If it fails without a backup, recovering your files can become a nightmare.
Your Mac’s storage is arguably the most essential part of the computer. After all, a broken screen or keyboard does not necessarily lead to data loss. On the other hand, an SSD or hard drive failure is a different story. If this fails without a backup, recovering your files may sometimes be impossible.
The best thing you can do starts before all this happens: take regular backups and make sure you know how to clean and organize your Mac. Apple’s built-in Time Machine tool is a great place to start. It backs up your files, apps, and other types of data that iCloud omits. (iCloud is useful for syncing and protecting personal information, as well as transferring data from your old iPhone to a new one, but it’s not a complete backup of your Mac’s drive.) Get a reputable, high-capacity external drive that’s at least twice your Mac’s storage, set it up, and let it rip.
But what if something is already wrong? Before you jump into diagnostic tools, it helps to know what to look for. Signs of problems include corrupted or missing files, frozen apps, or a not-so-subtle message from macOS that your storage needs repair. Here’s what to do if this happens.
Apply first aid
For most people, Disk Utility’s First Aid option is the best place to start. Open Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility (or search for it in Spotlight), then choose View > Show all devices in the menu bar. Apple recommends running First Aid on the individual volumes on your disk first, then on the container, and finally on the disk itself. Select each of them in the sidebar, click FIRST AID and wait for it to finish. (If you check your Mac’s startup disk, Apple recommends doing it from macOS Recovery.)
First Aid checks the drive’s file system for errors and attempts to resolve any problems encountered. If it says everything looks fine, the file system is probably in good shape. However, know its limits. First Aid mainly checks the file system itself. Despite its name, it does not give the reader a full physical checkup.
For a basic overview of the drive’s hardware health, Disk Utility can also display the basic Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) status of a drive. SMART is an integrated monitoring system that tracks multiple health indicators reported by the meter. These can include errors, faulty areas and mechanical wear information. A SMART status of “verified” doesn’t necessarily mean everything is fine, but it does mean it hasn’t reported a serious issue.
You will find the SMART status by selecting the physical drive in Disk Utility and clicking the button Information button in the toolbar. Again you will need to select View > Show all devices so that the physical drive (not just the container and volumes) appears.
What if you need a deeper dive?
Disk Utility and paid third-party apps like DriveDx have different strengths. Disk Utility’s built-in tools are the place to start if you suspect file system corruption or need to perform a cleanup before throwing away an old USB drive, but DriveDx is more about determining if the hardware itself is broken. It goes further than Apple’s high-level SMART analytics, surfacing more information while integrating other health data, running SSD diagnostics, and monitoring changes over time.
This can be especially useful for external hard drives and SSDs, where Disk Utility may not show you any SMART data. You probably don’t need DriveDx to keep a MacBook healthy and modern, it’s more of a luxury than a necessity. However, it supports Apple’s internal SSDs if you want to take a closer look at your drive’s health.
