FIX: Disk Repair checking catalog file found an error on Mac

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Key notes

  • Problems with your storage devices will occur eventually, and it’s important to know how to fix them.
  • Users reported Disk Repair checking catalog file found an error needs repair message, and in today’s article we’ll show you how to fix that.
  • Looking for more guides? Our Mac issues section has more in-depth guides for you.
  • Are you having additional Mac problems? Be sure to check the guides from our Mac Hub.
disk repair checking catalog file found an error

One way to fix hard drive issues on your Mac is to use the Disk Utility tool, but what if Disk Utility gives you the Disk Repair checking catalog file found an error needs repair message?

This can be a problem, and in today’s article, we’re going to show you a couple of solutions that might be able to fix this problem for you.

How can I fix Disk Repair checking catalog file found an error needs repair message on Mac?

1. Back up your files


If Disk Repair is giving you errors, it’s possible that your drive is failing. Therefore, it’s important that you back up your files as soon as you can and transfer them to a different drive.

Doing this manually can be a hassle, but tools such as Stellar Data Recovery Professional can help you out. This tool is designed for recovering damaged and deleted files, so even if your files are lost, you can still recover them.

The software also supports disk health monitoring so you can know if your drive is damaged. Disk imaging and cloning features are available as well, so you can clone your entire system drive with ease.

Other useful features:

  • Can recover almost any type of file format
  • Works with HDDs, SSDs, SD cards, and USB storage devices
  • Supports large drives
  • Recovers data from formatted APFS/HFS+ partitions
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2. Use fsck -fy command

keyboard shortcut disk repair checking catalog file found an error

  1. Restart your Mac.
  2. Press and hold the Command + S while your Mac starts.
  3. Now you should see a command line available, run the following command:
    fsck -fy
  4. Wait for the process to finish.
  5. Run this command a few times until you see a The volume (name) appears to be OK message.

Keep in mind that this isn’t the most reliable solution, and it might not be able to fix the hard drive problem permanently for you.

Disk Repair checking catalog file found an error needs repair can be a problem, and it’s mostly caused by hard drive failure, so be sure to back up your files as soon as you can and replace the hard drive.

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