Unable to install OS 10.2 after hard drive failure

I recently had to replace the hard drive in my mac. Now I have a blank drive with no OS. The only disks I have for it are the OS 10.2 Upgrade CDs, which do not work. The machine will boot to the CD, but when I select the destination disk, it says that it can't install because there is no previous version of OS X installed. Is there a way I can get around this without having to spend more money? I already lost all my apps and documents, and I have had to revert to using my Windows PC to do all my work. I would really like to get this working again if anyone can help.

I suggest that in the future you should hold back your assumption that anyone with a question is a dummy, or that those who do not have original disks are running illegal software.
When you post here saying you've "already lost all my apps and documents," it suggests to any experienced reader of your post that you're an inexperienced user of computers (not a dummy), and that some advice is warranted. No one here has any idea that you're a systems engineer in a major corporation until you say so, and no one knows the circumstances under which you lost all your data and apps unless you explain how it happened. No offense was intended, and I'm sorry if any was given.
Any software that came to you on your used computer, including the operating system, was licensed to its original purchaser, and because the original purchaser either kept the installer discs or gave/sold them to someone else to use, there's a reasonable legal presumption that s/he had no intention of transferring the licenses to you. So unless the software had been re-registered in your name, it simply wasn't yours to use. Any of the software that was originally acquired by download, without any installer discs, can presumably be downloaded again at no cost by arrangement with the developer, provided you're the registered licensee.
An astonishing number of people who post in these forums acknowledge that they've simply lost all their original installer discs, even those for extremely expensive applications. How someone who has invested hundreds or thousands of dollars in software can just leave it behind in a move or let it get mixed up in the trash and discarded, when all the CDs would probably have fit in a single Ziplok sandwich bag in a desk drawer, is beyond my understanding — but it happens *all the time*. I would never consider buying a computer from someone who couldn't produce the discs for any software that was installed on it, both because I might someday need to reinstall the software cleanly, and because I would be leery of the way someone who was careless enough to lose the discs might have treated the computer.

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Fresh install of Windows 7 after hard drive failure: recovery key used on original drive no longer works?

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Do you still have the signons.sqlite and key3.db files from the IT setup?
You can find the sync account password and the sync (recovery) key in the password manager on computers where a sync account with a specific e-mail address has been set up.
Look for:
* chrome://weave (Mozilla Services Password)
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Re: Unable to rebuild in mirrored RAID after hard drive failure BOOTCAMP

CHRIIIIIIIS!!!
Problem!
first off, you're a genius. thanks for helping everyone around here.
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I have a 750GB hard drive and it has 2 partitions, on for Mac and one for BootCamp, nice and simple.
When I open Disk Utility I get this....
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Awesome, this just saved my sanity, thank you!
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In the Apple help, it just says "go to RAID" "click rebuild" - but this is absolutely not how it works!
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Also the hard disk utility doesn't look like drag and drop GUI at all.
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Re-installing from Creative Cloud after hard-drive failure

My hard-drive died, and now I need to re-install my all my software and operating system including a photoshop and lighthouse package which I purchased last week online. will it be a problem to re-install from creative cloud? will it consider I have already downloaded on another machine?
Thank you

Hello valerietitli,
Welcome to Adobe Forums.
You can reinstall the softwares by just logging on to the website creative.adobe.com, you should not face any issue.
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Unable to rebuild in mirrored RAID after hard drive failure

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Awesome, this just saved my sanity, thank you!
I was about to go totally insane when I couldn't find the option to add a new drive to the existing RAID mirror and then rebuild the whole thing.
In the Apple help, it just says "go to RAID" "click rebuild" - but this is absolutely not how it works!
Adding the new, empty drive by drag and drop wasn't mentioned anywhere - in addition to that I have never seen a program that has certain functions which can only be accessed by drag and drop.
Also the hard disk utility doesn't look like drag and drop GUI at all.
It was really easy as soon as I read this thread, so thanks again, this totally saved my day!

Unable to install Mountain Lion on my hard drive

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Here's the details for my mac drive 1 which I'm having trouble with (I noticed the volume format is greyed out on disk utility as well).....
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I can't answer the bad hard drive question without some guessing. Not that smart.
Do you have a bootable copy of the Mountain Lion installer?
If not download the following. The site says it will work with 10.6:
http://blog.gete.net/lion-diskmaker-us/
That program will allow you to make a bootable DVD or USB with Mountain Lion on it.
You can boot off of it, erase the disk, and then install Mountain Lion.
I think you should be able to reinstall from carbon copy cloner, but I haven't used that program. During the setup it will ask you if you want to import files, but I don't know if it can read carbon copy cloner. I know it can read a Time Machine backup.
A clean install is generally better anyway.
If you get Mountain Lion installed, not everything works like it did in 10.5/10.6. For an example, scrolling is reversed, but you can change it back to the way it is in 10.5/10.6 in System Preferences. After spending some time in System Preferences, my computer acts pretty much the way it always did.

Question about activation key for pre-installed software after hard drive failure.

I had a hard drive failure on my MacBook Pro last week and had it replaced by Apple. When I restored my computer with a Time Machine backup, Office 2011 wants an activation key to start up again. Problem is, I had Office pre-installed when I bought my MacBook by Apple. Where do I get the activation key to get it working again?
Thanks
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Do you still have the signons.sqlite and key3.db files from the IT setup?
You can find the sync account password and the sync (recovery) key in the password manager on computers where a sync account with a specific e-mail address has been set up.
Look for:
* chrome://weave (Mozilla Services Password)
* chrome://weave (Mozilla Services Encryption Passphrase)

Restoration after Hard Drive Failure

Hello all.
My Powerbook G4 suffered a hard drive failure a couple of months ago, and every bit of information was lost in no-man's land. After seeking help with Apple, I was sent to DriveSavers. Thankfully, they were able to recover 100% of my drive or that's what they tell me anyway. (No need to scold me, I have learned my lesson about backing up EVERYTHING -- especially when the bill arrived from DriveSavers!) The Powerbook was kaput, so I decided to purchase an new iMac. DriveSavers has put my entire Powerbook contents onto several DVD discs, but so far I have had very little luck with actually transferring and using any of it on the iMac. I have been able to copy document files from Appleworks, Photoshop, etc. onto the iMac, and I can open them and use them with no problem. Although, I did have to go back and re-install the actual Photoshop and Appleworks applications from their original software discs since I was unable to successfully copy the applications from the DriveSavers discs onto the iMac. Still, I am in desperate need of certain Apple applications from the Powerbook that just will not appear on the iMac -- things like Address Book, all of my Stickies , plus the other Stickies that were only located on Dashboard (i was a stickies freak), the emails and contacts saved in Mail, the appts. & scheduling in iCal, etc. I cannot successfully access these kinds of things. I am able to copy an entire disc from DriveSavers onto the iMac, but when I launch the Address Book application from that folder, it just opens up the empty, brand new Address Book from the iMac or the new, empty iCal. The same thing happens with other similar programs. (I think iTunes has been the only thing with which I have any kind of success.) I've even rifled through the DVD discs and gone through my old User folder to the Library folder, then the Caches folder, and finally to the .com.apple.AddressBook folder where I extracted just the Metadata folder which clearly contains all of my contacts. When I try to add just the contact cards to the iMac's Address Book application, I still doesn't work and remains empty. The only way I've been able to look at any of my contacts is to use TextEdit to open those contact cards, and then dig through all of the jargon and piece together the info. It's very frustrating and time-consuming. I would just like for my Powerbook to be reincarnated, if you will, here on this new iMac. Is this even possible? I am completely baffled, and beginning to fear that I may have paid thousands of dollars for DVDs that would serve me better if I were lost in the Sahara and needing to signal a plane flying overhead by reflecting them against the sun. If anyone has any advice or tips, I would be very grateful.
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Hi,
Maybe this article can help :
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106941#2c
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Good luck!
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

How do I uninstall and reinstall CS3 after hard drive failure?

Hi. I suffered a recent hard drive failure on a Mac Pro. I didn't have a backup, like a dummy. The hard drive fails to boot so I installed OS on new blank hard drive and attempted to drag over whatever I could see and find from old drive onto the new one. I tried to start CS3 after doing this but it gives me an error: "LIcensing for this product has stopped working. You cannot use this product at this time. You must repair problem by uninstalling and reinstalling this product or contact IT Admin or Adobe Customer support" When I go to Utilities to find uninstall for Adobe the file is not there. WHen I try to reinstall from disk it says "setup error; setup has encountered an error and cannot continue. COntact Adobe Customer service support for assistance". I contacted them via chat and they told me they cannot help me and to post this issue here. Is there a way to resolve this? Am I just missing a file or something that will resolve the issue? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

You can't install applications like that. Use the original disks to
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IPhone synch after hard drive failure

I have an iMac 7.1 and after a total hard drive failure I had a new drive installed. Everything was wiped out, but at least I have the iTunes library still on my iPhone Here starts the problem.
After reading posts for the better half of a day I tried all suggested approaches, however the descriptions for doing it within iTunes don't seem to work (they insist on erase and synch the new (empty) library. I authorized the iTunes account on the iMac - still the same.
There are programs out there that rip the content from the iPhone, something I think is the wrong approach. Apple has to provide a way for its customers that have done nothing wrong to get their data back from a legal copy on the iPhone. This right way will likely exist, I just can't find it.
Anyone can point me in the right direction?

Hi, what no back up? -- well lets be honest everything should be covered by Apple & iTunes but!!
I use SENUTI @ odd times & it's an excellent App...why you are so against 3rd party app's I'm not sure..
If you have friend with a Mac & has some music you like you can always set up SHARING & dragNdrop..
With my first mac (ibookG4) I lost all my music etc.. a lesson learned, always back up otherwise it's a long arduous task burning your cd's one by one..If you purchased your music thro' iTunes you can contact them, at times have allowed me to Re download purchased items....L

How do I recover PE 12 after hard drive failure?

On February 25, 2014 I purchased Adobe Premiere Elements 12. The page 'my-products-services' lists it along with all of the other Adobe products that I have purchased for my Windows 7 64-bit desktop PC.
I have been successful in re-installing CS6 Design and Web Premium after a catastrophic hard drive failure last month; however, am presently stymied in trying to even locate where on the Adobe website it might be allowable for me to re-install. For reasons unknown, My license is listed for PE12, but my order isn't listed under account-orders.html#myorderhistory. CS6 is shown on that page and was how I was able to reinstate CS6.
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Gratefully yours,
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Kelly
I would definitely contact Adobe via its Adobe Chat to sort out the situation with your order and Adobe's record of it. You did purchase from Adobe direct? I am assuming yes.
What computer operating system did you download your Premiere Elements 12 to when you purchased it from Adobe?
For contact with Adobe's Chat, please click on...
Contact Customer Care
Premiere Elements
Membership, Account, Payment
Payments, Invoices, Orders
Chat Panel
The link is set to that location. If the link set does not hold, then you will need to navigate to the Chat Panel using the titles as guides.
At this moment, the Chat Panel is active and ready to be used.
However, for the immediate situation, you can download Premiere Elements 12 tryout files from the following web site. Be sure to read and carry out carefully (to the word) the Note: Very Important Instructions on the web page so that you do not get Access Denied. You can use the download and install as a tryout or insert your purchased serial number into the installation files to make it your working copy. Assure that you are selecting the correct files as replacements specific to what you purchased.
http://prodesigntools.com/photoshop-elements-12-direct-download-links-premiere.html
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Thank you.
ATR

Rebuilding After Hard-Drive Failure

My hard-drive failed a few months ago. After replacing the hard-drive, I recovered my iTunes library (music only) from a back-up of the failed hard-drive. My music now syncs between devices via iTunes Match, and I have successfully transferred all of the app and movie purchases from my devices (iPhone and iPad) to my desktop. However, I have one movie that was downloaded to the iTunes library on my desktop post hard-drive failure using a redemption code from a Blue-Ray/DVD/Digital bundle. How do I get that movie to upload to my iPad? If I plug the iPad into my desktop, and I try to sync movies, iTunes tells me that this iPad is currently syncing to a different iTunes library and warns me that if I continue, everything on my iPad will be erased and replaced by the contents of this iTunes library. I have a huge number of apps organized in folders. I am afraid that I will lose all of those folders, and I will have to reorganize my apps if I proceed with the sync. Is there any other way to get the movie onto my iPad?

You should be able to:
Backup the device to the new installation
Transfer your purchases into a newly authorized library
Recover any other media using third party tools as suggested in this post from forum regular Zevoneer
Restore the device from the backup
This process should switch the association of the device to the new library, preserving the data and settings in your apps.
May also be prudent to attempt a backup to iCloud directly from the device before you start... Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > iCloud Backup > On. It won't save any media but it would preserve the general account settings and documents in case anything goes wrong while you are trying to extract your other data.
When you get it all fixed, make a backup!
tt2

Sync after hard drive failure.

Im at my wits end-I really am. Why on earth is I Tunes so chuffin awkward.
Right after a hard drive failure I've now gone and purchased a refurb desktop. Fortunately on my previous I Tunes library the default location for the library was on an external hard drive.
Following the simple instructions I transferred that music folder onto my desktop and into a folder called I Tunes Library. I then dragged and dropped that folder into I Tunes.
I attempted to sync my I Pod but the error message was stated there was not enough room on my I Pod Touch. I found this curious because my entire I Tunes library only amounted to 47gb and my touch is 60gb.
I found out the reason for this was because some of the the library I had imported from my external hard drive had duplicated some of the music thus making my library larger than 60gb.
As I Tunes doesnt allow you to sync from your touch to a new I Tunes library (why???Grrrr) I completed a factory reset wiping all of my music and once again tried syncing from I Tunes.
To my horror about a third of the library has duplicated and even after manually removing those duplicates and a lot of my music is missing from I Tunes HOWEVER on my external hard drive that missing music is showing there?
Can anyone help??

Hi!
It seems that your iPhone is properly connected to the Sync server and that you need to add your computer to your previous account. In order to do so:
# At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button (Tools menu in Windows XP) and then click Options. . In the Options window, click on the Sync tab.
# Click Set Up Firefox Sync
# Under I already have a Firefox Sync account click Connect and then select "I don't have the device with me" just below the three boxes.
If you have already created a new account in your computer and you want to log in with your Firefox Home application, "Sign out" and set up the application again. The data you are going to lose is the one in Firefox Home. If you have restored the information in your desktop browser the data will appear in your iPhone once the sync is done.
Unfortunately, Firefox Home doesn't have the ability to send the bookmarks stored there to your computer so if you need to restore them in your computer and you don't have the Sync Key to restore the account in your computer, your only option is to copy them manually.
I hope this information helps you.

Reinstallation after hard drive failure

I had an sneak SAP NetWeaver 7.01 ABAP installation on my laptop on which I had some important prototypes.
I had a hard drive failure on the laptop and need to access my SAP data. I could backup from the disk after the failure though. Now I need to reinstall SAP and restart with the old database or copy all files to new harddrive.
The simplest way would be to do a clean installation on my new laptop and then replace the maxdb database files with the files of the old installation. However, it does not seem to work since maxdb only accepts to swap files in backup format, not normal database file format...
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Cheers
Martin

Hi!
It seems that your iPhone is properly connected to the Sync server and that you need to add your computer to your previous account. In order to do so:
# At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button (Tools menu in Windows XP) and then click Options. . In the Options window, click on the Sync tab.
# Click Set Up Firefox Sync
# Under I already have a Firefox Sync account click Connect and then select "I don't have the device with me" just below the three boxes.
If you have already created a new account in your computer and you want to log in with your Firefox Home application, "Sign out" and set up the application again. The data you are going to lose is the one in Firefox Home. If you have restored the information in your desktop browser the data will appear in your iPhone once the sync is done.
Unfortunately, Firefox Home doesn't have the ability to send the bookmarks stored there to your computer so if you need to restore them in your computer and you don't have the Sync Key to restore the account in your computer, your only option is to copy them manually.
I hope this information helps you.

Recovery after hard drive failure?

Hi everyone,
Simple question regarding what to do if my hard drive fails. Please bare in mind that my knowledge of computers is less than to be desired!
I currently use Carbon Copy Cloner (time machine gives me too many issues) to make an identical bootable copy of my hard drive. I assume that if my current hard drive fails, I could just boot from my cloned external drive and then clone my external drive to a new internal HHD.
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Cheers
Tom

The recovery partition is instead of having installer discs. It allows you to restore the last installed operating system to factory state. At times it may tap into the Apple App Store Server, and need a contact to support to get the right installer to show up. Mind you, no Mac can install an older operating system than shipped with, except for this tip:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6841
Apple discontinued providing installer discs with Mac OS X 10.7 installed Macs.

Unable to install OS 10.2 after hard drive failure

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