Save hard drive files from a dead mac

Hi, my mac recently broke, but the hard drive is still intact. (Screen is black, can't see anything) Is it possible to let's say, connect my mac to another computer and transfer my files ? I have a lot of precious school work on it, and it would be a shame to lose it all. Thanks!

If the broken Mac won't run, you'll have to pull the drive and mount it in a Firewire or USB external case. Then, presuming that the drive is good, you should be able to get all the files from it. If it's just the screen on the Mac that's bad and it has Firewire (and isn't really old), you may still be able to start it up in Target Disk Mode and get it to mount the drive on your other Mac.
Message was edited by: Dave Sawyer

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Hard drive removed from old, dead mac. I need your help!

So the logic board failed on my 2006 15" MacBook pro. Apple were charging £500 to replace the board, so I've decided to get myself a new MacBook. At the Genius Bar, while we were discussing how I could go out fixing the laptop, the genius was kind enough to remove my hard drive for me. He explained that there are simple USB cables you can buy that literally connect to the loose hard drive one end, and pop into the USB of the new mac the other. My first request is can anyone link me to a cable to buy (preferably uk). Every time I search I get external USB hard drives. The second piece of help I need is how I go about restoring some old files. I want everything as clean as possible; no migration type processes, just drag and drop. Once this is done, I have some worries about connecting my iPhone and getting things to carry on as normal (without losing apps and photos).
I appreciate any feedback.

The driive enclosure required will be the SATA enclosure. (The IDE would be for a much older machine.) The best policy would be to take the extracted drive with you if you are shopping in person; that way the tech help on site can identify exactly the model needed. Just one word before opting for a FireWire enclosure: the newer Macs have FireWire 800 only, no longer FireWire 400 ; your old 15" had both ports but the new Mac will have only 800. That means you might need an adaptor cable 400 to 800 if the enclosure is 400. There will be no similar complication if it is USB only. The advantage of FireWire is speed and Mac compatibility.
Once you have this bit of kit, then you are ready to tackle the main task of Migration or simply copying to the new Mac.

Hard drive back from the dead

Here is what has happened...
I tried to wake my MacBook from sleep last night and was greeted by a clicking sound from my HD and a frozen computer. Proceeded to shut down then restart and got the same clicking sound along with the question mark folder. Over the next two hours I tried every fix I could find on here and every time got the clicking sound and the question mark folder. When booting from the SL install disk I could not see the HD in disk utility. So I was just about 100% sure the HD was dead. But...
I tried it again today just to see what would happen and it started straight up. I have now been running it for about an hour without problem.
About 6 months ago I had a similar problem where it froze after sleep and the HD made the same clicking sounds. But in that situation it started up without problems after a couple of restarts. It has run relatively problem free since then (with a possibly higher frequency of "beach ball" slow downs and freezes).
So my question is, is my HD just having a prolonged/intermittent death?, is it some way defective?, or is something else going on? Similar symptoms are discussed in this thread: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10509966&#10509966 The consensus there was that it was either a bad HD or a loose/defective hard drive cable. There is no mention of the clicking sounds in that thread though, so I wonder if that points more to my hard drive.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

I had an iBook that started with the same symptoms; freezes, clicking sound; usually the armature. It became more frequent. I erased the drive, zeroed the drive. But, after a short time, the drive failed and had to replace.

Hard Disk Recovery from a Dead Mac Book Pro 13inch

What is the best way to recover information on your hard disk from a mac book pro that will not start from water damage?

When my daughter's MBP died due to drop-related damage, I removed the hard drive and placed it in this enclosurehttp://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/ES2.5BPU2S/ and she now connects it to her new MBP by the USB port when she wants material from the old drive.
For less than $20 it is pretty hard to go wrong.

External Hard Drive - Migrating from Windows to MAC

Hi -
Just bought myself an iMAC. I have an external hard drive connected to my XP laptop.
Can I read from and write to this drive?
Do I need to reformat the drive (and lose the files in the process)?
I checked the archives, but couldn't find any posting that directly asked this question. Apparently if the drive is FAT32 formatted, I shouldn't have any issues. What if it is not?
Thanks

I was in the same situation as sunahag and the external drive worked fine...for awhile. One day it froze up the iMac so I disconnected the drive and rebooted the iMac. iMac works fine but haven't be able to get the external drive to work with the iMac again. When I connect the external it won't run (indicator which is normally green turns red). Still works with the Windows XP laptop.
Any suggestions, I still need to get more data off the external.

How To Transfer Hard Drive Files from Macbook Pro

I have a macbook pro(late 2006 model) which won't turn on. Brought it to the apple store for them to take a look at. I was told that the main circuit board is broken and it will be cheaper to buy a newer macbook instead of fixing it. I was also told that the harddrive was ok. How do I transfer the files from my old macbook pro hardrive(which won't turn on) to a new macbook pro? They offered to help me at the apple store but it will cost me $99 for their "one to one." Can someone help me? Thanks!

k-ci204 wrote:
What size of a usb external harddrive caddy do I need? What is compatable with the macbook pro hardrive?
2.5" SATA. USB2 models can be found be found for $15 or so. Then the enclosure can be used with an old or new HD for backups/troubleshooting. I have way too many around, but I don't know what I'd do without at least one 2.5" and one 3.5" (but I prefer the faster FireWire 800 models, which are more expensive). In any case, I think it's safe to say you won't regret spending $15 on an enclosure.

I have a windows 7 desktop with an external hard drive setup on my home network, will i be able to access this on my home network to save and retrieve files from my mac air?

i have a windows 7 desktop with an external hard drive setup on my home network, will i be able to access this on my home network to save and retrieve files from my mac air?

Troubleshooting Home Sharing - http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2972

HT1386 My hard drive died and I need to resync my iPad. Will just following the initial instructions resync my iPad and restore all my information or do I need to try to recover the iPad file from the dead hard drive?

My hard drive died and I need to resync my Ipad. Will following the initial instructions for syncing work or do I need to restore my original files from the dead hard drive.

If the hard drive that crashed is the one that stored the itunes library, be sure to restore the library from Time Machine (mac) or whatever backup you use on windows. That will get back your music. I suspect that the replacement drive has an empty itunes library and thus, perhaps, the itunes match used that to sync to its servers.
Try posting in the iTunes Match forum, you'll probably find more knowledgeable folks there.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/itunes/itunes_match

I just got a new MacBook Pro, and I tried to bring across my files from my last mac using time machine. After it was done copying I can't find my files anywhere but the space (about 130gb) has been used on my hard drive. Help please!!

I just got a new MacBook Pro, and I tried to bring across my files from my last mac using time machine. After it was done copying I can't find my files anywhere but the space (about 130gb) has been used on my hard drive. Does anyone know how I can get to them? I did change my user name from 'user' while it was copying, could this have something to do with it?

You don't want to do that by copying.
Your best bet, by far, is to use Setup Assistant. If your Mac is running Snow Leopard, see Using Setup Assistant on Snow Leopard or Leopard.
If it came with Lion, it's a bit different: Using Setup Assistant on Lion

How do I copy files onto a hard drive (device) from Mac 2 7 pc. I'm able to transfer files from device but cannot transfer files to device. Anyone had same problem or can help solve this problem? Help pls

how do I copy files onto a hard drive (device) from Mac 2 7 pc. I'm able to transfer files from device but cannot transfer files to device. Anyone had same problem or can help solve this problem? Help pls

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
When you try to copy data to the external drive, what happens? If you don't see any error, the external drive is formatted in NTFS, and OS X can't write in it.
To be able to write on this external drive, you have to use an app like Paragon NTFS. Another solution would be to format the external drive in FAT32 or exFAT with Disk Utility > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU1.html Make sure you copied all the files of the external disk to the internal disk before doing it

I dropped my macbook pro and the screen is broken can i still use it with an external monitor? Or can I or how do I transfer hard drive files to my mac mini?

I dropped my 17" macbook pro and the screen is broken. Can I still use it with an external monitor? When I plugged it into a monitor I had used it with before, I'm not able to see anything on the macbook screen to control it. It came on but I just got the blue screen with nothing else after typing in my password. (Didn't see the password form just assumed it was there somewhere and it did go from space to blue screen but no desktop icons, files, dock strip at top or anything else, just blank blue screen) so I can't access the system preferences.
Or can I / or how do I, transfer hard drive files to my mac mini? If not salvageable as is can I pull out the hard drive and make it an external harddrive? In otherwords is anything salvageable? It seems it's coming on I just can't access anything. BTW I was told it would cost aprox $1000 to replace the screen! I paid almost $4000 for this thing and it was running great - makes me sick to lose it!

I'd like to promise you that everything will be fine if you just get the monitor going - but it's hard to know what the hardware damage might be. It might be the monitor, or the damage might be greater.
Your best solution would be visit your local Apple Store and let them know what your situation is. They have access to diagnostics you don't, and they might be able to the best way to save your data and keep you computing. It's still not covered, but they can tell you what your current options are.
Um, you might consider investing in a backup drive.
And there other repair options, too. Powerbook Medic http://www.powerbookmedic.com/xcart1/pages.php?pageid=67 offers reliable repairs, and quotes prices well under Apple's.

Import photos without copying? I Have thousands of photos on a hard drive separate from my mac and i dont have enough space on my mac to copy them to. Any way to import without copying to the local hard drive?

Import photos without copying? I Have thousands of photos on a hard drive separate from my mac and i dont have enough space on my mac to copy them to. Any way to import without copying to the local hard drive?

Yes, but you might want to think carefully about it.
A Referenced Library is when iPhoto is NOT copying the files into the iPhoto Library when importing. The files are then stored where ever you put them and not in the Library package. In this scenario you are responsible for the File Management.
This is an attractive option for some users at face value, but it contains a significant number of issues that you might want to consider before making the decision to run a Referenced Library
How to do it:
iPhoto -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck the box at 'Copy items to the iPhoto Library'
Now when you import iPhoto makes an alias in the Library Package that points to the stored file. Note: iPhoto still creates a thumbnail of the image and it makes a Preview of edited photos inside the Library Package.
Issues?
1. You are responsible for file management. That's more work:
You must first move the files from your camera to the storage location before importing.
If you want to delete files then you must first trash them from iPhoto and then afterwards find them in your storage and trash them.
Thereafter, you cannot move the files on early versions of iPhoto at all, on iPhoto 08 and later you may move them on the same Volume or Disk. If you move them to a new volume or disk the aliases my break. If they are on an different volume and you move them the aliases will break.
You cannot rename the files.
Migrating: moving to a new machine, moving the files to another disk are all a lot more complex.
2. You gain no extra functionality from running a Referenced Library. Nothing. This is just storage. You still manage the files via iPhoto. You edit them with iPhoto or via iPhoto's External Editor setting, otherwise you're changes will not be available in iPhoto. You don't save byte of storage space.
3. If you have the Library on one volume and the photos on another you if anything changes in the path to a file (Like if you upgrade your machine, move the files on the NAS or on to another one?) then the alias will break, and you'll have to repair it manually. For every photo in the Library. One at a time.
Why do you want to run a Referenced Library?
Because my photos won't fit on my HD?
You can run a Managed library from an external disk. Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
You're worried about accessing the files?
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto: You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Command-Click for selecting multiple pics.
(Note the above illustration is not a Finder Window. It's the dialogue you get when you go File -> Open)
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
There's a similar option in Outlook and many, many other apps. If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
If you want to access the files with iPhoto not running:
For users of 10.6 and later: You can download a free Services component from MacOSXAutomation which will give you access to the iPhoto Library from your Services Menu.
Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
For Users of 10.4 and 10.5 Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser
Other options include:
Drag and Drop: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
File -> Export: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
Show File: a. On iPhoto 09 and earlier: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected. 3.b.
b: On iPhoto 11 and later: Select one of the affected photos in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Reveal in Finder -> Original. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.

How do I input songs from my external hard drive (taken from a PC) and transfer them to my Mac?

How do I input songs from my external hard drive, taken from a PC, to a Mac?

Just a few song tracks, or your whole library? If just a few tracks, drag them from the drive to the open iTunes library window or playlist window. If your whole library drag the whole iTunes folder to your computer. Hold down the option key while starting and guide it to the library.itl file in that folder. If you need to merge libraries post back because that's a much longer post.

How do I restore data from an external hard drive back to a restored mac?

how do I restore data from an external hard drive back to a restored mac?

Hello, Esmin77.
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
I see you want to restore your MacBook Pro from an external drive. Here is an article that may help you with this process if you used Time Machine to backup these files.
OS X Yosemite: Recover your entire system
Cheers,
Jason H.

Can I retrieve files from a modern Mac Backup drive to a PPC Mac?

Can I retrieve files from a modern Mac Backup drive to a PPC Mac? I have been having problems with my Macbook Pro not starting up. I need to figure out how to access files with my PPC Desktop; if possible.
What type of files can I access and what type I cannot?
My Macbook Pro: MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3), 750GB HD, 2.2 GHz, 6 GB RAM
My PPC: Power mac G4/Upgraded 1.2GHZ /800+RAM/3 HD =400+ GB, Mac OS X (10.4.2)
Thanks in advance,
God bless

You will need software that is compatible with the data files on the backup drive, ie. if they are .doc files you will need Word (or a substitute).
You don't mention what type of files are on the drive so it is hard to be specific.

Save hard drive files from a dead mac

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