Can internal hard drive be accidentally erased?

I really need help. Hubby was carrying out some diagnostics test on his macbook and our 2 yr old daughter pressed some buttons and shut the lid. Hubby now cannot get it to work. He's tried starting it up with the utility discs but it doesn't recognise the internal hard drive. Is there anything we can do to sort this out? Hubby hasn't spoken to us for 24 hours now. Please please help.

No, there should be another volume there... which would be your internal HD.
From this point there isn't to much you can do, because the disk utility should definatly pick up your internal.
Ok, I don't know if this will work either, but when you turn your computer on, hold the option key, technically two things should show up, your start-up DVD, and your internal HD. If neither show up, go to an apple store, or even just call apple support.
Another thing they'll get you to do is reset your Logic board. To do this you turn off your computer, unplug it, take out the battery, and hold the power button for 10 seconds... then plug it back in and try again...
Hope something works,
Cheers.

Similar Messages

  • How large can an internal hard drive be on a Mac Pro part #ZOD8 ?

    How large can an internal hard drive be on a Mac Pro part #ZOD8 ?

    Mac Pro tower can support drives up to 4TB is size.
    If running 10.8.4, 10.8.5 or 10.9.0, there is a bug in Disk Utility that precludes proper erasing of drives over 2.2TB as Internal drives

  • Can't install 10.4.9 on my internal hard drive - no destination volume

    Hello,
    I replaced the internal hard drive of my MacBook2.1 and am attempting to install Mac OS 10.4.9
    Here are the specs:
    500 GB Western Digital BPKT Scorpio Black Internal SATA Hard Drive
    Intel Core 2 Duo
    2 GHz
    1 GB of memory
    I start up the MacBook and insert the Install disk. I encounter a problem when at the 'Select Destination' section of the install. It says to 'Select a destination volume to install the Mac OS X software' but there is no destination volume available to select!
    This led me to opening the 'Disk Utility'. When the Disk Utility is open, it shows the hard drive (the SMART status is verified) on the left. However, it says the total capacity of the HD is 3.6 TB, which is not correct. I erase the HD with the 'Mac OS Extended (journaled)' volume format. I attempt to partition the HD with one partition with the same format. When I click 'Partition' a window pops up that says 'Partition failed with the error - Input/output error'.
    Not sure what to do to prevent this error. I do have install disks for Mac OS 10.5.4 and can partition the HD with that, but still no destination volume available when tryint to install 10.4.9. The MacBook2.1 can with version 10.4.9 and I cannot install 10.5.4.
    I had read some discussions about problems with External HD's but haven't read any on Internal. I am really hoping someone can help me with this problem as I bought this MacBook second hand (from my wonderful sister) and am unfamiliar with it. Do I need a particular HD to install 10.4.9 properly? I'm all ears.
    Thank you,
    Highlander

    Hello,
    Was Highlander85's issue ever been resolved?A
    I'm experiencing the exact same problem as Highlander85 except my system is an iMac and I'm attempting to erase/partition an internal Seagate Barracuda 500G SATA. I have tried everything that Highlander tried and still no luck. I also confirmed w/Seagate that adjusting jumper settings for this drive is not necessary. Is there a chance there is an issue w/my RAM or would you think it's time to open up my machine again and R/R myHDD while I am still within the stores return policy?
    The spec's for my system per your last reply are below:
    OS X 10.4.7 (Have original disks)
    Hardware Overview:
    Model Name: iMac
    Model Identifier: iMac5,1
    Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
    Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
    Number Of Processors: 1
    Total Number Of Cores: 2
    L2 Cache: 4 MB
    Memory: 2.5 GB
    Bus Speed: 667 MHz
    Boot ROM Version: IM51.0090.B09
    SMC Version (system): 1.9f4
    Thanks in advance!
    Cheers,
    Kurt

  • I have 21,000  photos stored in iphoto. I have a WD 1.5TB backup external hard drive.  What is the best way to erase about half of my photos on my internal hard drive?

    I have 21,000  photos stored in iphoto. I have a WD 1.5TB backup external hard drive.  What is the best way to erase about half of my photos on my internal hard drive?

    Here's one way to do what you want:
    Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
    1. Quit iPhoto
    2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
    Now you have two full versions of the Library.
    3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
    Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
    Some Notes:
    As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
    You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
    You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager

  • Can I use my old internal hard drive and copy everything into the new one?

    My internal hard drive is running out of space, and I want to buy a new one. But to do that, I'll have to buy a external hard drive to back up everything and then copy it back onto the new internal hard drive , right? I don't have that much budget. So can I use the old internal hard drive that I took out of my Macbook and copy everthing back into the new internal hard drive after the repalecment? so I don't need to buy a external hard drive to back up everything
    Tks!

    You will have to buy a new HDD and an enclosure to make the transfer.  You can use Disk Utility to make the transfer.
    INSTALLING A NEW HDD IN A MBP
    1. Make certain that you have backed up all of your important data.
    2. You will need a HDD enclosure.  One with a USB connection will do.  A 9 pin Firewire is better.
    3. Install your new drive in the enclosure and connect it to your MBP.
    4. Open DISK UTILITY>ERASE.  From the left hand column drag the new drive into the 'Name' field.  Make sure that the format is 'Mac OS Extended (Journaled)'.  Click on the 'Erase' button.
    5. Click on the 'Restore' button (on top).  Drag the old drive into the 'Source' field and the new drive into the 'Destination'  field.  Click on the 'Restore' button on the bottom right hand corner.
      Depending upon the amount of data you are transferring, this may take a couple hours or more.  A Firewire will speed up the transfer.  This will result in both drives having identical information on them. INSTALLING
    6. After the data transfer has completed, you may swap the drives.  Start the MBP and you have finished the installation.  The initial boot may take a bit longer than you are accustomed to, but that is normal.
    7. When you are satisfied that the new hard drive if functioning properly, you can erase the old drive and use it for any needs that you may have.

  • I'm running Final Cut Express 2. How can I move entire project and application from one internal hard drive to another? Ran out of space on one drive. Thanks.

    I'm running Final Cut Express 2. My video project is 95% done and I've run out of space on my 500g internal hard drive. How can I (1) move the complete FCE program and video to my unused 250g internal hard drive and operate it from there and (2) how do I then purge all the FCE info from the 500g drive without losing anything from the 250 drive?
    Also, is it possible to change the aspect ratio from 4:3 to 16:9 when the project is finished? If so, how? I now know this all should have been done before I started. Thanks for the help.

    1. You can't move the application. It must remain on the system drive. Move your capture scratch folder to the external FireWire drive and use the reconnect function in the project.
    2. What's the media 16:9 or 4:3?

  • I have a late 2012 iMac running osx 10.8.5.  I keep losing access to my internal hard drive.  I can reboot and regain access and it will last for a few minutes or hours.  Disk utility does not seems to help.

    I have a late 2012 iMac with an I5 precessor running OSX 10.8.5 and a 1tb internal hard drive.  I keep losing access to the internal hard drive/startup disk.
    I can reboot and everything operates as normal for a few minutes or hours but then I lose all access again to anything on the hard drive.  The computer is still up and running but no files can be accessed and certain websites cannot be acessed even though internet access appears to be normal.  Disk utility can only find permission errors related to iTunes which can be repaired only to come back at the next scan (I would not think permission errors would have anything to do with the hard drive crashing).  It does not seem to matter what program I am using at the time access is lost and it can lose access sometimes right after reboot when no program is running.

    You will need to boot into the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart or hold down the option/alt key during restart and select it) to run Disk Utility/Disk Repair.

  • I am running 10.5.2 from a USB, I need to mount my internal hard drive, can anyone help me?

    Hi everybody. My imac suddenly died on me. It couldn't start, right after the apple sign appeared, an interrogation sign showed. I ran the disk utility, and the problem was that  the internal hard drive was not mounted. I installed the 10.5.2 (the one it came with the imac) in a USB flash drive, which I am running now. Is it possible to mount my internal drive so I can back up my data? (I know  should back my data up regularly, but I didn't). Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Best regards,
    Alvaro.

    I suspect a failed HD, in that case I'd recommend Apple Hardware Test in Extended Mode at least 3x. You will need the original install discs that shipped with the computer, if you do not have them any longer you will need to order a replacement set from Apple by calling AppleCare. You will need a credit card and the serial number of the machine. The cost should be nominal.

  • Can I install an internal hard drive in i-mac intel 17" ?

    Where can I get an internal hard drive compatible for intel i-mac? I need a larger hard drive, like 250gb or something. Can I install it myself?

    You can go to a apple service center like CompUSA and have them install one for you. If you buy the drive from them, they will install it for free, otherwise it is like a 40 dollar charge. DO NOT attempt to install it yourself, not only will you void your warranty, the intel iMac is very difficult to open and work on and you will probably break something.
    Glor

  • How can I browse T.M. backups made BEFORE internal hard drive upgrade?

    Hi, all. I have googled and googled with no info on my particular situation. Maybe one of you can help. Here's hoping...
    I have a MacBook Pro and use Time Machine to back up to a Firewire hard drive. I do not back up my System and Applications, just files. Consequently, when I recently upgraded my internal hard drive I restored all my data and settings from the original internal hard drive (not the Time Machine).
    From there Time Machine began making NEW backups of the NEW hard drive, no problem, but I cannot browse the backups of the previous internal hard drive. Is there any way I can get Time Machine to recognize all of these backups as existing from the same machine and let me browse back beyond the internal hard drive upgrade?
    Any help is greatly appreciated!

    I think you have to browse them separately, but you should be able to do so by right-clicking (control+click) on the Time Machine icon in the dock or by holding the option key when clicking the icon in the menu bar.
    Choose "Browse other Time Machine Disks" and you should see the old series of backups.
    ~Lyssa

  • How can I replace my internal hard drive on my Macbook?

    I have a 13 inch aluminum late 2008 MacBook.  The processor is 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Memory 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3 running OS X Lion 10.7.4.  The hard drive is currently set up as follows:
    Macintosh HD 132.5 GB (with only 1.32 GB free)
    BOOTCAMP 26.69 GB (with 6.15 GB free)
    I am unsure if this matters but here is the info just in case:
    On my Macintosh HD I have:
    Audio 3.04 GB
    Movies 33.11 GB
    Photos 36.98 GB
    Apps 15.27 GB
    Backups Zero GB
    Other 42.78 GB
    I only use 1 software program on my Bootcamp (which I hardly use but must keep to run an electric vinyl cutting machine).  I have thought of re-partitioning the drive.  But then I got thinking that maybe the drive is just too small and it's no use.
    I also have an older Lacie 300 GB external hard drive that I use to keep all of my iTunes Library, most of my iPhoto library and most of my data.  I have another older Lacie 300 GB external hard drive that I use exclusively for my Time Machine back ups.
    I also have a Western Digital 2 TB external hard drive that I use to put all of my movies on so that I can play them on any of my computers or plug into my Play Station 3 and play them on any of my TV's.
    I have considered just getting another Western Digital 2 TB external hard drive to use for virtually all of the files/pictures/movies/music etc. on this internal hard drive.
    Right now I am unsure what the best move is to make.  I spent 30 minutes on the phone with Apple Tech Support today trying to buy an internal hard drive to install myself.  They were not very helpful (in fact he told me I would have to ship in my machine just to replace the battery which is NOT true).  Is there anyone out there who can give me some advice on this situation?  Any help or suggestion would be appreciated. 
    Thank you in advance.

    For a new hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE
    Or OWC  http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
    Here are video instructions on replacing the hard drive on the Aluminum Unibody http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_13_unibody/
    To transfer your current hard drive I like the free application Carbon Copy Cloner. It makes a bootable copy of everything on your hard drive http://www.bombich.com/index.html You'll need a cheap SATA external hard drive case. Put the new drive in the case then format and partition the new drive and clone your old drive to the new one. Check that it's set up right by booting up from the external drive. Then replace your old hard drive with the new one and put your old one in the external case.
    Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Aluminum-External-Enclosure-Capacity/dp/B000XPS3U6/r ef=pd_cp_pc_3
      If you don’t have the tools to open up the MacBook OWC has a set for $5
    http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TOOLKITMHD/

  • Can I clone and transfer from the internal hard drive to an external hard drive ?

    I got an intel duo iMac, the machine is very good even if it is almost 3 years old. But with the internal hard drive having 320 Gb I am running out of hard drive space. I have looked into changing the internal hard drive but that involves having to send the machine away to have that done. So I was wondering if I could just transfer all the Mac OS X and all the applications and settings within three user accounts to say a 2 TB external hard drive, and boot from that, using cloning software.
                 Alternatively, is there a way to transfer the iPhoto and iMovie libraries to an external hard drive. That would free up space. I do not know how, if that is possible, although I have managed that with iTunes. My iMac is running Snow Leopard.
              Regards from John5801

    John,
    USB should be fine for general computer use, but media may add a little too much for the sustained rate that USB2 provides. In a previous career I did a lot of video editing. Firewire was much preferred in that task because of its stability at higher rates. I can see why the SuperDuper! people might suggest it.
    When I cloned the wife's iMac, I had replaced the HDD on the MacBook Pro with a USB pocket drive that I've kept the original MacBook's installation mounted on. I've booted directly to that external drive, so you should be okay if you can make the clone across the USB. When I cloned the wife's machine I booted the MacBook Pro with a fresh HDD in Firewire target mode and connected it as an external Firewire 800 drive. Firewire 800 is much faster, but you'll need the cable and everything to be right.
    Firewire has a better reputation among people running a lot of media from their drive. I would suggest that you try and get an external drive kit that can support both. I think your iMac supports both firewire 400 AND firewire 800 along with the 3 USB2 ports. I'm guessing based on my wife's 24" imac. The fastest would be the Firewire 800, but that standard is about to be pushed aside in both cases.
    Hope that helped.

  • How do you move or can I move Itune folders (Movies), (TV Shows) and (Home Videos) to other internal hard drives (running out of space) on my computer's main hard drive and have Itunes recongize where they are?

    I built my own computer which has 4 internal hard drives with 3 internal hard drives that are 3tb.  With my movies and tv shows, I need to know if I can move the Itunes folders (Movies, TV shows and Home Video's) and move each one of them to 3 seperate internal hard drives while Itunes can still find them to play with my apple tv.  Does anyone know how I can do it?

    While you can do that, it is not a feature of iTunes.  Put your movies on the external drive, then add them to iTunes by dragging the files to iTunes while holding the option (alt) key down so it leaves the files where they are located.  There are other ways to move them if they are already added but they can be more involved and tricky.  If it's just one or two try:  http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=relocateselected

  • HT204370 I have changed my internal hard drive on my macbook pro. I have put old hard drive into a capsule and have this plugged into my laptop. I can't find the movies on my old hard drive now? Any idea how I can move them to iTunes again? cloud taking H

    I have just changed my internal Hard drive on my MacBook pro. I had recently downloaded some movies on iTunes which I want to put into my iTunes library on my new internal hard drive. I have put my old internal hard drive into an external capsule but when I open the icon of the hard drive from the desktop I can't find my movies.
    At the moment I have the new movies downloading again from the cloud but it is literally taking hours for even one movie to load.
    When I changed the internal hard drive I restored my info from my old external hard drive which hadn't been backed up in a month and hence does not have my latest movies...
    I am concerned that I might go over my internet usage limit (flatmate is refusing to change to unlimited package!!!!) by downloading all the movies again from the cloud never mind how long it is taking...
    Is there any way to restore all my info and media from the old internal Hard drive in the capsule as well as from the external hard drive?

    It means there is no bootable system on the drive. If you still have access to the old drive, then I suggest you boot from it then clone it to the new internal drive. Use OPTION boot to boot from the Recovery HD on the old drive:
    Boot to the Recovery HD:
    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.
    Source means the external old drive. Destination means the new internal drive.

  • Internal hard drive- can it be used as an external hard drive???

    Well, this may be ranked right up there with dumb stupid questions but I have to ask. My sons both have iMacs- one has a new 80G internal hard drive. The other has the original one (600mhz iMac). I have the 20G internal one that was removed from iMac #1- is there any way that can be set up for iMac #2 as an external drive? I don't believe there is anything wrong with it and iMac#2 user would like to have more hard drive space...... Thanks for any help with this! Judy

    mrstee,
    Before I upgraded my iMac, I went looking for an external 3.5" enclosure. I went to BestBuy and then CompUSA. There are more choices at CompUSA, and yet, I left CompUSA empty handed because their choices were 1) clunky looking, 2) pricey, and 3) the specifications on the enclosures left me wondering about their (intended) compatibility with OS X.
    I purchased my external 3.5" enclosure from CDW/MacWarehouse. It is a Macally PHR-100AF (strictly firewire) enclosure. They also have the PHR-100A (strictly USB 2.0), and PHR-100AC (USB 2.0 and Firewire 400). Mine was $48 + shipping. Macally shows these offered at CircuitCity, CostCo, and Fry's.
    Positives: Aesthetic appearance. Simple transplant of internal drive to external enclosure without jumper change. Only two screws and ten minute task. Very fast and simple solution. Works perfectly with OS9 and OS X (10.4.3). Atractive price. Positive online reviews.
    http://www.giantmike.com/reviews/macallyfirewire.html
    http://www.coolmacintosh.com/phr100af35firewireenclosure111304.html
    Negatives: None.
    You can see these at http://www.macally.com
    I have no financial interest in Macally.
    Hope this helps.
    /ckh

Maybe you are looking for

  • Office 2013 for Mcbook !!!!

    Hi all, i need to know the best way to install office 2013 for mc book??? i just purchased office 2013 personal online, and don't know how to install it? and should i recieve a tangible CD pack or i can istall it online? trying to reach the lousy sup

  • Can anyone help me,I need to restore my iPod 3G on iTunes I have tried so many time but to no luck

    Hi Can anyone help me to restore my iPod 3G cuz the kids keep puttin the incorrect pass code

  • Vga to dvi? for an external display for an ibook

    does anyone know of an adapter that allows you to use the apple cinema displays (the 20' one)? any suggestions would be great thanks

  • OCS problem in Solution manager 4.0

    Hi All, When i import sap patch for PI Basis on Solution manager 4.0, Its imported successfully, but Status Bar in OCS  shows me "is obsolete". when i tried to Define que, I am getting msg.     "OCS package SAPKIPYJ78 does not match the current" Plea

  • Role import uses technical system id?

    Part of our portal content comes from BW - BEx applications are developed, and placed into a role on the BW side.  We were planning on importing the BW roles as worksets, followed by placing the worksets into a role that will fit into our portal navi