HELP! Hard Drive Failure - Looks like I may be buying a new internal

BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP Right?!
I was listening in on the Typical Mac User Live Podcast. Very strange that after I left the chat, I worked a bit on graphics and product images for my CafePress shop. Then all of a sudden my Mac G5 PPC starts acting very slow. After every thing I did I got the beach ball and it would take a considerable amount of time before it caught up. I force shut down a couple times. Then I zapped PRAM (no change). Keep in mind that I have not had any problems like this with my G5. I DID replace the SuperDrive early on. I bought a second internal from Apple. Thank God I recently purchased a couple external Hard Drives for backup.
I rebooted holding down the ALT key. I chose my backup hard drive to boot up. Then I tried using disk utilities to repair the main disk. It failed 3 times per Disk Utility. I am currently running Tech Tool Deluxe (8-5-07 11:05 CST). It has found 4 errors so far. Here is the Disk Utility Log:
Aug 5 22:14:52: Disk Utility started.
Verify and Repair disk “Mac HD”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid node structure
Rebuilding Catalog B-tree.
Invalid node structure
Invalid node structure
Invalid node structure
Invalid record count
Invalid node structure
Invalid node structure
Invalid node structure
Invalid record count
Invalid node structure
Invalid node structure
Invalid node structure
Invalid record count
Rechecking volume.
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Missing thread record (id = 688115)
Missing thread record (id = 2772961)
Missing thread record (id = 4625219)
Missing thread record (id = 4625245)
Missing thread record (id = 4625615)
Illegal name
Illegal name
Missing thread record (id = 9937348)
Missing thread record (id = 10236792)
Missing thread record (id = 10240928)
Incorrect number of thread records
Incorrect number of thread records
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 110 instead of 139)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Missing thread record (id = 4625193)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Missing thread record (id = 4625196)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 2)
Missing thread record (id = 4625245)
Missing thread record (id = 4625452)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 2)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 2 instead of 34)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 88 instead of 114)
Missing thread record (id = 10236675)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Missing thread record (id = 9937347)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Missing thread record (id = 10236785)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 191 instead of 233)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 101 instead of 136)
Missing thread record (id = 2772948)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 4)
Missing thread record (id = 2772956)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 3)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 53 instead of 80)
Missing thread record (id = 10662365)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 2)
Missing thread record (id = 10662363)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Missing thread record (id = 10662368)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 2)
Missing thread record (id = 688115)
Missing thread record (id = 10240928)
Missing thread record (id = 10236781)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 3 instead of 6)
Missing thread record (id = 10067717)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 7)
Missing thread record (id = 10067727)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 8)
Missing thread record (id = 10240082)
Missing thread record (id = 10240084)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Missing thread record (id = 10240923)
Missing thread record (id = 383045)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Missing thread record (id = 722411)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Invalid volume directory count
(It should be 55862 instead of 56642)
Invalid volume file count
(It should be 253707 instead of 254959)
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Volume Bit Map needs minor repair
Checking volume information.
Invalid volume free block count
(It should be 31266092 instead of 25892534)
Volume Header needs minor repair
Repairing volume.
Missing directory record (id = 10236792)
Missing directory record (id = 9937348)
Missing directory record (id = 4625615)
Missing directory record (id = 4625219)
Missing directory record (id = 2772961)
Look for missing items in lost+found directory.
Rechecking volume.
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Missing thread record (id = 200227)
Missing thread record (id = 200230)
Missing thread record (id = 200233)
Missing thread record (id = 1051587)
Missing thread record (id = 1310032)
Missing thread record (id = 1551740)
Missing thread record (id = 1939518)
Missing thread record (id = 2048994)
Missing thread record (id = 2089006)
Missing thread record (id = 2100781)
Missing thread record (id = 2401968)
Missing thread record (id = 2764903)
Missing thread record (id = 2765225)
Missing thread record (id = 2765420)
Missing thread record (id = 2765685)
Missing thread record (id = 2769176)
Missing thread record (id = 2769769)
Missing thread record (id = 2769778)
Missing thread record (id = 2769957)
Missing thread record (id = 2770064)
Missing thread record (id = 2770076)
Missing thread record (id = 2770088)
Missing thread record (id = 2770130)
Missing thread record (id = 2770159)
Missing thread record (id = 2770168)
Missing thread record (id = 2770181)
Missing thread record (id = 2770187)
Missing thread record (id = 2770191)
Missing thread record (id = 2770195)
2770195
= %@)",1)
2770201
Missing thread record (id = 2770666)
Missing thread record (id = 2770673)
Missing thread record (id = 2932496)
Missing thread record (id = 2932532)
Missing thread record (id = 2932538)
Missing thread record (id = 2936751)
Missing thread record (id = 2936757)
Missing thread record (id = 2936763)
Missing thread record (id = 2986183)
Missing thread record (id = 3028431)
Missing thread record (id = 3102598)
Missing thread record (id = 3102604)
Missing thread record (id = 3102610)
Missing thread record (id = 3102622)
Missing thread record (id = 3102628)
Missing thread record (id = 3102634)
Missing thread record (id = 3102640)
Missing thread record (id = 3102652)
Missing thread record (id = 3102661)
Missing thread record (id = 3102670)
Missing thread record (id = 3102679)
3102679
= %@)",1)
3125348
Missing thread record (id = 3213351)
Missing thread record (id = 3399199)
Missing thread record (id = 3449727)
Missing thread record (id = 3487533)
Missing thread record (id = 3720753)
Missing thread record (id = 3769005)
Missing thread record (id = 4007359)
Missing thread record (id = 4095655)
Missing thread record (id = 4422531)
Missing thread record (id = 4440466)
Missing thread record (id = 4474938)
Missing thread record (id = 4488234)
Missing thread record (id = 4622849)
Missing thread record (id = 4623618)
Missing thread record (id = 4625226)
Missing thread record (id = 4625460)
Missing thread record (id = 4625463)
Missing thread record (id = 4625466)
Missing thread record (id = 4625469)
Missing thread record (id = 4625475)
Missing thread record (id = 4625478)
Missing thread record (id = 4625483)
Missing thread record (id = 4625489)
Missing thread record (id = 4625619)
Missing thread record (id = 4625622)
Missing thread record (id = 4625625)
Missing thread record (id = 4684682)
Missing thread record (id = 4731529)
Missing thread record (id = 4784874)
Missing thread record (id = 4822052)
Missing thread record (id = 4834305)
Missing thread record (id = 4839095)
Missing thread record (id = 4975947)
Missing thread record (id = 4976144)
Missing thread record (id = 4976230)
Missing thread record (id = 5031970)
Missing thread record (id = 5038342)
Missing thread record (id = 5038354)
Missing thread record (id = 5038366)
Missing thread record (id = 5052632)
Missing thread record (id = 5052635)
Missing thread record (id = 5052669)
Missing thread record (id = 5052674)
Missing thread record (id = 5053154)
Missing thread record (id = 5053157)
Missing thread record (id = 5053160)
Missing thread record (id = 5053163)
Missing thread record (id = 5053168)
Missing thread record (id = 5721294)
Missing thread record (id = 5744396)
Missing thread record (id = 5862251)
Missing thread record (id = 5946804)
Missing thread record (id = 5957887)
Missing thread record (id = 5971928)
Missing thread record (id = 5984954)
Missing thread record (id = 6040264)
Missing thread record (id = 6046152)
Missing thread record (id = 6270130)
Missing thread record (id = 6275473)
Missing thread record (id = 6318202)
Missing thread record (id = 6321633)
Missing thread record (id = 6423143)
Missing thread record (id = 6616324)
Missing thread record (id = 6783207)
Missing thread record (id = 6984869)
Missing thread record (id = 7158227)
Missing thread record (id = 7376222)
Missing thread record (id = 7376318)
Missing thread record (id = 7376675)
Missing thread record (id = 7388240)
Missing thread record (id = 7394175)
Missing thread record (id = 7413375)
Missing thread record (id = 7428835)
Missing thread record (id = 7489067)
Missing thread record (id = 7791903)
Missing thread record (id = 7867364)
Missing thread record (id = 7950276)
Missing thread record (id = 7964975)
Missing thread record (id = 8154361)
Missing thread record (id = 8198573)
Missing thread record (id = 8295763)
Missing thread record (id = 8421771)
Missing thread record (id = 8544707)
Missing thread record (id = 8573840)
Missing thread record (id = 8580710)
Missing thread record (id = 8632953)
Missing thread record (id = 8747995)
Missing thread record (id = 8771197)
Missing thread record (id = 8984832)
Missing thread record (id = 9068121)
Missing thread record (id = 9090731)
Missing thread record (id = 9178433)
Missing thread record (id = 9178440)
Missing thread record (id = 9185988)
Missing thread record (id = 9600646)
Missing thread record (id = 9620108)
Missing thread record (id = 9664708)
Missing thread record (id = 9691733)
Missing thread record (id = 9771632)
Missing thread record (id = 9904786)
Missing thread record (id = 9906393)
Missing thread record (id = 10020126)
Missing thread record (id = 10021078)
Missing thread record (id = 10021880)
Missing thread record (id = 10082202)
Missing thread record (id = 10236794)
Missing thread record (id = 10236808)
Missing thread record (id = 10236812)
Missing thread record (id = 10236828)
Missing thread record (id = 10291136)
Missing thread record (id = 10314753)
Missing thread record (id = 10362495)
Missing thread record (id = 10375660)
Missing thread record (id = 10383773)
Missing thread record (id = 10391404)
Missing thread record (id = 10405903)
Missing thread record (id = 10409131)
Missing thread record (id = 10428927)
Missing thread record (id = 10440535)
Missing thread record (id = 10444241)
Missing thread record (id = 10455791)
Missing thread record (id = 10554689)
Missing thread record (id = 10614891)
Missing thread record (id = 10620253)
Missing thread record (id = 10662599)
Missing thread record (id = 10695742)
Missing thread record (id = 10695794)
Missing thread record (id = 10712812)
Missing thread record (id = 10752461)
Missing thread record (id = 10772312)
Missing thread record (id = 10801620)
Incorrect number of thread records
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Invalid volume directory count
(It should be 55874 instead of 56648)
Invalid volume file count
(It should be 253733 instead of 254959)
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
Repairing volume.
Missing directory record (id = 10801620)
Missing directory record (id = 10772312)
Missing directory record (id = 10752461)
Missing directory record (id = 10712812)
Missing directory record (id = 10695794)
Missing directory record (id = 10695742)
Missing directory record (id = 10662599)
Missing directory record (id = 10620253)
Missing directory record (id = 10614891)
Missing directory record (id = 10554689)
Missing directory record (id = 10455791)
Missing directory record (id = 10444241)
Missing directory record (id = 10440535)
Missing directory record (id = 10428927)
Missing directory record (id = 10409131)
Missing directory record (id = 10405903)
Missing directory record (id = 10391404)
Missing directory record (id = 10383773)
Missing directory record (id = 10375660)
Missing directory record (id = 10362495)
Missing directory record (id = 10314753)
Missing directory record (id = 10291136)
Missing directory record (id = 10236828)
Missing directory record (id = 10236812)
Missing directory record (id = 10236808)
Missing directory record (id = 10236794)
Missing directory record (id = 10082202)
Missing directory record (id = 10021880)
Missing directory record (id = 10021078)
Missing directory record (id = 10020126)
Missing directory record (id = 9906393)
Missing directory record (id = 9904786)
Missing directory record (id = 9771632)
Missing directory record (id = 9691733)
Missing directory record (id = 9664708)
Missing directory record (id = 9620108)
Missing directory record (id = 9600646)
Missing directory record (id = 9185988)
Missing directory record (id = 9178440)
Missing directory record (id = 9178433)
Missing directory record (id = 9090731)
Missing directory record (id = 9068121)
Missing directory record (id = 8984832)
Missing directory record (id = 8771197)
Missing directory record (id = 8747995)
Missing directory record (id = 8632953)
Missing directory record (id = 8580710)
Missing directory record (id = 8573840)
Missing directory record (id = 8544707)
Missing directory record (id = 8421771)
Missing directory record (id = 8295763)
Missing directory record (id = 8198573)
Missing directory record (id = 8154361)
Missing directory record (id = 7964975)
Missing directory record (id = 7950276)
Missing directory record (id = 7867364)
Missing directory record (id = 7791903)
Missing directory record (id = 7489067)
Missing directory record (id = 7428835)
Missing directory record (id = 7413375)
Missing directory record (id = 7394175)
Missing directory record (id = 7388240)
Missing directory record (id = 7376675)
Missing directory record (id = 7376318)
Missing directory record (id = 7376222)
Missing directory record (id = 7158227)
Missing directory record (id = 6984869)
Missing directory record (id = 6783207)
Missing directory record (id = 6616324)
Missing directory record (id = 6423143)
Missing directory record (id = 6321633)
Missing directory record (id = 6318202)
Missing directory record (id = 6275473)
Missing directory record (id = 6270130)
Missing directory record (id = 6046152)
Missing directory record (id = 6040264)
Missing directory record (id = 5984954)
Missing directory record (id = 5971928)
Missing directory record (id = 5957887)
Missing directory record (id = 5946804)
Missing directory record (id = 5862251)
Missing directory record (id = 5744396)
Missing directory record (id = 5721294)
Missing directory record (id = 5053168)
Missing directory record (id = 5053163)
Missing directory record (id = 5053160)
Missing directory record (id = 5053157)
Missing directory record (id = 5053154)
Missing directory record (id = 5052674)
Missing directory record (id = 5052669)
Missing directory record (id = 5052635)
Missing directory record (id = 5052632)
Missing directory record (id = 5038366)
Missing directory record (id = 5038354)
Missing directory record (id = 5038342)
Missing directory record (id = 5031970)
Missing directory record (id = 4976230)
Missing directory record (id = 4976144)
Missing directory record (id = 4975947)
Missing directory record (id = 4839095)
Missing directory record (id = 4834305)
Missing directory record (id = 4822052)
Missing directory record (id = 4784874)
Missing directory record (id = 4731529)
Missing directory record (id = 4684682)
Missing directory record (id = 4625625)
Missing directory record (id = 4625622)
Missing directory record (id = 4625619)
Missing directory record (id = 4625489)
Missing directory record (id = 4625483)
Missing directory record (id = 4625478)
Missing directory record (id = 4625475)
Missing directory record (id = 4625469)
Missing directory record (id = 4625466)
Missing directory record (id = 4625463)
Missing directory record (id = 4625460)
Missing directory record (id = 4625226)
Missing directory record (id = 4623618)
Missing directory record (id = 4622849)
Missing directory record (id = 4488234)
Missing directory record (id = 4474938)
Missing directory record (id = 4440466)
Missing directory record (id = 4422531)
Missing directory record (id = 4095655)
Missing directory record (id = 4007359)
Missing directory record (id = 3769005)
Missing directory record (id = 3720753)
Missing directory record (id = 3487533)
Missing directory record (id = 3449727)
Missing directory record (id = 3399199)
Missing directory record (id = 3213351)
Missing directory record (id = 3125348)
Missing directory record (id = 3102679)
Missing directory record (id = 3102670)
Missing directory record (id = 3102661)
Missing directory record (id = 3102652)
Missing directory record (id = 3102640)
Missing directory record (id = 3102634)
Missing directory record (id = 3102628)
Missing directory record (id = 3102622)
Missing directory record (id = 3102610)
Missing directory record (id = 3102604)
Missing directory record (id = 3102598)
Missing directory record (id = 3028431)
Missing directory record (id = 2986183)
Missing directory record (id = 2936763)
Missing directory record (id = 2936757)
Missing directory record (id = 2936751)
Missing directory record (id = 2932538)
Missing directory record (id = 2932532)
Missing directory record (id = 2932496)
Missing directory record (id = 2770673)
Missing directory record (id = 2770666)
Missing directory record (id = 2770201)
Missing directory record (id = 2770195)
Missing directory record (id = 2770191)
Missing directory record (id = 2770187)
Missing directory record (id = 2770181)
Missing directory record (id = 2770168)
Missing directory record (id = 2770159)
Missing directory record (id = 2770130)
Missing directory record (id = 2770088)
Missing directory record (id = 2770076)
Missing directory record (id = 2770064)
Missing directory record (id = 2769957)
Missing directory record (id = 2769778)
Missing directory record (id = 2769769)
Missing directory record (id = 2769176)
Missing directory record (id = 2765685)
Missing directory record (id = 2765420)
Missing directory record (id = 2765225)
Missing directory record (id = 2764903)
Missing directory record (id = 2401968)
Missing directory record (id = 2100781)
Missing directory record (id = 2089006)
Missing directory record (id = 2048994)
Missing directory record (id = 1939518)
Missing directory record (id = 1551740)
Missing directory record (id = 1310032)
Missing directory record (id = 1051587)
Missing directory record (id = 200233)
Missing directory record (id = 200230)
Missing directory record (id = 200227)
Look for missing items in lost+found directory.
Rechecking volume.
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 124 instead of 153)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 2)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 2)
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
The volume Mac HD could not be repaired after 3 attempts.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
Disk Utility stopped repairing “Mac HD” because the following error was encountered:
The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error
Repair attempted on 1 volume
1 volume could not be repaired
Aug 5 22:53:56: Disk Utility started.
So now, I assume I need a new hard drive. I have 2 LaCie externals. 1 is Firewire and 1 is USB. I have a second internal Maxtor HD. I use my second internal to store work, iPhoto Lib, iTunes Lib and movies, etc. The two externals are just backups.
I am currenlty running on my backup ext. HD. Any suggestions or help would be GREATLY appreciated.

You can always cut and edit a log and just give a summary or snapshot.
Lots of threads on suggestions for new and replacement drives.
I would focus on 500GB and either Hitachi or WD.
At some point I would add external SATA as well (PCI-X plus a dual drive at the least).
Zeroing drives is always handy.
I think Disk Warrior does the best job with problems such as yours.
Or upgrade to TechTool Pro 4.5.3.
Intech Speedtools can map out bad blocks without a destructive format and zero-all.
And always have two backups, and an emergency boot drive. Sometimes it is helpful to keep a month old set or the last OS revision (10.4.9 etc).

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Computer Hard Drive Failure - How can I copy itunes library to new pc/ipod?

Hi
My old desktop pc hard drive recently crashed due to a critical error so I have invested in a new pc and am considering purchasing a more up to date ipod to replace my old ipod mini. Is there are way I can access, retrieve or transfer my existing itunes library of imported cd / downloaded (purchased) music from my old pc (e.g. from the ipod mini itself or by loading my original software disc on the new pc?) to my new pc / ipod or do I have to start again from scratch and lose purchased tunes etc? If so, Apple may lose a customer, which would be a shame.
Many thanks for your help.
Mike

1). Connect your iPod to your new computer. If it is set to update automatically you'll get a message that it is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, press "Cancel". Pressing "Erase and Sync" will irretrievably remove all the songs from your iPod.
2). When your iPod appears in the iTunes source list change the update setting to manual, that will let you use your iPod without the risk of accidentally erasing it. Check the "manually manage music and videos" box in Summary then press the Apply button. Also when using most of the utilities listed below your iPod needs to be enabled for disc use, changing to manual update will do this by default: Managing content manually on iPod and iPhone
3). Once you are safely connected there are a few things you can do to restore your iTunes from the iPod. There are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod. You'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos, podcasts and games as well. Have a look at the web pages and documentation, this is just a small selection of what's available, they are generally quite straightforward. You can read reviews and comparisons of some of them here:
Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
Comparison of iPod managers
TuneJack Windows Only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
SharePod Windows Only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
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iDump Windows Only
iPodRip Mac & Windows
YamiPod Mac and Windows
iPod Music Liberator Mac & Windows
Floola Mac & Windows
Music Rescue Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iGadget Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iRepo Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Access Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
TouchCopy Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
If you have any iTunes Music Store purchases the transfer of purchased content only from the iPod to authorised computers was introduced with iTunes 7. You'll find details in this article: Copying iTunes Store purchases from your iPod or iPhone to a computer
There's also a manual method of copying songs from your iPod to a Mac or PC. The procedure is a bit involved and won't recover playlists but if you're interested it's available on page 2 at this link: Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide
4). Whichever of these retrieval methods you choose, keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync.
5). I would also advise that you get yourself an external hard drive and back your stuff up, relying on an iPod as your sole backup is not a good idea and external drives are comparatively inexpensive these days, you can get loads of storage for a reasonable outlay: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive

Hard Drive failure - various boot modes won't work, HELP!

Hello all,
First of all, sorry for the essay, but I didn't want to miss out on possible crucial details that could help!
A couple of weeks ago, my beloved 27" iMac had a hard drive failure. It won't boot, but instead goes to the grey 'no entry' sign when booting up. I tried holding Cmd + V on boot and this message repeated itself whilst failing to boot:
"rooting via boot-uuid from chosen/: D94DA2D5-DB38-3517-B05D-70A97AC6EE5B
Waiting on <dict ID="0"><key><IOProviderClass</key><string ID="1"> IOResorces</string><key>IOResourceMach</key><string ID= "2">boot-uuid-media</string></dict>
Got boot device = IOService:/AppleACPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/SATA@1F,2/AppleIntel5Serie sAHCI/PRT0@0/IOAHCIDiskDriver/IOAHCBlockStorageDevice/IOBLockStorageDriver/Hitac hi HDS722020ALA330 Media/IOGUIDPartitionScheme
BSD root: disk0s2, major 14, minor 2
jnl: unknown-dev: open: phys_blksz 4096 does not match journal header size 512, and journal is not empty!
hfs: late jnl init: failed to open/create the journal (retval 0)
cannot mount root, errno = 19"
I'm not sure how much of that is useful, but I thought I'd copy it all down anyway.
I googled error number = 19 and found articles on an invalid b-tree node and corrupt journals, leaving me to believe that because I recently deleted a Windows Vista partition and reformed the overall HD into a 2TB OSX volume, some windows data may have been left over and corrupted the journal?
So it fails to boot normaly, using Cmd V, and using the OSX install disk, as well as failing to boot from the DiskWarrior 4 DVD I purchased from my local Apple Reseller because I'd heard that it's very good at helping with issues such as what I think my HD is having. I tried Disk Utility whilst booting from the install disk, and tried to repair the drive, and each time I tried it said that invalid content was present in the journal but the disk repair had been successful.
Am I right in thinking that my data is on the drive, it's just that OSX won't register the drive's existence because of a corrupted journal? (the little I know of hard drives is shining brightly through at this point, I'm sure!)
I also tried to boot using target mode by connecting my iMac to a MacBook Pro also running Snow Leopard, but, whilst the iMac clearly went into target mode (bouncing firewire icon on screen), my HD never appeared on the desktop of the MacBook Pro, nor in Disk Utility.
Whilst I have AppleCare, I haven't tried taking it to a mac store yet because of two reasons; 1. The last time I did this I had HD failure on my old 2008 MBP and, whilst I told them to keep the data on it, the first thing they did was reformat the disk. Needless to say, it worked, but I lost all my valuable Data! The second reason is that it's bloody heavy, and I don't own a car!
Before people go on about the way I should have backed up my data, I did, and that's gone as well! D:
System Specs:
First generation of 27" iMacs
2.8Ghz Intel i7 quad core
2TB HD
ATi Radeon HD 4850 512mb VRAM
8GB DDR3 RAM
OS version: not the very latest snow leopard but the one before.
Thanks in advance, and once again sorry for the essay!
Westy

I'm not sure about the DW disk. Check that out at Alsoft's website. Apple doesn't provide data recovery services.
Apple has records of your iTunes purchases. However, the licensing for music only permits you to download it once. I'm surprised that you don't have backups.
If you get an external enclosure in which to put the drive then you might try accessing it from the MBP as an external drive. If you have an external drive you could try using recovery software:
General File Recovery
If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten by using recovery software such as Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive. Two free alternatives are Disk Drill and TestDisk. Look for them and demos at MacUpdate or CNET Downloads.
The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.
Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.
Beyond this you would need to send the drive off to a data recovery service which will be extremely expensive.

Hard Drive Failure on HP DV 6000 Pavilion laptop Windows-XPsp3 OS - Need Data Recovery Help

Hard Drive Failure on HP DV 6000 Pavilion laptop - Need Data Recovery Help
HP Pavilion DV 6108 NR, RG365UA, purchased in late 2006 at Best Buy, with Windows XP, upgraded to Service Pack 3. It has a Fujitsu hard disk, 60 gigabyte, partitioned into C: and a Recovery D:.
Windows tries to boot up, but goes to blue screen with the message: "Unmountable Boot Volume" for one second, then just keeps recycling until I force a shutdown.
BIOS Phoenix, hard drive test result: " #1-08 Fail "
I ran a disk analysis/recovery program on the Cdrive and it seemed to show the directory structure intact, and it was able to recover some files. I was using the free one from Seagate (which only recovers small files). The second pass didn't run so well, and during the third run the program said I should not proceed further, and I should contact a professional disk recovery company.
However, the D drive seems to be intact, so, I wonder if the disk is corrupted or just some aspect of the logical C drive is bad.
How can I get the D: to run the recovery software on it? The recovery disks, made by Best Buy, only proceed to the R / F / Q option screen, and when I press R, I get a blue screen every time.
Tapping the F10 key during startup gets me nowhere. Ditto the F11 key.
I dont care about the hard disk; it is the data (files, docs, images, etc) that I want.
I contacted HP to order recovery disks but they are no longer available for my computer.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Jon
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Update...
I found a website that offers the following:
http://www.computersurgeons.com/p-13442-recovery-kit-435422-001-for-hp-model-number-dv6108nr.aspx
Recovery Kit 435422-001 For HP Model Number dv6108nr
Price: $27.00
Recovery Kit Set (An Entire Image of the Computer hard drive when the computer was new)
But I wonder how useful it would be. Early XP , no doubt. And if my hard disk problem is a mechanical fault, would any recovery disk even work? The disks made by Best Buy when I bought mine new in 2006 don't do anything more than go to the R /F/ Q screen and then goes to a blue screen when I press R (to recover the OS and apps and data files). And, as I wrote, it is the data that I want, not the disk drive.

My MacBook Air chimes during startup but flashes a bar at the bottom then shuts down, is this a hard drive failure or a hard ware failure? Please help I miss my laptop

First generation MacBook Air running OSX 10.6.8

Hi,
From what you describe it's certainly a Hard Drive failure so you'll definetely need to contact HP. Personally, considering this is the 2nd HDD in under 2 months, I say it's either bad luck ( however unlikely ) or there is another issue at play - it may be worth suggesting this to HP when you contact them.
Regards,
DP-K
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Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience

Experiencing strange performance issues after a hard drive failure - Help!

I bought my mid-2012 i5 Macbook Pro in December of 2012. I realized when shopping for computers that I wanted an SSD installed, but that it would be a lot cheaper if I bought the SSD and installed it rather than customizing it in the Apple Store. So I bought a nice Samsung 128GB SSD (820 or 840 - can't remember which) and did the installation. I went ahead and installed two 4GB sticks of RAM while I was at it. Everything was just dandy: my boot time was just under 9 seconds, and all of my data-heavy apps booted in no-time at all. Then all **** broke loose.
About two weeks ago, I opened my computer and I got the dreaded "? File Folder" notification with a gray screen. I immediately thought hard drive failure. No matter how many times I tried to boot, the computer just would not talk to the SSD anymore. I used Internet Recovery to get into my Disk Utility, and the entire partition was gone. I assumed the worst but wanted to be sure - I bought a hard drive enclosure and hooked the SSD up to an older Macbook, and lo and behold: it worked perfectly. I was not only able to recover data, but I could write data to the drive. Nothing appeared wrong with the drive when I plugged it into the old Macbook, but my newer Macbook still would not recognize it. Even my fiance's Windows 7 PC recognized the drive as "?" (since it was formatted for Mac, but hey - it recognized that it existed!).
I decided to re-install the original HDD that came with the 2012 Macbook Pro (the one I removed in favor of the SSD). I was able to re-install the OS and I can boot up at will, but everything is different. The performance issues are extremely noticeable. I can't have more than two programs running at one time without the spinning wheel of death appearing. My boot time went from 9 seconds to 2 minutes. I know that SSDs increase performance, so there is some slight performance downgrade to be expected since I am using a mechanical drive now -- but these are not normal issues. Sometimes I can't even type a web address into Safari without the wheel appearing. iTunes, and specifically the App Store, take minutes to open - and I have no media is on iTunes.
Here's the thing: I have tried just about anything to fix this problem that Google can pull up. I've verified the HDD, I've booted into Safe Mode, reset RAM and cache, run benchmarks and other performance tests, entered all sorts of weird language into Command Prompt, and studied Activity Monitor - I can't find a single red flag that would indicate anything being wrong. It appears to be a perfectly functioning, updated computer.
I'm thinking a piece of hardware failed that triggered the error with the SSD. I'm not really sure though since all of my performance tests indicate perfectly functioning hardware. I'm a little afraid to take it to the Apple store because I know they'll tell me it's my fault for opening the computer and replacing the hard drive in the first place.
Any ideas? At this point anything to salvage this computer would be helpful.

Spin Cycle,
were those other computers which were able to recognize your SSD in its external enclosure also Macs? Do you know if your SSD has its most recent firmware revision installed? (If it doesn’t, its installer can be downloaded from the Samsung SSD firmware page for burning onto a bootable DVD.) I haven’t used the 830 myself, so I don’t know what its reputation is with Macs. I have an 840 PRO in my MacBook Pro, which has been trouble-free for me, but my understanding is that the 840 EVO has had trouble with Macs in its earlier firmware revisions — so I’m wondering if the 830 has a known track record with Macs, good or bad.

Please could somebody help me I have an iMac which came with Tiger 10.4.10 installed I have lost my disks and I need to re-install after a hard drive failure. Where can I find this? I will upgrade to Snow Leopard after but I cannot go straight to SL

Please could somebody help me I have an iMac which came with Tiger 10.4.10 installed I have lost my disks and I need to re-install after a hard drive failure. Where can I find this? I will upgrade to Snow Leopard after but I cannot go straight to SL

You can go strait to SL, all you need is a retail SL DVD available from Apple for $20. The US online store has them at:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard

Restoration after Hard Drive Failure

Hello all.
My Powerbook G4 suffered a hard drive failure a couple of months ago, and every bit of information was lost in no-man's land. After seeking help with Apple, I was sent to DriveSavers. Thankfully, they were able to recover 100% of my drive or that's what they tell me anyway. (No need to scold me, I have learned my lesson about backing up EVERYTHING -- especially when the bill arrived from DriveSavers!) The Powerbook was kaput, so I decided to purchase an new iMac. DriveSavers has put my entire Powerbook contents onto several DVD discs, but so far I have had very little luck with actually transferring and using any of it on the iMac. I have been able to copy document files from Appleworks, Photoshop, etc. onto the iMac, and I can open them and use them with no problem. Although, I did have to go back and re-install the actual Photoshop and Appleworks applications from their original software discs since I was unable to successfully copy the applications from the DriveSavers discs onto the iMac. Still, I am in desperate need of certain Apple applications from the Powerbook that just will not appear on the iMac -- things like Address Book, all of my Stickies , plus the other Stickies that were only located on Dashboard (i was a stickies freak), the emails and contacts saved in Mail, the appts. & scheduling in iCal, etc. I cannot successfully access these kinds of things. I am able to copy an entire disc from DriveSavers onto the iMac, but when I launch the Address Book application from that folder, it just opens up the empty, brand new Address Book from the iMac or the new, empty iCal. The same thing happens with other similar programs. (I think iTunes has been the only thing with which I have any kind of success.) I've even rifled through the DVD discs and gone through my old User folder to the Library folder, then the Caches folder, and finally to the .com.apple.AddressBook folder where I extracted just the Metadata folder which clearly contains all of my contacts. When I try to add just the contact cards to the iMac's Address Book application, I still doesn't work and remains empty. The only way I've been able to look at any of my contacts is to use TextEdit to open those contact cards, and then dig through all of the jargon and piece together the info. It's very frustrating and time-consuming. I would just like for my Powerbook to be reincarnated, if you will, here on this new iMac. Is this even possible? I am completely baffled, and beginning to fear that I may have paid thousands of dollars for DVDs that would serve me better if I were lost in the Sahara and needing to signal a plane flying overhead by reflecting them against the sun. If anyone has any advice or tips, I would be very grateful.
Cheers,
Maize
Intel-based iMac Mac OS X (10.4.6)
PowerbookG4 Mac OS X (10.4.6)
PowerbookG4 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Hi,
Maybe this article can help :
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106941#2c
Take a look at the 'manual' backup and restore sections of the article.
Good luck!
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Inspiron 1525 - Hard drive failure.

Dear iTunes users,
Before we begin - telling me I should've backed up my hard drive, that backing up is a must, BACK UP BACK UP BACK UP or whatever isn't helpful. You are here to help me. Saying this will only make me cry harder.
I foolishly purchased a dell inspiron 1525 a few years ago. Recently it decided it had had enough, and went as far as to freeze on the blue screen. You want to know what I was doing as my computer decided to kill itself? I was backing up my hard drive.
This mass failure could mean that I have lost both my orginal hard drive, and the back up to the external. Not only have I lost my iTunes, I have lost my photos, videos, work, EVERYTHING.
I have been googling for a while now on any computer I can get my hands on, and I have heard through the grapevine that Apple, have, on occasion given you your iTunes back to you. There is always a link to a form, which I am assuming doesn't exsist anymore - as it takes you to the support page.
To be honest, I am prepared to send apple my broken computer, my broken external - to show them. I have also considered paying the £5000 I have been quoted for hard drive recovery - which, like a portentially life saving operation on an old pet - I might not have a hard drive at the end of it.
Sadly, I do not have a new computer yet, and may not for a while as I have no money. However my younger sister has said that she is happy for me to use her macbook, in my account on it, to put my itunes in, if it is ever returned to me, at which point I will immidiately back it up to an external hard drive. I have no intention of sharing it with her - she is my sister and I don't like sharing.
I've spent a lot of money with apple, I had just bought two new albums that I was really looking foreward to listening to. I know that I am a fool, that I should have backed it up before - but if anyone could tell me if they still do this I would really be very grateful.
We all think it's not going to happen to us, but really, I have nothing left bar some songs on my Ipod - that I am tiering of. I do not want to transfer them to a computer. That is not what I am asking. I am perfectly capable of figuring that one out for myself.
I just want my stuff back, like all of the other idiots out there.
Thank you for your time,
Florence.
(for those of you who thought tl;dr, I did bold the main points for you. XD)

Hi @goshenguy
Thank you for your inquiry, I am happy to help.
I grasp you tested the hard drive from the bios and it failed. This tests the physical aspcects of the hard drive and when it fails it does require replacement. You were able to retrieve some of your files using recovery software but not all.
Your recovery partition is still intact and when you try to do a recovery with the disks from Best Buy you do not get past these options R / F / Q but will not proceed.
Here is a link to Performing an HP System Recovery (Windows XP, 2006 or Later) that may assist you in performing a recovery.
Here is a link to the Maintenance and Service Guide HP Pavilion dv6000 Notebook PC. Please note chapter 3 page 42 for a replacement hard drive part number.
HP Parts, HP Replacement Parts
If you are still unable to do the recovery, you could try contacting Best Buy for assistance with the recovery kit they provide.
I don't know if it is possible, but you may want to check cloning software to see if you could clone the D partion to the new drive or connect both drives and try a drive to drive copy of the D partition.
If you were able to successfully put the D partition on a new hard drive you should be able to do a recovery from the D partition to take it back to factory.
If none of the above has allowed you to successfully do a recovery, I suggest contacting Best Buy to see it they have options other then purchasing a third party recovery kit.
Good Luck!
Sparkles1
I work on behalf of HP
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Mini hard drive failure? What to do...

My Mini was exhibiting signs of hard drive failure: Lots of SBBODs, taking a long time to bootup (and sometimes not booting up), locking up for no apparent reason with only the mouse working, and making clicking noises like the hard drive is searching for something.
I ran Onyx and repaired permissions to no avail. Hardware check showed no problems. I ran Disk Utility from the setup disk and it repaired several problems (e.g., invalid leaf record, minor Bit Map repair, invalid volume free block count, etc.). It reported that my hard drive was repaired successfully.
However, the drive is still acting up. Strangely, when I jiggle or tilt the Mini while it's hanging, it will sometimes kick-start it. It looks bad all around. Fortunately, my valuable data is all on an external drive (250 GB MiniStack), since I use the Mini to manage my media and a PowerBook as my primary machine.
My questions are these:
• Does it make sense to continue using this drive by zeroing out the drive and reinstalling Tiger?
• Or, should I consider replacing the drive altogether (the tilting action makes me think it may be mechanical)?
Or course, my AppleCare expired a couple of weeks ago...<sigh>
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Best,
Amy

Sounds exactly like mine!
See if you have any friends with computers that could loan you a stick of 2700 or higher.
If I were closer, I would loan you my other stick from my PC.
Since your valuable data is on another drive...if you want to reload everything...
You can erase and reinstall OSX. If the drive is bad, it will have problems loading, then you'll know.
If it does load, and it runs fine, then the OS was somehow screwed up, but if it gives you the SBBOD again after the install and during software update or other intensive programs (like mine did) then I would suspect the memory.
Memory isn't used very much for the minor applications during the Hardware Test or booting to CD/DVD. Mine only showed up during actual OS booting and running programs, but since it's the easiest thing to replace and check, that's what I did first and it resolved my problems.
If you want to check out what I went through see:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=392827
Maybe some of that can help you too.

Macbook Pro 2011 extremely slow wondering if hard drive failure

Hello, I want to start off by saying I'm not a huge computer guru, so that is why I'm coming here first. My Macbook Pro worked very well for a year, and then it has slowed down drastically. I've always been a windows user so mac is kind of foreign to me, but I'm trying to learn.
Some problems I've encountered are 1. Extremely slow running whether internet related, or just an application. I have checked the activity monitor and nothing is hogging up my memory. 2. Spinning wait cursor (rainbow circle) when I try to do ANYTHING. It takes minutes to start computer once it makes it to home screen. The circle just spins for a few minutes. Even just web surfing it's there. 3. Battery drains from 100% to less than 20% in 30 minutes, which again is annoying. 4. When battery drains the fan turns on and seems to drain battery even faster. 5. I get a lot of random errors forcing shut down of programs. I have ignored this problem for two years by not using my laptop or using it very minimally, but I am going to be needing a laptop again for school and not just my iPad and phone so I was planning on taking my macbook to genius bar, but wanted to check here first since Apple is an hour away. Plus I want to be able to use the piece of equipment that I spent a decent chunk of change on. I used time machine to back up everything today. I know its not a space issue as I have 300+ free GB on hard drive. I have tried to read through similar posts, but its overwhelming so I came here to post my own question.
I ran disc utility and there were some errors, which were able to be corrected after a couple tries. Computer still slow though when trying to do anything and running rainbow circle.
In recovery mode I reinstalled OSX
I was finally able to install updates after completing the above that were not able to be installed before.
I ran etre check, this is the report that came up:
Problem description:
Extremely slow computer, possible hard drive failure
EtreCheck version: 2.0.11 (98)
Report generated November 3, 2014 9:25:29 PM EST
Hardware Information: ℹ️
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2011) (Verified)
MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,1
1 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2-core
4 GB RAM
BANK 0/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Video Information: ℹ️
Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 384 MB
Color LCD 1280 x 800
System Software: ℹ️
Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63) - Uptime: 0:6:50
Disk Information: ℹ️
Hitachi HTS547550A9E384 disk0 : (500.11 GB)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.25 GB (357.49 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5970H
USB Information: ℹ️
Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
Apple, Inc. MacBook Pro
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
/System/Library/Extensions
[not loaded] com.Logitech.Unifying.HID Driver (1.2.0 - SDK 10.0) Support
/Users/[redacted]/Downloads/LCC Installer.app
[not loaded] com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver (3.5.1 - SDK 10.0) Support
Startup Items: ℹ️
HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO
Startup items are obsolete and will not work in future versions of OS X
Problem System Launch Agents: ℹ️
[failed] com.apple.coreservices.appleid.authentication.plist
Launch Agents: ℹ️
[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[loaded] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist Support
[running] com.Logitech.Control Center.Daemon.plist Support
[invalid?] com.luthresearch.savvyconnectmenu.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
[invalid?] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist Support
[invalid?] com.luthresearch.scservice.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
User Login Items: ℹ️
iTunesHelper Application (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)
Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
SavvyConnect UNKNOWN (missing value)
Google Chrome Application (/Applications/Google Chrome.app)
HP Scheduler Application (/Library/Application Support/Hewlett-Packard/Software Update/HP Scheduler.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Support
Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Mismatch! Adobe recommends 15.0.0.189
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 67 Check version
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
Flash Player Support
Growl Support
Java Support
Logitech Control Center Support
Time Machine: ℹ️
Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
      11% Safari
      3% WindowServer
      0% fontd
      0% Google Chrome
      0% ps
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
245 MB WebProcess
206 MB System Preferences
168 MB Safari
99 MB mds
82 MB Google Chrome
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
1.37 GB Free RAM
1.57 GB Active RAM
318 MB Inactive RAM
1.03 GB Wired RAM
436 MB Page-ins
0 B Page-outs
Basically I'm wondering if anything sticks out in this report. I was thinking it could be a possible hard drive failure. I know my computer has been dropped on the floor at least a few times. Thoughts are appreciated. Thank you for your patience.

Eab, I feel your pain! I am replying simply to share my similar ongoing experience with my early 2011 17 inch MacBook Pro, running Mavericks with seeming ample hard drive space, [applications requiring less than 100GB, about 200GB data (total drive space of 500GB)] & 4GB RAM. (Disclaimer: I am not a wise or computer-savvy mac guru - simply a fellow traveler who has had a very similar set of problems - apps taking forever to load, rapid battery depletion & super overheated MacBook. While I am a Genius Bar groupie, getting to the Apple store is, for me, akin to an antarctic polar expedition (i.e. problematic). Having spent endless hours struggling with a similar issue, I offer you a synopsis of my struggle/experience.
STEPS TO DATE:
1.Installed several memory utility programs (Daisy Disk & MacCleanse) system
maintenance program to regularly and thoroughly empty application caches (Adobe apps & internet browsers being tremendous hogs), identify and remove language elements and other redundant space hogs, etc.   Result: Small, but real improvement when I forced myself to perform a "scan and delete" session every second major computer run (typically about 6-8 hours in length). However, this did nothing to help the problems regularly detected when I run the Disk Utility which almost invariably demonstrates disk permissions that need to be repaired and, with increasing frequency, has demonstrated actual disk errors that require restarting and walking through a disk repair protocol. I did bring it to the Genius Bar where they kindly reinstalled Mavericks which they could do in about an hour versus the several hours that doing this at home requires. This did identify that my RAM was, on fact, a limitation on the speed at which I could run certain apps.
2. My next move was to install an additional 4GB of RAM. I bought the new RAM on eBay for about $90 because, with 3 kids equipped with MacBooks & iPhones, I simply couldn't afford the official Apple RAM. I even installed it myself, with the help of a YouTube video. Result: Giant improvement in speed (starting up or switching apps. If I had realized how simple it turned out to be, I would have done it well over a year ago. Some minor improvement in the overheating problem, but persistent problems with disk permissions continually requiring repair and periodic disk repairs (using Disk Utility) required.
PLANNED FINAL INTERVENTION:
3. I am purchasing and installing a solid state drive (ssd) and simply chucking the original hard drive, after considerable discussion with my savvier mac friends. It has become clear to me that, sadly, every hard drive has a finite life affected by a variety of factors. I am, in fact, hard on my equipment - running multiple graphic apps simultaneously, transferring massive GBs of data between my laptop, time capsule and an array of hard drives. I will let you know how it goes, but can share that the decision to get a solid state drive followed many conversations with multiple Mac guru-types (in the hope of saving you similar painful tribulations). The cost varies according to the size of the drive, but $400-$500 would buy a reasonable starting size. I am waiting for Black Friday sales, myself. Amazon (where I will likely purchase the ssd) is already offering a number of pre-Black Friday deals. While I don't really feel like putting out that amount of cash, I reassure myself that a new drive will almost certainly solve the disk errors (with a solid state one offering more durability) & will help me prolong the life of my MacBook Pro by a couple of years hopefully. It beats buying a new Apple MacBook only three and a half years after investing close to $3k for this one!
I am certain that more experienced forum users could point you to software that could help defragment your drive or may be able to offer other solutions. I've simply had enough of struggling with burning thighs and head-banging behavior triggered by slow performance. I hope this is helpful to you in some small way. The war is not yet over, but I'm feeling good about the battle plan!

HP Pavillion DV7 Hard Drive failure and replacement

Hi all,
As the title mentions, I have an HP Pavillion DV7, p/n: NB406AV. The SMART is showing an imminent hard drive failure. The primary hard disk quick test stops at 4% and shows a code "303" for hard disk 1. It also stops at 4% when doing a full HD scan.
So, I'll be replacing the HD. I have no idea what to buy, and I plan on buying a non HP HD. Can anyone tell me the specs I should look for? I'd like to get the biggest GB HD that will be compatible as well. Thanks for your help!

Hi,
It usesSATA HDD. Some dv7 models use SATA II but many later models use SATA III. SATA III is backwrd compatible but more expensive. DV7 is a series of hundreds different models and you won't go wrong with SATA III drive. It can accept current generation HDD's. The following HHD is a good choice with a good price/performance ratio per Gb:
http://www.seagate.com/au/en/internal-hard-drives/laptop-hard-drives/laptop-solid-state-hybrid-drive...
You can use 1Tb on your machine. New HDD's are thinner but the screws will be lined up and should be strong enough to hold the HDD in place.
Regards.
BH
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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.

Hard drive failure! New hard drive/Time machine backup/iPhone questions

Hello,
I have a 2011 MacBook Pro who's hard drive failed (rather acutely too, I do use disk utility to check it's health regularly) and I bought a replacement to install (SSD!). I have a bunch of questions but have only found partial answers in searches. Maybe it's best to list them:
1. I'd like to do a fresh install of the OS X using OS X Recovery because I'm concerned my Time Machine backup is partly corrupted. I hadn't updated to Mavericks, will I be able to install Mountain Lion? If not: will this be a problem with my backup files?
2. Say the OS X Recovery works, how do I use Time Machine to restore things like my iTunes library/iMessages/email/iPhoto library etc? In other words: just the data I can't get any other way (I hope it's not too corrupted). And/or should I use my iCloud backup on a few of these (iMessages/contacts)?
3. Do I need to set up the new OS X install with the same account names/home disk name etc. for the restored backup files to function?
4. Is this going to f'up iCloud or vice versa?
5. Finally, how do I sync my iPhone to the "new" computer without erasing the iPhone (which had an iOS update since my last backup to Time Machine). Or do I have to restore the iPhone too.
6. How come Apple doesn't have a mobile theme for their website yet?
Any help would be much appreciated,
Matt

Do you still have the original System Reinstall DVD set that came with your Mac?
If you created that Lion external drive you have from YOUR Mac, when Lion was installed on it, and it also contains a Recovery HD partition you can use that to boot to the Recovery HD and reinstall Lion on the new drive. And or Clone that external to the new internal drive you installed.
Right since your Mac came with Snow Leopard you can't use the Online Internet Recovery system to reinstall Lion, as your system didn't originally come with Lion, but you should still be able to boot to it to do diagnosic things like using Disk Utility, going to the Net to get help and even Restoring the system from a Time Machine backup. But you will get an error if you select Reinstall Mac OS X. The firmware update is usually applied with system updates.
If you created a New Time Machine Backup when any of the Download Only version of OS X were installed on your internal drive Time Machine, the system, Copies over the files needed to boot the system from that backup drive. If it was a care over backup from when Snow Leopard was installed is might or might not be bootable. Only way to tell is to connect it and at startup hold down the Option key to get the Boot selection screen, IE The Boot Manager screen, and see if it shows up as a Boot Source. If it does thenn it contains the files needed to get to the Mac OS X Utilities, IE the Recovery HD files.
What you should do is Boot the system from either the Time Machine backup, if it is bootable, or your External that has Lion on it, The Recovery HD if that drive contains a Recovery HD, or your Original Snow Leopard reinstall DVD that came with your Mac and then try to Restore from your Time Machine backup drive.
If that fails to restore your system properly then nyou should reinstall Snow Leopard and the iLife Apps from the Original Discs then upgrade to Mt Lion which will be in the Mac App Store under your Purchases area. Then maybe you can restore your files from that Time Machine backup.
scardanelli wrote:
I've had a bunch of issues with my computer (you can look at some of my other questions on these forums) which, to my mind anyway, seemed to be finally given a diagnosis when my HD crashed. It may be paranoia but there have been enough problems that I'd rather do a clean install to be on the safe side.
I have an early 2011, shipped with Snow Leopard.
I was under the impression that Time Machine can't be used as a boot drive and the OS X Recovery is a firmware update (on my computer) or hard wired in (on later computers). I might be wrong. I was planning on using the internet recovery, the HD failed right after I got some password protected files unencrypted and onto an external drive (was that necessary?) but wasn't sure if it's a problem if it installs Mavericks.
So Setup Assistant will configure my accounts the same and I don't need to worry about that? That's a relief.
Thanks for the lengthy response.

HELP! Hard Drive Failure - Looks like I may be buying a new internal

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