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dead macbook, please advise

post #1 of 10
5/14/10 at 4:38pm
Thread Starter 
i need to grab a few docs from my dead macbook ASAP. is it possible to recover a couple of files without creating an image of the whole disk? background: -problem started after a hard shutdown. -i can get to the log in screen, enter my username/password, and click "log in". after that, it goes to the default mac background, nothing else on the screen save the cursor, and after about 45 sec it returns to the log in screen. -i booted from the startup disk and repaired/verified the disk, but the above problem still exists. -i tried to create an image of the Macintosh HD with disk utility, but i'm running into problems probably because the external hdd im trying to back up to is formatted in FAT32 as opposed to mac os extended. GAHHH FUCKal;sikjaw;lk3n how should i proceed, anybody?
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post #2 of 10
5/14/10 at 8:31pm
dang i have a macbook, i better back up my files
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post #3 of 10
5/14/10 at 11:13pm
if you need to grab a few files you shouldnt have to image the whole drive. Just plug the external in and in recovery mode you should have access to the files. That is if the OS doesnt lock you out. No experience in this sort of thing with Macs, but have done it dozens of times on broke windows boxes. Second choice is to get a SATA to USB cable or a 2.5" SATA hdd enclosure and take the drive out of the mac, slap it in there and copy the data you need off it by hooking it up to another PC as it were an external drive.
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post #4 of 10
5/14/10 at 11:19pm
InB4TheMe.
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post #5 of 10
5/15/10 at 12:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bach View Post
-i booted from the startup disk and repaired/verified the disk, but the above problem still exists.

You can boot using the System Tools CD? And see the hard drive?
Once you're to the desktop, just copy the files onto a thumb drive, or connect a cat-5 cable to another computer and move the files you need, or connect wirelessly using bluetooth or wi-fi.

Or what am I missing?
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post #6 of 10
5/16/10 at 3:38am
Hey Bro - An Ubuntu Live CD will be able to mount that Mac HD, you should be able to drive the files to a thumb drive in it.
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post #7 of 10
5/16/10 at 9:43am
Try FireWire target disk mode. Basically you need another firewire equipped mac to be used as your startup disk which accesses your MacBook, which is seen simply as an external disk in this case. You can go in and copy whatever files you need.
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post #8 of 10
5/16/10 at 8:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by butterflystyle View Post
Hey Bro -

An Ubuntu Live CD will be able to mount that Mac HD, you should be able to drive the files to a thumb drive in it.

+1. Usually works for me if my main hard drive fails.
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post #9 of 10
5/19/10 at 9:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RanMan View Post
Try FireWire target disk mode. Basically you need another firewire equipped mac to be used as your startup disk which accesses your MacBook, which is seen simply as an external disk in this case. You can go in and copy whatever files you need.

This works to activate all you need to do is hold T on start-up (if you can start it up at all)

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1661

Your other option is to pull the HDD out and use one of those USB HDD Docks to mount it as an external disk on another computer, it's what I did...
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post #10 of 10
5/19/10 at 9:58am
Hoax thread. Apples don't break.
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