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pls help: I can't start my mac because I took too much space and now the disk doesn't mount

I am most certain that this is the case: foolishly, I didnt leave much free space and now the disk doesnt want to mount. I tried the single user mode, I also booted from DVD, they appear but the disk utility shows the disk but I cannot repair the disk, because it is unmounted. I tried the basic commands in single user mode, no effect either. I still cant get over the blue screen with the apple logo and a circle running. I need to free up some spasce. Unforetunately, important files were not backedup, so I really cant delete the whole disk. I need to delete specific files.

I came across this in a post:

/sbin/fsck -yf (optional, but a good idea to run a file system check. If you do this, repeat this command if any problems are found.)

/sbin/mount -uw / anables to read and write via the single user mode

/usr/bin/cd /Library/Audio

/bin/rm -R Apple\ Loops - rm is remove

(and any other deletions that you need to do here)

/sbin/reboot

The troulbe is, I dont know where are my big files located - so, how do I orientate myself among the folders? Lets say I would delete my itunes libary, which I would later on renew thanks to the back/up, how would I delete them?

Thank you very much for any advice. I really need to make it work.

Adam

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Mar 27, 2012 4:48 PM

34 replies

Apr 5, 2012 7:23 PM in response to ds store

Thank you for your reply. The issue has already evolved, I am currently trying to fomat the disk, I made the back up, but the DU shows an error "POSIX reports: The operation couldn´t be completed. Cannot allocate memory." I tried again in different format and got "Input/output error". not sure how to deal with that. Glad for any suggestions.

Thank you

fane_j

Level 4

3,697 points

Apr 5, 2012 7:53 PM in response to adamfromcernosice

adamfromcernosice wrote:

I have no idea how to take a drive out and connect it elsewhere.

Unfortunately, I can't help you there. You can find instructions in your MBP's User Guide (which can be downloaded from

<http://support.apple.com/manuals/>

Also, vendors who sell hard disks for Macs usually have instructions in various formats on how to do that; you'd have to Google for it.

there were many of those that had some inner cable issues

The SATA cable is a common source of problems; however, I rather doubt it's the cause of this particular issue.

would it work to install windows on a flash drive and boot from

No. You can't boot like that. It may be possible to boot from a Linux boot flash drive, but it's tricky and it does not work on all Macs. Apple's firmware has reliable ext'l boot support only for Mac OS X drives. Moreover, there's a good chance to fail again if you try with the same hardware.

Perhaps the only solution for you is to buy a new hard drive for your MBP and an external enclosure, FW or USB. (There's a risk that the cause may prove to be the SATA cable after all. Given the MBP's history, I think it's a small risk, but it can't be eliminated definitively without testing.) Put the new drive in the MBP and the old one in the external enclosure. If the old drive is not physically damaged, you should be able to reformat it and use it in the ext'l enclosure, and you'll end up with additional storage. I'm afraid I can't think of anything better…

Apr 6, 2012 1:36 AM in response to fane_j

fane_j,

thank you for sticking up with me thus far. ok, I will buy a new drive, I really need to edit two clips before this Sunday. I dont however know what kind of drive to get. I have a macbook bought in 2007, I believe the hdd is Fujitsu 120gb. I looked at the eshop and they differentiate between: IDE (ultra ATA), Serial ATA II 300, Serial ATA III 600, there are also different brands. Would you have any tip here?

Will the new drive work for sure?

PS what kind of cable do I need to connect the drive to windows? maybe I should try that nevertheless and format it this way?

fane_j

Level 4

3,697 points

Apr 6, 2012 2:01 AM in response to adamfromcernosice

adamfromcernosice wrote:

I have a macbook bought in 2007

Is the HDD as old the MBP? If so, I would expect some problems with it. Of course, it depends on usage, but I use 5 yrs as a rough rule-of-thumb estimation of the life expectancy of a hard drive.

looked at the eshop and they differentiate between: IDE (ultra ATA), Serial ATA II 300, Serial ATA III 600, there are also different brands.

Your Mac is SATA; a SATA II drive should work w/o problems. Make sure it's a 2.5in/9.5mm (not 12.5mm) drive. As to brands… each seem to have resolute partisans and detractors. I've use Seagate, WD, Toshiba, and others, and I can't say I've noticed much difference. Search the forums, you'll find various opinions and useful links, eg

Will the new drive work for sure?

I'm afraid only the Almighty can answer that one. It should work… but you can never rule out a black swan hiding somewhere just out of sight…

pls help: I can't start my mac because I took too much space and now the disk doesn't mount