Oh...my poor Mac is sick

Here's a blog for all you that care about computers. All the rest should skip this one. So, here's my Mac saga. I purchased the new OS for my Mac, Tiger. When I attempted to install it, it could not complete the installation, so I ran a hardware diagnostic on my HD. The error that came up involved the factory installed DIMM (RAM memory) stick that was on the puter. I also ran a disk utility on it and it came up with errors that it could not fix. Sidenote...when I repaired the permissions on my disk, there were about 1/2-hr's worth of repairs needed, but were accomplished with no problems. So, after weeks and weeks of manually backing up everything in my computer, I called Apple Support to make sure that the problem was what I thought it meant. I was correct and so removed the old stick, replacing it with the 512 stick I had installed when I first purchased the machine. Then I re-ran the hardware diagnostic and hallelujah!! It came out clean. I again ran a disk utility on reboot with the install CD. This time a totally new error came up that sounded ominous..."keys out of order" which it could not fix. Doing some research (thank God for the internet) I found out that this is indeed a bad thing. It basically means that I have B-tree files damaged and this leads to total disk failure if not corrected. Unfortunately, Mac does not come with the software to handle this itself and so I am forced into buying a software package for this. I researched some more and mostly found that DiskWarrior is the preferred utility for this problem and many others. I did not find any bad reviews from users about it, although the Norton version got slammed over and over. So, my next step is to attempt to get this software from the Apple Store in the KC Plaza, test the old stick and see if it's truly bad, and purchase a new 512 stick (might as well upgrade from the old 128) and also, look into a data backup software package. Most likely, this little adventure will cost me about $200 not including the emotional damage, haha.

I'm convinced that the bad memory stick caused the problems with my HD and I'm hoping that DiskWarrior can do for me what it has apparently done for so many others. Then I'll be sure to use it regularly to fix problems before they become serious. I've read so many reports that my problem led to complete meltdown of the system and tons of fun trying to restore and recover the HD. So, a little later today, I'll be making a trip to the Apple Store and hopefully getting some good advice that will help my poor sick Mac.

Love,
B