How do I determine if hard drive is failing?

I had to take macbook pro to the genius bar on Tuesday because I couldn't get the system to boot. After an hour and one half, everyhthing was working again.
I went to computer meeting last evening and had problems downloading items.
Today, I tried to reinstall my eyetv software. Now, I can use the PC partition but am once again,unab;e to load a mac desktop/ When I shut down the computer last night, I had 68+ gig available. I don't know what it shows today but am unable to load disc 1 of OS to reinstall an OS. Help what is going on?

If the Genius was able to get things running OK, and the Windows partition is loading OK, it sounds to me as if the hard disk is not a problem. Have you checked in System Preferences that the correct startup disk is selected?
As you start the computer, hold down the Option key. That will give you a selection of disk icons that you can move between (it is slow). Make sure that the OS X one is chosen.
To help confirm the integrity of the disk, open Disk Utility if you can get it up and running, click on the hard disk icon and check the SMART status.
In any case, if you have not already, and are able to, back up your data.
If you are not able to start up, it may be that there is some corruption in the OS X installation. You could begin by restarting with the (grey) installation disk in the drive and pressing the D key. This will let you do a hardware check which may set your mind at rest to an extent.
For the software side, again, using the installation disk, start up with the C key held down and, instead of reinstalling (you might want to start thinking about this if things really are wrong, but that is down the road apiece) access the menu (top left) and enter the disk utility so that you can run a repair of the disk. See what that comes up with. You might also try Repair permissions while in there.
If you have problems reported, the Utility might be able to repair them (run this a couple of times to make sure), but if not a stronger utility, such as Disk Warrior, or TechToolPro might be needed.
As I suggested above, if things are really damaged you might consider a reinstall (or Archive and Install) but this is a last alternative: try repairs first.
Get back to us later with any updates or further questions.

Similar Messages

  • HT2173 How to know when a hard drive has failed ?

    How to know when a hard drive has failed ?

    Machine doesn't boot.  You experience strange crashes.  Gets wrong results.  Your harddrive is five or more years old.  Time to consider repacing it.   You do have backup?
    You may want to run these "standard" fixes if the problem persists.
    1) Check the amount of free space on your harddrive.  You should have a several gigs free.
    2) You should run disk utility
         a) verify the disk
         b) update your permissions.
    3) Try a safe boot.
        Shutdown your machine.  Hold down the shift key.  Poweron.  Wait awhile Wait awhile while you harddrive
          is being checked.
        http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1455
    4) You may want to run applejack to clean up your machine.
         http://applejack.sourceforge.net/
    a lot more ways to fix your Mac.
    http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/faqs.html
    verify & repair your startup drive
    To verify & repair you file system on the startup drive, you will need to run disk utility from you installation DVD.
    This article  will tell you how to get to disk utility.  Once in a disk utility, you can go and attempt to recover the disk.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
    To repair your startup drive, you will need to run disk utility from your startup DVD.
    Mac OS X 10.4: About the utilities available on the Mac OS X 10.4 Install DVD
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2055
    How to run disk utility from your startup DVD.
    Insert your  startup DVD  into your reader.  Power down your machine.  Hold down to the c key.  Power on your machine.  This will bootup your startup DVD.
    This will bring you to a panel asking you for your language.  Pick your language.
    You you come to the Install Mac OS panel.  Do not install.
    Click on Utilities menu item.  This will give you a pulldown list of utilities.
    Click on the disk utility.
    You are now in disk utility.  Pick your disk.  Click on repair it should be on the lower right of the panel.
    Once the repair completes successfully, you should update your permissions.
    Verify a disk
    As an alternative, you can verify that the filesystem on the disk is correct. You will not be able to repair the file system.
    I suggest that you use disk utility to verify that your startup disk is OK. 
    Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Disk Utility 
    Start up disk utility.  On the left pane view, you will see a list of all your disks.  
    Click on your startup disk.
    Click on the First Aid  Tab.
    Click on verify.  
    Hopefully your disk will verify.  If not, you have to boot from your installation DVD and run Disk Utility from there to attempt to repair your file-system.

  • How to backup data when hard drive is failing.

    I think my hard drive is failing..
    I booted using Install DVD, and got message in Disc Utility that "this drive has a hardware problem that can't be repaired." It mentioned I should backup data and consult apple representative..
    I clicked on Macintosh HD under the red physical drive (500.11 GB Hitachi HTS) and did disc repair.
    Strangely, the message went away on the physical drive when I finished.  It turned back to black wording and gave green "verified/repaired" messages in the log.
    I am still able to boot my macbook, although everything is running slowly... Desktop excel files take 15 mins to open.
    Does this still sound like a failing hard drive?
    I am trying to act fast and borrowed my sister's external harddrive/ "passport for mac", and it slowly prompted a time machine backup. It is slowly working through "8.34GB of 200.33GB"
    I do not really understand what I am doing, but hoping this is the right move. Could someone explain what time machine will do or how it will help?
    Is there any chance I will harm her external hd?
    I am mostly worried about iPhoto and itunes library, iMovie projects,and important excel spreadsheets on my desktop. Is time machine looking after these concerns?
    Any help greatly appreciated.

    Where is you TM backup?
    Where are your external data redundancies?
    Now you will need to use very expensive data recovery experts to recover data when you could have had it safely on a $100 worth of 2 external HD.  
    Mechanical HD failure circumvents using recovery software.......so,  now you backed yourself into a corner and needed expensive data expert recovery.
    You took a wrong turn a long while back before reaching this cliff edge.
    that wrong term was not having (preferably 2) external HD as a redundant data archive.

  • How to recover data from hard drive of failed notebook

    I have a broken F767NR laptop. Broke due to something other than the hard drive. What is the best method to extract the data from the notebook hard drive inside the laptop since the laptop won't turn on? Anyone with any specifics would be helpful!

    http://cgi.ebay.com/2-5-HARD-DRIVE-SATA-EXTERNAL-ENCLOSURE-CASE-USB-2-0-New-/160526605521?pt=PCC_Dri...
    Something like this would work.   Pull out your hard drive and put it in the enclosure.  Hook it up to a working computer and you should be able to see all your folders and files. 
    Did someone help you? Pay it forward. Help someone else.
    NC4400, TC4400 Win 7 Ultimate, xp pro, both dual boot
    a bunch of thinkpads

  • How do i repair a hard drive?

    I bought my ipod at best buy and paid with cash i put the receit in my wallet but i got stolen at the movie theatre the point is that i don't have a recit anymore and don't know how to replace my ipod now. it apears the apple icon with the back lights off then the icon with a ipod sad face apears telling me to go to apple.com/support.ipod and the back light turns on then everything goes off you can hear it that the driver it's working hard to start but it does not turn it on at all i went to the web site that they show i spent more then 2 days reading and doing what they say but nothing works at all. i just wants to know how do i get my ipod back to normal. i went to best buy they told me i have to came here again but since i already did all of this i could not do it again right.they said it needs a new hard drive what do i have to do to get a new one? how much do i have to pay?. i don't know how to get a new hard drive because i don't have the receip.
    Ipod 80GB   Windows XP  

    Hello,
    If a sad iPod icon or an exclamation point and folder icon appears on your iPod’s screen, or with sounds of clicking or HD whirring, it is usually the sign of a hard drive problem and you have the power to do something about it now. Your silver bullet of resolving your iPod issue – is to restore your iPod to factory settings.
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60983
    If you're having trouble, try these steps at different levels one at a time until the issue is resolved. These steps will often whip your iPod back into shape.
    Make sure you do all the following “TRYs”
    A. Try to wait 30 minutes while iPod is charging.
    B. Try another FireWire or USB through Dock Connector cable.
    C. Try another FireWire or USB port on your computer .
    D. Try to disconnect all devices from your computer's FireWire and USB ports.
    E. Try to download and install the latest version of iPod software and iTunes
    http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
    For old and other versions of iPod updater for window you can get here
    http://www.ipodwizard.net/showthread.php?t=7369
    F. Try these five steps (known as the five Rs) and it would conquer most iPod issues.
    http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/five_rs/
    G. Try to put the iPod into Disk Mode if it fails to appear on the desktop
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93651
    If none of these steps address the issue, you may need to go to Intermediate level listed below in logical order. Check from the top of the lists to see if that is what keeping iPod from appearing on your computer in order for doing the Restore.
    Intermediate Level
    A. Try to connect your iPod with another computer with the iPod updater pre-installed.
    B. Still can’t see your iPod, put it in Disk Mode and connect with a computer, instead of doing a Restore on iPod Updater. Go and format the iPod instead.
    For Mac computer
    1. Open the disk utility, hope your iPod appears there (left hand side), highlight it
    2. Go to Tab “Partition”, click either “Delete” or “Partition”, if fails, skip this step and go to 3
    3. Go to Tab “Erase” , choose Volume Format as “MAC OS Extended (Journaled), and click Erase, again if fails, skip it and go to 4
    4. Same as step 3, but open the “Security Options....” and choose “Zero Out Data” before click Erase. It will take 1 to 2 hours to complete.
    5. Eject your iPod and do a Reset
    6. Open the iTunes 7 and click “Restore”
    For Window computer
    Go to folder “My Computer”
    Hope you can see your iPod there and right click on the iPod
    Choose “Format”. Ensure the settings are at “Default” and that “Quick Format” is not checked
    Now select “Format”
    Eject your iPod and do a Reset
    Open the iTunes 7 and click “Restore”
    In case you do not manage to do a “Format” on a window computer, try to use some 3rd party disk utility software, e.g.“HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool”.
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=501330&tstart=0
    C. Windows users having trouble with their iPods should locate a Mac user. In many cases when an iPod won't show up on a PC that it will show up on the Mac. Then it can be restored. When the PC user returns to his computer the iPod will be recognized by the PC, reformatted for the PC, and usable again. By the way, it works in reverse too. A Mac user often can get his iPod back by connecting it to a PC and restoring it.
    Tips
    a. It does not matter whether the format is completed or not, the key is to erase (or partly) the corrupted firmware files on the Hard Drive of the iPod. After that, when the iPod re-connected with a computer, it will be recognized as an fresh external hard drive, it will show up on the iTunes 7.
    b. It is not a difficult issue for a Mac user to find a window base computer, for a PC user, if they can’t find any Mac user, they can go to a nearest Apple Shop for a favor.
    c. You may need to switch around the PC and Mac, try to do several attempts between “Format” and “Restore”
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2364921&#2364921
    Advance Level
    A. Diagnostic mode solution
    If you have tried trouble shooting your iPod to no avail after all the steps above, chances are your iPod has a hardware problem. The iPod's built-in Diagnostic Mode is a quick and easy way to determine if you have a "bad" iPod.
    You need to restart your iPod before putting it into Diagnostic Mode. Check that your hold switch is off by sliding the switch away from the headphone jack. Toggle it on and off to be safe.
    Press and hold the following combination of buttons simultaneously for approximately 10 seconds to reset the iPod.
    iPod 1G to 3G: "Menu" and "Play/Pause"
    iPod 4G+ (includes Photo, Nano, Video, and Mini): "Menu" and "Select"
    The Apple logo will appear and you should feel the hard drive spinning up. Press and hold the following sequence of buttons:
    iPod 1G to 3G: "REW", "FFW" and "Select"
    iPod 4G+ (includes Photo, Nano, Video, and Mini): "Back" and "Select"
    You will hear an audible chirp sound (3G models and higher) and the Apple logo should appear backwards. You are now in Diagnostic Mode. Navigate the list of tests using "REW" and "FFW". The scroll wheel will not function while in diagnostic mode. For further details on Diagnostic mode can be found at http://www.methodshop.com/mp3/ipodsupport/diagnosticmode/
    Try to do the 5in1, HDD R/W and HDD scan tests. Some successful cases have been reported after the running the few tests under the Diagnostic mode. In case it does not work in your case, and the scan tests reports show some errors then it proves your iPod has a hardware problem and it needs a repairing service.
    B. Format your iPod with a start disk
    I have not tried this solution myself, I heard that there were few successful cases that the users managed to get their iPod (you must put your iPod in disk mode before connecting with a computer) mounted by the computer, which was booted by a system startup disk. For Mac, you can use the Disk Utility (on the Tiger OS system disk), for PC user, you can use the window OS system disk. Try to find a way to reformat your iPod, again it does not matter which format (FAT32, NTFS or HFS+) you choose, the key is to erase the corrupted system files on the iPod. Then eject your iPod and do a Reset to switch out from Disk Mode. Reboot your computer at the normal way, connect your iPod back with it, open the iPod updater, and hopefully your iPod will appear there for the Restore.
    If none of these steps address the issue, your iPod may need to be repaired.
    Consider setting up a mail-in repair for your iPod http://depot.info.apple.com/ipod/
    Or visit your local Apple Retail Store http://www.apple.com/retail/
    In case your iPod is no longer covered by the warranty and you want to find a second repairing company, you can try iPodResQ at your own risk
    http://www.ipodresq.com/index.php
    Just in case that you are at the following situation
    Your iPod warranty is expired
    You don’t want to pay any service charges
    You are prepared to buy a new one
    You can’t accept the re-sell value of your broken iPod
    Rather than leave your iPod as paper-weight or throw it away.
    You can try the following, but again, only do it as your last resort and at your own risk.
    Warning !!!! – It may or may not manage to solve your problem, and with a risk that you may further damage your iPod, which end up as an expensive paper weight or you need to pay more higher repairing cost. Therefore, please re-consider again whether you want to try the next level
    Last Resort Level
    1. . Disconnecting the Hard Drive and battery inside the iPod – Warning !! Your iPod warranty will be waived once you open the iPod.
    In Hong Kong there are some electronic shops offering an iPod service for Sad iPod, the first thing they do is to open up the iPod’s case and disconnecting the battery and the Hard Drive from the main board of the iPod. Wait for 5-10 minutes and reconnecting them back. The reason behind which I can think of is to do a fully reset of a processor of the iPod. In case you want do it itself and you believe that you are good on fixing the electronics devices and have experience to deal with small bits of electronic parts, then you can read the following of how to open the iPod case for battery and HDD replacement (with Quicktimes)
    http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/index.cfm?page=Video/directory.html
    2.Press the reset button on the Hard Drive inside the iPod – Suggestion from Kill8joy
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2438774#2438774
    Have I tried these myself? No, I am afraid to do it myself as I am squeamish about tinkering inside electronic devices, I have few experiences that either I broke the parts (which are normally tiny or fragile) or failed to put the parts back to the main case. Therefore, I agree with suggestion to have it fixed by a Pro.
    2. Do a search on Google and some topics on this discussion forum about “Sad iPod”
    Exclamation point and folder and nothing else
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3597173#3597173
    Exclamation point and folder and nothing else
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2831962#2831962
    What should I do with my iPod? Send it or keep it?
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=469080&tstart=0
    Strange error on iPod (probably death)
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=435160&start=0&tstart=0
    Sad Face on iPod for no apparent reason
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=336342&start=0&tstart=0
    Meeting the Sad iPod icon
    http://askpang.typepad.com/relevanthistory/2004/11/meeting_thesad.html#comment-10519524
    Sad faced iPod, but my computer won’t recognize it?
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2236095#2236095
    iPod Photo: unhappy icon + warranty question
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2233746#2233746
    4th Gen iPod Users - are we all having the same problem?
    http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=2235623#2235623
    Low Battery, and clicking sounds
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2237714#2237714
    Sad faced iPod, but my computer won’t recognize it
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2242018#2242018
    Sad iPod solution
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=412033&tstart=0
    Re: try to restore ipod and it says "can't mount ipod"
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=443659&tstart=30
    iPod making clicking noise and is frozen
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2420150#2420150
    I am not suggesting that you should follow as well, but just read them as your reference. You are the person to make the call.
    Finally, I read a fair comments from dwb, regarding of slapping the back of the iPod multiple times
    Quote “This has been discussed numerous times as a 'fix'. It does work, at least for a while. In fact I remember using the same basic trick to revive Seagate and Quantam drives back in the mid to late 1980's. Why these tiny hard drives go bad I don't know - could be the actuator gets stuck in place or misaligned. Could be the platter gets stuck or the motor gets stuck. 'Stiction' was a problem for drives back in the 80's. Unfortunately the fix can cause damage to the platter so we temporarily fix one problem by creating another. But I know of two instances where a little slap onto the table revived the iPods and they are still worked a year or more later.”UnQuote

  • I am looking to back up my MAC, and I need to know how big of an external hard drive I need

    I am looking to back up my MAC, and I need to know how big of an external hard drive I need. How do I determine this?

    Well, they recommend at least 2 - 3 times the size of your hard drive if you are using Time Machine because that keeps making backups until it runs out of space (and then deletes the oldest to make room for the newest).
    However, if you prefer to have a bootable clone as a backup, you need about the same size as your hard drive since it is a perfect copy of your system (unless you want to partition and keep an older clone separately).
    So, check to see how large your hard drive is and go from there.

  • How to partition 120 GB hard drive MacBook for OSX+Win (BC+Par.)? Fat/NFTS?

    After many happy years with my PowerBook G4 12" (I will miss it definitely, as compact and cute as it is ;-() I'll now switch to a new MacBook 2.16 GHz with 2 GB RAM and a 120 GB hard drive.
    I will have to use Windows (not yet sure if XP or Vista), as I need special software not available for the Mac, so my choice will be Parallels, so that I can work in Os X and at the same time use those Windows Apps I need.
    However, I also want to be able to boot Windows-only with BootCamp, so I already learned I have to install Windows on its own partition.
    So my question is:
    How shall I partition the hard drive?
    * If I have one big partition for OSX + documents and the rest (maybe 30 or 40 GB) for Windows, I won't be able to access my documents from Windows, right?
    * So I would have to keep the data I want to access from within Windows on a PC formatted partition (if I don't want to pay for a software like MacDrive)?
    Or can Windows running in Parallels read from a HFS partition?
    * Does this mean: if I want to access (read and write) my documents in OSX and Windows, I have to keep them on a Fat32 partition?
    -> This could be the partition where Windows is installed (but I'm not sure if I feel comfortable with that solution) of I would need a 3rd partition (Fat32) for data which would cause quite a big "segmentation" of the hard drive.
    How did you resolve this problem?
    Unfortunately, I don't see that I could really "separate" data I only have to access from Windows and those I only want to access in OS X, so in my opinion for me they all have to be in one place.
    Looking forward to your comments,
    Martin
    MacBook 2.16 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB HD (white)   Mac OS X (10.4.9)  

    You should probably ask all your Boot Camp quesitons in the Boot Camp discussions:
    http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1165
    And your Parallels questions in the Parallels forums:
    http://forums.parallels.com

  • How do i upgrade my hard drive and get it to boot in Mountain Lion?

    I have a Late 2009 Macbook 6,1 and want to install a new, larger capacity hard drive. Currently I am running Mountain Lion and don't have any install disks, so the question is, what is the process to change out the drive and get the Mac to boot after the new drive is installed. Since it is a new drive it won't have a recovery partition or any operating system files. My plan is to migrate my data using my Time Machine backup, but I worry that when I try to boot after the new drive is installed, all I will be greeted with will be a flashing question mark. I'm really having a hard time finding a step-by-step set of instructions for someone attempting what I'm trying to do. I do have an external enclosure I could put the new drive into before I put it into the Mac. Would I try using something like Migration Assistant to transfer all of the files to the new drive and then just swap out drives afterward? Would the OS migrate as well, or would I still not have a bootable drive? Or is there some kind of minimal boot disk I could burn onto a CD or flash drive and then once the machine boots go with a restore from Time Machine Backup? I'm open to any ideas anyone may have on the least painful way to go about this process. Maybe use some (hopefully free) software of some sort to clone the current drive onto the new drive while it's still in the external enclosure? Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

    How to replace or upgrade a drive in a laptop
    Step One: Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
    Boot to the Recovery HD:
    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
    Repair
    When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. 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 then click on the Repair Permissions button. When the process is completed, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
    Step Two: Remove the old drive and install the new drive.  Place the old drive in an external USB enclosure.  You can buy one at OWC who is also a good vendor for drives.
    Step Three: Boot from the external drive.  Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager appears.  Select the icon for the external drive then click on the downward pointing arrow button.
    Step Four: New Hard Drive Preparation
      1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
      2. After DU loads select your new 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.  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  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.
    Step Five: Clone the old drive to the new drive
    Boot to the Recovery HD:
    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
         1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
             button.
         2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
         3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
         4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
             to the Destination entry field.
         5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
             the Source entry field.
         6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
    Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
    Step Six: Open the Startup Disk preferences and select the new internal volume.  Click on the Restart button.  You should boot from the new drive.  Eject the external drive and disconnect it from the computer.

  • How can I remove the hard drive from an iMac g4 before recycling it?

    How can I remove the hard drive from an iMac g4 before recycling it?

    There are take-apart guides online.  For example
    http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/imac_g4/imacg4_takeapart.html
    However, you can also consider securely erasing the hard drive instead.  You can do this using a Mac OS X installation disc with a version that your iMac G4 can boot from the optical drive.  If this is a viable option, please post back (include Mac OS X version on installation disc).

  • I have a late 2008 Macbook Pro last updated to Mavericks OS.  The screen died and it's not worth replacing.  How do I remove the hard drive and use a drive sled to access info I need?

    I have a late 2008 Macbook Pro last updated to the Mavericks OS.  The screen died and I took it into an Apple store and was told replacing the screen and the hardware to repair everything would cost almost as much as buying a new laptop or a cheaper model.  I was told that I can use a drive sled to access data I need on my hard drive. How do I remove my hard drive and use a drive sled to get to the information I need?  What makes matters more complicated is I need to update my iPhone and my iTunes/App store purchases.  How can I accomplish this?
    My wife has a late 2008 Macbook Pro as well, which I am assuming I need to run my hard drive.  Is there a way to just access just my hard drive without interfering with hers?
    I know this is lengthy.  Thanks to whoever looks at this and offers advice/instruction.

    the device you need is an External enclosure for a 2.5" (laptop form factor) SATA drive.
    A USB-interface enclosure will be slow, but is adequate for this task and for re-purposing as a backup drive later.  A firewire-interface drive would be faster, but is harder to find, more expensive, and faster than needed for this purpose.
    The drive will mount as an "extra" drive on your wife's Macbook, and you can drag and drop whatever you wish. You could create a separate Account for yourself on her computer, and use Migration Assistant or just copy your stuff over to the new account. Then it would not interfere with her files.

  • New MacBook pro how do I add external hard drive which has my entire iTunes library on it. Do I just drag external drive icon into iTunes preference box that shows where new itunes library is now located ie. On the MacBook pro.

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    Ciao.

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    Also, this place sells HSDs and has install videos.
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