Disk Failure

T

Timtagel

Registered
Hi,

I've run into a problem with my G4 Mac running OSX 10.4. Originally I had a Catalog B-tree error which couldn't be fixed using Disk Utility etc so I ran Disk Warrior and fixed the problem. However, the Mac still doesn't boot up off its own hard disk. I went back into Disk Utility from the Install CD to check for errors. It showed my disk in the window in red and displayed the SMART status as failing. I know I've probably had it, but wondered how I can now get some files off the disk and backed up - is it possible or too late? Also, do I need an engineer to physically remove the disk or will the problem resolve itself ifI simply erase and reformat the disk and start again.

Many thanks if you can help :)
 
Yep the hard drive is failing/failed. I bet you wished you had a backup now. Lastly replacing hard drives is not that hard, if you have the right tools. There is a cool Mac seller site called Other World Computing that has actually posted some install videos that will show/help in replacing certain drive/components. Also if you use the Apple Support Page and select you mac then dig into it, you can almost always find install how to that will show you step by step installs (upgrade yourself). Lastly, if you live with North America, there is always your local Apple Specialist and have them install it for you.

Don't underestimate yourself. The more you get "under the hood", the more you will be a better computer user because you will have a better understanding of the computer you use. Start small (like a hard drive replacement) and you will become more confident.
 
I've used 'Data Rescue'' with good results several times..so if
- you really, really want some of those data back
- you have not been messing around so much with the drive that files are probably overwritten
- The drive still spinns (and sounds like it's spinning with some consistency)
- and you are prepared to pay the price (it's a commercial product - I think it costs around 100 USD!!)
Then try and go to:
www.prosofteng.com
Of course this is without any warranty that you will actually get data back - but worth a try if you have 'unreplaceable' data on the drive - and compared to OnTrack and Ibas - it's cheap.
(If the drive is not spinning - yuo could contact one of the above - but they sure know what it's worth..
Kind regards
John Philip
 
I had the same thing happen to my harddrive I reformated it and reinstalled osx and it still would not boot from the hd drive so I said screw it and got a bigger hard drive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top