Is it possible to copy files to an external firewire drive by avoiding finder?
Rather than elaborate on all of my problems, it appears as if my hard drive is dying. I managed to get my iBook to finally boot, but i cannot get Finder to start. I am hoping to backup some files before changing out the hard drive.
You can use
Carbon Copy Cloner to clone your entire drive. Log in to CCC with your OS X password and set the Prefs to
Repair Permissions and
make bootable drive then you can use your FireWire drive as a boot drive until you get your new HDD.
Post back if you have further questions.
cornelius
PB G3 Pismo400, 100 GB 5400 Toshiba internal, 1 GB RAM Mac OS X (10.3.9) Beige G3 OS 8.6
yes, you can copy files without using the finder. if the dock is running and you had the terminal.app in the dock you could use the terminal.app. it is also possible to copy files in single user mode. your best bet is to find another mac and use
FireWire target disk mode .
If you end up with a boot drive, even if it is unstable, you could run repair software and maybe recover it. At the very least, it may be possible to recover the User Folder.
As it is we do not know if the OS is corrupt, if volume structures are messed up and/or if data is damaged. All we know is the "the hard drive is dying."
It is a bit of a crap shoot when you don't have all the information. There is no guarantee the safe mode or target mode will work any better than cloning. One pays one's money and takes one's chances.
cornelius
PB G3 Pismo400, 100 GB 5400 Toshiba internal, 1 GB RAM Mac OS X (10.3.9) Beige G3 OS 8.6
You got me there. That presents a real challenge. Almost any solution hinges on the Finder being there.
Here is another possibility, maybe. If your internal HDD is failing, go ahead and replace the HDD. Install whatever OS you want to, so you have a finder. Place your old HDD in an Firewire enclosure, and if there are any files that are recoverable you can now do so. Of course, there is the possibility that your old HDD may be in too bad shape to work with it. You will then have to consider the option of using a data recovery service.
If that makes sense to you the details can be refined as you go along.
Good luck.
cornelius
PB G3 Pismo400, 100 GB 5400 Toshiba internal, 1 GB RAM Mac OS X (10.3.9) Beige G3 OS 8.6