HD corrupted. No Time Machine. Using Disk Utility and New External HD

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Lmeagno Author

Level 1

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HD corrupted. No Time Machine. Using Disk Utility and New External HD

Two and a half years ago I brought a Macbook Pro that I have used heavily and virtually non-stop for work.

A few days ago I was using it like normal when a few applications crashed and froze.

I could click to other applications, but they too would immediately freeze.

I shut off my computer by holding down the power switch.

When I turned it back on the Apple logo and loading wheel would appear for ~5 minutes before turning into a circle with a line through it.

I restarted my macbook into recovery mode (command + R) and looked into Disc Utility.

I verified the top volume (500.11 GB APPLE HDD) and it appears to be OK.

However, the volume below it (Macintosh HD) was in a gray text and after verification: needs to be repaired.

But in trying to repair it, Disk Utility can't repair this disk. And asked to Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your back-up files.

I'm not great at foresight, and I did not use Time Machine or Dropbox.

Thus, all my important and irreplaceable data in stuck in this computer. And I do not want to erase it.

I have an empty 2TB external drive (WD My Passport Ultra) that Disk Utility recognizes when it is put in, and I thought to restore the data in Macintosh HD into it. This does not work or leads to a setup loading bar that freezes Disk Utility.

Since the incident, I've been on another computer tearing through forums and discussions, finding no real answer outside of seeking a professional (and potentially expensive) service to extract my files. And if need be there is a small local Apple service here that could do that. But for the time being

Is there any way I can save my data into an external device?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012), Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Jul 24, 2015 5:06 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Jul 24, 2015 5:13 PM in response to Lmeagno

When a volume appears gray in the Disk Utility sidebar it means the volume is not mounted. Open Disk Utility, select Macintosh HD volume then click on the Mount icon in the Disk Utility toolbar. Does this work? If not then you can try a backup to your external drive. Connect it to the computer. Now, boot from the Recovery HD:

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.

1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue

button.

2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.

3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.

4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it

to the Destination entry field.

5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to

the Source entry field.

6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.

Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.

If this works it will clone the drive to the external drive.

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Answer 2

Lmeagno Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 24, 2015 5:24 PM in response to Kappy

When I attempt to Mount Macintosh HD it says it failed and could not be mounted. It prompts me to run First Aid on the disk but I get the same result as above.

I've restarted the computer, held 'option', booted into Recovery HD.

In 'Restore' I've put (Macintosh HD) as the source and my external drive as the destination.

Currently there is a Setup loading bar on the bottom-right that doesn't seem to do anything after about 30 minutes. I've attempted this before, and forced shut down the computer and looked at the external drive on another computer. There is nothing on it.

Should I instead put (500.11 GB APPLE HDD) in the source field, or just wait it out, or other?

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Jul 24, 2015 5:31 PM in response to Lmeagno

You did it correctly. I think you didn't give it time. 30 minutes doesn't copy much from a possibly bad drive. You should be prepared to let it go for several hours before giving up.

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Answer 4

Lmeagno Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 24, 2015 5:33 PM in response to Kappy

Thank you for the reassurance, and for your time. I will leave the machine be for however long it needs and reply back to you if it was successful or not.

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Answer 5

Lmeagno Author

Level 1

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Jul 24, 2015 9:36 PM in response to Kappy

Reporting back. The screen simply froze and the external HD was not suited for Macintosh (I didn't do my research well enough).

I will be turning this "WB My Passport" back and ordering one that is compatible. It'll be a few days, but if it works out I'll make sure to post it here in case anyone with a similar question passes through.

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Answer 6

Lmeagno Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 31, 2015 3:12 PM in response to Kappy

Turns out my main issue is that my HD is unmounted and Disk Utility is able to mount it again. I'm planning on taking my computer to a local shop to get it looked at, as every effort I've been able to do so far has accomplished nothing.

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Answer 7

Mar 12, 2016 5:25 PM in response to Lmeagno

Hey there, after hours and hours of searching the internet I found your post and it explains everything that is happening to me right now with one key exception: I am using a compatible external hard-drive since I made sure to reformat it for Mac before starting the restore process via Disk UtilitY. Were you ever able to retrieve your stuff?? Right now there is a blue and white loading bar labelled 'Setup' but there is no time estimate and it's been going for hours... Also, I never mounted the volumes before proceeding. Should I keep waiting or should I hit cancel and mount them?

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