invalid, I would leave it alone but make sure I have everything backed up.

This however should not be possible, So I do not think you have an invalid node structure.
 
it saids invalid node structure whenever i verify disk in disk utility. and i tried repairing but won't let me for some reason (using the installation disk)


this is what exactly it say when i try verifying it

Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid node structure
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.



Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit


1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair

--
i am still be able to log on to osx without any problems

gee i have no idea whats up with it telling me i have this problem when i can still bootup to osx..


my specs are C2D 2Ghz 120gb using os x 10.4.9
:confused:
 
so i guess i shouldn't do anything for the time being since its running ok..?
 
DingDong,

When I talked to the "product specialist" at Apple, I said I had done a bunch of research and that I found out that error basically meant my harddrive was useless and needed to be reformatted. He was a bit reluctant to just say yes, but that is what it boiled down to.

I sent mine off to the doctor because it had a plethera of other problems as well, and it should be back in the next few days, i'll let you know what they did.
 
dingdong said:
so i guess i shouldn't do anything for the time being since its running ok..?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't ignore it, because it won't heal on its own and could cause the drive to become unbootable at some point in the future. If you can clone the drive to an external drive (using SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner), then reformatting the problem drive, and cloning back, makes sense. Otherwise, if it were me, I'd go the Disk Warrior route.

BikeMike, I hate to say it, but sometimes the Apple tech support people give out some awful advice. An "invalid node structure" is a logical error, not a mechanical error. I suppose it could be caused by a mechanical problem with the drive, but I would not make such an assumption, since it can be caused any time the drive writes improperly.
 
Well, I just got my computer back (Really impressed with the speed of AppleCare, Sent it out on Monday, got it back today) and they replaced my hard drive. It may have had other things wrong with it, but they only thing I know about it was the errors I posted above.
 
oh so i guess it was a dodgy drive then hey...

---
in the meantime i hope i can back up with (superduper) in time before it does anything dodgy, as soon as i get my external harddisk.

i'll try repartition it after backup and reinstall mac osx and see if it still states invalid node structure. if it does i best off go to appleshop and get it fixed i reckon
 
just repartitioned and re-installed osx and its fine now. it does not appear to have invalid node structure now. :D


have no idea what happened and why it said it before coz everything seems fine even when it had invalid node structure.
 
I just came off an "invalid node structure" problem on a client's computer last week, and after a lengthy exchange with the folks at Alsoft (DiskWarrior) the decision was to do a complete wipe and clean install. To their credit, had we been willing to spend more time on the problem they felt like it could have been fixed, but we didn't want to invest the time and effort.

Interestingly enough, the machine was running fine, the user only had two indicators that something was up - at the very beginning of startup when the apple comes on the screen, the file folder/question mark icon appeared for just a split second and then the apple appeared, and when they attempted to run Disk Utility to verify/repair the disk, it cacked as one of the previous posters described ("the underlying task reported failure on exit.") Attempts to fix it using DW resulted in an error where DW would run and come up with the fixes for the drive, but would not allow the repairs to take place due to "a Mac OS services failure."

Since it was running OK, we were able to use Disk Genius to make a copy of the disk on an external drive, then do a complete erase (with zeros) and reinstallation of the OS.

Once we did this and were satisfied that the new install was OK, I mounted the external drive that had the clone of the original drive and used the Migration Assistant to copy all the user's old apps and user data to the new (clean) drive.

It's been working fine for a week, so I closed the ticket. Sadly, this was the first time in almost eight years that DiskWarrior didn't bail me out. I can't complain - it's still the best utility out there, IMHO.

MD
 
working on the same basic problem

Is Disk Warrior going to do me any better than Disk Utility as far as making an image of the damaged drive? I have my G4 17" iMac booted from my external FW drive. Every time I try to create an image from my internal drive it fails and says: "Unable to create "disk0s5.dmg" - Input/output error. What does this mean?
 
Kreuz11 said:
Is Disk Warrior going to do me any better than Disk Utility as far as making an image of the damaged drive? I have my G4 17" iMac booted from my external FW drive. Every time I try to create an image from my internal drive it fails and says: "Unable to create "disk0s5.dmg" - Input/output error. What does this mean?
Click to expand...

Why are you trying to make an image of your drive?

DiskWarrior is a hard disk repair application. It can perform rescue tricks that Disk Utility cannot, but it doesn't make disk images.
 
I just need to recover all my data before I reformat and I was hoping Disk Warrior would help. Image or whatever I just want to get stuff off of the internal drive so I can wipe it and start over. I've got to get Disk Warrior working and then I'm sure it'll make more sense. I think I saw a fix to the problem I'm having with that up above, so I'll tackle it on Sun. when I return.
 
Invalid Node Height

I am responding in this thread because my problem seems to be similar but I found a solution that does not appear to be posted on this site.

The story:
I am using a 20", Intel, iMac, running the 10.4.11 OS.

I was having problems with a Lacie external drive (1 TB with firewire). When trying to solve the problem I used Disk Utility to Verify the external drive. I then thought, "Well, let me check my HD drive while I am here." When I attempted to Verify my Mac HD drive I got an error similar to those described here except it said, "Invalid Node Height" instead of "Invalid Node Structure." Disk Utility did not offer me an option to "Repair;" the button was simply not active. I read all the things here about partitioning, etc. but was not convinced I needed to go that far. My computer would boot without problems and other than an annoying screen flicker, which has been a constant issue with this computer, everything seemed to be working. Still, I reasoned, as others in this thread have, that I needed to fix the problem before something bad happened.

Here is what I did to Repair the Mac HD:
I shut down the computer and unplugged everything except the mouse and keyboard and turned the comp back on.

I then restarted my comp using Disk 1 of my MAC OS Installation disk as my start up disk instead of my Mac HD. I held down "D" during restart which I thought would open an Apple Hardware Test. My idea was to check the drive for a hardware problem. Instead of hardware test prompts, I was asked to select my language, I released the "D" key, selected English as my language, and got a screen with an activity bar saying "Preparing Installation" or something. Then, I was offered a window asking me if I wanted to proceed with the Installation of software apps that came with my computer. Ignoring this window, I went to top of my screen and found the Disk Utility located on the start up disk. I used it to check the Mac HD and got the same old Invalid Node Height error, but this time I was offered an opportunity to repair, i.e. the button was active. I chose Repair, waited perhaps 20 mins for the repair to complete, verified the Mac HD just to be sure, and then restarted the comp using the Mac HD drive as the Startup Disk.

Everything seems to be fine, no data loss as far as I can tell. I have the same image for my desktop etc.
Hope this helps someone. Peace.
 
Great! Good trouble shooting!

The reason the "repair" was not given as an option is because you can not attempt a repair from a drive that you are actively booted from.
 
would running an upgrade from the snow leopard disc fix this problem and not erase personal documents on my mac?
 
Hello.
Last two months i has this problem with freezing mac and "invalid node structure".But i repaired it, than i reseting my mac PRAM and NVARM.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

But today, my hdd freez again, than i click on Disc utility. So i think, i change my hdd in fast time..

And my friend has this problem too, he change hdd, but problem, do not repaired. So he reset PRAM and NVARM. And it was okay. So i not be shure, that hdd changing helped me..

(Sorry for my bad english language)
 
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