Software Updates Corrupted Hard Drive?

Hi,
Last night I allowed Software Update to install the new security update 2008-007 as well as HP printer drivers when I was shutting down. This morning, upon booting my computer, Mac OS X would not start. I held down option and noticed the only drive available was my Windows partition (which recently stopped working as well). I booted up the Leopard install DVD and tried repairing the partition with Disk Utility but I get an error saying something about an invalid boot sector. Should I say goodbye to my data? Anyone have any tips? Thanks.

DsurioN wrote:
Hi,
Last night I allowed Software Update to install the new security update 2008-007 as well as HP printer drivers when I was shutting down. This morning, upon booting my computer, Mac OS X would not start. I held down option and noticed the only drive available was my Windows partition (which recently stopped working as well). I booted up the Leopard install DVD and tried repairing the partition with Disk Utility but I get an error saying something about an invalid boot sector. Should I say goodbye to my data? Anyone have any tips? Thanks.
Never apply more than one update at a time, especially if one or more requires your password to install.
Did you run the disk utility before installing the updates? It's never good to install any update if the HD or permissions are in need of repair.
See if you can boot into the Safe mode (hold down shift key on boot) and at the login screen, click restart and let computer boot normally.
Since you say you had a problem previously with Windows, I suspect your HD needs attention and the update simply attempted to install on a corrupted HD and failed. It's rarely the update but the HD or some other system issue prior to installing the update.
Do you have any AV programs in your Windows partition? Some will corrupt your boot sector and prevent OS-X from booting. It's a common issue with AV program on computers using BootCamp.
You may need some more power medicine than DU. I suggest DiskWarrior which can restore an unbootable corrupt HD.
When Windows stopped working that was your cue to fix the system before installing any updates or other software.

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kellynfromal,
the cause of your MacBook Pro’s slowdown is not due to some sort of Snow Leopard expiration. Try downloading and installing EtreCheck, and please include in your reply the output from a run of EtreCheck — it could provide some clues as to why your MacBook Pro seems to be slowing down.
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Software Update and Hard Drive Space Driving me crazy...

Evening,
I have been experiencing this issue for a long time and I don't know what to do. Ever since February 14, 2011 (a SL reinstall) my MacBook Pro for some reason is not recovering the HDD space after Software Update downloads are completed. Before updating Safari and applying the security update my HDD space was 381.79GB, when the update files were downloaded before reinstalling the space went down to 381.72. When the updates were installed and the system rebooted, I expected that the HDD space would have increased but it remained at 372.72GB. I know is not that much of HDD however, I remember that before the HDD space would increase after a software update was applied since SU would delete the installer packages. I have tried 3 full reinstalls with zero out option and unfortunately the problem is still there. Do you think I have a software problem? or hardware problem?
Thank You!

Forgot to post: I don't know what is causing the problem, could it be a damaged drive or other hardware or is it a software problem? I have tried the following:
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Repaired Permissions
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Safeboot
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Reinstall OSX with Zero Out option but with another install disc (I got a replacement from apple care).
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Message was edited by: vea1083

HT1386 I had to replace the corrupted hard drive in my macbook pro recently, and after I did so I did a full factory software & application restore. Now my iTunes says my iPhone 5 is no longer an authorized device. What should I do?

I had to replace the corrupted hard drive in my macbook pro recently, and after I did so I did a full factory software & application restore. I had to rebuild my iTunes Library by dragging my music folders in my iTunes Media into the iTunes Application and rebuild my playlists manually. After plugging my iPhone 5 into the computer USB, it immediately recognized my iPhone 5, showing: last backups, space left on my iPhone & all options available. I then checked the box to manually manage music etc. The problem I am now having is that when I actually try to drag music from my iTunes to my phone a prompt comes up saying that my iPhone is not an authorized device. What should I do? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!!

jrmetzger,
iOS runs on iPads and iPhones; OS X runs on Macs.
Given your situation, I’d highly recommended that you purchase a SATA-to-USB adapter, so that you can test both your old disk and your new disk externally, since it might be that the problem is due to a faulty internal SATA cable rather than due to faulty disks.

My macbook pro hard drive went bad and i bought a new one and installed it. Now i have the old corrupted hard drive in my hand and i am looking to recover my files from it, any suggestions please? too bad i never backed them up.

My macbook pro hard drive went bad and i bought a new one and installed it. Now i have the old corrupted hard drive in my hand and i am looking to recover my files from it, any suggestions please? too bad i never backed them up.

After you have installed the OSX on the new HDD in your MBP, install the old HDD in an enclosure and connect it to your MBP via USB. Then try to drag and drop your data to the new HDD.
If this proves unsuccessful, you may look for data recovery software on the Internet. There will be free trails to see if it will work or not. If the trial suggests that it will work, then you will have to purchase the software.
The last resort is a professional data recovery service that will offer NO guarantees and charge a lot of money.
As you now can appreciate, backups eliminate such predicaments.
Ciao.

I have Adobe Photoshop CS5 installed in two computers. The hard drive of my home computer crashed and I had no time to deactivate the software. The hard drive needed to be formatted. How can I activate the software CS5 again ? Thank you for an answer.

I have Adobe Photoshop CS5 installed in two computers. The hard drive of my home computer crashed and I had no time to deactivate the software. The hard drive needed to be formatted. How can I activate the software CS5 again ? Thank you for an answer.

If it's the same computer, same CPU and same HD, no de-activation or re-activation should be necessary.
Install from scratch and apply all updates manually.
Please do a forum search. I and others have repeatedly answered the question about failed updates of CS5 a whole bunch of times recently.
Bottom line: the Adobe auto updater is utterly useless in CS5 and prior versions. You need to download the updates and apply them manually yourself.
I and others have even supplied the links for Mac and Win, which you haven't even bothered to specify.

How do I update my hard drive?

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For a new hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE
Or OWC for regular hard drives and SSDs http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Here are instructions on replacing the hard drive in a MacBook with a removable battery. http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=45088
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http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_13_unibody/
Here are video instructions on replacing the hard drive on the White Unibody http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_13_09_unibody_hd/
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Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NexStar-2-5-Inch-External-Enclosure/dp/B002JQNXZC/r ef=pd_cp_pc_0
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http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TOOLKITMHD/

I have to replace a corrupted hard-drive so what do I need to do to uninstall the creative Suite CS^ so that I can re-install onto the neww ssd hard-drive that I am upgrading to???

I have to replace a corrupted hard-drive so what do I need to do to uninstall the creative Suite CS^ so that I can re-install onto the neww ssd hard-drive that I am upgrading to???

Simply deactivate the suite on the old drive and then install it on the new one.
Download CS6 products
Mylenium

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And the question is?

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I have had my 3rd generation 20GB i pod for 18 months and the file logo appeared recently. I decided to take it to my local Apple store on Regent Street and was informed that my i pod had a corrupt hard drive. I asked the shop assistant what he could recommend and he said that because my i pod was out of warrenty they couldn't do anything apart from send it off to Apple which would cost me in the region of £200! This is outrageous! Can anyone help, my i pod cost me £350 and i really don't think that i should have to fork out £200 to get it fixed.

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Will update my software erase my hard drive?

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No. You should buy an external drive to use for backup.
Basic Backup
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Time Machine requires a backup drive that is at least twice the capacity of the drive being backed up.
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):
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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.
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2. OWC
3. WiebeTech
4. Firewire Direct
5. California Drives
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IT admins need to update firefox installs in the organization, but we use security software to protect hard drives, so automatic updates don't work. Is there an UpdateFirefox.zip file?

We are using Centurion Smartshield to protect the hard drives on all PCs in our organization. This software reverts the state of all drives to a default setting with each reboot, so no updates will be retained. Also, staff do not have the permissions to install most software updates. The Centurion Smart Control Console provides a way to remotely execute updates, but they refer to an UpdateFirefox.zip file. I'm wondering if such a file is available from Firefox. I know updates are not provided in an MSI.

I commiserate.
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Disk Repair and Corrupt Hard Drive

I just replaced the hard drive on my iMac because the computer kept hanging and occasionally shutting down. I've run Disk Utility many times over many months on the old hard drive and the message I received is that the hard drive was corrupt and needed to be repaired; DU reported both an invalid file count and an invalid directory count. I made a clone of the old drive before replacing, and low and behold I still receive the same message when I run DU on the new drive. I reinstalled Snow Leopard and added all upates to 10.6.8 via Software Update before cloning the drive. Is the new drive defective? Do I need to reinstall the OS on the new drive? Other ideas? Thanks.
iMac 5,1
OS 10.6.8
2.16 Intel Core 2 Duo
3G SDRAM

You can try this instead:
Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
Do the following:
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. 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 click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
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Download and install the Combo Updater for the version you prefer from support.apple.com/downloads/.
Most likely you had the same problem because it was associated with your existing Home folder. Best to avoid cloning your old system.

Software Updates Corrupted Hard Drive?

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