Hard drive failure- not the issue though

My hard drive failed yesterday. Basically, i was trying to download a plug-in and firefox was acting up. It wouldn't download and all my bookmark tabs were gone. I closed firefox and tried Safari, but Safari said there wasn't enough disk space to download so I restarted my computer.
When I restarted it came to the apple logo screen started spinning and then went black. I tried turning it on with the same result a million times. I tried turning it on a couple times and holding option, and the hard drive showed, but when I selected the same thing happened. I eventually got my leopard install disc and ran disc utilities on it and tried to verify the disc. It made it through the first few steps and then failed. I think it said "invalid sublink." I was able to connect the hard drive externally to another macbook and back up my documents though. Any ideas?

OK so it seems like this might be an important detail now. When it failed, I was trying to use an emulator. Basically, I was playing Nintendo on my computer. I won't go into too much detail because I'm sure about the legality of these things. Anyway, there's a plug-in for this emulator that I use to play nintendo online with one of my friends. It's a shareware plug-in that specifically says it can be used for as long as I like without paying, but when I opened the emulator, it said the plug-in wasn't working. To install this plug-in, I had to drag the downloaded folder to my application support folder. So when it failed I just dragged that folder out of app support and into the trash. Is that a bad idea?

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You're not speaking to the right forum for your request. Help is a Suite-wide feature and here is the forum where the Help application is discussed, and where the proper Adobe people hang out:
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I recently had a Hard drive failure, got the flashing question mark

Hello,
I recently had a hard drive fail on my IMAC. The power went out in my home and knocked the computer off. When I turned it back on I go the dreaded white screen with flashing folder/Question mark.
I tried all the tricks I could find (on my other computer search) but nothing worked. I also inserted the install disk and then tried the "disk utility" ... this is where I got really scared...the utility saw my Hard Drive, but showed nothing on it with 0 space available. I thought I was fried and actually ordered a new hard drive online. (This is the second time in 3 years this has happened ... and wouldn't you know my extended warranty expired 2 weeks ago)
The next day, I think ... well, let me just try booting up to see if a miracle will happen. Low and behold it booted up! My drive is there, all my data everything! (and a new hard drive on the way overnight! lol)
So my friends, what the heck is going on? I immediately repaired permissions once I brought it up. But I'm afraid to shut the thing off now in fear it won't come back.
Any Ideas?
Thanks,
Ryan

Assuming you have some backups:
Drive Preparation and OS X Installation
1. Boot from your OS X 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.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
When formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Complete the OS X installation.
If the drive is not failing then the above process will find any possible bad blocks. If no bad blocks are found and the drive reformats, then reinstall OS X. If the drive does fail and you have another you can install, then try that. If this doesn't fix things then take it in for service.

Apple put in a new hard drive, but not the computer is VERY LOUD!

I just got my 13 month old Intel iMac back from the Apple store -- it needed a new hard drive. When I first turned on the computer, it was very loud, and I thought they gave me someone else's computer by mistake, so I checked the Serial Number, and apparently it's my computer.
I can't take this noise. What's going on? The fan wasn't broken, but this sounds like a new fan in the computer that is much louder than the old fan.
Also, the Apple geniuses told me the computer would use Time Machine to install all my old settings (I have an external hard drive hooked up to the iMac). But it's not working at all. Whenever I tell the new hard drive to "Restore to a Time Machine Backup" and select the backup hard drive, the computer screen goes gray, and it starts all over again (with the "Hello" screen in all the different languages.
Please help. I guess the MIP issue is the noise -- I can't work with a computer this loud. It gives me a headache. Should I just take it back to the Apple store, and have the noise fixed first? There never was a noise problem before I took the computer in for the broken hard drive.
Thanks.

HI,
Try resetting the SMC. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1543
If that doesn't help, take it back.
Tip... whenever you take a computer in for service and you pick it up, make sure it's running without problems *before you leave*. Especially in this case where you got it home and now have this noise issue.
Carolyn

500GB Hard drive failure - for the 4th time

Ok, So i bought a macbook pro from Apple in about may 2010. It is a 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRM SuperDrive 8X DL.
Since then the hard drive has failed 3 times and now it has failed for the 4th time this morning.
I've complained to Apple and other than being made to feel like I'm the one causing a nuisance - Apple have told me repeatedly that my experience is unique and there are no known issues with their 500GB drive.
Has anyone else experienced drive failures?
Jason
I'd be interested in hearing from you: [email protected]

This sounds to me more like the problem may be with the interface between the motherboard and the HD.
I'd be strongly inclined to insist on a replacement MBP as you're still in warranty.
At the very least, get the complaint escalated beyond the shoploor level.

My pictures and music from a dead Imac are on an external hard drive. My Windows 8 sees the hard drive but not the data. How do I get the files to my PC?

this is confusing

Hi Bob.
I was actually confused in trying to navigate where to ask the question in the first place within the Support Community framework. I've been away from the Apple world for many years now and obviously this world of technology moves very fast, yes? So that's the reason my opening query mentions confusion.
Before I visited here I spent quite some time Googling the topic finding tons of answers going back MOSTLY 6-8 years all of which were fairly specific and geared toward now obsolete versions of the question or assumed my Apple computer was up and running or I had an "unformated" external hard drive.
I didn't find anything wrong with the advice to use MacDrive but of course I was hoping not to have to use my credit card to do this------------what has to be fairly routine process. After I Googled "alternatives to MacDrive" I found a free ten day trial run for Paragon. It worked for all the picture files but can't see the old movie or music. I'm still working it out. Maybe I'm missing something. Anyways it's hard to communicate with experts who seem to want you to already be on a certain level or they will simply leave you in the dust with their "help."

My new external Hard drive has not the correct size

Hi all,
I bought a WD30EZRX 3TB hard drive a plugged it to the imac with an usb DriveDock.
The problem is that the size of the hard drive in disk utilities is 800 GB and not 3 TB !!
How to solve this problem ?
Cheers, FR.

Just look for enclosures that state they are compatible with 3 TB drives. You can check out enclosures at:
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2. OWC
3. WiebeTech
4. Firewire Direct
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Satellite C855-1GQ - hard drive failure warning

Hi
suddenly my laptop has started showing me "hard drive failure warnings" and I honestly have no idea what to do about it please can someone help me.
Symptom: The PredictFailure flag is set on the disk
Cause: A logical disk has the SMART Predict Failure bit set.
Details: This disk is experiencing a problem and predicts that the drive will fail
Symptom: Pred Fail
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Hard drive failure can be cause of computer is bumped or jostled while it is running; the electric motor which allows the platter to spin fails due to bad bearings or other components; filter on your air intake gets too clogged or the filter isn't working properly.
Extreme heat while running causes the electronic circuit board to fail.
There is a sudden power failure while the disk is writing.
You can try the following solution:
Firstly, create a bootable CD/USB by Windows Boot Genius
Windows Boot Genius is a multiple windows repair tool which can be used to fix all computer errors, create bootable CD/USB, recover data lost and unlock windows password, etc.
We just need to insert a CD or USB flash drive and run the program, then click "burn".
Secondly, set the computer boot from CD/USB after enter into the BIOS menu.
Thirdly, start to fix Hard Drive Failure with the CD/USB created at the first step.
At this section, the wizard will tell us what we need to do according to our computer's issues.

Hard drive failure

Hello everyone, my macbook is like around 3 years old, and a couple of days ago my hard drive died. This is really unfortunate since I couldn't back up most of the files I had in that drive. The thing is, this happened to me 1 year ago, and I'm noticing that I had similar scenarios prior to the hard drive failures. The first time that this happened, the night before my first hard drive died, I was erasing tons and tons of files from my macbook, I was just cleaning my downloads folders, deleting stuff I wasn't using anymore, that night I deleted like around 20gigs of data(pictures and music mostly), and the day before my second hard drive died, I was deleting files as well, this time I deleted like 13gigs. Both drives died because of the famous "clicking of death" sound. My macbook wouldn't boot, and was flashing a question mark folder in both cases.
My question is: was this just coicidence? or deleting tons of gigs of files at once will make your hard drives die. I've heard deleting files you no longer use is good for your hard drive. I must stress that I didn't delete any system files, I tested both hard drives via USB hard drive enclosures and the hard drives were just unrecognizable.

@tyrekm
‎Thank you for using HP Support Forum. I have brought your issue to the appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post ( serial numbers and case details).
If you are unfamiliar with the Forum's private messaging please click here to learn more.
Thank you,
Omar
I Work for HP

Hard drive failure - options for data recovery and AppleCare coverage

I have been handed a relative's 12 month old MacBook Pro with a factory-installed 500GB hard drive which appears to have failed. When attempting to boot the MacBook I am met with the classic clicking and grating noise which I know is a tell-tale sign of hard drive failure. The drive will not boot and I am shown the question mark folder icon, indicating that the operating system cannot be found. Have booted into internet recovery mode, Disk Utility appears to have found no sign of the hard drive's existence and shows none of its partitions. I have attempted putting the MacBook into FW target-mode and mounting the disk from another laptop, but to no avail; while it will go into target mode the drive simply isn't visible. The SATA connection to the drive is definitely OK - I have tested with another 2.5 inch hard drive which showed up fine in Disk Utility and was bootable. Have run Apple Hardware Test/Diagnostics but this returned no errors. It seems like a pretty clear cut case of drive failure.
I put this all to the relative whose laptop this is and asked them whether the MacBook had been dropped recently, explaining to them that this is one of the likeliest causes for such sudden failure. Sheepishly they admitted that they had indeed dropped it, although not from too great a distance and onto a carpeted floor. Apparently in the days immediately after the shock the hard drive continued to boot but the system was very slow and beset by spinning beech ball hangups. It is only in the last few days that the hard drive has become completely unbootable, and seemingly unreachable.
I have two questions that I would be grateful for some help with.
Firstly, is there any possibility of recovering data from this drive without going to a data recovery specialist? The user did have backups of most important data, but some recently imported photos were not backed up. Is it any use me trying any third-party data recovery software utilities, bearing in mind that I can't even mount the drive in target mode?
Second, the MacBook is still covered by the extended AppleCare warranty for the next two years. Is it worth my relative's while making a Genius Bar appointment to see whether Apple would replace this drive for free, given that the damage was most likely user-inflicted? Is there any chance that this sudden failure could be unrelated to the drop the MacBook suffered the other day - perhaps just a result of the 'normal' failure rate? I am more than happy to exchange the drive for a new one myself and my relative is happy to pay for the new part (I was amazed at how cheap hard drives are now), but would we be better off trying an Apple Store? My prediction would be that while we might get lucky and have an obliging genius who agrees to swap the drive without asking too many questions, we could also have one who concludes the damage is not covered by the warranty and insists on charging for the new hard drive (at a mark-up I assume) and labour.
Any thoughts about these two issues or the hard drive failure more generally are very welcome. Thanks.

1, Data recovery software is your only alternative if there is no backup. It may or may not be able to revoker anything from that hard drive. If it does then the only other choice is to go to a data recovery service. If have to go that route expect to pay for it, like $$$$.
2, Yes. They will at least tell him what the problem is and the cost if any to fix. There is a good chance they will fix it for nothing and only charge for data recovery if they can do it.

Reinstallation after hard drive failure

I had an sneak SAP NetWeaver 7.01 ABAP installation on my laptop on which I had some important prototypes.
I had a hard drive failure on the laptop and need to access my SAP data. I could backup from the disk after the failure though. Now I need to reinstall SAP and restart with the old database or copy all files to new harddrive.
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Cheers
Martin

Hi!
It seems that your iPhone is properly connected to the Sync server and that you need to add your computer to your previous account. In order to do so:
# At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button (Tools menu in Windows XP) and then click Options. . In the Options window, click on the Sync tab.
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2012 Macbook Pro Hard drive failure

I have a 13" MBP purchased in September 2012 with a 750GB hard drive. A few weeks ago I noticed it running slower than usual and sometimes it wouldn't boot correctly, throwing up the folder question mark or the circle strike through symbol at the boot screen, so I went to the Apple Store. The genius ran some test on it to see if the drive was working properly and it wouldn't even complete the test. He told me it would be about $185 to replace the hard drive, including labor, but I've had this computer for barely a year and a half (my first mac) and I find it really hard to believe that just some basic student use and mild gaming (The Sims 3) would cause a hard drive to fail after just barely a year. I've read other posts about hard drive failure for the same year MBP's so my question is, how common is this and why isn't Apple doing something about it? I've also seen people who post about replacing the drive and finding out its the SATA cable or the PRAM or something else. How much should I trust this genius from Apple, and what should I do to find out if it really is the hard drive, because almost $200 is a little much for a struggling student to pay to replace this laptop that I spent $1700 buying a year and a half ago and the guy's explaination of "its like a tire, it happens" just doesn't fly with me. Help?

Thirty percent of HDDs fail within 3 years. Your case is not uncommon. Furthermore, Apple does not make hard drives. They purchase them from hard drive mfgrs. So, why would this be Apple's fault? Despite what you would prefer to believe, it does happen. Pay the money and replace the drive or just sit there and curse your computer for no longer working because you think someone is out for your money and lying to you.

Recovery after hard drive failure?

Hi everyone,
Simple question regarding what to do if my hard drive fails. Please bare in mind that my knowledge of computers is less than to be desired!
I currently use Carbon Copy Cloner (time machine gives me too many issues) to make an identical bootable copy of my hard drive. I assume that if my current hard drive fails, I could just boot from my cloned external drive and then clone my external drive to a new internal HHD.
Seems easy. So what's the pupose of the recovery partition? Would most of you guys approach the task of hard drive failure in the same way as me?
Cheers
Tom

The recovery partition is instead of having installer discs. It allows you to restore the last installed operating system to factory state. At times it may tap into the Apple App Store Server, and need a contact to support to get the right installer to show up. Mind you, no Mac can install an older operating system than shipped with, except for this tip:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6841
Apple discontinued providing installer discs with Mac OS X 10.7 installed Macs.

What if computer run into "Bootmgr is missing" or "Hard Drive Failure"

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There are some caveats to be aware of when replacing the hard drive! While in theory any SATA drive is compatible, I have experienced problems with a Seagate Momentus 5400.6 500GB and a Western Digital Scorpio Blue 640GB recently.
With my WD drive I have had to adjust the power management settings (using a command line tool called "hdapm") to prevent it from spinning up and down every 20 to 30 seconds, and which was also leading to momentary freeze ups. While this may kill my battery a bit quicker, I'm hoping the drive will at least live an average lifetime. (Batteries may be more expensive, but they're a lot quicker to replace than a hard drive).
My Seagate drive has exhibited far less frequent problems but the occasional noises it made have never sounded healthy and after 6 months is now being replaced under warranty. There were also a number of days where I would get excessive beachballing for no reason I could identify, and that I concluded must be hard disk related. I couldn't find anything here or elsewhere on the internet to indicate what the cause of that might be.
So my limited experience of hard disk replacement hasn't been a great success and I'm beginning to wonder if getting an official replacement from Apple might be a safer option in the long run, despite it being more expensive. I read somewhere that the hard disks supplied by Apple have custom firmware that works better with Apple's own power management strategies.

HP Pavillion DV7 Hard Drive failure and replacement

Hi all,
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Hi,
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http://www.seagate.com/au/en/internal-hard-drives/laptop-hard-drives/laptop-solid-state-hybrid-drive...
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BH
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Hard drive failure- not the issue though

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