Can't delete any files - harddisk problem?

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Can't delete any files - harddisk problem?

Hi!

I have a Macbook Pro 15" from medio 2009. Yesterday, I tried to download a file, then a message popped up that said, that the hard drive is full. However, I have 22 GB free space, so it didn't add up. Then I couldn't run any of the macintosh applications (i.e. Hard drive repair, time machine etc.). Moreso, I couldn't delete any files nor empty the trash can. An error -50 appears when I do that. When I reboot my mac it takes way too long to start up. Has anyone experienced some of the same problems? Do I need to replace my hard disk? If so, how can I backup my files if Time Machine doesn't work?

Kind regards,

MS

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on May 22, 2013 8:59 AM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

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May 22, 2013 11:38 AM in response to mahmoudsaied

You need to back up immediately if you haven't done it already. What backups do you have now?

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Answer 2

mahmoudsaied Author

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May 22, 2013 11:41 AM in response to Linc Davis

I have no backups so far. I can't even open finder. When I start my mac it opens the last three applications; microsoft powerpoint, word & safari. But finder isn't there. Its totally ****** up :/

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

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May 22, 2013 11:45 AM in response to mahmoudsaied

If you want to preserve the data on the boot drive, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data, you can skip this step.

There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to fully boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.

1. Boot from the Recovery partition or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”

2. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.

3. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.

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Answer 4

mahmoudsaied Author

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May 22, 2013 11:52 AM in response to Linc Davis

Thx for your answer. Ill try a backup now, and see if it works. The weird thing is that when i tested the hard drive it said that it is working fine :/

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Answer 5

mahmoudsaied Author

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May 25, 2013 6:51 AM in response to mahmoudsaied

I managed to log on the guest user and now I can use my mac (although it's limited) . Do you know any good hard drive cleaning applications? Because I couldn't format my HDD nor could I reinstall Lion on my mac from recovery mode :S

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Answer 6

Linc Davis

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May 25, 2013 7:32 AM in response to mahmoudsaied

Have you backed up your data?

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Answer 7

mahmoudsaied Author

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May 25, 2013 7:56 AM in response to Linc Davis

Yeah I have :)

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Answer 8

Linc Davis

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May 25, 2013 8:21 AM in response to mahmoudsaied

What happened when you tried to erase the startup volume in Recovery mode?

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Answer 9

mahmoudsaied Author

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May 25, 2013 8:26 AM in response to Linc Davis

I cant remember exactly but i Think an error message popped up and told me I can't erase the drive

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Answer 10

Linc Davis

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May 25, 2013 10:22 AM in response to mahmoudsaied

I am dependent on you for complete, accurate information. I'm not interested in trying to guess what's going on. You tried to do something in Recovery, and you got an error message. What exactly did you try to do, and what exactly was the message?

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Answer 11

mahmoudsaied Author

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May 26, 2013 6:29 AM in response to Linc Davis

The problem solved it self somehow :S I took out my hard drive. Then unplugged it at put it back in. Then I logged on my guest account and gained access to all my files. Now, I have erased the harddisk and installed Mountain Lion via USB 🙂 So far, my mac is working alright again.

But I'm afraid that the problem might occur again.

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Answer 12

mahmoudsaied Author

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May 29, 2013 3:39 AM in response to Linc Davis

I gave it tona technician for a free diagnosis, and he said that all hardware tests are ok - but it might help if I replace the harddisk. So I found a hitachi 500 gb 7200 rpm taken from a windows laptop (but only used for a couple of weeks). Do you think it might be compatible with my mac?

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Answer 13

Linc Davis

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May 29, 2013 7:02 AM in response to mahmoudsaied

Some 2.5" drives are too thick to fit, but I don't know whether that's one of them.

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Answer 14

mahmoudsaied Author

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Jun 1, 2013 3:22 PM in response to Linc Davis

UPDATE:

I bought the Hitachi hard disk - and it worked fine for about 8-9 hours. Then the same problem occurred just as with the old HDD - I couldn't delete any files ("Unable to delete files. An unexpected error occurred (error code -50)") <--- alert message translated from Danish.

So, I'm guessing that it's not the HDD that's the problem, because I've also bought an external adapter/case for my internal HDD and I'm using it right now by booting from it via USB - and it's working alright so far. I'm thinking it might be the HDD connecting cable - or even worse - the motherboard :/ :/

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Answer 15

Linc Davis

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Jun 1, 2013 5:23 PM in response to mahmoudsaied

Most likely you're right.

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