Mac OS X operating system uses a special data structure to store, manage, and manipulate your valuable data. It is known as file system. Macintosh operating system supports the HFS (Hierarchical File System) series of file systems. HFS file system has various variants, such as HFS+, HFSX, and HFS Wrapper. Among all, HFS+ is the most powerful file system, which supports advanced features like journaling and enhanced performance. The journaling feature prevents system failure and file system corruption to avoid need of Mac recovery, in case of improper system shutdown.

File system is the most critical component of Mac OS X operating system. It has to be intact and in working state to keep your system up. If file system is damaged, system may not work properly. However, in some cases, the file system may become dirty. It does not let you boot your system properly and access stored data from the hard drive. At this point, you may come across an error message, similar to the following one:...