[AnnieB]

I hope someone can help and that I've posted in the right place...

When I turned on my iBook G4 today I got a black screen with 'computer speak', beginning:
hfs_swap_BTNode: invalid node kind (127)
node=365 fileID=4 volume=Macintosh HD device=root_device
-sh: /etc/profile: Input/output error
hfs_swap_BTNode: invalid forward link (0x01FF0002)
node=347 fileID=4 volume=Macintosh HD device=root_device
-sh: /etc/profile: Input/output error
hfs_swap_BTNode: invalid forward link (0x01FF0002)

Does anyone know what this means and if there is anything I can do to restore it to working order? My computer is about six years old and has been getting more flaky as the years have gone by. Is this it?

[reader50]

You're seeing a problem with the hard drive. Do you have a backup, in case you've lost it?

Boot from an OS CD and use Disk Utility. Select the internal drive icon, see what the SMART status is at the bottom of the window. Anything other than 'Verified' means you need a new hard drive.

If it shows as Verified, you may be able to repair it. You could let Disk Utility try if you're backed up, but Disk Utility doesn't do data recovery. If you aren't backed up, you might wish to use Disk Warrior, which will try hard to preserve your data.

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