Disk First Aid 8.2: a follow-up
Disk First Aid 8.2: a follow-up
Other applications running We pointed out that, if you get the error message that says "The Repair operation cannot take place while other applications are running," it probably means that it considers the Finder or some background extension/application as an open application. This is not really a problem if, when you click Continue, Disk First Aid proceeds as expected. However, some users report that they could never get this message to go away unless they started up with extensions disabled. Several readers suggested which extensions may be "at fault" here: HP Background (which you likely have if you have an HP printer), Epson Launcher (used with Epson printers of course), and having file sharing turned on.
Peter Fine reports that programs such as Quitter will indicate what is running in background.
Disk driver (and related) problems Keith Bumgarner (of TechInfo, Inc.) writes: "DFA's 'failing' had more to do with defects in the SCSI driver or the low-level directories (Apple partition map, device partition). Basically directory code errors, for which there is no fix but to reformat, are causing the majority of the problems. DFA's biggest sin is that it is not reporting the problems and is not reacting in such a way to divert attention to the drive and it's low-level directories and/or SCSI driver." He specifically points to problems with a "damaged SCSI driver" for drives formatted with APS PowerTools 4.1 and FWB's Hard Disk ToolKit 2.5.2.
Jeff Gingell used Norton Disk Doctor to fix a bad directory block. Disk First Aid then worked without reporting any errors.
PC Exchange Based on his own testing (and consistent with previous reports posted here), Tony Scaminaci believes that DFA 8.2 is reporting corruption being generated during creation of new volumes in HDT 2.5.2 whenever PC Exchange is turned on. Bob Bousfield similarly reports that DFA reported damage only when PC Exchange was enabled.
Update, As Ryan Tanaka reminds me, this is probably related to previous reports of a conflict between PC Exchange and Hard Disk Toolkit.
False errors? Several readers report that 8.2 finds and fixes problems and then reports finding them again, no matter how many times you run it. Kurt Wiley found that this happened starting on the second time he ran DFA; the first run reported no problems. For one reader, after fixing the disk with Tech Tool Pro 2, DFA broke out of this cycle.
Final note Do not take these reports as an overall warning against using Disk First Aid. Most problems appear related to using Disk First Aid to test and repair a startup disk. Use this new option with caution. Otherwise, while problems remain, the majority of readers are using DFA 8.2 successfully and report that it is superior to all previous versions.