{"id":5408,"date":"2017-03-01T09:18:58","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T09:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/?p=5408"},"modified":"2025-08-05T07:07:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T07:07:30","slug":"repair-corrupt-mac-hfs-solid-state-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/repair-corrupt-mac-hfs-solid-state-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways to Repair Corrupt Mac Solid-State Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"
SSD Corruption Example<\/h2>
“Lately, my MacBook Pro takes a long time to save files on the internal SSD. Sometimes, the system crashes during boot, at times, the SSD throws a read-only error, and I need to restart my Mac often. What’s the reason for the issue, and how can I repair my APFS formatted internal SSD? Please advise to resolve the issue ASAP!”<\/em><\/p>
The above scenario indicates that you’ve encountered corruption in your Mac solid-state drive. The reasons for SSD corruption could be logical or hardware-related.<\/p>
Common Reasons for SSD Corruption<\/h2>
\n
Improper formatting of SSD<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Partial reinstallation of macOS<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Unsafe ejection of the external SSD<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Sudden power outage or power surge<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Corruption or deletion of APFS container<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Abnormal Mac shutdown<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Hardware failure in SSD<\/li>\n<\/ul>
Next, we’ll discuss the three different ways to repair a corrupt APFS or HFS+ solid-state drive.<\/p>
Mac SSD Repair Action<\/h2>
A. Repair Corrupt Mac SSD Using Disk Utility<\/h4>
Fixing minor corruption in your APFS or HFS+ formatted SSD can be quickly done through Disk Utility. The utility provides a ‘First Aid<\/strong>’ option that checks SSD for file system corruption and fixes it. To repair a corrupt APFS or HFS+ formatted SSD, follow the given steps:<\/p>\n
For external SSD, navigate to Finder<\/strong> > Application<\/strong> > Utilities<\/strong>. Next, double-click Disk Utility<\/strong> to launch the disk management app.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
For internal SSD, start or restart your Mac and hold Command<\/strong> + R<\/strong> keys. Release them when the Apple logo appears. Mac boots into macOS Recovery mode. From the macOS Utilities window, select Disk Utility<\/strong>, and click Continue<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Select the APFS or HFS+ disk or volume that you wish to repair from the sidebar of Disk Utility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Click the First Aid<\/strong> tab, then click Run<\/strong>. Let Disk Utility repair your corrupt SSD.<\/li>\n<\/ol>
When the SSD is about to fail, Disk Utility shows a message stating that you won’t repair the drive. Disk Utility also asks you to back up your data and replace the disk.<\/p>
B. Repair Corrupt Mac SSD Using Terminal<\/h4>
The Terminal app in your macOS is a powerful tool to perform low-level tasks and operations on volumes and containers. So, when Disk Utility fails to repair your corrupt SSD, try Terminal commands to fix logical damages.<\/p>
\n
For external SSD, go to Finder<\/strong> > Applications<\/strong> > Utilities<\/strong>. Next, double-click Terminal<\/strong> to launch the application.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
For internal SSD, boot your Mac into macOS Recovery mode, as explained before. Then, from the top Menu Bar, go to Utilities<\/strong> > Terminal<\/strong> to launch the Terminal app.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
At the command prompt, type diskutil list,<\/strong> then hit Return<\/strong>. Note the identifier <\/strong>of the SSD.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Type diskutil verifyVolume SSD_ID,<\/strong> then hit Return<\/strong>. If your SSD is the startup disk, then use \/<\/strong> as the SSD identifier. Else, type the SSD identifier as noted earlier.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
During verification, if no error appears, SSD repair won’t be helpful. However, if your Mac drive is corrupt and needs to be repaired, type diskutil repairVolume SSD_ID<\/em> <\/strong>then hit Return<\/strong>. Here, use the appropriate SSD identifier.<\/li>\n<\/ol>
C. Repair Corrupt Mac SSD Using FSCK Command<\/h4>
When Disk Utility fails to repair corrupt APFS formatted SSD on Mac, try the file system consistency check (fsck) command. Steps are as follows:<\/p>
\n
Start or restart your Mac and hold Command<\/strong> + S<\/strong> keys. Release them when white text appears on the screen—Mac boots into Single User mode.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
At the command prompt, type diskutil list,<\/strong> then hit Return<\/strong>. Note the disk# <\/strong>of the SSD.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Type \/sbin\/fsck_apfs –fy<\/strong> \/dev\/disk#<\/strong>, then hit Return<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
If the ‘File system was modified’<\/strong> message appears, rerun the command, then hit Return<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
When the ‘The volume (name) appears to be OK<\/strong>.’ message appears, type reboot<\/strong>. Let your Mac boot normally.<\/li>\n<\/ol>
Don’t Format Your SSD<\/h2>
When your Mac prompts you to format your external SSD due to file system corruption, please don’t form the drive as it can result in the emptying of your SSD. And, all the data stored on the SSD will turn inaccessible. Instead, you should click Cancel<\/strong> and recover data from the SSD using a Mac data recovery software<\/a>. The recovery process is shared next.<\/p>
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