Recover files after assumed hard drive crash

I have a PowerMac G4 with its original hard drive and an additional 80 GB hard drive and I am using OSX 10.3.9. Last night, after restarting the computer, I got the flashing question mark. I rebooted using my OSX install disk, checked Disk Utility and it showed only the 80 GB hard drive. Up to this point, I was still using the original drive for applications and some files. I have read a large number of the forum postings about this type of problem, but no matter what I try, the computer only recognizes the 80 GB drive. I assume my original drive has crashed. Now the question is, can I retrieve any of the files or applications on the original hard drive and what is the easiest method of doing so?
DeWayne R.

If your drive is dead and you really need to salvage data, you can always contact a professional data recovery service and see what they can do for you. Otherwise, it seems your drive has failed. One way of keeping an eye on your drives is to regularly check it's S.M.A.R.T. status. You can check this in disk utility by clicking on the appropriate drive and looking at the information about the drive mentioned at the bottom of the window. If a drive is about the fail, it will report in red "failing". You can check the S.M.A.R.T. status any time you wish. Many third party disk utilities do it for you in their routine checks, such a Techtool. A third party disk utility may be something for to look into if you haven't already to prevent further loss of data.

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How to restore files after a Hard Drive crash?

I just had my Hitachi 320 Gb Macbook HD crash (out of the blue started clicking when restarted, and the folder with question mark appeared).
Good news is that I have a duplicate of the entire HD (using Retrospect "duplicate" function) from about a week ago.
I have installed a new HD in my MacBook and I'd like to restore all my old files without losing any bookmarks, preferences, having to re set up email etc.
I thought I could just drop the whole Retrospect duplicate on to the HD but that didn't work, then I loaded the OS X disc (10.5.6) and tried getting everything on to the HD using Migration Assistant, but nothing showed up in the Migration Assistant box......?
I know all the data I have backed up is good, I'm just looking for the best way to avoid having to manually drag everything over in case I miss ssome things, or there are some preferences etc that are stored someplace and I miss them?
Also, does the user name have to be exactly the same for this to work (my name was mis spelled by one letter on the old HD, should I make my new user name match?
Thanks for any help!
Alan.

Boot from the external drive that contains the duplicate. Use Disk Utility to prep the new drive:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
When formatting is completed use the Restore option of DU to restore your clone to the new hard drive:
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4.Check the box labeled Erase destination.
5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the new drive.
Source means the clone drive.

ICal: How to recover calendars after a hard drive crash

Had a messy crash of Tiger system, installed Leopard on a new hard disk. I eventually salvaged the old disk, but not before I had started using iCal on the new system. I'm trying to sort out how to display the calendar information that was in the old system at the time of the crash. I'm hoping someone can confirm a few things.
On the Tiger system, it appears that the calendar data was probably stored in :
Home/Library/Application Support/iCal. There is a file called nodes.plist and a folder called Sources. The Sources folder appears to hold the calendar information - yes? Is the nodes.plist file important? I hadn't been syncing or using the ToDo list, so I'm assuming I don't need to worry about those - yes?
Looking at the Leopard installation, it appears that the same information is now located at:
Home/Library/Calendars - yes?
If I copy the Tiger data into the Leopard installation, will it run? DIfferences in file format? What am I up against? I don't have the Tiger installation from which to export calendars any longer.
Thanks for any wisdom anyone can pass along ...
Message was edited by: Roger Diggle

open ical and go to file>import, choose the option "import an ical file" and then point to the path homefolder/library/application support/ical/sources from your old disk, and for each folder which represents a calendar, in that folder, select the .ics file.. then import. you should have the calendar imported in ical.
hope this helps

Can't recover my system after a hard drive crash.

Hello
My hp DV6-3123tx's hard drive crashed because of a collision
Steps i did:
Got a new hard drive and fit it in.
Using recovery DVDs tried to format it.
Everything was good but when the system reboots to install drivers it just gets stuck at the starting page (on which hp is written). I waited for hours together but it doesn't recover from that state
P.S: I had removed CMOS too after my hard drive crashed but restored and saved it's default settings in BIOS before the above mentioned steps.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi,
Assuming this is just a problem with the recovery media, here's an alternative option you could try.
Before trying the following, make sure you can still read the 25 Character Product Activation key on your Windows COA label ( 5 blocks of 5 alpha/numeric sets ).
An example of a COA Label can be seen Here.
You can create an installation disc yourself using another PC - just download the correct Disc Image ( this must be the exact same version that originally came with your notebook ) from the link below and use an application such as ImgBurn to burn the ISO correctly to a blank DVD - a guide on using ImgBurn to write an ISO to a disc is Here. These Images are clean and from a well-respected source, however there are only limited versions available.
Windows-7 sp1-iso-official-32-bit-and-64-bit
Use the disc to perform the installation, enter the Windows activation key found on the COA Label when requested and when the installation has completed, use the 'Phone Method' detailed in the link below to activate the OS - this method supported by Microsoft and is popular with people who just want a clean installation of Windows 7 without the additional software load normally bundled with OEM installations.
http://www.kodyaz.com/articles/how-to-activate-windows-7-by-phone.aspx
Any additional drivers and software you may need can be found starting Here.
Regards,
DP-K
****Click the White thumb to say thanks****
****Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem****
****I don't work for HP****
Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience

Recovering after a hard drive crash and restore

I have a question before I sync my iPod again;
I had a operating system hard drive crash a little while ago, and I reimaged my drive with a three month old backup, basically I rolled back my computer's state a couple months, and with it, the state of my iTunes library.
Now, my library is going to be missing songs that my iPod has, does this mean when I sync my iPod again iTunes is going to delete those songs it doesn't know about anymore? I don't recall seeing the option to "manually manage" the iPod anymore, but even in that case does this mean I can't automatically sync again?
I understand that I can't use iTunes to pull songs off my iPod but thats not what I want. Essentially I want to rebuild my iTunes library list from what the iPod has, even if it can't find the songs on the local disk anymore, I just don't want them deleted.
Maybe I'm approaching this problem the wrong way..

Hi there,
I'm struggling with the exact same issue, so I'm hoping you get a response soon from someone who knows what the g-o may be... I did sync my iPod after my hard drive crashed, but I had iTunes already configured to 'manually manage' my music, so it didn't clear my entire iPod. I'm just scared of accidentally deleting certain music off my iPod playlist that I didn't burn onto disc & so I'd lose it for good.
Let's hope someone's got an idea...

Problems - Recovering Library After a Hard Drive Failure

I would really appreciate any tips or help.
I keep all my music on an external drive in a folder located as H:/iTunesFolder
After a hard drive crash (my C drive not the external) I lost the itunes XML but I was able to recover it.
After getting a new C drive I reinstalled iTunes and copied my saved XML and ITL into the iTunes folder.
Now when I open iTunes about 80% of my songs have the exclamation point. When I search for the song it's always right there in the correct folder
I even checked the XML using notepad and I cannot see any reason that the files will not connect.
So what can I do, is there a way to MASS reconnect all the files since they are all in the right place with the right names or is there a way to get them connected in the first place.
Thanks a lot

The easiest way would be to put all the messages that are new since the backup you want to restore from into one or more temporary mailboxes, and export those mailboxes. Put them somewhere where they won't be overwritten by restored data. Then restore. Import the mailboxes you exported and move the messages back into place.

HELP"apple application support not found when installing itunes after a hard drive crash and replace

HELP" error "apple application support not found" when downloading itunes after a hard drive crash and replacement????

Let's try a standalone Apple Application Support install. It still might not install, but fingers crossed any error messages will give us a better idea of the underlying cause of the issue.
Download and save a copy of the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64setup.exe) installer file to your hard drive:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Download and install the free trial version of WinRAR:
http://www.rarlab.com/
Right-click the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64Setup.exe), and select "Extract to iTunesSetup" (or "Extract to iTunes64Setup"). WinRAR will expand the contents of the file into a folder called "iTunesSetup" (or "iTunes64Setup").
Go into the folder and doubleclick the AppleApplicationSupport.msi to do a standalone AAS install.
Does it install properly for you? If so, does iTunes launch properly now?
If instead you get an error message during the install, let us know what it says. (Precise text, please.)

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I have been searching the site for what seems like forever. I need to download my CS4 suite after a hard drive crash. All I can find are my serial numbers. Where should I be going to find my downloads. It seems like it should be under "orders" but its not. I need to get this program going as I' losing valuable time on my projects.
The orders page shows nothing, even when I click on orders or history:
The products page shows my purchases, but doesn't allow for a download:
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Direct Downloads
And really, do back up your installers for situations like this. That stuff may not be around much longer one day...
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All of my music was erased from my computer after my hard drive crashed and I don't want to spend the time uploading all of my old CDs to my computer. If I plug in my iPhone with all of my current music on it, will it sync to my computer?

All of my music was erased from my computer after my hard drive crashed and I don't want to spend the time uploading all of my old CDs to my computer. If I plug in my iPhone with all of my current music on it, will it sync to my computer?

This user tip should be helpful too.
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I am confused. Is there currently a way to transfer 160 gig ipod Classic music to another computer of mine after my hard drive crashed? it has old limited library already on it?

I am confused. Is there currently a way to transfer 160 gig ipod Classic music to another computer of mine after my hard drive crashed? it has old limited library already on it?

See this older post from another forum member Zevoneer covering the different methods and software available to assist you with the task of copying content from your iPod back to your PC and into iTunes.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2452022?start=0&tstart=0
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Recovering purchased music after a hard drive crash

I purchased some music from istore and so i had it on my itunes. i never updated it onto my ipod, and then my hard drive crashed so i lost all of my music. i was able to recover most of my music but not the most recently purchased stuff. is there anyway that i can recover the songs that i purchased?

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[CS3] Recovering project due to hard drive crash

Lost a large project due to a hard drive crash. Have raw files on backup but not the edits done in premiere. A data recovery firm will soon have the hard drive and they state they will be able to show me the file structure that they have recovered before I have to commit. What should I look for to know that I will have a useable project?

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How Can I get my bookmarks From My Sync account without my sync key after a hard drive crash?

My Computer Hard Drive crashed before I could back up my Sync Key or add another device. How can I get My bookmarks from my sync account without resetting the sync key and wiping my data?

Not from Mozilla. Nobody knows your Sync Key except for you. <br />
Is that hard drive usable at all? Like as an external disk in a USB hard drive enclosure?
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http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Recovering+important+data+from+an+old+profile
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''drive'':\Users\''Windows login user name''\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\''profile_name'' <br />
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Can i reload all my music from my ipad after a hard drive crash

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Recover files after assumed hard drive crash

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