Unable to perform First Aid from Recovery since Sierra

[getalexfr]

Hi, since updating to Sierra on my mbp retina, I did a disk check/ first aid scan of my hard drive, and had the following results
>>


...
Incorrect block count for file Credits.bik
(It should be 5088 instead of 108051)
...
Volume bitmap needs minor repair for orphaned blocks
...
Invalid volume free block count
(It should be 15357240 instead of 15254277)
The volume Macintosh HD was found corrupt and needs to be repaired.
File system check exit code is 8.
Operation successful.

<<


A dialogue box informed me 'first aid found corruption that needs to be repaired. To repair the startup volume, run First Aid from Recovery.'

Unfortunately I have tried this, and I get a stuck progress bar (it remains immobile for hours, after initial decent progress), so I have to do a hard shutdown and restart.

Is this possibly a symptom of Sierra's upgrade/refiling? Or is it completely unrelated. To my knowledge, a .bik file is video/music, but I am mainly alarmed that I can't perform First Aid from Recovery and identify/eliminate the problem(s).

Any help with a solution much appreciated, thanks

 

[dianeoforegon]

It sounds like your drive has problems. I would clone your drive using SuperDuper or CCC. Boot from the clone and erase the internal drive. Verify it's OK using Disk Utility, then either do a clean install of Sierra or clone your data back.

Create a Clone backup:

A clone is an exact bootable copy of your internal drive. Unlike standard copying of all files to another drive, the clone software copies hidden files along with other in-use files that are not available when you copy over files to another drive.

Software used to Clone:

SuperDuper! http://www.shirt-pocket.com/
CCC http://www.bombich.com/download.html

 

[getalexfr]

Thanks for your reply. Would cloning not also clone the issue file(s) though? So I would end up moving the problem to another drive and back...?

 

[Fishrrman]

OP -

I, too, would suggest you do exactly what dianne has suggested above.

If that doesn't work, there are other things to try.

But the method in post 2 above is an easy fix to begin with.

 

[getalexfr]

Thanks for your reply. Before beginning that process though, I want to know specifically:

Would cloning not also clone the issue file(s)? So I would end up moving the problem to another drive and back...?

 

[Ebenezum]

Depends if the problem is in the drive or in the filesystem. If the drive is faulty only option is to replace it with a new drive. If the problem is in the filesystem you may need third party software because Disk Utility can't repair all problems.

Hard to say for sure because your original post had little information. Unfortunately Disk Utility no longer gives as much SMART information as previous versions so you might have to use third party software to test the drive.

In either case you want to have a backup so doing the clone is very good idea.

 

[CoastalOR]

Before beginning that process though, I want to know specifically:
Would cloning not also clone the issue file(s)? So I would end up moving the problem to another drive and back...?

No I do not think so. The errors you listed have to do with the disk structure and organization, not corrupted files. To clone a drive it should be freshly formatted for the Mac, so the disk tables are initialized and not damaged. The process of cloning, moves the files to the backup disk. If you also have some files that are damaged or corrupted then, yes, the corrupted files might be moved to the backup disk. Cloning software, like Carbon Copy Cloner (my recommendation), will normally catch corrupted files, notify you and keep cloning (copying) files that are ok.