What is "First Aid" in Disk Utility? How to Fix Hard Drive

What is First Aid in Disk Utility for Mac?

First Aid is an integrated disk repair tool found within the Disk Utility on Mac. Its primary function is to assess the health of volumes and disks on your device. With First Aid, you can scan both internal and external hard drives for any potential issues.

Aside from detecting issues, the tool also helps fix them. However, it is limited to minor issues and shouldn't be relied on for severe cases. The repair works can prevent the disk from more complicated problems.

To run First Aid from Disk Utility, you'll first need to find it. Here's how:

Step 1: Open the "Finder." Click on "Applications" and then choose "Utilities."

Step 2: Open the "Utilities" folder, and then open "Disk Utility." You'll find "First Aid" there.

What is First Aid for Mac?

"First Aid" helps identify and fix issues related to disks. It primarily addresses errors concerning the disk's catalog structure and formatting. Since these issues can affect how your system runs, it's crucial to detect and fix them immediately, and that's where "First Aid" comes in.

#3 When You Should Use Disk Utility's First Aid Feature

Running First Aid on a Mac hard drive with Disk Utility is not difficult, but do you know when to use it on macOS? Here are some situations where you might need this tool. Let's take a look:

• Damaged Files: If you suspect there are damaged files on your system, it's a good idea to run First Aid. Otherwise, these could lead to system crashes.
• Error Messages: If you frequently encounter error messages that you don't understand, running First Aid is advisable. If possible, the issue will be detected and fixed.
• App Crashes: Sometimes, apps might freeze or crash. In such instances, running First Aid can help identify the problem.
• Problems Booting Your Mac: If you experience issues while starting up your system that persist, you should run First Aid. It will assist in identifying the problem.
• External Devices Not Functioning Properly: If you find external devices inaccessible, un-readable, or unable to mount, like encountering an error like "Can't Unmount Disk 69888 on Mac", running First Aid is a good choice for troubleshooting.

When you come across the error message "First Aid found repairs that need to be made," what can you do about it? This article will delve into the issue and provide you with a comprehensive guide on how to fix it.

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How to Use First Aid on a Mac

If your Mac exhibits any of these symptoms, it's a good idea to run First Aid to check for disk errors. There are two different ways to do this:

Method 1: Use Disk Utility to Run “First Aid” to Repair Disk Errors

One of the simplest ways to run first aid is via Disk Utility. To do this, you need to use Disk Utility to repair your Mac's disk by following these steps:

Step 1: Open the "Finder," and then click "Go" from the menu bar.

Step 2: Select "Applications" from the drop-down menu, then navigate to the "Utilities" folder.

Step 3. Choose "Disk Utility" (or you can boot your Mac into Disk Utility).

4. Click on "View" in the top left corner. Select "Show all devices".

Step 5: Proceed to the disk that you wish to scan, and then click “First Aid.”

Step 6: Click on "Run." You will need to wait for the process to complete.

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Method 2: Run First Aid from Recovery Mode to Fix Your Mac

Sometimes, the recovery process might not run properly. In this case, you can use recovery mode to fix various issues. To do so, follow these steps:

Step 1. Start your Mac in Recovery Mode.

Step 2: In the Utilities window, choose Disk Utility.

Step 3: Click “Continue”.

Step 4: Select View > Show All Devices.

Step 5: Select the drive you want to scan and click "First Aid."

Step 6. Click on “Run.” When the process is finished, click “Finish.”

But sometimes, a startup disk issue can occur with macOS Sonoma or earlier. If so, follow the recommendations in the article below for each startup disk error, as applicable.

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CPR failed: What can I do?

If First Aid fails to check for disk errors or fix disk issues, don't panic! In such a case, your first priority should be to safeguard your critical data from potential loss due to a damaged hard drive on your Mac. For this, opting for professional data recovery software is a good idea. You can give tools like the Mac Data Recovery Wizard a try.

Being an efficient Sonoma Data Recovery Software, the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool assists users in performing data recovery from formatted Mac hard drive. It is user-friendly and comes with exciting features like scanning modes, file filters, and a preview option.

No matter what causes the data loss, you can use data recovery software to fix a corrupted hard drive on Mac. These scenarios include virus attacks, human errors, system crashes, and more.

Using the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is simple. Just follow these easy steps to recover lost or deleted data from your Mac hard drive:

Step 1: Scan the Fusion Drive for Lost Data

Select the Fusion Drive volume where you lost your data and files. Click on the “Search Lost Files” button. If you're not sure which volume is your Fusion Drive, click on the “Search from Disk” link text to check the volume name.

Note: Before data recovery, it is recommended that you click “Disk Backup” from the left sidebar to create a backup of your Fusion drive to prevent further data loss. After backing up your Fusion drive, the software can recover data from the Fusion drive backup, and you can use it again.

Step 2: Search for the lost files after scanning

Data Recovery Wizard immediately scans your Fusion disk partition and displays the scan results. You can filter files by file type and path.

Step 3: Recover Files from Fusion Drive

From the scan results, select the files you want to preview. Then, hit the “Recover” button to get them back.

Conclusions

"First Aid" is a built-in utility on a Mac that's used to scan and fix disk errors. There are two different ways to run First Aid, but in certain situations, it may not work as expected.

For this, it's a good idea to opt for a powerful recovery software. You can choose the Data Recovery Wizard tool for Mac. This tool can easily retrieve your data, regardless of its size.

Frequently Asked Questions on First Aid for Mac in UTF-8 Encoding

Check out the Q&A on breakfast cereal for more information.

1. What does First Aid for Mac do?

First Aid for Mac helps locate and fix disk errors. It primarily repairs errors related to the disk's directory structure and formatting.

2. Is it safe to use First Aid on my Mac?

Yes, it is safe to use First Aid on your Mac. It is an integrated tool designed to detect and fix errors related to both internal and external disks on your Mac. Hence, you don't need to worry about any third-party issues.

Where is First Aid on a Mac?

“First Aid,” in the Disk Utility app on your Mac, is easily accessible and can be run at any time to check for and fix disk problems.

4. Will First Aid erase my files?

No, Mac's "First Aid" does not delete files. It only scans for errors and can be used to fix them. It doesn't remove any data.