If the system is covered by Apple’s initial warranty or an extended AppleCare Protection Plan, I ask the client or user whether they wish to let Apple perform the diagnosis and repair to help lower the repair cost. When faced with a Mac disk issue that prevents proper startup, I often first check to determine the system’s warranty coverage with Apple. If a connected disk doesn’t appear within Drive Utility or the Mac’s System Information report (reached by clicking the Apple icon from the menu bar and selecting About This Mac | More Info | System Report), that’s a probable sign the disk is experiencing difficulty. Some, however, choose to continue using the disk, hoping that the damage is limited to specific blocks or sectors. I believe that, once bad blocks appear, businesses are best served replacing the failing drive.
If you receive an error message instead, or warnings indicating damage, the disk should likely be replaced (additional tests could be run on the disk using a utility such as DiskWarrior or TechTool Pro, which can further diagnose bad blocks and report detailed SMART status disk health information). Typically the utility should respond that the volume checked “appears” to be OK. Select the Mac’s system disk and click the Verify Disk or Repair Disk button found on the First Aid tab.Using Mac OS X Lion, open Disk Utility (found in Applications\Utilities).While Disk Utility doesn’t fix physically failing disks, it can help speed diagnosis. The Mac’s native Disk Utility application can help determine whether a system’s hard drive is encountering trouble. At a minimum diagnostic tests should be run on the disk.
In such cases it’s likely best to simply replace the drive. Obviously, if audible clicks can be heard, that’s a sign the hard disk’s head may be striking the platters. Once a full backup is confirmed, troubleshooting can begin. When the Mac still starts up properly, the best first step to take is to make a complete backup of the system’s data. When hard disk trouble is suspected, it’s critical that troubleshooting begin quickly. The more business data or even personal information a user maintains on a Mac, the more important a Time Machine and even automated offsite backup (such as a Carbonite or Mozy) becomes. Potentially the greatest technology stress and heartbreak results from failed hard drives, a risk from which Mac users certainly aren’t immune. Erik Eckel shares some tips for diagnosing and recovering a failing Mac hard disk.
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