Want to highlight a helpful answer? Upvote!

Did someone help you, or did an answer or User Tip resolve your issue? Upvote by selecting the upvote arrow. Your feedback helps others! Learn more about when to upvote >

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

User profile for user: adityasakhuja
adityasakhuja Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Need my user data from hard drive!

Hi everybody,


This is my very first post here and it's in desperate need for help. Here's what has happened so far.


I was using my MacBook Pro normally until suddenly it froze. Everything froze and I tried to end process but that didn't help either. I was in the middle of something important so I took the quick way out of it - presses the power button to turn it off.


When I turned my mac on, the flashing question mark appeared. At first I didn't know what to do, but then after a quick search through apple support pages I understood that the problem was with the startup disk and mac wasn't able to locate it.


I have now reached safely to Disk Utility using the recovery mode. My main problem in this is that I do not have a backup of my data. And it is really important for me to recover it all. When I am at the disk utility screen, I can see that my data is still on the hard drive. I have an external hard disk that I wana use to backup all my data and then fix my mac later.


I first tried to create an image of my internal drive onto the external drive but this isn't happening. I see an error when it tries to create an image: Input/output error. Is it possible to use the restore option, using my internal drive as the source and external disk as the destination? I was nervous about trying this before confirming.


Please help me recover my data somehow - I have a feeling it can be done somehow, I am just not sure what's the right way to do it.


Thanks a tonne in advance!

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Jun 5, 2013 2:21 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply
User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
361,741 points

Posted on Jun 5, 2013 2:25 PM

Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing the Drive


Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.


Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.


When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.


Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.


Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

View in context
7 replies
Question marked as Best reply
User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
361,741 points

Jun 5, 2013 2:25 PM in response to adityasakhuja

Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing the Drive


Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.


Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.


When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.


Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.


Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

Reply
User profile for user: adityasakhuja
adityasakhuja Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Jun 5, 2013 2:47 PM in response to Kappy

Dear Kappy,


I tried doing exactly as you said.


1. Recovery mode booted

2. S.M.A.R.T. Status : Verified

3. Disk repair complete

4. This is what it shows me when I try to repair disk permissions:


Repairing permissions for "Macintosh HD"

No packages can be found for this disk.

Error: No installer packages can be found for this disk.


Permissions repair complete

Reply
User profile for user: petermac87
petermac87
User level: Level 5
7,447 points

Jun 5, 2013 3:06 PM in response to adityasakhuja

adityasakhuja wrote:


I am just asking this because I am incredibly nervous about my data - I mean no offense to you. But are you sure my data will not be lost when I reinstall OS X ?

Unfortunately, if you have not taken steps in backing up your important data for just these situations, there is no gaurantee that your data can be retrieved. Even expensive Data Recovery software may not be able to recover it. First step next time, Backup. I hope all works out well for you.


Cheers


Pete

Reply

Need my user data from hard drive!

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.
Learn more Sign up