I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, so if there's either another section of the forums OR another site, PLEASE reply let me know.

I have a 200GB maxtor that was functioning perfectly until yesterday when it randomly wouldn't allow me to open it via the finder or any other program. I could still access SOME files (i.e. listen to music from it in itunes) but not view the directories. when I ran Disk Utility on it, this happened:

Verifying volume “Maxtor 200”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Invalid key length
The volume Maxtor 200 needs to be repaired.
Volume check failed.

Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit (-9972)

1 volume checked
0 HFS volumes verified
1 volume failed verification

I've ordered DiskWarrior, and I've googled some information up but none of it seems to apply to me; everyone else was able to at least get a full report before Disk Utility said it couldn't help.

Any ideas? Please give me some feedback.

DiskWarrior will likely be able to repair your damaged volume. In the meantime, I would not use it to keep from creating further damage.

thanks, I'll know tomorrow if diskwarrior worked. in the meantime, a friend of mine sent me his diskwarrior app with no preferences or anything. it ran a graph of my hard drive and did all of that okay, but when i tried to scan the afflicted drive, it just... crashed. i'll reply to this based on what happens with the real copy of diskwarrior.

In addition to following Joe’s suggestion that you not use this volume until you are ready to attempt to repair it, I suggest that you try to recover to another volume any files not already in a backup before you attempt the repair. There is always the possibilty that whatever task failed when you ran Disk Utility is one that any disk repair utility running under Mac OS X will need to use.

Hi, I have a Cinema Display 20", G5 dual, Panther 10.3.4, 5 gig ram, and a 2nd internal drive. About a month ago, my G5 would lock up and kernal panic into hurricaine fan use..or just go into Display death. I've tried all of the various workarounds to no avail. When I attempt Disk utiolity ( from itself, Panther CD, or internal drive, I receive a " Keys out of order" ERROR
Volume Check failed
The underlying task reported failure on exit (-9972)
Volume HD cannot be rpaired!
When I reboot from the internal drive with 10.3.3, no sleep problems take place.
I have also tried:
sbin/fsck -y from terminal
safe boot
PRAM
Repair permissions, etc. Disk utility will not repair...HD
and re-install (not clean install) have failed to give me any relief.
Have all been tried to no avail...
So, I have simply turned off the sleep altogether. But, I'm leary about trouble around the corner.
Any help!!! Please?
Also, I have an 17" IMAC with similar configuration...no problems with waking from sleep!
I can't sleep with my sleep "disorder"

Any new solutions with be greatly appreciated! I know I can re-install Panther and save files..but there must be a more creative work around...
Wayne T. Fisk

The key referred to in the diagnosis is a means by which the disk directory refers to a file, and consists of the name of the file and the folder ID number of the folder containing it.

A third-party disk repair utility may be able to fix this problem. As always, there must be sufficient relevant correct data in the directory to allow the damaged data to be reconstructed.

Thanks for trying to explain the error message. I'll try a 3rd party recovery utility and let you know what works.
Wayne

Hi , my Powerbook Pismo 500Mhz ..woun't start up all af a sudden
I was using it for month in Panther 10.3.4 without problems till i needed to restart into OS 9.2.2
for some audio editing and while working it crashed ...after restart the ? question mark..
booting from OS 9.2.2 CD won't mount my HD and running Disk First Aid gives error:
" Checking disk"HD" Problem: keys out of order. 4. 12013
Disk First Aid cannot repair them...

Tech Tool 4.0.1 boot CD doesn't help either.....
Now trying to run Northon 7 ....doesn't look good.
What else could i try to mount my disk and recover the data or repair the trouble?
I need to use Pismo on stage coming monday....this is an alarm situation..al my music files are on it...:(
thanks in advance for any ideas.
jana

It is far preferable to run TechTool Pro 4 from a hard drive or an eDrive made with the program itself. Running some aspects of the program, such as the Disk Optimizer, from the bootable CD can cause problems, because virtual memory cannot be used when UNIX is run from a locked volume.

What happens if you run the Volume Structures test (Tests...Volumes...Volume Structures)? The run button you use to diagnose the volume turns into a red repair button at the end of the diagnosis. Take a look at the Help for the Volume Structures test to see the Technical Comparison windown. It is usually safe to replace the disk directory if the number of files and folders and the total amount of disk space used by the files is the same for the present disk directory and the proposed rebuild.

You could also try the File Recovery feature if you could run TechTool Pro 4.0.2 from another hard drive or an eDrive. You cannot now create an eDrive on the device with the partition that has directory damage. The damage must be repaired first.

The key referred to in the diagnosis from Disk First Aid is a means by which the disk directory refers to a file, and consists of its name and the folder ID number of the folder containing it. It appears that when the first of the two numbers reported by Disk First Aid is a 3 or a 4, the damage is serious, and means that the disk directory is no longer keepin track of its own pieces correctly.

Some cases of this problem can be fixed by third-party disk repair utilities. As always, such a repair depends on the presence in the disk directory of enough relevant correct data to allow the damaged data to be reconstructed.