Question: Jennifer writes: I am trying rebuild my Entourage database. A "compacting failed" error message appeared, and it says a read/write error occurred (-40). It won't allow a Disk Utility typical or advanced rebuild. Any suggestions?
The IT Guy says:
This is a Macintosh question, for those of you unfamiliar with some of the terms. Entourage is the Mac email client from Microsoft.The problem Jennifer describes indicates that there are problems with the file structure on her Mac. Typically you resolve these problems by using the Disk Utility program (found in the Utilities folder, in Applications) and selecting Repair Permissions. In fact,It is a good idea to do this about once a month, just as a preventative for future problems, or to discover developing problems before they reach a critical point. However, if a problem has gotten too serious, Disk Utility may not be able to fix the file structure.
The next step is to buy a more robust repair program. The one I recommend is Disk Warrior. I have used it myself on a hard drive that seemed irretrievably fouled up, having resisted Disk Utility's efforts after numerous attempts and hours of trying. Disk Warrior solved the problem in minutes. It isn't inexpensive, but the time and data it saved me were worth much more!
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