OS really slow after power failure

We recently had a power failure due to a car accident and my powermac was on. Ever since the power was restored my powermac has been really slow. The Finder is really slow now, as well as almost all native OS X applications. Meanwhile, programs such as firefox and microsoft office (Which were also open at the time) are running just fine. Is there an explanation for this? Btw, the activity monitor shows less than 20% CPU being used so it is not a load issue.

Applications > Utlilites > Disk Utility. Select your hard disk. Run Repair Disk and Repair Permissions, then restart while holding down Command+Option+P+R. Hold that down until you hear a second chime, then release them. Let us know if that helps!

As above, but until you hear 3 or 4 chimes!

To run Repair Disk it is necessary to boot from your OS install DVD, holding down 'C' after chimes, go to Utilities, select Disk Utility > Repair Disk and see what is reported.

Thanks, but actually it just went away on its own after being left off and alone for an hour while waiting for a response. I'm glad to know that what would work though, thanks for the advice.

If you don't have a backup you should really think about getting one. Also just because it fixed itself doesn't mean that the problem might not come back. You should at least verify that the hard drive is okay in Disk Utilities.

If there is permanent damage on your computer then it would be like a ticking time bomb that might go off later in the future. Just hoping that the problem won't come back might not be the best way to deal with it.

Also you should have a surge protector if you don't already to protect your computer and electronics.

Well I've got a computer and I have a clone of my hard drive in case of a failure. My OS discs are damaged and worthless. Does the disk repair work without the OS disc? And it is hooked up to a UPS backup but I guess its not strong enough to keep a 450-watt mac and my CRT monitor running.

pokeman89 said:

My OS discs are damaged and worthless. Does the disk repair work without the OS disc?

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No it doesn't. You can however verify if the hard drive is damaged without the OS disc though. Just use Disk Utility. The option to repair will be grayed out when using Disk Utility from your hard drive but not when you use it from the OS disc. The verify option can be used either way so you will know if your hard drive is okay or not.

Also it seems that you should still use a surge protector even when having a UPS. Take a look at this article.

Here's a quote from the site:

An ordinary UPS WILL give you a high level of protection, but you should still use a surge protector. A UPS will stop most surges from reaching your computer, but it will probably suffer severe damage itself. It's a good idea to use a basic surge protector, if just to save your UPS.

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