If MacMedic邃｢ finds a problem, a description of the problem will be presented, along with its repair options. Select <Stop All>, <Fix All>, <Fix Section>, <Skip> or <Fix> to tell MacMedic邃｢ how to proceed. If MacMedic邃｢ cannot repair the problem, you will be prompted to recover the data. Inability to repair a disk is usually the result of a read/write error during the repair process (indicating a physical problem), or that the repair cannot be made safely.
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Explanations for Each Option
Stop All
Stops the examination and returns you to the Volume Selection window. This is similar to a cancel routine.
Fix All
Fixes this problem and all future problems without asking you how to handle each repair.
Fix Section
Fixes all problems found in this stage of the examination only.
Skip
Skips this repair (not advised)
Fix
Fixes this problem only. If there is a list of files with a common problem (such as an incorrect creation and/or modification date), <Fix> will become <Fix All Files>.
Volume Undo Files
Once you've selected a repair option, MacMedic邃｢ will ask you if you wish to save an Undo file. It is strongly advised that an Undo file is created, in case all repairs may need to be reversed. Once you've made this decision, all other repair selections will follow your decision. In other words, you will only be prompted for this decision once per volume examination.
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If you decide not to save an Undo file, MacMedic邃｢ will verify your choice. At this point, you will be able to create an Undo file.
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If you wish to save an Undo file, MacMedic邃｢ will ask you where to save this Volume Undo file.
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Limitations of the Volume Undo File
There are three limitations to saving a Volume Undo file:
1) There must be at least 700k free on the selected volume. Most repairs take much less than this, but the Volume Undo file cannot span disks, and a rigorous repair could require at least this much disk space.
2) You may not write over previous Volume Undo files. It is strongly suggested that you retain backups of your Volume Undos until you are absolutely sure the drive runs without problems.
3) You may not save to the volume that you are attempting to repair. If there are already problems on the drive, you should not modify it until all the repairs are complete.
Once the repairs are complete and you wish to undo the changes, you can simply reverse the repairs by selecting <Restore> from the Volume Selection window. First highlight the volume to restore, press <Restore>, and then you will be prompted to save a Repair Undo file of the volume. This is an extra safety measure in case the volume does not accept the restore undo, or the wrong volume was selected for restoration. In either case, the Repair Undo will save the changes made to the drive during restoration.
For many routines, MacMedic邃｢ must be able to unmount your disk to make repairs. If the volume you are repairing is your startup disk, then you will need to stop the repair process, and restart your Macintosh with a different startup disk. The MacMedic邃｢ CD is bootable for your convenience. However, if there are no background applications running, and you are not repairing the startup volume, then unmounting isn't necessary.
If MacMedic邃｢ is unable to unmount your disk, then you have an active file still on the disk that you are attempting to repair. You need to make sure that there is not any active extension or preference file. Typically, starting from another startup disk (such as the MacMedic邃｢ CD) will keep files that would normally be active on other drives disabled.
Quick Tip - Always have extensions turned off anytime you are attempting to repair your disk with MacMedic邃｢. If you hold down the Shift key while starting your Mac, all system extensions will be disabled, but left in their designated folders.
If MacMedic邃｢ is unable to repair your disk at any point in the repair process, or it determines that it would not be safe to attempt a repair, you will be prompted to recover the data, which is explained in the next two sections, Recovering From Disaster.
MacMedic邃｢ SafeWrite邃｢
New with version 1.1.0, MacMedic邃｢ SafeWrite邃｢ implements a dynamic memory cache that stores up to 100 individual repairs in memory, only writing them to disk at the very end of the QuickExam邃｢. As a result, if any fatal error occurs during a QuikExam邃｢, the disk being examined will be left untouched. The only times that an exam will exceed 100 repairs are if the creation/modification dates or bundle bits of numerous files are repaired through MacMedic邃｢, thus forcing the SafeWrite邃｢ cache to write out repairs in order to make room in the cache.
Quick Tip - If you are making major repairs to a drive, skip any repairs that give you long lists of repairs (such as bundle bits and creation/modification dates) in order to ensure that the cache will not be overfilled, thus providing you with maximum protection from crashes. After your major repairs have been made and the drive has returned to an acceptable state, run another QuickExam邃｢ and make the minor repairs that you skipped in the first exam.
"Scrubbing" a Volume
When there is significant damage to your volume, or MacMedic邃｢ detects that it cannot repair it based on the information that the VIB supplies, you may have to "scrub" the volume. This procedure attempts to rebuild the volume based upon the data it can find within the volume. This scan can be time-consuming, even taking days to complete. You should use this option as a last resort.
Finishing Up
When MacMedic邃｢ has completed the repairs, MacMedic邃｢ will attempt to mount the disk, place on your desktop, and present a report. This report contains what it found, what it repaired, and other details MacMedic邃｢ noticed about your drive. You can then print and/or save this report. When you are done using this report, press <OK> to return to the Volume Selection screen.
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Once the repairs are complete, we suggest that you restart your computer and rebuild your desktop. If MacMedic邃｢ was unable to mount the disk after the repairs were complete, restarting your computer may flush any errors with the disk and mount it.
Quick Tip-
If you would like to re-launch the Finder, use "Launch Finder" under the "Repair Options" menu. If you have previously quit all background processes, the Finder would have been one of the processes that would have terminated, and the only way to get back to the Finder is by re-launching it.
