How to Fix Disk Utility cannot repair this disk Error?

When a disk is not working properly on a Mac, most users would go to Disk Utility and run First Aid to repair this disk. However, the error message "Disk Utility can't repair this disk" error usually appears when Disk Utility First Aid fails to repair this disk. Though frustrating, it doesn't mean you will necessarily lose all files.

In this article, we will give you effective solutions to fix the "Disk Utility can't repair this disk" issue, especially when you are facing the issue that Disk Utility can't repair an external hard drive, or when Disk Utility can't repair Macintosh HD on Mac. You might be experiencing the same or similar situation as the user below.

I am in the midst of trouble where Disk Utility is failing to repair the drive. It gives me message "Error: 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". Now, what should I do to fix this error without losing data on my drive?

Sometimes, it would be followed up with these error messages:

What can you do in these situations to fix this issue without data loss? Keep reading.

Reddit discussions on Disk Utility can't repair this disk

There are lots of Mac users encountering this issue that Disk Utility can't repair this disk, like you, they asked help for forums or searched something useful online.

Here is an example of an OP seeking help to fix the error macOS can't repair this disk "…" when using the First Aid in Disk Utility. One of the answers is using another drive for replacing it or just recovering all the data as soon as possible.

MacOS can’t repair the disk “LaCie” - all my files are there but I can’t save them with new changes … does anyone know a fix ? Thanks
by u/cocain_dreamer in LogicPro

Some also suggest using other disk repairing tools to fix the error. Neverthless, we will help you find the best way to do data saving and fix the issue. Keep reading~

Run First Aid to repair this disk again

One of the most tried and tested solutions is to repair this disk one more time. To do First Aid again, follow these steps.

If Disk Utility can't repair your disk still, or you receive a report that the First Aid process has stopped or failed, and it's asking for backing up and reformatting, you'd better firstly follow its suggestion to back up files on that disk to avoid further data loss.

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The best way tp recover lost data from an unrepairable disk?

Using Time Machine seems to be useful. However, if you don't have an extra external drive in hand or you can't back up files from that disk with Time Machine for some reason, alternatively, you can recover files with reliable data recovery software, like iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.

iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac is professional data recovery software for Mac, which can recover lost data from internal hard drives, Macintosh HD, external hard drives, SD cards, USB flash drives, memory cards, memory sticks, etc.

Also, when the disk is formatted, unreadable, unmountable, or unrecognizable, it can easily recover the lost files in these cases. What's more, this program can recover lost data from unmountable macOS partitions, encrypted APFS boot volume, etc.

Let's recover lost data from the disk that Disk Utility can't repair to avoid potential data loss:

How to fix Disk Utility cannot repair this disk issue on Mac?

Let's see the solutions to fix the issue Disk Utility can't repair this disk after saving all the data.

Method 1: Fix Disk Utility can't repair this disk error in Single User Mode.

If Disk Utility can't repair this disk, you can try to repair it by running fsck command on Mac. FSCK is a powerful command line to verify and repair external hard drive in Terminal.

1. Restart your Mac and, before the Apple logo appears, hold down Command + S keys to boot into Mac Single User Mode.

2. Type in:

/sbin/fsck -fy

3. If you see "File system was modified", then re-type in the command above again until you see "The volume _ appears to be OK".

4. To restart your Mac, type in:

reboot

Method 2: Fix Disk Utility can't repair this disk error by reformatting.

If you failed to fix the disk using Single User Mode, then, you have to reformat the disk in Disk Utility as suggested.

After reformatting this disk, you can restore your backed-up or recovered files to the disk again. If Disk Utility First Aid still failed on external hard drives, and you receive the information like "This drive has a hardware problem that cannot be repaired" on your iMac, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air, you may need to send it to a local repair center or simply replace it with a new disk drive.

Bonus tip: You may not need to repair the disk in Disk Utility

In some cases, if an external drive is shared between a Mac and a Windows PC, you could receive the error message "Disk Utility can't repair this disk" as well. It's because when a USB drive is disconnected by yanking out the disk, the disk may be busy in getting data settled down. As a result, the disk won't readable by Mac.

For instance, you have a disk that is formatted with FAT32, and you didn't unmount your disk properly when you remove it from your Windows PC. Then the whole volume will be marked as "busy" and you'll be prompted to repair the volume if you look at it in Mac's Disk Utility. However, Disk Utility will fail to repair the volume, and report:

An easy workaround to this "Disk Utility can't repair the disk" issue in this situation is to simply plug this disk drive back into a Windows PC, and unmount it properly before plugging it into your Mac.

Have you fixed the problem Disk Utility can't repair this disk? Please do a data recovery as quickly as possible with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac. Then share this article to help more people.