I just created a bootable Firewire drive from "Mac OS X PowerPC Profile". When I boot the G4 Mac with the created TechTool drive, I can run test on the internal hard drive, and it fails on the Volume Structure test.

But when I go into the Tools section, select the internal drive, and try clicking on the Run Volume Rebuild (it is not grayed out), nothing happens, I clicked on it like 20 times, and still there nothing happening.

How do I make the button launch the repair? Alternatively, is there another way to launch the repair from terminal?

Thanks!

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I do not think you can run the Volume Rebuild from Terminal.

If you have another computer with the same operating system, or one compatible with your G4, try creating a new Protogo device using the Basic profile, which copies the system software from your startup volume. (The PowerPC profile uses system software from an Apple Developer kit for making bootable CDs, and has no Finder.) A Basic profile installation made from the system software on the G4 might not work, because the disk directory damage might prevent the necessary files from being copied.

It is also possible that the disk directory damage is such that the Volume Rebuild feature immediately stops as soon as it sees the disk directory, because it "knows" that it cannot fix it, and the interface makes it appear that nothing happened at all. It would be interesting to see if Disk Utility sees the disk directory.

Unfortunately I don't have access to another computer with a PowerPC chip. But doesn't the TechTool utility contain all the necessary components for the internal tools?

It is possible, but there doesn't appear to be any error indications. Are there logs that the TechTool utility generates to see what the problem is? Because it literally appears to not try.

The test of the volume structure does not fail till the mid section, on the map of the drive. Also, DiskUtility says the drive is fine without problems, so it shouldn't be damaged to the point where the repair tool would immediately quit.

Thanks for your help!

The application contains what it needs, or makes use of system software tools, as do most applications.

Any error messages would be in the system log, the console log, or the kernel log, which you can view with the Console application, located in /Applications/Utilities. The logs are in /Library/Logs or /System/Library/Logs on the startup volume that was in use when TechTool Pro was run. If you find errors there, please send a message to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , including a link to this thread.

I cannot explain why the Volume Rebuild tool does not work on a volume on which Disk Utility finds no errors. I have not seen such a case before.

If you have another Macintosh with FireWire and having Mac OS X and TechTool Pro on it, you could try running TechTool Pro in FireWire Target Disk Mode.