Hard Drive Dead? Help!

Hi, so I recently bought an enclosure for my old HD that died out on me, I suppose? My mac was asleep, then I pressed any button on the computer to wake it up, then I clicked on Mail right away, and it froze for a while.. so I held the power down to restart it. When it restarted, it gave me a white screen with a folder with a question mark on it. I was told my HD was bad. So I changed it, now my mac is up and running. BUT... i need my old files from my old HD. I bought an enclosure, plugged and played.. nothing comes up. How can I get my old files? Please help!!!!

This one has an outside chance of working. But if it doesn't work, _be warned_, might make the data completely unrecoverable through a professional data rescue service. I've only heard about this and never done it myself. You put it in the freezer. Not sure why this is supposed to work, but it might.
_Much safer to try Data Rescue first. I would try this only as a last resort._
For others, try googling hard drive dead freezer and see what you think.
http://hacknmod.com/hack/how-to-recover-dead-hard-drive-data/
I can tell you from experience that it in fact DOES work…most of the time. I have managed to recover data 3 times from dead drives, and have also not managed to recover data about the same amount of time. So, it is fair to say that for me, it worked 50% of the time.
I placed the drive in two zip lock bags expelling as much as air as possible before zip locking both bags. I left it in the freezer for approx. 12 hours with no luck, but after freezing it for extended periods of time, it worked like a charm. It is also important to note that this is generally a one shot deal, if it works, you’re in luck, but you must get as much data as possible from the drive because once it dies, it is rare that you will gain access a second time.
The 3 times I did manage to get the data back, I exhumed only the data that I absolutely required. In other words, only the data I created or files that I placed on the drive.
I too, found it hard to believe when I first heard it, but after losing 3 years of tax returns I HAD to try it. Fortunately for me, it worked like a charm.

Similar Messages

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    Ok.
    now that I have some time going to do erase and install.
    I suppose info is on the apple support website for the exact steps.
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    It is possible that your hard drive has kicked the bucket, but the folder with the question mark just shows that the computer cannot find a valid system when it starts up. There are a number of possible reasons for this.
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    www.ontrack.com - 800-872-2599
    www.lazarus.com - 800-341-3282
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    I hate to say it, but keeping backups of important files is vital to safe computing. Both the Leopard and Snow Leopard operating systems make this a much easier process using the "Time Machine" application.
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    If it is a SEAGATE MOMENTUS 7200.4  they are known to fail in as little as 1 month from install, and do not last more than 6 months.
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    There seems to be no end to this BS with SEAGATE drives.
    DO A FULL BU NOW!!!
    > Was your question answered? Mark it as an Accepted Solution!
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