# iMac Won't Start -- Will Disk Warrior Save It ?



## rankbeginner (Jun 24, 2004)

My 2013 iMac (with the latest OS X) won't start up. ... After pushing the power button, a light grey screen appears with the apple icon, and slim black progress bar appears. The progress bar moves to about 40 %, then the computer goes black and turns off.
The same thing happens when I try to start up in "Safe" Mode.
I have all my data backed up in the cloud, but not my programs.
This computer is under warranty by Apple, and the tech specialist tried a few things with "DiskUtility", but he could not fix anything. 
I am unable to travel, but the tech specialist would not send out a repairman, because he was almost certain that "this is a software issue, not a hardware issue."
So his suggestion was: "Wipe the hard drive, and re-install the operating system."
For me, that is a last resort. 
Does anyone know if there is some repair software that might fix this problem:
such as Disk Warrior, or something else ?

Thanks in advance,

Rank Beginner


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

If you boot into the recovery mode ( http://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT4718 ) and go to Disk Utility, does running repair disk produce and errors?

Can you boot into Safe mode? ( http://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201262 )

There is no way we can answer whether something like Disk Warrior will work until we determine the problem.

P.S. You can re-install the OS without losing all your user accounts and Applications.


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## rankbeginner (Jun 24, 2004)

I can get into Disk Utility, and click Verify and some errors show ... but the "REPAiR" button is greyed out and can't be used.
(That happens on the HD that is indented, the second one from the top.)

Working on the top HD, I can click repair, but after repair runs, then a message comes up that says the disk cannot be repaired (or that Disk Utility could not repair it).
* Edit addition: I will run this again and copy down the exact errors and messages.

No, I cannot boot into SAFE mode. (by holding down the Shift key when I power on).

That would save me: if I could re-install the OS without losing my user accounts and Applications ... I thought that was impossible.

Thanks very much ... RB


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

Sounds like it could be more than just a damaged directory structure.
Will see if the errors you post indicate anything.


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## rankbeginner (Jun 24, 2004)

I started with "Verify Permissions" and it said it would take 19 minutes 
More than one hour later, the new time estimate is "one hour and nine minutes." (image uploaded)
I think I should quit this one,and instead run the "Verify".
But if you need this also, let me know.


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## rankbeginner (Jun 24, 2004)

On the indented (second from top) Macintosh HD, I ran "Verify Disk"
a pop-up screen said:
The Disk Needs to be Repaired. Click Repair Disk.

But "Repair Disk" is greyed out.

At the bottom of the main window, after many lines of what was checked, there was his message:

The Volume D8448BOB-A2AB-8393-E6C8CF7687 appears to be OK.
Storage system check exit code is 0.
Verify file system
The volume Macintosh HD could not be verified completely
File system check exit code is 8.
Error: The disk needs to be repaired. Click repair disk.

(The image is included only to show information about the HD. )


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

Trying running disk repair from the command line.

http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20110216112523818

Start at the *How to verify/repair the disk* section.

Disk Warrior may help if this doesn't, but it's not cheap and no guarantees if the drive hardware is failing.


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## rankbeginner (Jun 24, 2004)

Thanks.
I ran the repair disk from the command line.
( booted with Command+S then /sbin/fsck -fy )

** Checking catalog file
CoreStorageGroup: Complete IOReques - error 0x00002ca detected for LVG "Macintosh HD ... " 
pv A0158F2F-C2D2-4949-9F0F-1368E2C4B841, near LV bye????=6899892224
disk2: I/O error 
**The volume Macintosh HD could not be verified completely. **

===================================

Is it now possible to know if this problem is a hardware problem ?


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

rankbeginner said:


> Is it now possible to know if this problem is a hardware problem ?


Without reformatting, not presently.

Can you run the following 2 commands from the command line:

```
diskutil list
diskutil cs list
```
It looks like the core storage volume is the issue. There is an fsck command for it, but I need the results of those commands to tell you what to try.

If you can put the output in code tags, it's much easier to read.
(Just like an image has opening and closing IMG tags around it, text output is the same but uses openning and closing *code* tags.


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## rankbeginner (Jun 24, 2004)

Running both those commands 
diskutil list
diskutil cs list

gives this message:


```
Unable to run because unable to use the DiskManagement framework. Common reasons include, but are not limited to, the DiskManagement framework unavailable due to being booted in single-user mode.
```


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

You'll have to boot into recovery mode, select *Terminal* in the menu bar, and try from there.


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## rankbeginner (Jun 24, 2004)

Thanks again.

I booted into recovery mode (with Cmd-R)

but I cannot find *Terminal* in the menu bar.

I looked at all the submenus under:

*Apple Logo * Disk Utility * File * Edit * Image * Window * Help*


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

Weird. I just booted into Recovery Mode to check and it's under the Utilities menu.

Edit: Oh wait. You are in Disk Utility already in recovery mode. You have to exit that application and then in the menu that should appear.


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## rankbeginner (Jun 24, 2004)

Yes, the *Terminal* option appeared. 
Then I ran the two commands:
diskutil list
diskutil cs list

The results are in the 2 attached images.
If they are not clear enough, I will try another way to post this information.


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

Before I give you any commands, I just want to be positive that your iMac has both an SSD drive and a normal platter hard drive, correct?

*Edit: *Here is the command to try:

```
fsck_cs -p -y --uuid 2DC7FCDE-7650-4ACD-88E3-297A213AB43E
```
If it says that number is wrong, if you look in your pictures you'll see the one I tried to copy.

*Edit 2: *I grabbed the wrong number. You want the *Logical Volume Group* from your output.


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## rankbeginner (Jun 24, 2004)

Hi ... here are the specs:

27-inch iMac ... Configuration

 3.4GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
 32GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x8GB
 3TB Fusion Drive
 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB GDDR5
 Apple Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpad
 Apple Battery Charger
 Pages
 Numbers
 Keynote
 Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
 Accessory Kit


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

I posted command in previous post.


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## rankbeginner (Jun 24, 2004)

Hi Headrush and thanks again (and BTW, yesterday I made a PayPal premium donation to TechGuy)

The first time I ran that command, a message came back that indicated I typed in the wrong numbers.
I found the mistake -- an 8 looked like a B --
then I ran the command again.

Then the prompt re-appeared with nothing after it.
So I think that means the command was executed.

Do you want me to check something now ?


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

When it comes back with that means no issues with the inner filesystem.

At this point I don't know what else I can tell you remotely to try.

If you have an external HD or a big enough USB stick, you could install a clean OS X system onto that and boot from there.
Then you could try the demos of Disk Warrior or Prosoft's Data Rescue and see if either of those can help.


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## rankbeginner (Jun 24, 2004)

OK, thanks I will try that ... 
I appreciate all your help.

One more question: 
In the future, is there a way to prevent this kind of problem ?

For a few weeks before this "crash", I was getting a lot of 'spinning colored balls" ...
That was a sign that something was wrong.

Thanks again ... RB


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

I really can't answer that without ultimately knowing for sure what the issue is.

There still is a chance that the HD had a hardware fail.
Nothing you can do about that. Even with a new HD there are no guarantees, hence why they list mean time between failures. (it's an average)

With any OS, the best option is always to have a bootable backup. Macs make this simpler than most OSes and in emergencies you're never stuck. You also have the benefit of running diagnostic and maintenance software from the backup which makes things much easier.


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## rankbeginner (Jun 24, 2004)

I will make the bootable backup, and then try the recovery software.

Thanks again for all your expertise and help.


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