Tips & Tricks  •   February 19, 2020

Mac OS is arguably one of the most stable operating systems in the world, still it may show up some technical issues such as ‘Mac hard drive exit code 8’ or ‘file system check exit code 8’. Do not worry! If you ever encounter this error on your Mac OS, this article will help you to fix this error with some effective solutions by using the best free Mac Data Recovery Tool!

What is ‘File System Check Exit Code is 8’ Error?

The ‘File system check exit code is 8’ or ‘Mac hard drive exit code 8’ errors occur mainly at the time of system check and is capable of taking place in both internal and external hard drives. Although, Mac OS X consists of various tools that can fix and repair partition, disk, and file system errors, out of which Disk Utility – First Aid, the most common to be used.

However, it can only repair small and minor errors on disks; in case the issue is out of its reach, then in such a case, the errors will get reported as ‘file system check exit code is 8’. The presence of ‘File system check exit code is 8’ implies a corrupted file system, and when the exit code is 0, this indicates a healthy functioning.

What Causes ‘File System Check Exit Code is 8’ Error on Mac?

Below are some of the main reasons for the occurrence of the ‘File system check exit code is 8’ or ‘Mac hard drive exit code 8’ error.

1. System settings not correctly configured.
2. Corrupted Mac system directory and file system on the drive.
3. Virus and Malware.
4. Outdated software and drives.
5. Junk files and programs in the Mac startup directory or drive.

Try These Easy Solutions First!

Before you proceed with the effective solutions to fix ‘File system check exit code is 8’ error, you can try the below solutions first which may be easier and faster compare to another solutions!

Solution 1: Restart Mac to Fix Small Glitches and Errors

Sometime, error is a very common problem for digial system. Therefore, restarting your Mac is the first universal solutions for all devices. After restarting Mac, all files, preferences, caches and settings will be all reset to a new state. Some Mac issues can be solved by restarting Mac so just select the Restart menu from the Apple icon at top-left corner of the home screen.

Solution 2: Boot Mac in Safe Mode to Check Your Disks

First of all, please restart your Mac computer. During the process, long-press the Shift key on the keyboard and boot your system to Safe mode. Key in your lock screen password and wait for awhile for system to check Mac disks. After the prcoess is finished, please Reboot Mac and try to see ‘File system check exit code is 8’ error is fixed or not.

Hopefully, by following the solutions above should be able to solve the ‘File system check exit code is 8’ error on your Mac OS. If the answer is no, we strongly recommend you to back up your data by using Bitwar Data Recovery for Mac to retrieve data to another safe location because some of the solutions may cause permanent data loss.

Recover Data with Bitwar Data Recovery for Mac

By using Bitwar Data Recovery for Mac, we can easily retrieve any data such as images, documents, audios, videos from any storage device. besides, no expertise skills needed!

Step 1: Download Bitwar Data Recovery Software on your macOS from https://www.365datarecovery.com, and install it on your computer.

Step 2: Select the Hard drive and press on the Next button to continue.

Step 3: Select the Scan Mode and press Next. We suggest selecting Quick Scan first, if your files cannot be found using this mode then choose Deep Scan option.

Step 4: Choose the File Types you want to restore. Then, click on Next.

Step 5: Preview the files or data that are needed and click on Recover to start recovery.

After saving all of your vital data to a safe location, now, we can try one of the four methods described below to fix the error, however, you should be very careful as these solutions may need some professional skills.

Practical Solutions to Fix ‘File system check exit code is 8′ Error

Solution 1: Run First Aid on Disk Utility

Step 1: You need to press Command + R key when restarting the Mac, it’s a way to Boot Mac system in Recovery Mode.

Step 2: Now, choose the Disk Utility from Mac OS Utilities Menu.

Step 3: Then, select the Disk on your Mac with the ‘File system check exit code is 8’ error.

Step 4: Choose First Aid from the top menu bar.

Step 5: When finish, click Done and Restart your Mac and check whether the error persisted.

If this solution couldn’t work to resolve the issue, you can try with the next solution.

Solution 2: Update the Mac Faulty Applications

Step 1: First, from the Apple menu and choose App Store.

Step 2: At the top panel, choose the Updates.

Step 3: Please check is there any updates available for the system and applications.

Sometimes certain applications which are not updated and corrupted are responsible for ‘File system check exit code is 8’ error to occure on Mac. Therefore, it is always important to update or upgrade the applications on Mac system to the latest.

Solution 3: Fix ‘File system exit code is 8’ Error with FSCK Command

Step 1: Shut down or restart your Mac system, and as soon as the boot process begins, press Command +S until you see white texts on a black background, that means we enter the single user mode.

Step 2: Then, type in ‘fsck -fy‘ command when entering the Single User Mode.

Step 3: When the ‘File system was modified‘ message appeared, then execute the ‘fsck-fy’ command again.

Step 4: Then, a ‘The volume (name) appears to be OK‘ message will show up. Please type in the reboot and Exit from the Single User Mode.

Step 5: Finally, Boot your Mac back to OS.

Solution 4: Reinstall macOS to Get Rid of Corrupted or Damaged System Files