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Helpful answers
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Nov 5, 2015 8:16 AM in response to samjhnby Linc Davis,I downloaded a program
First, get rid of that program. It, and anything else like it, is worse than useless, as you've already discovered. What backups do you have?
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Nov 6, 2015 3:43 AM in response to Linc Davisby samjhn,I've deleted all the programs i had on my mac. I dont know what backups i have, i dont think i have anything other than whats already on my mac when i first got it (sorry, im a noob when it comes to technology)
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Nov 6, 2015 5:40 AM in response to samjhnby Linc Davis,If you don't know what backups you have, you don't have any.
I suggest you shut down the computer immediately and don't turn it on again until you have at least one external hard drive (two or more recommended) to dedicate to backup. Each backup drive must have at least enough capacity to hold all the data on the internal drive comfortably, as well as any data that you have on secondary drives. Then see below.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is not fully functional. You need an external hard drive or other storage device to hold the data.
1. Start up from the Recovery partition, from Internet Recovery, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.
If you use FileVault 2, then you must first unlock the startup volume. Select its icon ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) It will be nested below another disk icon, usually with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar. Enter your login password when prompted.
2. If Method 1 fails because of disk errors, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.
3. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. A Retina MacBook (from 2015 or later) with a USB-C port can also be started in target disk mode and connected to another Mac using a USB cable and an adapter.
Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive.
This technique won't work with USB (except on a Retina MacBook), Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. Note that a Retina MacBook Pro (with Thunderbolt) is different from a Retina MacBook, and it can't be connected to another Mac via USB in target disk mode.
4. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
