lariwestside
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: I think my hard drive is broken and I need a backup - urgent!

Last night I updated my Mac's (Macbook Pro from January 2012) software for the first time in a few months. I had three updates, one of which was a security update from this month. Everything installed, though it took a bit longer than usual, then the computer rebooted. While rebooting, my screen froze with a spinning colour wheel and the pop-up from the update; the progress bar was about a quarter done and it said "writing files..." underneath. I quickly Googled on my phone if it was safe to force a shut down and read that it was. Then I went to bed thinking, "I'll start my computer in safe mode tomorrow morning and be sure to buy an external hard drive this week." (I know, I KNOW I am an idiot for not doing this sooner; my excuse is that I didn't have the money and I always forgot about it when I went out to run errands. I thought about just paying for extra Dropbox but I recently moved countries and don't have a credit card anymore. I've already been beating myself up over this for hours.) I have been looking up a LOT of things and have read so much that could be relevant to my situation, but there is always something that is slightly different so I thought I would explain my own situation in detail. (And sorry about the spelling mistakes, with my Mac shot I had to switch to a laptop I can't stand using.)

 

Well, I woke up the next day and started the Mac in safe mode. It took a long time, but a quick Google search showed that was normal too. I clicked around a bit, thought about opening Disk Utility, but didn't because the Apple article I was reading about safe mode didn't mention it. I opened Finder, clicked the Apple and hit and restart, and that is when the trouble began.

 

When trying to start normally, there was a progress bar under the grey apple. I had never seen it before for a normal start-up. Eventually the Mac just shut down. I tried starting it in safe mode again, it also shut down a fraction of the way into the progress bar.

 

Next I ran Disk Utility. When verifying my Macintosh HD, I got errors such as "incorrect number of threads when running" and something about an incorrect catalog. At the end of the verification, I got the prompt that Disk Utility needed to repair the files. I clicked Repair, it started to fix things, but eventually red errors still came up and got the message "Disk Utility can't repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."

 

At this point I raced to the nearest electronics store, money be damned, and came home and attached my new hard drive to the Mac. It was recognized on the left side when I opened Disk Utility again. When I selected my hard drive and clicked "New Image" and selected the destination as my new hard drive, I very quickly got the error "Unable to create disk image using disk utility (error -61)".

 

After a brief mental breakdown I shut down the computer again and rebooted in single-user mode. I typed "fsck -fy", a few lines of text entered immediately, then I hit enter. It started searching until it ended with the error "The volume Macintosh HD could not be fully verified." Now I've turned the Mac off and don't plan on turning it back on until I have a solution.

 

One suggestion that I have read on all of these walk-throughs is to insert the installation disk that comes with your Mac. Well, I definitely never had one and now I can't get on my Mac to put OS X Recovery on a USB.

 

I am ordering DiskWarrior later today when I can borrow a credit card, it should get here in less than 48 hours according to the German company that sells it here. Will that be too late for my files? Is there anything else I can try for getting my data off my Mac? I tried to use Time Machine when I first got the Mac but for some reason didn't, either it was too complicated for me as a new user or there were monthly payments involved or something. In any case, when I tried to restore a backup using Time Machine, no options came up.

 

Is it possible this was caused by the software update or is it just a horrible coincidence? I have never had any problems with my Mac before so I just cannot believe these two things are unrelated.

MacBook Pro (13-inch Late 2011)

Posted on Sep 25, 2014 3:15 AM

by lariwestside,Solvedanswer
lariwestside lariwestside
Level 1 (0 points)
A:

In case anyone comes across this thread while having similar problems, here is how the rest of the situation played out:

 

Alsoft did not get in touch by the time I had my Apple store appointment. At the Genius Bar, the Genius who was helping me tried Target Disk Mode as well as a few other tests to determine if it was the cable attaching the hard drive or the hard drive itself that was broken. It turns out the hard drive was the problem and there was nothing that could be done to recover the files. I asked if I could keep the hard drive and, being under Apple Care, I could buy it for 157 euros (about $225), which I agreed to do before I left.

 

By the end of the day I had heard from Alsoft, who said it's usually possible to "rent" the hard drive from Apple with a deposit and then return it to them after a few days. It is then possible to attach the old hard drive to your fixed Mac, run DiskWarrior, and make a report that can determine the state of your files (I think - didn't get a lot of details). In any case, the guy that emailed me from Alsoft said it was probable that the files could be retrieved despite everyone at the Apple store trying not to let me get my hopes up.

 

In any case, it all turned out wonderfully in the end - I went to pick up my Macbook a week later and Apple had been able to transfer everything (except a few pieces of music) from the old hard drive onto the new one! I didn't have to pay to keep the old drive either. And of course, the first thing I did when I started using my Mac again was make a backup using Time Machine. (And since then I've realised that I'm actually running Lion instead of Mountain Lion, oops.)

 

So if you find yourself in a similar situation, be sure to contact Alsoft as it seems like there are still other ways to retrieve your files.

Posted on Oct 8, 2014 8:47 AM

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lariwestside

Q: I think my hard drive is broken and I need a backup - urgent!

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 25, 2014 9:38 AM in response to lariwestside
    Level 9 (74,005 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 25, 2014 9:38 AM in response to lariwestside

    Can you install an OS on the new hard drive you bought? If so, boot from that and you should be able to copy the data from the original drive to the new drive.

     

    Startup - Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar

     

    Startup Issues - Resolve


    Startup Issues - Resolve (2)


    Hold off on Diskwarrior until you see if this works.

  • by lariwestside,

    lariwestside lariwestside Sep 25, 2014 1:55 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 25, 2014 1:55 PM in response to Eric Root

    I haven't seen this solution before so thanks for suggesting it! The computer I'm using in the meantime is a PC, is it possible to install an OS on the external hard drive by connecting it to a Windows OS? Sorry, this is one of the areas in which I'm the least computer-literate. I also just realised I didn't specify it was an external hard drive in my original post, not sure if that changes things.

  • by Eric Root,Helpful

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 26, 2014 8:33 AM in response to lariwestside
    Level 9 (74,005 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 26, 2014 8:33 AM in response to lariwestside

    You can't install an OS on an external hard drive formatted for Windows, so my suggestion won't work.

     

    If you have access to another Mac computer, if the 2 computers have the correct cable connections, try the Target Disk Mode. You can then copy the files over. You can also attach the external hard drive to the other Mac and format it using Disk Utility as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Select the Options button and select GUID. That will give you a place to copy your data to.

     

    Target Disc Mode

  • by lariwestside,

    lariwestside lariwestside Sep 27, 2014 12:15 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 27, 2014 12:15 AM in response to Eric Root

    Hi, thanks again for your reply. By the time you had posted your original post I had already ordered DiskWarrior, so I gave it a spin last night. It told me my hard drive was quite damaged and it did not give me the option to rebuild. I attached the external drive and it did not appear on DiskWarrior's preview as an option to copy files over. After calling Alsoft long distance about ten times in the last three hours they were open and sending them an email, I was forced to hit "cancel" on my DiskWarrior rebuild. But after having been on idling for quite a few hours, the program experienced a problem closing and I wasn't able to shut down my Mac normally, forced to hold down the power button again with the DW disc still inside the Mac. I still have not heard from Alsoft so I made an appointment at the Apple store in France today. Considering they have tons of Macs I hope whoever helps me will try Target Disk Mode as I don't know many people here who have Macs.

     

    Thanks for your help so far. Just thought I would add what had happened so far in case anyone else was having a similar problem. I have not touched my Mac since the forced shutdown and I don't plan on doing so until I get to the Apple store and explain everything, including the disc still inside.

  • by Eric Root,Helpful

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 27, 2014 8:25 AM in response to lariwestside
    Level 9 (74,005 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 27, 2014 8:25 AM in response to lariwestside

    You are welcome.

  • by lariwestside,Solvedanswer

    lariwestside lariwestside Oct 8, 2014 8:47 AM in response to lariwestside
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 8, 2014 8:47 AM in response to lariwestside

    In case anyone comes across this thread while having similar problems, here is how the rest of the situation played out:

     

    Alsoft did not get in touch by the time I had my Apple store appointment. At the Genius Bar, the Genius who was helping me tried Target Disk Mode as well as a few other tests to determine if it was the cable attaching the hard drive or the hard drive itself that was broken. It turns out the hard drive was the problem and there was nothing that could be done to recover the files. I asked if I could keep the hard drive and, being under Apple Care, I could buy it for 157 euros (about $225), which I agreed to do before I left.

     

    By the end of the day I had heard from Alsoft, who said it's usually possible to "rent" the hard drive from Apple with a deposit and then return it to them after a few days. It is then possible to attach the old hard drive to your fixed Mac, run DiskWarrior, and make a report that can determine the state of your files (I think - didn't get a lot of details). In any case, the guy that emailed me from Alsoft said it was probable that the files could be retrieved despite everyone at the Apple store trying not to let me get my hopes up.

     

    In any case, it all turned out wonderfully in the end - I went to pick up my Macbook a week later and Apple had been able to transfer everything (except a few pieces of music) from the old hard drive onto the new one! I didn't have to pay to keep the old drive either. And of course, the first thing I did when I started using my Mac again was make a backup using Time Machine. (And since then I've realised that I'm actually running Lion instead of Mountain Lion, oops.)

     

    So if you find yourself in a similar situation, be sure to contact Alsoft as it seems like there are still other ways to retrieve your files.