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Terrier · Apr 24, 2007, 12:21 PM

Is there a file system utility for Macs, similiar to fsck in Linux?

Yesterday my iBook (OSX 10.4.9) started taking a long time to respond to any input from mouse or keyboard. At first I thought it was network response because I was using Firefox and was also streaming audio in iTunes.

I used Force Quit to get out of Firefox. The system was very slow to bring up the Force Quit window and continued to give me a busy cursor no matter what I clicked on. I power cycled the machine. It took ages to restart and now responds more and more slowly. If I click on Finder, for example, it will take 90 seconds to 2 minutes to appear and nothing else can be chosen while it loads. In other words, busy mouse cursor.

From what I could see using Activity Monitor, disk I/O seems to be the problem. There is 20GB free space on the hard drive. How can I test the hard drive? Is there a file system utility for Macs, similiar to fsck?

Any thoughts are welcome!

~~Terrier~~

cgc · Apr 24, 2007, 12:24 PM

Disk Utility can check and repair your hard drives. It's in the Utility folder within the Applications folder.

mfbernstein · Apr 24, 2007, 12:34 PM

fsck checks filesystem consistency. The best OS X utility for disk verification is DiskWarrior. If you want to run fsck manually, you'll need to boot into single-user mode ('option' 's' on bootup) and follow the onscreen instructions.

Slowness can sometimes also be a sign of a disk beginning to fail.

Terrier · Apr 24, 2007, 12:41 PM

Slowness can sometimes also be a sign of a disk beginning to fail.

That's what I suspect, unfortunately.

Big Mac · Apr 24, 2007, 12:47 PM

For the record, fsck is in OS X.

besson3c · Apr 24, 2007, 01:01 PM

Isn't Disk Utility's disk repair/verificiation just a GUI front end for fsck?

kick52 · Apr 24, 2007, 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Isn't Disk Utility's disk repair/verificiation just a GUI front end for fsck?

pretty much, by the looks of it.

Terrier · Apr 24, 2007, 03:36 PM

I ran "disk verify" from Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility but I was not sure it was for the file system. It came back saying all was well.

It's a moot point now because I can not get the machine to start up at all. Ten minutes after powering it on I have a moveable mouse cursor on a light blue background. No text, graphics, etc.

Really Rookie question-Is the OS X installation DVD supposed to be bootable? It will not start up with that, either.

I guess I need to start a thread called, "Replacing iBook hard disk".

peeb · Apr 24, 2007, 04:07 PM

OK. Stop trying to use your computer now.

You should be able to boot it from the install disk, but you need to go out and get an external drive, and try to use the boot disk to copy your failing drive to a backup.

Sherman Homan · Apr 24, 2007, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Isn't Disk Utility's disk repair/verificiation just a GUI front end for fsck?

Yup.
You definitely want Disk Warrior, but not right now: peeb is right, the more you try to beat this thing into shape, the greater chance that you will totally lose the drive.

Terrier · Apr 24, 2007, 05:28 PM

You have all been very helpful. By the time I tried the OS X DVD it was too late. I have a recent back-up so I will probably move to the hard disk replacement step. I downloaded a pdf on it and the process looks grueling. Top and bottom covers have to come off, lots of tiny screws and ribbon cables have to be dealt with.

On the bright side, the replacement drives seem to be bigger than the 30GB it came with.

Sherman Homan · Apr 24, 2007, 06:06 PM

Top and bottom covers have to come off, lots of tiny screws and ribbon cables have to be dealt with.

Spread out on a nice large table. Keep it organized, it ain't too bad. Good luck!

mfbernstein · Apr 24, 2007, 07:48 PM

The screw chart is a godsend for opening your iBook. Use it.

Serenak · Apr 27, 2007, 07:27 AM

Before doing that if it is not too late try booting the iBook using say Ubuntu PPC 6.06 and if it boots allow it to install (this will format the drive but at this point I doubt that matters) then once that is up and running reboot using the Mac Installer and reformat back to HFS+ and install.

This has gotten me back more than one apparently hosed HDD...

peeb · Apr 27, 2007, 10:50 AM

I would not recommend this - once a drive has failed, you should toss it.

amazing · Apr 27, 2007, 12:29 PM

The iBook is perhaps THE most difficult Mac laptop to work on. How good are your tech skills?
Do you live near a CompUSA? Reports are that they charge $30 to install a new drive--that's definitely worth it!

jasong · May 4, 2007, 03:46 PM

I've installed a new HD in an iBook before. I think Apple started with the HD and then built the computer around it. Honestly it was more a lengthy procedure than a difficult one. The advice to do it on a large table is excellent. Stay organized and calm and you'll be fine.

peeb · May 4, 2007, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by amazing

The iBook is perhaps THE most difficult Mac laptop to work on. How good are your tech skills?
Do you live near a CompUSA? Reports are that they charge $30 to install a new drive--that's definitely worth it!

No! No! NO! They charge 170 to install the drive in an iBook - the 30 figure is for computers where you just unscrew a panel and drop it in.

peeb · May 4, 2007, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by Serenak

Before doing that if it is not too late try booting the iBook using say Ubuntu PPC 6.06 and if it boots allow it to install (this will format the drive but at this point I doubt that matters) then once that is up and running reboot using the Mac Installer and reformat back to HFS+ and install.

This has gotten me back more than one apparently hosed HDD...

What is the advantage of this over the apple boot dvd?

kick52 · May 4, 2007, 06:11 PM

i attempted to install a hard drive myself, though the asshole that assembled this thing did the screws up too tight. bloody stupid.