Fix Sherlock Indexing a Corrupt Mac OS 9 Volume

In Mac OS 9, Sherlock’s "Find by Content" search capability relies on creating local database files of text and metadata across target drives. When a volume suffers from directory corruption, bad allocation blocks, or damaged invisible files, Sherlock often freezes, reports system errors, or crashes during the indexing process. Resolving this issue requires repairing the underlying file system, deleting damaged invisible index files, allocating adequate memory to the Sherlock application, and rebuilding the index from scratch.

Step 1: Repair the Volume Directory

Before attempting to re-index, you must repair the file system corruption preventing Sherlock from traversing the directory tree.

  • Restart your Mac while holding the C key to boot from a Mac OS 9 Installation CD, or boot from a separate external startup disk.
  • Open Disk First Aid from the Utilities folder on the CD.
  • Select the problematic volume and click Verify. If errors are reported, click Repair.
  • Run the repair process repeatedly until Disk First Aid confirms the volume appears to be OK.
  • If Disk First Aid fails to resolve directory tree or extent errors, use third-party Classic Mac OS utilities such as Norton Disk Doctor (version 5 or 6) or TechTool Pro to repair deeply damaged catalog files.

Step 2: Delete Corrupt Invisible Index Files

Sherlock stores its content index in hidden files at the root level of the volume. If these files become corrupt, Sherlock will repeatedly fail.

  • Use a utility capable of displaying invisible files, such as ResEdit, FileTyper, or Sherlock itself (by configuring a search for file visibility set to "invisible").
  • Locate the invisible files named TheFindByContentIndex and TheVolumeIndexFolder located at the root level of the affected volume.
  • Move these files to the Trash and choose Special > Empty Trash. This clears all partially written or damaged index databases.

Step 3: Increase Sherlock's Preferred Memory Allocation

Indexing large or deeply nested volumes frequently causes Sherlock to run out of application memory, leading to crashes that mimic disk corruption.

  • In the Finder, locate the Sherlock application (typically inside the Apple Menu Items folder or directly within the System Folder).
  • Highlight the Sherlock application icon and press Command + I to open the Get Info window.
  • From the Show drop-down menu, select Memory.
  • Increase the Preferred Size field significantly (for example, double the default value from roughly 4,000 KB to 16,000 KB or 32,000 KB, depending on available system RAM).
  • Close the Get Info window to save the changes.

Step 4: Rebuild the Desktop File

Corrupt desktop databases can cause file references to break, interfering with index generation.

  • Restart your Macintosh.
  • Hold down the Command + Option keys immediately after the extensions finish loading.
  • Keep holding both keys until an alert asks, "Are you sure you want to rebuild the desktop file on the disk?"
  • Click OK for each volume.

Step 5: Regenerate the Index

Once the disk is repaired, the old index files are purged, and memory is expanded, initiate a clean index creation.

  • Launch Sherlock.
  • From the menu bar, navigate to Find > Index Volumes (or press Command + L).
  • Select the checkbox next to the repaired volume.
  • Click the Create Index or Index Now button. Allow the process to complete entirely without launching intensive foreground applications.