Gray Screen, Folder Icon, Question Mark, HD Died.

FallOutBoyx530 · #1 June 1st, 2007, 11:35 AM

Thanks for viewing this forum, my one year old macbook just died. As a college student and a long time mac user, money is limited so I waited until Apple called me to buy my AppleCare extention. They didn't. My MacBook died 7 days after it expired.

Gray Screen, Folder Icon, Question Mark, HD Died.

I already ordered a new HD because I know its dead. Is there any way to rescue the HD? or get the files out?

Thanks,
FOBx530

bobw · #2 June 1st, 2007, 11:42 AM

Have you tried booting from your Installer disc and running Disk Utility on the drive?

FallOutBoyx530 · #3 June 1st, 2007, 09:41 PM

Yes, It is not there.

I took it to the apple store and they said I need a replacement. So, is there anyway to rescuing the HD?

Satcomer · #4 June 2nd, 2007, 05:08 AM

Well all you can hope for is resurrect the drive long enough to get your data off it. First get a new hard drive and install OS X on it. Then get an external Firewire or USB drive bay. Then put the dead hard drive in a air tight freezer bag and put the drive in the freezer and freeze it. Once it is frozen (with absolutly no moisture) put in quickly in the external case and see if you can data off it. This will work until the drive heats up so you have to be quick!

Also let this be a good lesson for you, you should ALWAYS backup because as the old saying goes " it is not IF a hard drive will fail, it is WHEN the hard drive WILL fail". All hard drives will eventually fail.

Good Luck.

MarcH · #5 September 11th, 2008, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satcomer

.... put the dead hard drive in a air tight freezer bag and put the drive in the freezer and freeze it. Once it is frozen (with absolutly no moisture) put in quickly in the external case and see if you can data off it. This will work until the drive heats up so you have to be quick!.....

Did you try this? Does it really work?

ElDiabloConCaca · #6 September 11th, 2008, 02:04 PM

That technique works for hard drives that have died due to either:

a) a platter becoming stuck/immobile on the spindle.
b) the read/write head's arm mechanics have become stuck/immobile.

The science behind the technique is that freezing the hard drive causes the components to slightly contract, as metals do when they get cold, and that the slight contraction of the parts could free them from their stuck positions.

MarcH · #7 September 11th, 2008, 02:40 PM

Thanks for the reply.

Mine is spinning but not catching, like a scratched CD does. Have tried a few software packages but because it won't mount and doesn't appear in disk utility I don't think it is going to help me much until I can get the drive to mount. Do you think freezing would help with this?

ElDiabloConCaca · #8 September 11th, 2008, 03:09 PM

It may or may not -- I had one hard drive "crash" where the technique worked, and I had another hard drive with different symptoms that didn't work. The one that didn't work would spin up, click loudly, then spin down again... and repeat.

It's worth a try -- just make sure you put them in airtight bags and be careful of condensation.

The Following User Says Thank You to ElDiabloConCaca For This Useful Post:
MarcH (September 11th, 2008)