Macbook Pro HDD corrupted - AGAIN

xera

xera

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Hi all.... I have the Unibody MBP, got it in aug 2009 I think. It has the SD card reader, 2.8Ghz c2d, 9600MGT 512MB, and 500GB 5400rpm hdd.
I also have win7 x86 installed, using bootcamp.

Well last year just before the 1 year warranty was over (aug 2010), my mac os was getting very slow, and I ran disk verifier, and it reported the hdd was corrupt. So I took it in to an apple shop, and apparently they replaced it. They also confirmed that my one, was indeed corrupt.

So my mac is getting slow again, and freezing randomly (beach balls all over the place), so I ran the disk verifier, and it says its corrupt again :mad:

Any idea why this is happening to me?! What exactly causes this to happen?
Could it be from occasionally moving my macbook around whilst it's on? Or is it windows?
I'm guessing I wouldn't have this problem if I had a SSD?
 
Unlucky, sorry to hear that.

Would a low level format and reinstall not fix something like this? I mean its doesn't sound like a psychical issue to me.
 
xera said:
Any idea why this is happening to me?! What exactly causes this to happen?
Could it be from occasionally moving my macbook around whilst it's on? Or is it windows?
I'm guessing I wouldn't have this problem if I had a SSD?
Click to expand...
That could definitely be the reason if you're moving it around while the computer is reading or writing to the hdd.

Have you tried disk warrior? It's saved me a number of times - though not when my MBP got hit by a cricket ball! :D

Your new drive should be covered under manufacturers warranty, no?
 
bwana said:
That could definitely be the reason if you're moving it around while the computer is reading or writing to the hdd.

Have you tried disk warrior? It's saved me a number of times - though not when my MBP got hit by a cricket ball! :D

Your new drive should be covered under manufacturers warranty, no?
Click to expand...


Wtf? Bwhahahaha, how on earth did that happen? :D
 
bwana said:
That could definitely be the reason if you're moving it around while the computer is reading or writing to the hdd.

Have you tried disk warrior? It's saved me a number of times - though not when my MBP got hit by a cricket ball! :D

Your new drive should be covered under manufacturers warranty, no?
Click to expand...

Should be... Chances are it's a Seagate. If it is, you should be able to take it straight to Rectron... Tested and swopped my 320 out in about 10 minutes.
 
greg0205 said:
Should be... Chances are it's a Seagate. If it is, you should be able to take it straight to Rectron... Tested and swopped my 320 out in about 10 minutes.
Click to expand...

You don't really want a 2.5" Seagate, finicky heads, rather get a Samsung.
 
Mmmm - corruption!

How do you know it is corrupt? Verify Disk in disk utilities I assume (since you said it) told you that the B-trees or something like that were enjoying invalid nodes etc...
Scary red on the screen.

What did the SMART status read?
 
GreGorGy said:
Mmmm - corruption!

How do you know it is corrupt? Verify Disk in disk utilities I assume (since you said it) told you that the B-trees or something like that were enjoying invalid nodes etc...
Scary red on the screen.

What did the SMART status read?
Click to expand...
That's something disk warrior should fix quick-quick.
 
greg0205 said:
Should be... Chances are it's a Seagate. If it is, you should be able to take it straight to Rectron... Tested and swopped my 320 out in about 10 minutes.
Click to expand...

Not if it is marked as OEM on the drive. These have 1 yr warranty only, and only the OEM can do anything about them too. I have learned my lesson with Seagate OEM marked hard drives, and now purchase a retail NEW drive the same time as any laptop... remove the drive fitted with the unit and replace it.

Since I have done this, not a single drive has failed in 5 years in any of my laptops. The OEM factory drives are all still sitting in their little anti-static bags... ready to be inserted into the notebook should a warranty issue arise... as virginal as a newly wed! :}

Good luck tho'.
 
bwana said:
That's something disk warrior should fix quick-quick.
Click to expand...

Worth every cent, as is Data Rescue

I have a 16GB flash that has a barebones 10.6.6 on it with one or two extras:
Disk Drill, which is free.
Data Rescue
BBEdit ($$) or TextWrangler (free) will work
and FileSalvage

That little flash saves my bacon and I would recommend that anyone who is on the road a lot or does a lot of intense stuff like testing and developing build such a flash. It'll cost no more than R1,500 in total and it will pay for itself.

And hence the reason I ask about the corruption vs SMART failing. Corruption should not require a replacement HD unless an underlying hardware issue is at play that SMART is not picking up. Techtool might find it but I have relegated TTP to the same shredder as I did norton back in the days of Classic OS.
 
None of the above listed utilities will be of much use if you have bad sectors etc unfortunately. Good for fs corruption & deleted stuff though.
 
Buy a new hard drive - again! Sorry you seem to have bad luck! Get an SSD if you can afford it, they are more reliable in addition, they're way faster too!
 
Hey all thanks for the replies.

The hdd came with my macbook, it is hitachi, not seagate...
When they replaced it last year, they said it would be under warranty for another ... maybe year, or maybe less...

Otherwise, I read in another thread that the people are upgrading to a Seagate momentus 500GB... which seems to have a 4GB SSD in it... what are your thoughts on that? Or do you think I should just get a small SSD, and use an external hdd for other additional storage?

I do move my mac around whilst on, like if I'm sitting, need to get up, then i gently put it down... I am very gentle with all my stuff, so don't see why moving it around gently should corrupt it.
 
bwana said:
According to?
Click to expand...

Speak to people in the data recovery business, been told that by two different companies and they don't sell HDDs. I have a good couple of borked ones lying in a box here. But then again it's a HDD and they all have quirks.
 
xera said:
Hey all thanks for the replies.

The hdd came with my macbook, it is hitachi, not seagate...
When they replaced it last year, they said it would be under warranty for another ... maybe year, or maybe less...

Otherwise, I read in another thread that the people are upgrading to a Seagate momentus 500GB... which seems to have a 4GB SSD in it... what are your thoughts on that? Or do you think I should just get a small SSD, and use an external hdd for other additional storage?

I do move my mac around whilst on, like if I'm sitting, need to get up, then i gently put it down... I am very gentle with all my stuff, so don't see why moving it around gently should corrupt it.
Click to expand...

Hey xera, don't feel to bad, I have a brand new Macbook that also has a Hitachi drive which is clicking like father times clock, maybe Apple need to re look at who they use for HDD's.

I ordered the Seagate Momentus today, the 500GB. Can give you feedback once it is up and running, but I have heard and read good things about this drive.
 
ponder said:
None of the above listed utilities will be of much use if you have bad sectors etc unfortunately. Good for fs corruption & deleted stuff though.
Click to expand...

Except TechTool...
While it will not repair bad sectors/blocks, it will find them (surface scan) and mark them as such. The use of this is debatable. Most folk (myself included) would rather toss the drive (Hitachis do indeed suck!) and replace it with something faster (7200) and better (Samsung - also heard bad things about Seagate and WD, sorry Bwana).
 
GreGorGy said:
Except TechTool...
While it will not repair bad sectors/blocks, it will find them (surface scan) and mark them as such. The use of this is debatable. Most folk (myself included) would rather toss the drive (Hitachis do indeed suck!) and replace it with something faster (7200) and better (Samsung - also heard bad things about Seagate and WD, sorry Bwana).
Click to expand...

Ja, once they start you might as well bin it. It does however cause problems getting your data off and while trying you are usually making things worse.

For this scenario I would use GNU ddrescue.
 
The messages I got from the first disk verifier were:

Invalid volume file count
(It should be 750331 instead of 750332)
Invalid volume directory count
(It should be 201477 instead of 201467)
The volume Macintosh HD was found corrupt and needs to be repaired.

Would the seagate momentus be better than this hitachi, in terms of reliability?

I really wanna have peace of mind when moving my macbook around..... I love it, and if I can't move it around, then what is the point - I have a desktop for when I feel like being restricted to a desk!
Do all of you put yours to sleep before even moving it slightly?
But I don't think an SSD would cut it due to the size... my iPhoto library is already over 50Gb... and music > 20GB, that already rules out a 60GB SSD.

Also I am not looking forward to re-installing.... Last time it was done, I formatted my 500Gb external, and backed up everything using time machine... but then when i got it back from the apple shop, I couldn't figure out how to restore everything! They gave me a different username, maybe that was the reason.
 
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