MacBook Pro doesn't see hard drive

My MacBook Pro doesn't see it's hard drive. It doesn't show up when I press the Option key or in Disk Utility on the Snow Leopard disc. It was working for a while and then the computer started freezing, mainly when I was using Xcode. I thought it was an OS problem originally. Then it would occasionally not see the hard drive and come up with the "?" folder. It steadily got worse until it reached where I am now, not working at all. It doesn't see my Windows XP partition either. I have reset the PRAM and NVRAM, but to no avail. The OS boots just fine when I put the hard drive in a different MacBook, so it's not the hard drive. I have taken great care of this computer, rarely taking it out of the house. I did buy it used with a backlight problem though, so I don't know exactly what the previous owner did. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Boot from your install disc & run Repair Disk from the utility menu. To use the Install Mac OS X disc, insert the disc, and restart your computer while holding down the C key as it starts up.
Select your language.
Once on the desktop, select Utility in the menu bar.
Select Disk Utility.
Select the disk or volume in the list of disks and volumes, and then click First Aid.
Click Repair Disk.
Restart your computer when done.
Repair permissions after you reach the desktop-http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25751
Or if you have Diskwarrior or Techtool Pro use one of these utilities by booting directly from their cd.

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MacBook Pro doesn't reconize hard drive

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I tried to reinstall after computer wouldn't boot with old hard drive. When I start and hold the option button at the same time the hard drive wouldnshownup their. But in the installation and disk utilities it does not show up. Hope that I am giving info that will help.

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Every time I try to back up my Macbook Pro with an external hard drive using Time Machine, I receive the error of "the disk does not have enough space". I have a 500GB hard drive and only 120GB Macbook. It worked fine before the latest Maverick's

Every time I try to back up my Macbook Pro with an external hard drive using Time Machine, I receive the error of "the disk does not have enough space". I have a 500GB external hard drive and only 120GB Macbook. It worked fine before the latest Maverick's update. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

My guess would be it has created an entirely new backup of your drive when you upgraded to Mavericks.
See Here: http://pondini.org/TM/1.html
And here: http://pondini.org/TM/9.html
Peruse the whole site. There is a lot of information there.

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Read this post and do the migration again, putting the library in a portable shape first if necessary.
tt2

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See E-10 in the first link.
Time Machine Troubleshooting
Time Machine Troubleshooting Problems

My MacBook pro won't recognize hard drive I put in it. It boots only to a white screen unless I boot to my recovery USB. If I do that then I can select my USB and my external time machine drive in the disk utility, so no problems there. But what do you

My MacBook pro won't recognize hard drive I put in it. It boots only to a white screen unless I boot to my recovery USB. If I do that then I can select my USB and my external time machine drive in the disk utility, so no problems there. But what do you think it is? It won't recognize any hard drive I put in the machine, so might it be the sata cable?

Boot the Recvoery USB, use Disk Utility to select the internal drive makers namea and size on the left.
Now select erase and select the midde option and click erase, it will take a bit to complete but it's best for the drive.
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see
http://osxdaily.com/2011/08/08/lion-recovery-disk-assistant-tool-makes-external- lion-boot-recovery-drives/

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I agree with Linc. I suggest you upgrade your internal drive to a 1 TB drive for lots of space and a substantial boost of speed. Managing one internal drive is much easier than managing external storage, especially when you consider the need to backup the data.
New 1 TB hybrid SSD-disk drives deliver high capacity with an 8 GB SSD buffer that performs at SSD-like speeds. Google "Seagate 1 TB hybrid-drive 2.5”.
For an easy installation and transfer kit see
Toolkit: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TOOLKITMHD/
SATA enclosure: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/ES2.5BPU2W/
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Time Machine Basics: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1427

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ok - since you'll be sharing it with a PC - connect it to your windows pc - then format from there - instead of NTFS format - choose exFAT.
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http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-files/how-can-i-forma t-external-drive-in-exfat-not-in/0f6bf19a-19d6-4470-ae05-53ddf26bb476?msgId=1860 eae3-3488-4eea-8326-f87b89d9851b
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just baked up my macbook pro to an external hard drive. my computer died on me and i plugged it in and rebooted it ,started time machine and finished backing up but. just wondering if thats good or should i delete and restart

I wouldn't trust that backup.
Make sure the system is connected to AC and Do Over.

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Trying to copy ANY file from my MacBook Pro to an external hard drive spins for 45 minutes then fails. I hate this computer and WISH I never would have wasted my money. Any ideas? WD My Passport 2TB Drive, had to buy a program to make the POS read files. Copies that would take seconds from a Windows based machine never complete. I have to close the transfer or shut off the machine half the time. Worst computer I have EVER owned, crashes non-stop, constantly freezes, and seems like EVERY operation is more complicated with this thing. Literally, my 1997 Compaq was FAR MORE reliable and user friendly.

This is one of the messages I keep getting; The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in -- File Whatever -- can’t be read or written.(Error code -36)
I have copied things to the hard drive in the past, but it has always been incredibly slow, and now just seems to freeze and fail

I have stored everything on my Macbook pro in a external hard drive (Time Machine) Now that we have "wiped the machine" I am told I can start it over and load ontent--apps, docs, etc from the hard drive, just plug it in, find the time machine and what?

I have stored everything on my Macbook pro in a external hard drive (Time Machine) Now that we have "wiped the machine" I am told I can start it over and load ontent--apps, docs, etc from the hard drive, just plug it in, find the time machine and what? I need to know what to highligh, what to click on.

hirogliffix,
take a look at this Apple page — in particular, the “Restoring data from Time Machine backups” section and its “Restoring your entire system from a backup” subsection.

How do i back up my macbook pro to an external hard drive?

how do i back up my macbook pro to an external hard drive?

schmunzelmonster, greetings; Your suggestion is a good one. CCC does create a boot drive which as you point out can be most useful at times. Time Machine does not have that capability but it retains a history of activities and transactions that CCC does not. CCC only retains information as of the last update.
Neither individually is the 'perfect' backup solution individually, but if both are utilized it becomes that. There is no harm in backup redundancy.
My only complaint about CCC is that is is very slow in performing updates compared with Time Machine. Just a nit on my part.
Ciao.

How can I backup my MacBook Pro to an external hard drive

How can I backup my MacBook Pro to an external hard drive?

Basic Backup
For some people Time Machine will be more than adequate. Time Machine is part of OS X. There are two components:
1. A Time Machine preferences panel as part of System Preferences;
2. A Time Machine application located in the Applications folder. It is
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     requires a backup drive that is at least twice the capacity of the
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Alternatively, get an external drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Get Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. Synk Pro
6. Tri-Backup
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files. For help with using Time Machine visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine.
Although you can buy a complete external drive system, you can also put one together if you are so inclined. It's relatively easy and only requires a Phillips head screwdriver (typically.) You can purchase hard drives separately. This gives you an opportunity to shop for the best prices on a hard drive of your choice. Reliable brands include Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. You can find reviews and benchmarks on many drives at Storage Review.
Enclosures for FireWire and USB are readily available. You can find only FireWire enclosures, only USB enclosures, and enclosures that feature multiple ports. I would stress getting enclosures that use the Oxford chipsets especially for Firewire drives (911, 921, 922, for example.) You can find enclosures at places such as;
1. Cool Drives
2. OWC
3. WiebeTech
4. Firewire Direct
5. California Drives
6. NewEgg
All you need do is remove a case cover, mount the hard drive in the enclosure and connect the cables, then re-attach the case cover. Usually the only tool required is a small or medium Phillips screwdriver.

Hi, Im new to Apple MacBook PRO. I have saved about 50GB files plus applications and message advises that my start up disk is almost full! My MacBook pro has a 500GB hard drive so don't know why this message is coming up. Please help.

Hi, Im new to Apple MacBook PRO. I have saved about 50GB files plus applications and message advises that my start up disk is almost full! My MacBook pro has a 500GB hard drive so don't know why this message is coming up. Please help.

MacBook Pro
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/mac_os_x_v10.7_lion?view=discussi ons

MacBook Pro doesn't see hard drive

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