How To Repair Your Mac's Internal Disk

Despite being (we think) the most superior personal computer available on the market, your Mac does age as time passes. If you own an older Mac then you must have experienced this happening.

One of the major components which takes a toll with age is the Internal Disk of a Mac. With time, you will notice your device slowing down, which could be courtesy of a damaged internal disk.

Don't panic though - repairing it is a breeze. We have created an easy-to-follow, step by step to take you through the process.

Also, by "damaged" in this case, we don't mean physically damaged. We mean that certain data, storage systems, profiles or partitions on your disk have become disorganized, corrupted or similar over time. This entire guide is about software fixes only!

What Is An Internal Disk

An Internal Disk is your Mac's storage device. It contains all the information stored in your Mac, including applications, movies, music, etc. The macOS software is also housed in the disk, which means the entire performance of your device depends on the good health of your internal disk.

Why Do You Need To Repair Your Disk?

There can be a number of reasons for you to repair your Mac's internal disk. We have here explained two of the most common. However, there can be many more.

Repairing your internal disc help boosts your Mac's performance. If you have noticed a dip in your Mac's speed, your internal disk is probably overdue for a repair. All your data, applications, documents - everything is stored on this piece of hardware. This means that if it is damaged, the performance will degrade. Calling information from a damaged disk takes much more time than retrieving it from a good one.

If your damaged disc isn't repaired for an extended period, your data might get corrupted, and let me tell you first hand, it's a nightmare to lose your precious files! For example, you might be working on a particular project for weeks. And now, only due to a faulty drive, all your effort is lost. To preserve your hard work or valuable information, we recommend repairing your internal disk.

Repair Disk: Method 1

Now that we have established the importance of repairing the internal disk, it's time to do it. It is essential to backup your data first, before starting the process.

Backup Your Data

Here's how to backup your data on your Mac to prevent any data loss.

1. Connect an external storage device to your Mac. This can be an external hard drive, SSD, etc.
2. A popup window will open.
3. Select the "Use as Backup Disk" option.
4. If a pop up window does not open, then in that case, click on the Apple logo on the top right-hand corner of the screen.
5. Select "System Preferences."
6. Choose the "Time Machine" logo.



7. Click on the "Select Backup Disk" option.
8. Select the connected storage device.
9. You may also click on the "Encrypt Backup" box. This protects your backup with a password.
10. Click on "Use Disk."
11. Wait a few minutes for the backup to complete. This may take up a few hours.

Repair Internal Disk

Now that your data has been backed up, it's time to repair your disk. This won't take more than a few minutes; here is how to do it.

1. Restart your Mac.
2. Press to command and R keys simultaneously.
3. Release these keys once you enter the macOS utilities.
4. Click on "Disk Utilities."
5. Then press continue.
6. Once in disk utilities, select Macintosh HD.
7. Select the "First Aid" tab.
8. Click on "Run."



9. Your disk is being checked. This will take a few minutes.



10. Once the repair process ends, click on show detail.
11. If it shows the Volume/dev/**** to be ok, then this process is successful.

Repair Disk: Method 2

If the previous method didn't work, then your last option is to format your storage. This is a straightforward process, but it will delete ALL your data. That's why we recommend having your data backed up. It should also be noted that if you have your macOS installed on the same disk, then that will be deleted as well. You will have to reinstall macOS once you're done.

Format Your Disk

Again, we must stress that this option will delete all your data!

1. Go to Disk Utility.
2. Click on "View." This is located on the top left-hand corner of the screen.
3. Select "Show all devices."



4. Select your disk from the sidebar.
5. Click erase.
6. Type the new name of the drive.
7. Choose "APFS" or "Mac OS Extended." These will be located in the "Format" section.
8. Select "GUID Partition Map" under "Scheme."
9. Click "Erase".
10. When it's done, quit Disk Utility.

Reinstall macOS

Now you'll need to reinstall macOS. Luckily, this isn't difficult. Here is how to do it.

1. Turn on your Mac.
2. Press and hold the "Command" and "R" keys.
3. Release these once you see the Apple logo.
4. Enter the password of your device.
5. The "Utility" window should pop up. If it doesn't, go back to step 1.
6. Choose the "reinstall" option.
7. Click on "Continue."
8. Follow the steps provided after this.
9. Wait a few minutes for the Operating system to install and don't close your Mac during the installation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we've first talked about what the internal disk of your Mac is and why it's crucial to repair it. Two of the most common reasons to undertake a repair are to boost your device's performance and yo make sure precious data is not corrupted at any point in time. We hope this guide has helped.