bewilderness

Q: 2009 MBP with Mavericks won't start up, won't back up

I have a mid-2009 MacBook Pro running Mavericks (slowly). Two days ago, it froze and wouldn't respond. I let it sit a while and then held down the power button. When I turned it back on, it got to the grey apple screen and then the loading wheel would run indefinitely. I shut it off and then on again, but to no avail. I looked online and found Linc Davis's answer:

 

Macbook pro won't startup.  Stuck on apple logo with spinning wheel.

 

Pursuant to the advice there, I cleared an external HD, booted into recovery mode (which took a while, but eventually did happen) and the Disk Utility, and from there tried to transfer the 499.11 GB Macintosh HD partition of the 500.11 GB Toshiba HD to a slightly larger partition of my newly reformatted external HD. I waited a little bit (it told me I had 1 day and 8 hours remaining continuously, without change), and then it gave me an "input/output error" and stopped trying. I've since shut it down, not wanting to risk any action without getting advice here first.

 

I do have data on this drive that I don't have in my last backup and would like to save as much as possible. What are my options? What should I try next?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.3), null

Posted on Apr 1, 2016 3:02 PM

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Q: 2009 MBP with Mavericks won't start up, won't back up

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  • by OGELTHORPE,Helpful

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Apr 2, 2016 6:48 PM in response to bewilderness
    Level 9 (52,313 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 2, 2016 6:48 PM in response to bewilderness

    If you have another Mac available, I suggest that you try Target disk mode:

     

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201462

     

    Or take out the HDD, install it in an enclosure and connect it to another Mac and see if you can access your files.

     

    If no success, the you have to decide if you want to try data recovery software available on the Internet.  It will not be free.

     

    Ciao.

  • by bewilderness,

    bewilderness bewilderness Apr 2, 2016 4:41 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 2, 2016 4:41 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Thanks! I was able to connect to another Mac and open the Macintosh HD (it hung a while, but complied). The contents of this layer appear as Applications, Library, opt, System, Users, and four log files. I don't know if this is good or not.

     

    I clicked the triangles to the left of Applications and Users to try and display their contents, without response. I assumed it was waiting for something.

    Then I tried to move the log files, just to see what would happen. After a while, the error appeared that the Finder couldn't complete the operation because some data in the first file couldn't be read or written (Error code -36).

     

    Now I've had a beach ball spinning for some ten minutes. What is the least unsafe thing to do next?

  • by OGELTHORPE,Solvedanswer

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Apr 2, 2016 6:48 PM in response to bewilderness
    Level 9 (52,313 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 2, 2016 6:48 PM in response to bewilderness

    Make an appointment at an apple store genius bar.  Let them look at it.  The evaluation will be FREE.  Then you should be in a position to make an informed decision what to do next.

     

    Ciao.

  • by bewilderness,

    bewilderness bewilderness Apr 2, 2016 5:03 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 2, 2016 5:03 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Thanks. I will do that.

     

    For now, what is the best way to shut off and disconnect these two Macs?

  • by bewilderness,

    bewilderness bewilderness Apr 2, 2016 6:48 PM in response to bewilderness
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 2, 2016 6:48 PM in response to bewilderness

    Update! The spinny beach ball stopped this time when I clicked "okay" on the warning. Unfortunately, the "Users" and "Applications" folders appeared empty when I opened them. It said on the help page I could shut off the Mac in Target Mode just by hitting the power button once, so I did that. Hope it didn't fry anything further.

  • by bewilderness,

    bewilderness bewilderness Apr 3, 2016 8:56 AM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 3, 2016 8:56 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

    There are two Apple Stores in the country I'm living in, according to the Apple website. The one is in my city and another in a city some eight hours away. When one tries to book a Genius Bar appointment online in either, one is informed that at the moment, unfortunately, that service is unavailable. I haven't called yet to see if it's just an issue with the website. Online reviews say one has to wait a good deal of time to be seen and have wildly variable comments about the service. There are on the other hand Apple authorized repair stores nearby as well.

     

    Should I wait for an Apple Store to become available, or is it a better bet to take it to an authorized repair store?

     

    Thanks again.

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Apr 3, 2016 11:00 AM in response to bewilderness
    Level 9 (52,313 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 3, 2016 11:00 AM in response to bewilderness

    Good question and I don't know if I will be able to give you a definitive answer. 

     

    Apple store genius bar appointment evaluations are FREE (at least in the USA). 

     

    Based on my experience, all technicians are not of the same quality or knowledge level so one can expect variation in the service.  Listen closely and ask good questions.

     

    As far as getting the appointment online, my last effort was thwarted by lack of availability on my first attempt but I succeeded on my second try.  They are getting more and more popular, so keep trying.  I would call the store to determine if there is a problem with the online application or if it is a reflection of the demand.

     

    Authorized Apple Service Providers can operate under their own policies.  Where Apple evaluations are free, the AASP may very well charge a consultation fee.  That is not unusual, especially outside the USA.  Like Apple technicians, you can also expect a range in the quality of service at an AASP.  Some may be excellent, some less so.

     

    Ciao.