Q: Hard Disk Damaged during Mavericks Installation

Hello,

this is a half surprise. At the end of the installing process of Maveriks a "unknown" error damaged my disk. All my data is unavailable and the disk aparently lost.

This is serious.

I hope to get urgent news from Apple.

You have a backup of all your data, right?

No?

Good luck suing Apple for your own lack of good judgement.  Always have a backup...maybe two.

Your disk was probably damaged before the upgrade.  The Upgrade probably tried to access a damaged area on the disc.

And why did you install a New Operating System without first backing up all your Data. It is not Apple fault you did not have current backups of your important files or of your whole system. Apple Includes Time Machine for just this purpose.

I've just got done installing Mavericks and have no problems what so ever. But then I have current backups and I created a separate partition to install Mavericks and then used the Setup Assistant to bring all my Data and Settings over from Mt Lion to the new install.

Your drive was probably on its way out anyway. So you would of lost all your data anyway, sooner or later, since you have no backups.

I had the same issue. I chose to install Mavericks on an external hard drive when it gave me the choice in the setup process. I then allowed the system to boot all the way up. I then went into preferences / start up disc and chose from there to reboot from the internal Mac HD, (During the setup process, the internal Mac HD had been inaccessible) Much to my relief, my computer booted up as it always has and all of my files and settings were untouched.

@Wordsmith01 Whew - a glimmer of hope! I'll have to try that when I get home this evening.

What has me worried is that nothing I try is working correctly. I do backup regularly, so I was prepared to erase the disk and restore from a backup I made last Friday (so I'd only lose maybe 3 or 4 files that weren't too important), once Mavericks installed. However, when I tried just restoring it said there were no backups on my external drive (though when I plugged it into my other MacBook, they were there), and I was also given an error when I tried to erase my internal drive. I even called Apple support and they didn't have much to tell me other than I need to book an appointment at the local Apple store.

I had the same problem I just restated it a couple of times then it finally went.  And to the ones with the snarky remarks about back ups, bring it down you're not helping so keep quiet.  Not everyone has the resources for an external drive to back stuff up and even if they did have it backed up its a huge hassle to deal with.  I have never had any problem like this with previous upgrades but this time a lot of people are complaining about it so I think it's a reasonable complaint.  Stop with the victim blaming.  I scan my hard drive every other week for damage and haven't found anything yet but some how mavericks found it.   Hmmm.  Then I go online and a bunch of other people are having the same issue Hmmm.  whats the common denominator? Don't be so quick to judge you don't know peoples circumstances

Well I wish you all the best but as has been proven over and over again anyone that owns a computer and does not have backups of there most important files will eventually lose all of them.

This is a fact.

So maybe those Snarky remarks will be take seriously and those that don't backup their computer will start.

Dannosuke wrote:

 

  And to the ones with the snarky remarks about back ups, bring it down you're not helping so keep quiet.  Not everyone has the resources for an external drive to back stuff up and even if they did have it backed up its a huge hassle to deal with.

Oh I also used disk utility to repair the drive.

Its also a proven fact that messages of caution are heard better when the deliverer is not condescending to the listeners.  What you speak of isn't a problem for me I keep all of my important files on drop box and two separate external drives for quadruple redundancy.  I understand your guys point.  I just think you dont have to be condescending to others that might not think exactly like you or have similar situations as you.  So give your advice but remember to have some compassion.

Same thing happened to me and I agree, snarky " I told you so" comments are unwarranted and actually very rude and unhelpful . I have been told that APPLE can recover the contents of my hard drive from the corrupted hard drive and will transfer them onto my new hard drive which will be installed this week HOWEVER , I take umbrage at the comment about my almost new drive being on its way out , 3 of us on this thread alone have lost our hard drives as a direct result of Mavericks , not because we did or did not back our data up to the enth degree . If you can't post something useful , other than " I told you so, should have back ups blah, blah" , maybe you should not post - it's been a devastating enough day having my work station blown apart by Mavericks without these remarks . I have insurance by way of hard drives, cloud back up etc. what I don't have is the luxury of a second machine to work from - my MAC runs my business - what I really want to know is WHY Mavericks had done this ? Cause there was nothing wrong at all with my MAC before I tried to download and install it - clean bill of health , so , can anyone explain WHY without being snarky or blaming a faulty drive ( cause it wasn't)

Forget the back ups , they are not the issue and regardless of whether data is backed up or not , APPLE have assured me that they can recover the data - we want helpful answers as to why this had happened not a lecture about back ups - three of us on this thread have had exactly the same problem and it begins an ends with MAVERICKS , not back ups or lack of thereof .

KarryGee 

HOWEVER , I take umbrage at the comment about my almost new drive being on its way out , 3 of us on this thread alone have lost our hard drives as a direct result of Mavericks

You dont understand.

Mavericks is just data, it CANNOT mechanically damage a hard drive, period.

If your HD died on an "almost new" HD, that is a known entity called "HD infant mortality".

New HD have a spike in failure rate for roughly 5 months,.......then drop to near 0......then slowly climb each year until they die roughly at 4-6 years.

No, Mavericks had no "direct result" on mechanical HD failure, .....it cannot.

Hard Drives see  1010110101010, its just data,.....it has no bearing on mechanical HD failure.  

Peace

OK, if that's the case , why have I paid out £1700 for a reliable MAC to have a new hard drive go into meltdown because of MAVERICKS - my drive is 10 month old ? MAVERICKS is the common denominator here so why , suddenly, after using MACS for years , am I being quoted " HD  infant mortality" rates on what is essentially an inanimate object ?

KarryGee,

If you think for one minute that your "Almost New" drive protects you from failure you are sadly mistaken.  Maybe it is not a faulty drive, but the fact remains, the absolute and only protection you have from loosing your data is a backup.   No utility, maintenance, insurance is going to save you if a drive fails.  I have a 5 day old notebook here waiting for a new drive that died.  The snarky and what you call rude comments are in fact frustration on the part of IT people who try to BEAT this into people that they WILL lose their files if they do not back them up.  I tell customers this all day long, sometimes when I see them in passing, I ask if they are backing up their computer, and they just roll their eyes at me.

Then they come to me with a dead disc, and while I want to be compasstionate I cannot.  I'm actually GLAD it happened and they will learn from the experience.

My 2 cents, I don't really care if you don't like it.  It's called tough love.  I hope you will learn from it.