Mac OS 8.5: What is Automatic Disk Repair?

When the computer crashes or is shut down improperly, data corruption or disk directory errors may occur. The General Controls control panel option to warn when an improper shutdown has occurred will now test and repair startup volume disk directory automatically on restart from a crash or improper shutdown. To enable this feature, select the checkbox "Warn me if computer was shut down improperly" in the General Controls control panel.

On startup after a crash or improper shutdown, a message appears indicating that the startup disk is being checked by Disk First Aid. A progress bar will show the status of the disk directory repair, and when finished, display the results.

Automatic disk directory repair only repairs the startup volume. Additional disk volumes are not tested and repaired automatically. To test and/or repair these volumes, use the Disk First Aid utility located in the Utilities folder.