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Disk First Aid

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Disk First Aid
Developer(s)Apple Inc.
Stable release
8.6.1 / May 3, 2001
Operating systemMac OS
Typesoftware utility
Websitehttp://support.apple.com/kb/TA26794

Disk First Aid is a free software utility made by Apple Inc. that is bundled with all computers running Mac OS either as a standalone application (in the case of Mac OS 9 and below) or as part of the Disk Utility (in the case of OS X).[1] This tool verifies and repairs a limited number of directory structure problems on any HFS or HFS Plus hard disk or volume.[2]

Disk First Aid is a very simple tool, with it only being able to detect and repair directory damage[3] and many books are critical of its sometimes inaccurate reporting of errors, and often suggest to run the tool more than once to ensure you are receiving a consistent result.[3][4][5] Disk First Aid is located in Applications:Utilities:Disk First Aid prior to OS X and at /Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility.app (as part of Disk Utility) in OS X.[4] In Mac OS 9 and below, the system provides an option to run Disk First Aid on startup, although it has been reported that it provides little gain and sometimes can amplify a problem.[4]

Situations to use the tool

One source suggests that disk utility should be used when there are:

  • Frequent system crashes
  • Disappearing files
  • Files changing size
  • Problems copying files from one place to another.
  • Problems saving files.
  • Cryptic error messages.[5]

as well is for general maintenance every 6 months.[6]

Analysis

Disk First Aid has built-in capabilities to check for damage to:

After analyzing the disk directory, Disk First Aid determines whether it is able to repair any damage that was detected. The utility can commonly only fix problems associated with the catalog/extents files and the volume bitmap.[4] Commonly, the program reports that these is an error, but cannot fix it.[3]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Watson, Andrew (2008-02-07). "Disk First Aid Utility in Mac". Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  2. ^ Stauffer, Todd (2004). How to Do Everything with Your iMac. McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 456. ISBN 0-07-223188-2. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  3. ^ a b c Breen, Christopher (2002). Mac 911. Peachpit Press. pp. 104–5. ISBN 0-201-77339-2. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  4. ^ a b c d e Landau, Ted (2000). Sad Macs, Bombs, and Other Disasters: And what to Do about Them. Peachpit Press. pp. 805–11. ISBN 0-201-69963-X. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  5. ^ a b "In OS X, what is First Aid, and when and how should I use it?". University Information Technology Services Knowledge Base. Indiana University. 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  6. ^ "Disk First Aid for Macintosh". IT Service Desk (8help). Ohio State University. 1999-06-04. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  7. ^ "Mac OS 9 - How to Use Disk First Aid". Computing@UW-MADISON KnowledgeBase. University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2001-02-09. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
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