Backing up data from iMac that won’t boot up

Question

Level 1

4 points

Backing up data from iMac that won’t boot up

Hi all, I have an iMac that is no longer able to boot up, it just stays on the black screen with the Apple logo indefinitely. I managed to identify the issue being related to onboard RAM I believe, this is because I got the error code PPM002. The computer is old and slow anyway so I don’t intend on spending money to fix it. However, I need to copy all my photos from the hard drive. I have tried the following method but am getting stuck:

I get into recovery mode by holding command and R and then access disk utility. I then go to view, and tick “show all devices”. I then highlight “APPLE HDD… Media” and click on file, new image, image from “APPLE HDD… Media”. Now, I have connected an external HDD which I have formatted to “MAC OS Extended (Journaled)”, but when I select the external drive under the “where” field, it does not change and just stays on “macOS Base System”. Does anyone know why it is doing this?

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Jan 9, 2022 5:18 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Jack-19

Level 8

46,188 points

Jan 9, 2022 5:23 AM in response to MarioMan85

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities.

In Disk Utility, make sure you have an empty volume on your external drive to restore your data too. Next, select the volume on the external drive, and click "Restore". In "Restore", select your volume on the internal drive, not the main internal drive itself.

Moving forward, ALWAYS have a Time Machine backup: Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support. You can even use iCloud in addition to Time Machine to sync all your files and photos to all your Apple devices. Although iCloud is not a "true" backup service, iCloud can also act as an emergency off-site backup, but this is why iCloud should be used in addition to Time Machine. Here are some resources on setting up iCloud for Mac:

Jack

Reply

Answer 2

MarioMan85 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 9, 2022 8:37 PM in response to Jack-19

Hi Jack, I think I managed to copy the files using your method. At first it didn’t work when I had used the “Master Boot Record” partition type so I had to use “GUID Partition Map”. How do I now copy access then using a windows PC? When I plug my HDD to my windows PC it does not even show up when I open up “This PC”.

Reply

Answer 3

Jack-19

Level 8

46,188 points

Jan 10, 2022 6:37 AM in response to MarioMan85

MarioMan85 wrote:

Hi Jack, I think I managed to copy the files using your method. At first it didn’t work when I had used the “Master Boot Record” partition type so I had to use “GUID Partition Map”. How do I now copy access then using a windows PC? When I plug my HDD to my windows PC it does not even show up when I open up “This PC”.

You'll need to use a Mac to access the files.

Jack

Reply

Backing up data from iMac that won’t boot up

Similar questions