What Is Disk Utility First Aid in macOS 13?

Disk Utility’s First Aid is a built-in diagnostic and repair tool in macOS 13 Ventura designed to check storage volumes, containers, and disks for directory structure and formatting errors. This article explains how First Aid works, the specific symptoms that indicate you should run it, and the proper procedure for running a scan on both internal and external drives to maintain system stability.

What Is Disk Utility's First Aid?

First Aid is a native macOS maintenance feature integrated into Disk Utility. It inspects the file system integrity of storage drives using file systems like APFS (Apple File System) and Mac OS Extended (HFS+).

When you run First Aid, it performs a series of checks on the drive's partition map, directory structure, and metadata. If it detects corruption—such as broken directory links, invalid file extents, or catalog record errors—it attempts to repair them automatically without deleting your personal data.

When Should You Run First Aid?

You do not need to run First Aid on a set schedule, but you should run it immediately if your Mac or connected drives exhibit any of the following symptoms:

  • Startup Problems: Your Mac takes an unusually long time to boot, frequently stalls on the Apple logo, or shows a flashing question mark folder.
  • App Crashes and Freezes: Applications consistently crash upon launch, the system frequently displays the spinning wait cursor, or Finder becomes unresponsive.
  • File System Glitches: Files or folders disappear, cannot be moved, or show up as corrupted or inaccessible.
  • External Drive Issues: An external hard drive, SSD, or USB flash drive fails to mount, ejects unexpectedly, or denies read/write permissions.
  • After an Unexpected Shutdown: If your Mac shut down abruptly due to a kernel panic, battery drain, or sudden power loss, file system structures may be left in an inconsistent state.

How to Run First Aid in macOS 13

To run First Aid on a secondary volume or external drive:

  1. Open Disk Utility via Spotlight or from Applications > Utilities.
  2. Click View in the top-left toolbar and select Show All Devices.
  3. In the sidebar, select the volume, container, or drive you want to check.
  4. Click the First Aid button in the top toolbar, then click Run.
  5. Wait for the process to finish. If First Aid reports that the disk is about to fail, back up your data immediately.

Note on Order of Repair: For best results on complex disks, run First Aid starting from the bottom of the sidebar hierarchy and work your way up: first check individual volumes, then the container, and finally the physical disk device.

Running First Aid on the Startup Disk via macOS Recovery

If your Mac will not boot normally or First Aid cannot unmount the startup disk inside macOS, you must run it from macOS Recovery:

  1. For Apple Silicon (M1/M2): Shut down your Mac, then press and hold the power button until "Loading startup options" appears. Select Options, then click Continue.
  2. For Intel-based Macs: Restart your Mac and immediately hold down Command + R until you see the Apple logo or startup screen.
  3. Select Disk Utility from the Recovery window.
  4. Select your startup volume (usually named "Macintosh HD") and run First Aid. Repeat the process for the "Data" volume and the top-level disk.