Lion installation says my hard drive is damaged, now my Mac won't turn on!

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Lion installation says my hard drive is damaged, now my Mac won't turn on!

Help! I just purchased the new Lion software app and was downloading it to my iMac when out of the blue a message popped up saying that the software could not be installed because my hard drive is damaged and cannot be fixed! I now cannot even turn my computer on. The background stays white and I have the apple logo along with other logos that just randomly pop up.... what happened?? Can anyone help me with this? I know my hard drive is not broken or corrupted! how can I get my Mac to turn back on??

Posted on Apr 9, 2012 6:45 AM

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Answer 1

madgie Author

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Apr 9, 2012 6:57 AM in response to madgie

Ok, I have read some of the other messages similar to mine and have managed to get my desktop up again. I am not sure i will attempt to install Lion again if this is going to happen.

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Answer 2

gumsie

Level 4

2,185 points

Apr 9, 2012 8:04 AM in response to madgie

madgie wrote:

I am not sure i will attempt to install Lion again if this is going to happen.

Madgie, ignore trying to install Lion for now. Do you have a backup, (Clone, Time Machine or otherwise)?

Verify your hardware/software as best you can for now and then after you have a recent backup on a separate hard disc, try again with Lion.

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Answer 3

putnik

Level 4

1,185 points

Apr 9, 2012 8:34 AM in response to madgie

Be sure to do some homework before trying again. There is plenty of advice on the internet, for example:

http://www.macworld.com/article/1161087/install_lion_over_leopard.html

As gumsie says, it is important atleast to backup your own data, photos, music etc on another disk. I would get Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) and make a bootable clone of your existing Snow Leopard. Then copy the new Lion installer to this clone as well. With this, you can keep functional (and ask for help here) while you get the Lion installation working and your apps updated.

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Answer 4

nerowolfe

Level 6

13,090 points

Apr 9, 2012 9:01 AM in response to madgie

Sometimes, when installing a large piece of software, areas of your HD that were not used are called into play. If these areas are defective, you would never notice it until you started using them.

This is most likely what happened.

After backing up your current system, run the Disk Utility and select the drive that is giving you problems and then verify and if necessary, repair it.

Again, before doing this, either clone or run TM to backup everything.

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Answer 5

HACKINT0SH

Level 5

5,810 points

Apr 9, 2012 8:38 PM in response to madgie

I am not sure i will attempt to install Lion again if this is going to happen.

Im confused. If there is a legit problem with the HD in some way, blaming Lion isn't really a solution. Fix the issue first.

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Answer 6

madgie Author

Level 1

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Apr 10, 2012 8:17 AM in response to nerowolfe

Thank you all for your help. I will definitely back everything up and run the utility disk. I have read extensively about the many problems people are having installing the new Lion. Glad I was able to get my Mac running again. That was scary! LOL! Thanks again.

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Answer 7

madgie Author

Level 1

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Apr 10, 2012 8:20 AM in response to HACKINT0SH

There is no legit problem with my hard drive. It is not corrupted nor damaged in any way. Lion is somewhat complicated to install (at least for me as I am not very tech savvy).... After reading many, many messages on many websites, I don't feel alone. 🙂 Many people are having the same problem. But, thanks for taking the time to comment.

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