AppleCare says: "Backup, and Format."

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malokatamalokata
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
But I'd really rather not.



I've been having recurring kernel panics, and I called AC about it today. We ran a disk utility check, and ran into "Overlapped extent allocation (file 483029D)" which could not be repaired by that utility, which normally corrects disk errors.



Anyone seen something like this? Better yet, have suggestions on what to do? That doesn't involve purchasing a firewire external backup drive?



I'm on a two month-old Powerbook G4 17", with 1 GB of RAM and OS X 10.2.6.



Merci, in advance,

Martin

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    costiquecostique Posts: 1,084member
    Aha, PowerBook! Even if you don't have a second Mac to back up your files over network/Firewire, you can find someone else who have enough free disk space. A back-up is recommended, since no disk repair utility guarantees your data safety. So, first of all, make a backup. I would not back up the whole hard drive: only your Users folder, System Folder and the warez/porn/whatever is scattered all over your HD. You don't have to buy an external drive. Read "How to use Firewire target mode". Download Carbon Copy Cloner to do the back-up.

    Try to get DiskWarrior 3 to fix your HD. It's excellent and is worth its price. Just don't use Norton any more.

    If DW succeeds (99% sure), you may even not need the backed-up files. Otherwise initialize your HD, install Jaguar and copy them back using the same method.
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  • Reply 2 of 5
    der kopfder kopf Posts: 2,275member
    I have that error as well, off and on, and I've learned to live with it. I had it first a couple of months ago, and it lasted for a while (it came up with every disk check, and was never fixed). Then, for some reason, it went a way of a sudden. Now, some months later, the error has returned (with other files) and I have two of them actually. I'm holding out repairing my disk because I'm too lazy. I do backup regularly though, so I'm thinking, "bring it on".
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  • Reply 3 of 5
    micflashmicflash Posts: 2member
    Hi guys.



    I had that overlapping extent error myself, and it was slowing my system down to a crawl. I have a second internal drive that I backup to daily using ChronoSync Pro (an awesome program). Apple suggested reformatting, and after I tried DiskWarrior and a few other suggestions from the Macfixit.com forums - to no avail - I just reformatted and restored from backup.



    From the research i've done on the web, that error indicates low-level file system corruption, and is best not to leave around as it can cause massive data loss.



    best

    -m
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  • Reply 4 of 5
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Malokata

    Better yet, have suggestions on what to do? That doesn't involve purchasing a firewire external backup drive?



    Martin: I don't know anything about the error you are seeing. However, even if you manage to repair the file system, do yourself a favor and start backing up your data at least once a week. Even in this day and age, hard disk drives can fail. Loosing data sucks, sometimes even more than loosing your entire computer (because the data is worth more than the machine it sits on).



    $200 (or even less) for an external FireWire drive and $20 for a good shareware backup utility is a small price to pay for peace of mind and to avoid the aggrevation when you loose your data to HDD failure.



    Escher



    PS: I apologize for sounding like a broken record. But regular backups really are terribly important.
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  • Reply 5 of 5
    malokatamalokata Posts: 197member
    Thanks for your responses. Last night I stayed up late, researching online and trying different solutions for this problem. I found one that does not involve a $70 investment or clearing the hard drive. I contribute this solution for anyone who might have the same error in the future:



    -Shut down your computer and hold down apple-S while it reboots

    -This will take you to the console. Run "fsck -y"

    -When it shows yout that you have an "Overlapped extent allocation (file xxxx)" write down the number in place of that xxxx

    -If the number you've written down has a letter at the end of it, scratch out the letter, it'll throw you off.

    -type "reboot" (OS X will start up)

    -Go to Terminal

    -Get root user privileges (type "sudo su root" and then your password, when it prompts you)

    -run the command "find / -inum xxxx" (note the spaces. Terminal will tell you the location of your errant file)

    -Delete the file you find through "Finder," or back it up, delete it, and reinstall it if it's an important file.



    Problem solved.



    Martin Miller



    PS - Thanks for the advice on backing up. You're right - I just have to find a cost-effecient way to do it.
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