Summary :

Are there some disk problems on your Mac? Want to use Disk Utility to fix them but receive an error message 'Disk Utility can't repair this disk'? This post will walk you through how to quick and effectively fix this issue.

Help! Disk Utility Failed to Repair This Disk

'My external drive is a Samsung M2 Portable 3 Media, 500GB. I might have accidentally disconnected the hard drive without ejecting it first. Now when I run disk utility and click Repair Disk it says: 'Disk utility can't repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.' forums.macrumors

The Mac should recognize that there’s no macOS Recovery partition installed, show a spinning globe. You should then be prompted to connect to a Wi-Fi network, and you enter a password. Problem: Can not Install MAC OS via Internet Recovery, popup 'Recovery Server Could Not Be Contacted' showed. How To Fix: Change Date and Time with current u.

Disk Utility, developed by Apple, is a comprehensive system utility for performing disk and disk volume-related tasks on the Mac operating systems. These tasks include formatting, partitioning, erasing, cloning disks, repairing a damaged disk, etc. When certain disk problems happen, to repair this disk using Disk Utility will be a good choice.

However, sometimes you may receive the error message 'Disk Utility stopped repairing 'Macintosh HD'/disk1s2/External HDD, etc. Disk Utility can't repair this disk'.

Usually, this problem may not only happen on Macintosh HD but also on an external hard drive in Mac Mavericks, Yosemite, EI Capitan, or Sierra.

Actually, the above message won't show up in normal circumstances of disk errors. But if the hard drive is beyond the repair scope of Disk Utility, for example, file system gets corrupted, the issue appears.

Well then, what should you do to fix Macintosh HD, external hard drive or another disk that Disk Utility can't repair? Here are some solutions for you.

Fix Disk Utility Can't Repair This Disk

If Disk Utility can't repair external hard drive or Macintosh HD, you should do as the error message shows: back up as many of your files as possible before fixing the issue for data protection.

Back up Important Files with Time Machine on Mac

Before solving the drive that Disk Utility can't repair, the most important thing is to make a backup of the disk data. Usually, the tool called Time Machine will be a good option.

It is the built-in feature of the Mac and can back up your files with ease to an external storage device so as to restore them in the event of unexpected accidents.

Then, here comes the question: how to make a time machine backup from Disk Utility?

Step 1: Connect an external storage drive to your Mac.

Step 2: Then an alert may appear on your Mac asking if you want to configure it as the backup disk with Time Machine. Just click Use as Backup Disk. Besides, it is recommended to check Encrypt Backup Disk.

Step 3: If you don't receive this alert, please go to System Preferences > Time Machine.

Step 4: Click Select Backup Disk to select the storage device which you wish to back up to, and click Use Disk.

This post from apple website - How to use Time Machine to back up your Mac shows you more information.

Solution 1: Fix the Hard Drive in Single User Mode

What if Disk Utility stopped repairing Macintosh HD? As is well known, Macintosh HD can be viewed on the Mac desktop and it is similar to the 'My Computer' icon in Windows. Moreover, this drive contains the Mac operating system. To fix the issue, you should use FSCK tool. This is the built-in diagnostic & repair program and it can verify & repair the current startup disk.

Step 1: Restart your Mac, and then press and hold the Command + S keys during the startup to enter Single User Mode which will provide you with a text-mode terminal.

Step 2: Type the command /sbin/fsck -fy.

By default, the target disk in Single User mode is read-only, thus, you need to change that: type /sbin/mount -uw /.

• If everything is fine, the message 'The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK' will appear.
• If some problems are found, you will see 'File system was modified'. Just run the fsck -fy command again until you see a “The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK” message.

Step 4: Type reboot to exit Single User Mode.

If FSCK cannot help you to fix Disk Utility stopped repairing Macintosh HD, another thing you can do is to reinstall the Mac operating system. How to reinstall macOS will be helpful.

Solution 2: Reformat Drive When Disk Utility Can't Repair External Drive

If Disk Utility failed to repair your external hard drive or other data disk, the above solution is not suitable. In this case, you can do nothing but to reformat the disk. How can you format the target hard drive?

Step 1: Go to Applications > Utilities to find and launch Disk Utility and you can find all the hard drives.

Step 2: Select the target disk or drive, click Erase feature in the top menu. Note that this operation will destroy all the data stored on it.

Step 3: Enter a name, choose a file system and a partition map. Finally, click the Erase button.

After completing the formatting, Disk Utility can't repair this disk issue on an external hard drive can be solved. And there is another thing you should do, that is to restore the deleted data from the backups.

Restore Your Backed-up Files

Step 1: Select Enter Time Machine from the menu bar. If you don't see this option, please go to System Preferences > Time Machine to check Show Time Machine in menu bar.

Step 2: In Time Machine, open the folder containing the files you want to restore.

Step 3: Use the timeline on the edge of the screen or onscreen up and down arrows to quickly find needed items.

Step 4: Select the needed items and click the Restore button to finish the recovery.

Recover Data from Formatted Hard Drive on Mac

When Disk Utility failed to repair disk, you may forget to back up the important files and directly format the target disk. As a result, formatting will make you lose all the data. In this case, the key thing is to recover lost files from the formatted hard drive.

Well then, is there any data recovery software that can help you to get files back? Sure! Just keep reading.

As to data recovery for Mac, Stellar Data Recovery, is worthy of being recommended. It is specialized in recovering deleted data like files, photos, videos, audios, emails, and more from your internal hard drive, external hard drive, SD card, USB flash drives, memory sticks and other storage devices on all the Mac devices.

Besides, it can restore data from formatted, damaged, and lost partition, as well as unmounted and encrypted drives. What's more, it supports APFS, HFS+, FAT, and NTFS file systems. And it is compatible with Mac OS X 10.7 and above.

When 'Disk Utility can't repair this disk error' appears if you forget to make a backup of your external hard drive or other data drives and format it, get Stellar Data Recovery Premium Trial on your Mac.

Please don’t waste time; just get files off failing hard drive on Mac immediately since they may disappear at any time.

Now, let’s see how to use Stellar Data Recovery.

Step 1: After getting this Mac data recovery software, install it on your Mac and then launch it to the main interface where you can decide what to recover. Then, click Next to continue.

Step 2: Select your disk and click Scan to start a scan.

Step 3: Now, this data recovery software starts the scan. Depending on the size and condition of the disk, this may take some time and you should wait patiently.

Step 4: After the scan, the deleted files after fixing 'Disk Utility can't repair disk' error will be found. In the left section, unfold each folder to search for needed files or you can go to Deleted List to look for files.

Step 5: Check the items that need to recover and click Recover. Then, specify a path to save the data.

If you don’t activate Stellar Data Recovery Premium, you will get a prompt to ask you to purchase a license key via MiniTool Store after clicking Save. This is since the trial edition can only scan data but not recover it.

Within simple steps, Stellar Data Recovery for Mac helps you to recover lost files from the formatted drive. If you encounter 'Disk Utility can't repair this disk' error message and format the target drive but forget to back up the crucial files, just get this software to get lost data back.

Bottom Line

Get 'Disk Utility can't repair this disk' error message on Macintosh HD or an external hard drive in Mac Mavericks, Yosemite, EI Capitan, or Sierra?

This post offers you the corresponding solution in two cases - Disk Utility stopped repairing Macintosh HD and Disk Utility can't repair external drive. Just do as the above paragraphs show. Besides, if you lost some important files when fixing the issue, try to recover them with MiniTool Mac Data Recovery.

Should you have any suggestions of Disk Utility failed to repair disk issue or any questions during using our software for Mac hard drive recovery, please don't hesitate to tell us by leaving a comment in the following area or sending an email to [email protected].

Disk Utility Can't Repair This Disk FAQ

This article explains how you can fix the software update problem. More specifically, the focus of this article is on what you can do to when your Mac won’t update to the latest version of macOS.

Some Mac users, unfortunately, have been and continue to be affected by various macOS software update issues where they may experience a stalled macOS update. By stalled, we mean that macOS updates won’t download and install successfully.

Sometimes, you may see an error message saying “The macOS installation couldn’t be completed” or “macOS could not be installed on your computer”.

Mac Won’t Update?

Please try the tips belove if you are unable to update your computer:

It is important that you back up your Mac before you do anything.

There could be a variety of reasons for this. Before you do anything:

• Make sure there is enough space to download and install an update. If not, you may see error messages. To see if your computer has enough room to store the update, go to the Apple menu > About This Mac and click the Storage tap. You can easily free up storage space on your Mac.
• If you see a “Update Not Found” error, see this article.
• Make sure that you have an Internet connection to update your Mac. You can troubleshoot your connection.
• Be patient. An update may take some time. Just waiting may fix your problem. Sometimes more than a few hours. Do not put your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. Also ensure than your Macbook, if it is a Macbook, it is plugged it into AC power.
• If the update does not complete, your computer may seem stuck or frozen, for an extended time, try to restart your computer by pressing and holding the power button on your Mac for up to 10 seconds.
• If you have any external hard drives or peripherals connected to your Mac, try removing them. And try to update now.
• Reset PRAM on your Mac and then try again. To reset PRAM, turn off your Mac and then turn it on and immediately press and hold the Option, Command, P, and R keys together for about 20 seconds.
• It is possible that your Mac may unable to reach the update server. There could be two reasons for this:
  • You may have a slow internet connection. You may want to restart your router and modem to fix this problem. If you are using a Wi-Fi connection, try a wired connection, if possible.
  • Or there could be issues with Apple servers. It is possible that Apple servers are overloaded as a lot of people may be trying to update. You can check if Apple servers are experiencing issues.

If you are still having issues, then you may try the followings:

Safe mode

Mac Os Download On Recovery Cannot Be Reached Forgotten

Try updating your Mac in safe mode. Here is how:

• Startup your Mac in safe mode. To do that, turn off your Mac and then turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Shift key until you see the login screen. Then release the Shift key. And login.
• Now your computer is in safe mode. Try to update now.
• Then exit safe mode when you are done (in either case). To exit safe mode, restart your Mac normally, without pressing the Shift key.

Combo update

You can use a combo update to install Mac updates. Please note that before you continue, you may want to back up your Mac. You can back up with Time Machine or you can use iCloud.

Please note that combo updates let you update your Mac from a prior version of macOS within the same major release. A combo update is a combined update that means that it contains all of the changes since the original release of that major version. This further means that, using a combo update, you can update from macOS 10.15 directly to Mac OS X 10.15.2, skipping the 10.15.1. But you cannot go from, let’s say, 10.14.x to 10.15.x. For example, using a combo update, you cannot upgrade from macOS Mojave to macOS Catalina.

Please note that combo updates are huge. Here is how you can use them:

• Visit Apple’s combo updates site: https://support.apple.com/downloads/macos
• Find the right combo update. And download it. As stated above, they can be huge. The combo will download as a .dmg file.
• Now quit all apps on your Mac.
• Double-click the downloaded file, if it does not start automatically.
• Follow the onscreen instructions.

Mac Os Download On Recovery Cannot Be Reached Deleted

Using macOS Recovery to update your Mac

Mac Os Download On Recovery Cannot Be Reached Error

If you still could not update, you may try this. To do this, you need to restart your Mac from macOS Recovery. Using the method below, you will be able to upgrade to the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac. Here is how:

• Turn off your Mac.
• Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Option-⌘-R keys together until you see the Apple logo or the spinning globe icon.
• Login.
• Click Reinstall macOS and follow the onscreen instructions.

Mac Os Download On Recovery Cannot Be Reached Something

See also: How to fix Catalina update problems