Macbook Hdd Failure?

funkyphantom

funkyphantom

funkyphantom

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4 Oct 2004
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Hi guys, Ive just come to turn my macbook on, and it wont boot into the OS, all i get is a folder with a question mark in it. I have run the install CD and used disk utilility to try and repair the disk but it just comes up with 'repair failed' ( I could get the full error if it would help) Ive been a complete dumbass and havent backed anything up. I havent got many important things on there but i could do with the pictures of the kids and my budget spreadsheets off there if possible. If the disk is knackered, is there a way i could retrieve any non-damaged data? (bootable disk recovery perhaps??)
Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Funky
 
im going to buy another hard drive anyway. Does anyone know if the hdd needs to be 'mac specific'? i know its a 2.5" sata hard drive but could someone please confirm that any will fit?
Thanks.
 
Any will fit.

You can contact companies who specialise on getting data off dead disks, but they will cost a fortune.
 
Faulty, yes. Dead, no.

If you have access to another Mac you could hook it up via FireWire and put it in Target disk mode (turning the MacBook in to a HDD icon on the other machine), just long enough to get your data off it.
 
EVH said:
Faulty, yes. Dead, no.

If you have access to another Mac you could hook it up via FireWire and put it in Target disk mode (turning the MacBook in to a HDD icon on the other machine), just long enough to get your data off it.
Click to expand...

well i was thinking of popping into ocuk shop in a min to buy a new hard drive and then install leopard on that, then hook my faulty hdd up to my mac. What would i need to externally connect my faulty hard drive to my mac?........and how do i put my mac into Target disk mode?
Thanks
 
You can only put the Mac in to target mode using another Mac.

You might have some luck putting the faulty drive in an external enclosure, but that's more expense.. why not take your machine to an Apple store, they'll be able to save your data if you make an appointment with the genius bar.
 
ahh i see, i was under the impression i could connect the faulty hard drive to my macbook, after i have bought a new hard drive and installed leopard?
Wouldnt taking it to an apple store be expensive seen as i have no warranty left?
Thanks
 
Yes, you can connect the faulty hard drive to the machine if you buy a new HDD to install as your main drive but you'd need to buy a 2.5 SATA -> USB enclosure, to put the faulty drive in.

Target mode is different.
 
If it won't be seen in the external enclosure then it has had it.

What does disk utility show? Does it show the HD at all? If it does what happens when you try and mount it?

Your options are (if it is really dead - which if you have connected it all up correctly it is):

1. Loose everything
2. Spend lots of money getting it recovered.

In either case:

Buy a backup hard disk, I have 4 copies, one in a remote location backed up once a month.

People with no backups are silly. You can afford a mac therefore you can afford a £50 backup HD :) Harsh but true.
 
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Thanks for your quick reply Concorde, i think this kind of thing only happens to you once until you realise how much important info you have on your computer and you must back it up!! Ahh well you live and learn i guess. :(
Im pretty sure i have it connected right, having followed the instructions in the manual, i can hear the disc spinning but no icon appears on my desktop when i connect it via USB. Im pretty sure the hd isnt completely knackered because ive booted a ubuntu live cd and i could see the folders from within that os. Although i was getting errors saying i did not have permissions to open the folder. Im just going to try to view the drive via drive utility and see what that brings.
Thanks
 
Well as it is seen by ubuntu all hope is not lost yet.

Although if disk utility doesn't see it then its beyond my knowledge of how to get to it.

Turn it off, leave it in a safe place until someone comes along with an answer :)
 
try posting your last few posts in the hard drive section of the forum if you can read the disk in ubuntu live !

someone in there or in the windows software section helped me with some data recovery before but ive forgot the name of program they told me to use and cant find the thread . doh
 
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