Resolving '-60 bad master directory block' Error?

A HFS volume is comprised of five main structures: Boot Blocks, MDB (Master Directory Block), Volume Bitmap, Extent Overflow File, and Catalog File. Out of these structures, MDB is the one that defines data itself. Located at the logical block 2 of the volume, MDB is an important structure that consists of valuable information to locate the data on a disk.

A damaged directory is the direct indication of data loss. As such, a condition with no data backup can leave in an unavoidable situation of using a Mac Data Recovery utility. A corrupted MDB is mostly the result of unexpected power outage. To clarify the related problems, let's study a realistic scenarion. Consider yourself as a Mac OS X user that experiences a power failure on its Mac OS X computer.

The next time, when you try to start your computer, this gives nothing but a gray screen. Additionally, you also receive an error message that reads as below:“-60 bad master directory block” While preventing you to access the data, this error won't allow you to boot the Mac OS X computer further.

As the error message mentions, this is a case of MDB corruption. Aside from power outage, virus infection is also one among the causes responsible for MDB damage.

Below are the methods that can help you recover such damaged disks in case of MDB corruption: If you have a valid and good data backup, clean the disk and simply restore the data. In case, no backup is available, you should continue with the next suggestion.You can repair the damaged directory by 'Repair Disk' function of 'Disk Utility. For an unbootable computer, you need to boot from the installation disk or connect the disk in disk mode to another working Mac OS X computer.

Sometimes, the damage can be too extensive can 'Disk Utility' might take considerable amount of time or in worst cases, might fail completely. In case of complete failure, you should use a Data Recovery Mac application. A Mac Drive Recovery software can scan a logically crashed Mac disk and retrieve maximum data in a safe manner.