Can't find the MacHD drive

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Level 1

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Can't find the MacHD drive

My MacHD drive is not working properly. I can use some of the apps and internet. I.E. my airport says "no airport called installed" but I was able to plug in ethernet and have access. I can't open calendar or iphoto but I can use itunes,photoshop,and some others. I backed up all important info and tried to put in start up disk. It will not find the MacHD drive to let me install the OS X. I used disk utilities to try to repair or even erase the disk. It tells me first aid failed and repair failed. It's like the main drive is somehow unmounted or something. ANY ADVICE OR HELP IS WELCOME!

Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Oct 10, 2010 2:50 PM

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Answer 1

Király

Level 6

10,017 points

Oct 10, 2010 2:55 PM in response to APuente

It sounds like your hard drive is dead or dying. But a reformat might bring it back to life. What have you been using to make backups? Time Machine, or some other program?

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Answer 2

APuente Author

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Oct 10, 2010 2:59 PM in response to Király

Like and idiot I never setup Time Machine. I only made back ups of my pics and music on to flash drives. It started when I was using Limewire and did an update. It installed, and after that it froze so I force quit and re-started the computer. Ever since it's had nothing but problems reading the HD and finding the HD.

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Answer 3

Király

Level 6

10,017 points

Oct 10, 2010 3:06 PM in response to APuente

If you reformat now, you'll lose everything except for the pics and music on your flash drives. Can you live with that? Or is there other stuff you want to keep?

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Answer 4

APuente Author

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Oct 10, 2010 3:13 PM in response to Király

I don't really care about losing everything else. The pics were the most important. I've saved everything I want. I just want to repair! I'm sooo bummed. Thank You for trying to help. How do I reformat?

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Answer 5

Király

Level 6

10,017 points

Oct 10, 2010 3:29 PM in response to APuente

Boot up from your OS X install disc. Choose Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Click the Erase tab. Erase the hard drive. Then repair the disk. If everything checks out OK, proceed with a reinstall.

A couple more things to remember:

-Make backups. Get an external drive and use it with Time Machine.
-Avoid LimeWire like the plague. The stuff it can download are a Very High Security Risk.

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Answer 6

APuente Author

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Oct 10, 2010 3:57 PM in response to Király

Well, I attempted to erase. Selected Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
I got back; Disk erase failed with error
Resource Busy
I tried again and same.
Went to first aid and tried to verify disk and got;
Incorrect number of thread records
First aid failed
The volume MacHD needs to be repaired
Error: File system verify or repair failed
So any thoughts? Thank you again.

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Answer 7

Király

Level 6

10,017 points

Oct 10, 2010 4:05 PM in response to APuente

...and this was all while you were booted up from the install DVD?

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Answer 8

APuente Author

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Oct 10, 2010 4:11 PM in response to Király

Yes... From the initial start up screen. Also tried to re-install the OS X before posting on this site, it was looking for the drive or disk that I wanted to install on and could not find anything. It's like it couldn't find the HD.

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Answer 9

Király

Level 6

10,017 points

Oct 10, 2010 4:14 PM in response to APuente

It sounds like your hard drive is seriously dead. What kind of Mac do you have? If it is a Mac Pro, the hard drive is easy to change yourself. With other models it is best left to an Apple certified repair shop, especially if it is still under warranty.

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Answer 10

APuente Author

Level 1

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Oct 10, 2010 5:29 PM in response to Király

Wow ok. I have an iMac 26inch 350g 2.8GHz Core2
I've had it for a little over 2 years. I have a warranty from Bestbuy I will have to look in to. Thank you for your help,much appreciated.

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Answer 11

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Oct 10, 2010 5:54 PM in response to APuente

More likely a 24" iMac. Do you have AppleCare? Exactly what are BestBuy's warranty terms?

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