Desperate Help Needed - Lost Hard Drive

The story goes ....
Last night I added a new account to my G5Imac and put some parental controls on and everything seemed fine.
I logged out of that and went back to log into my account (administrator account) and everything fine.
Shut down the computer and logged in this morning into my account and I have lost all my photos, movies and music etc.
I have checked the Hard Drive and it says that out of the 240GB I have 65GB left which would suggest that all my stuff is there somewhere.
Can anyone help me on this ?
I dont fancy losing 4,000 photos and 40GB of music !!!
Help before I panic !

Neil Egan-
Try logging out.
Log back in under the original administrator of the "amystest" Mac.
From amystest you should be able to see NEIL'S MAC.
This document about how to change a computer name may be useful.
You may find more knowledge on the Administration, Accounts and Login boards.
Luck-
-DaddyPaycheck

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Look at these links.
Where did my disk space go?
http://www.macfixitforums.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Forum38&Number=770243
Download & use WhatSize described in this link or Disk Inventory X @ http://www.derlien.com/
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http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/freeingspace.html
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http://www.pinkmutant.com/articles/TigerMisc.html
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hello,
I have an ibook G4 which i love and cherish, however i am a music lover which is taking up most of the available memory at the moment, i now only have 10.39GB left on an 80GB hard drive.
I have loosley browsed into buying an external hard-drive, for example the SmartDisk FireLite 80GB FireWire drive looks good, however i dont know if an external hard drive would allow me to play music, and allow music to go to my ipod when both are connected to my ibook; bearing in mind i would want to use the firewire for tranffering my music as its a lot quicker. (However i dont know if this is possible, as it didnt seem to be made clear?!)
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Can i buy internal memory for my ibook?
If i brought the external memory would it be better than the interal memory that would slot under the keyboard?
Sorry for the long winded post i really didnt know how else to put it.
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Hi Ashlee,
Welcome to Apple Discussions
You may be talking about hard drive storage rather then memory ( RAM (Random Access Memory). Technically, they are both memory, but to differentiate between the two; most use the terms hard drive storage and RAM.
I suggest getting a external hard drive over getting an internal installed because you risk complications. No matter who opens your iBook, you risk having future problems. The other reason is that its great for backing up your internal hard drive. One should always backup their hard drive just incase anything happens to your computer. One can't predict the day when a friend trips over their own feet; knocking your iBook on the floor with a huge crash. The most annoying thing to carry around when traveling is the Mac OS X install discs. I hate bringing them with me because I am in constant fear that I will loose them. The reason I bring them with me is because if something happens while I am away, I can troubleshoot my problem. I can startup from the install disc and then run Disk Utility, Archive and Install, Erase, and partition my hard drive. Once someone has a problem on the road; they will never leave their house without the discs. Instead of carrying around those discs, I partitioned one of my external hard drives into three sections, one for backup (140Gb), one for Mac OS X Tiger (10Gb), and the last one is for Panther (10Gb. I gave my girlfriend an iBook and she has Panther on it). This means I am equipped to startup my computer without using my internal drive.
Have you ever lost your iTunes library or your TurboTax data? Well, by backing up your hard drive (internal to external), you can save all your vital data incase something happens. You will find it a life saver if anything ever happens.
If you are looking into external hard drives, I suggest anything from LaCie, SmartDisk, or Western Digital
I recommend the LaCie D2 Hard Drive Extreme w/ Triple Interface, SmartDisk CrossFire, or the WD Dual Option.
I use a SmartDisk CrossFire for both my iTunes library as well as my iPhoto library. If you need help moving your iTunes library you might want to look at Knowledge Base Document #301748 explains How to Move Your iTunes Library.
If you truly want an internal hard drive put into your iBook, you can get it done by an outside company like PowerBookResQ. It will cost you $350 instead of $160 for the external. With the external like the CrossFire, you get 160Gb, 2 FireWire Ports (so when your hard drive is plugged in you can still use FireWire), USB 2.0, and more at a lower price.
If you want to upgrade your RAM; I suggest getting it at Crucial.com because they have a guide and a pretty good return policy.
Would you like some recommendations for external hard drives? Do you want a portable hard drive (smaller/thinner/lighter/less power vs slightly bigger/more power/more storage/storage per gigabytes is cheaper).
Jon
Mac Mini 1.42Ghz, iPod (All), Airport (Graphite & Express), G4 1.33Ghz iBook, G4 iMac 1Ghz, G3 500Mhz, iBook iMac 233Mhz, eMate, Power Mac 5400 LC, PowerBook 540c, Macintosh 128K, Apple //e, Apple //, and some more... Mac OS X (10.4.5) Moto Razr, iLife '06, SmartDisk 160Gb, Apple BT Mouse, Sight..

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Hey there,
Try Yamipod. It is a terrific third party application that you can use to pull music off your iPod onto iTunes. The website also provides terrific instructions on how to do it. I provided the site below. Hope this helps.
http://www.yamipod.com/main/modules/home/
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B-rock

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Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
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Second, make a bootable backup to an external drive using the Restore option of Disk Utility:
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility in the Utilities folder.
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
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5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
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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.
Third, purchase and download Mountain Lion from the App Store. Be sure you meet the requirements for Mountain Lion:
Upgrading to Mountain Lion
To upgrade to Mountain Lion you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Purchase and download Mountain Lion from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Mountain Lion is $19.99 plus tax. The file is quite large, over 4 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.
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         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later
         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later
         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
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         See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.
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Yes.
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When you see a white screen with an Apple logo in the middle, you can release the keys.
Click Disk Utility, and then click Continue.
In the list at the left, select the item you want to repair. (Be sure to select an item that’s indented to the right in the list, not an item at the far left.)
Click First Aid.
If Disk Utility tells you the disk is about to fail, back it up and replace it. You can’t repair it.
Click Repair Disk.
If Disk Utility reports that the disk appears to be OK or has been repaired, you’re done.
Otherwise, you may need to do one of the following steps.
If Disk Utility can’t repair your disk or it reports “The underlying task reported failure,” try to repair the disk or partition again. If that doesn’t work, back up as much of your data as possible, reformat the disk, reinstall Mac OS X, and then restore your backed-up data.
If you continue to have problems with your disk, it may be physically damaged and need to be replaced

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I just got my MacBook Pro a month ago. However I am realizing I need more hard drive space due to aps and programs. I use am external but am concerned about the space. Is there a way to upgrade my hard drive from apple and keep my warranty valid?

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When you create a partition, the partition is the erased so all content is lost. There are data recovery services that may be able to recover the material, but they are very, very expensive, if they can even succeed with this kind of erasure.
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uh

New to the forums, not new to Mac. Need help on failing hard drive.

Hello, glad to have found this forum...I need all the help I can get. Let me explain what I have, what it's doing, what I want it to do, what I "think" I need to do.
*What I have:*
733 G4 with superdrive, 512 MB SDRAM, 40 & 60 gig internal original hard drives
*What it is doing:*
For about a year one of the drives (seems to be my 60g start-up drive) has made clicking/popping noises not unlike when you click/cluck your tongue. I've ignored it, foolishly, and gone about my business. Then I began having to click the mouse and punch keys when I start-up in order to get the drive to begin spinning, otherwise it would never kick in and I'd get the "?" face. Anyway, I have been living like that for many months until recently when my start-up drive only had about 500MB left of space, I burned some DVD's and freed up about 6 gig on the drive for some cushion the other day. Well, since doing that, when I start up now I get a spinning globe. I have to hold the option key down at boot and then select the drive manually and I'm back to being fine again.
*What I want it to do:*
I'm freaked out about losing data because I am a photographer and graphic designer, so I would die if I lost any files. I have been using one of my old iPods as a back up drive to dump data on and burning some DVD's too...but still, I have most of my life still on the drive. Here is what I am considering. I would like to get an external drive to move and continue to grow my massive files for my work and creativity. I'm thinking the G-Tech 320 Quad external would be a good fit. Now, moving back inside, my 60g start-up is telling me it's failing and to back up and replace before...well, you know. My 2nd internal drive is 40g and is strictly my iTunes library of MP3s.
How do I save myself and replace my start-up drive?
Do I buy the G-Tech first, move all my files over, then replace the internal, failing 60g? Can I start-up from the G-Tech? Should I/Can I make my 40g the temporary start-up, replace the failing 60g, and go from there? How should I do this and must I get the G-Tech now?
While on this same question, I am getting conflicting information regarding how much my 733 G4 will recognize as far as each drive size. What is the max size each drive can be? What is the max combined?
*What I think I should do:*
I think I should buy the G-Tech, move my life over there, then use the working 40g as my start-up, replace the failing 60g with the largest possible when possible, make the replacement internal the start-up again, use or replace the working/existing 40g as storage/back-up, live happily ever after.
*And on a side note:*
I plan to drop two sticks of 512MB memory, this filling it up to it's max 1.5 gig of memory. Will this have a noticeable affect on my computer? If so, how?
Oh, and the reason I was opting for the Quad G-Tech is because can't I upgrade and add FW800 ports to my G4 rather easily?
Thank you for any time or effort you give me in helping me through this urgent matter. I had run out of places to go and people to ask before running across this forum.

First of all I cannot believe you have no backup strategy and only start to worry about it after problems arise. You're an accident waiting to happen. Before you consider anything make backups.
Basic Backup
Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Retrospect Desktop (Commercial - not yet universal binary)
2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
3. Synk (Backup, Standard, or Pro)
4. Deja Vu (Shareware)
5. PsynchX 2.1.1 and RsyncX 2.1 (Freeware)
6. Carbon Copy Cloner (Freeware - 3.0 is a Universal Binary)
7. SuperDuper! (Commercial)
The following utilities can also be used for backup, but cannot create bootable clones:
1. Backup (requires a .Mac account with Apple both to get the software and to use it.)
2. Toast
3. Impression
4. arRSync
Apple's Backup is a full backup tool capable of also backing up across multiple media such as CD/DVD. However, it cannot create bootable backups. It is primarily an "archiving" utility as are the other two.
Impression and Toast are disk image based backups, only. Particularly useful if you need to backup to CD/DVD across multiple media.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
You can begin addressing the problems with your hard drive(s) after you get your stuff properly backed up. Once that's done get two larger drives for the computer and replace the small ones you now have. Your model should support hard drives up to 128 GBs in size. There is not specific limit on external drives so your external backup drive can be large enough to be partitioned into multiple volumes large enough to backup at least one of the internal drives (using the second internal drive as a backup for the first internal drive. This provides redundancy - an internal and an external backup.) You can then use the additional space on the external drive for your data files.
BTW, you risk catastrophic data loss by allowing the free space on your startup volume to drop below 3 GBs.

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Re: HP MEDIA CENTER PC M700 ( M7630.UK ) WINDOWS XP 32 BIT[ Edited ]
11-15-2011 09:44 AM - last edited on 11-15-2011 09:59 AM
Hi:
If you are referring to the picture, you need to open the case to remove that jumper.
If you are referring to how to actually access the BIOS software menu, you do that by tapping the F10 key at the HP welcome screen.
When opening the case of your PC, please make sure you disconnect the A/C power cord.
If you are unfamiliar with opening the case I have posted the link to the service manual below.
http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00681228.pdf
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My original hard drive is 7GB shy of being full. Almost half of this is my itunes library which is over 100GB. The older (250GB) hard drive has about 150GB of photos/videos.
My Mac is running slow as molasses and when I power up the external hard drives it slows down to what I recall my original Mac Plus ran like.
I use the G5 primarily to work with photos, illustrations and creating the occasional DVD with video and photos. the apps I use most often are Photoshop, Illustrator and Painter. I always listen to music while work.
I hope all of this information is helpful! Here is my question:
What is the best way for me to set up and use these external hard drives to return my G5 to its original blazing (to me) fast speed?
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dump whatever you don't need, trash anything that is hogging space and is just temp file or useless cache. Web browsers can leave behind a ton of small files eating up tens of MBs.
Use SuperDuper to backup/clone your drive.
Disk Warrior 4 to repair (after it gets to 15% free, or just forget for now).
A 250GB drive formats to 240GB and you have ~3% free it looks like.
For every data drive plan to have two backup drives.
Keep your boot drive to 40% used.
And your data drive to 60%.
Backups can go a little higher.
Drives are cheap and inexpensive, especially for the space and performance. And they have improved SATA over the years it has been out.
By doing a backup followed by erasing your drive, and then restoring it, using SuperDuper, which optimizes the organization, skips copying temp files that aren't needed, it also defragments your files. I would do backup daily to different sets that you "rotate." And before any OS update. And do the erase and restore probably every 2 months.
Make sure you keep one drive partition somewhere that is just your disk utility emergency boot drive that is not a copy of working system, used for doing repairs like running Disk Warrior and Disk Utility.
You may need to repair; backup; even erase and restore your external drives. Rather than spend on vendor made case, just pick up a good FireWire case either with drive, or bare (and add your own). I think it'd add 500GB FW drive though.
Why?
To begin backup of your current drive. To leave your other FW drives "as is" for now.
Then install a new internal 500GB drive as well so you now have a good current backup, and you have moved your data off 250GB to 500GB. If anything happens, you have one off line FW backup.
Then begin to clean up, organize, and get your FW drives working. It sure sounds like they have had some directory or file problems.
You can find a lot of Firewire and SATA drive choices over at OWC:
http://www.macsales.com/firewire/

Desperate Help Needed - Lost Hard Drive

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