[syke]

I have a Mac mini 1.43ghz running on OSX 10.4.5 and I'm having problems trying to start up.

I keep getting stuck at the white screen with the Apple logo every time I boot up.

I tried starting up using disk ultility with the supplied install CD, but I get this error when performing first aid:

First Aid Failed
Disk Ultility stopped repairing "macintosh HD" because the following task reported failure on exit

Other information includes:

Volume header needs minor repair
repairing volume
The volume Macintosh HD could not be repaired

Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit

1 HFS volume checked
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error
Repair attempted on 1 volume
1 volume could not be repaired

Upon this, I tried going into single user mode, to repair the hard disk using fsck.
However, I get this error message even before I get into single user mode:

BSD root: disk0s3, major 14, minor 2
Load of /sbin/launched, errno 8, trying /sbin/mach_init
Load of /sbin/launched failed, errno 8

It hangs after this.

Tried going into safe mode, but to no avail, still stuck at white screen with Apple logo.

What do I do? I don't wish to erase my data and re-install OSX. Any other way to go about fixing the problem?

Can I get an external hard disk (e.g. la cie, iomega) mount it via firewire/usb and use it as my start up disk?

Would I be able to install OSX on the external HD, run it and transport my data from the Mac mini hard disk to the external one, all this through disk ultility without even booting up in OSX?

Thanks in advance! Your help will be very much appreciated!

[mikesch1]

I'd try a program like Alsoft's DiskWarrior 3, before I tried any of that stuff, with an ext. HD, if the directory structure is bad, every time you attempt to read or wrte to it, you may be damaging your data.

http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/

M

[Morpheus]

If you have an external HD with OS X already installed, then it should be possible to just plug it in an start from that volume.

You can also boot from the OS X CD and then plug in an external HD, which will then be mounted.

The crucial point in order to get your data is to mount the screwed drive.

Good luck!

[chris v]

DiskWarrior should fix that right up. It's the best 80 bucks you can spend on your computer.

[syke]

Thanks Guys. Looks like the diskwarrior is the cheapest option at this point of time to fix this problem. But is anyone certain that it's definitely fixable with the diskwarrior before I decide to splurge 80 bucks on it?

[alphasubzero949]

I would splurge the $80 to keep it around. The problem involves the HFS+ directory structure that DW should easily fix. You can fire it up either from a CD or an external.

[kick52]

if it dosnt fix it, your HD is hosed.

[OreoCookie]

There is no guarantee that DiskWarrior can fix your problem. However, it is a good program, I've used it myself a few times. However, you don't necessarily need DiskWarrior.

You can install on an external FireWire harddisk.

If you have a backup, I suppose you do, then you can reformat the disk, write zeros on the disk, if you want to make sure that everything is in order. Install OS X from scratch and use your backup to restore your data. If you don't have a backup, you can just pray, DiskWarrior can solve your problems. You probably will be able to restore some data if your harddrive still mounts.