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General discussion

NEED HELP!...Ibook does not read HDD.

Jan 17, 2007 6:41AM PST

My dual-usb ibook is not recognizing the hard drive. The problem started after having to manually shut down and restart from the power button several times in a row due to the bad logic board causing the screen to freeze. Now when I turn the computer on I get the first gray screen, the little folder icon comes up with the question mark then switches between the ? and the finder icon and goes no further. I booted from the tiger DVD and tried disk utility, but it does not even "see" the hard drive, nor does system profiler or startup disk. I have had to crack open my laptop several times to replace or adjust the shim I installed just below the gpu on the magnetic shield (a temporary solution to my logic board issues). I'm going to get a new computer soon but I need the data off this HDD. Is there any way it can be retrieved? Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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Even on the Mad the usual is to..
Jan 17, 2007 6:47AM PST

Pull the drive out of the failed machine and into a firewire enclosure to run the usual disk warrior tools. I'm also eyeing another tool that is PC based called Spinrite. It can help in the odd situation now but some owners balk at the cost of case and tools. You?

In closing where is the backup? It seems strange to know about a machine's issues yet trust it with files you apparently can't lose.

Bob

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(NT) Opps. Typo. I meant "Mac"
Jan 17, 2007 6:47AM PST
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RE: Even on the Mad the usual is to..
Jan 17, 2007 7:00AM PST

OK, I'll try it your way, but don't scold me for not backing up data.

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We scold everyone about backup.
Jan 17, 2007 9:08AM PST

It's a recurring theme in the forums. We want you to succeed so ignore that if you wish and tell us how you fare.

Bob

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USB ok?
Jan 21, 2007 11:11AM PST

Would a USB 2.0 enclosure suffice, or is a firewire case a better choice? I've heard USB cannot sustain speeds or something.

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Firewire is the connection of choice
Jan 21, 2007 8:51PM PST

for a Mac.
On paper, USB2.0 shows faster speeds than firewire but this only bursts of speed while firewire is able to maintain a constant speed.

P

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Flashing Question Mark
Jan 17, 2007 9:21AM PST

This is an indication that the machine cannot find a valid OS to boot from. You have discovered that the machine does not see the HD at all.
Conclusion, the HD is dead.
These can be replaced with a larger capacity one, quite easily but it is not really a job for those with no experience at it. I note that you have "Cracked the case" a number of times, so you could do this yourself.

Once the new drive is installed, reinstall the OS from the installation CD's that came with the machine and then restore all you missing files from your Backup set. You do have a backup, don't you? Follow Bob's suggestion too.

How long has your machine had a logic board problem?

P

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retrieving data off dead hard drive...
Jan 17, 2007 11:34AM PST