- Joined
- May 27, 2013
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 1
- Location
- Cincinnati, OH
- Your Mac's Specs
- 13.3" display, 750GB HD, 16GB of RAM
Hello! I'm new to this forum, so I apologize in advance if I seem a little green! I'm not very experienced with the Mac OS; I've always been a Windows guy myself (sorry!), but I had to get a MacBook Pro for school when I switched majors last Fall.
Also, I really apologize for the length of this post, but I'm kind of freaking out here. This computer was really, really expensive, and it's mandatory for my major, and has all of my work on it. Any help or comments are greatly appreciated!
Here is some prerequisite information before I continue:
-The computer involved is a MacBook Pro from June 2012 (not the newer Retina Display one) running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.
-It has a 750GB HD, 16GB of RAM, and a 13.3" screen.
-I bought the computer used.
-I have never experienced any other problems remotely like this with the computer.
WHAT WORKS:
-Internet Recovery, Mac OS X Utilities
WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
-Everything else
So last night, my computer froze. I could do nothing but switch between desktops (swiping to the left or right with three fingers), so I pressed the power button to force shut down. But, upon rebooting, I was greeted by a folder with a question mark, flashing on and off. After doing a bunch of stuff (resetting the PRAM, resetting the SMC, trying and failing to enter both single-user and safe modes, etc.), I finally got Internet Recovery to work (after multiple attempts and receiving multiple error codes, none of which have ANY support or even mention on Apple's site) and the computer to get to a place where I could access Mac OS X Utilities. Unfortunately, I have no Time Machine backups, nor do I have the reinstall disc (I bought it used), and the "Get Help Online" option yielded nothing. However, Disk Utility was readily available. The day was saved! Or so it seemed.
When I click on Disk Utility, the only options on the left are "SuperDrive"--the CD drive, which is greyed out--and "disk0," with a dropdown category of "Mac OS X Base System." I have scourged the internet far and wide, and I can find absolutely nothing on what to do next, or what these directories even are. The Apple support site says to highlight my HD, go to the First Aid category, and click "Repair Disk;" however, my HD is not listed (unless it is, for some reason, going by the name of "disk0") and the "Repair Disk" option is greyed out, as are all the others.
I have absolutely no idea what to do next. I have tried booting up in safe mode and single-user mode, but the computer is having none of that. I've reset the PRAM and the SMC. I've tried holding cmd+R, D, and R during bootup to no avail. The only thing that seems to work is holding opt down during startup to get to Internet Recovery. I seriously cannot fathom the possibility that the forced shut down I performed last night could have seriously damaged the physical HD. I may not be an expert on the Mac OS, but I do have some basic computer knowledge. I'm probably going to take it in to a Genius tomorrow (it's Labor Day today), but I'd really like to get this solved without them (my budget is almost non-existent). I'm also really, really hoping that a complete wipe of the HD is not necessary.
Again, I really apologize for the length of this post! But I really want to be thorough so the problem can be solved and quickly and painlessly as possible. Thanks for reading!
Also, I really apologize for the length of this post, but I'm kind of freaking out here. This computer was really, really expensive, and it's mandatory for my major, and has all of my work on it. Any help or comments are greatly appreciated!
Here is some prerequisite information before I continue:
-The computer involved is a MacBook Pro from June 2012 (not the newer Retina Display one) running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.
-It has a 750GB HD, 16GB of RAM, and a 13.3" screen.
-I bought the computer used.
-I have never experienced any other problems remotely like this with the computer.
WHAT WORKS:
-Internet Recovery, Mac OS X Utilities
WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
-Everything else
So last night, my computer froze. I could do nothing but switch between desktops (swiping to the left or right with three fingers), so I pressed the power button to force shut down. But, upon rebooting, I was greeted by a folder with a question mark, flashing on and off. After doing a bunch of stuff (resetting the PRAM, resetting the SMC, trying and failing to enter both single-user and safe modes, etc.), I finally got Internet Recovery to work (after multiple attempts and receiving multiple error codes, none of which have ANY support or even mention on Apple's site) and the computer to get to a place where I could access Mac OS X Utilities. Unfortunately, I have no Time Machine backups, nor do I have the reinstall disc (I bought it used), and the "Get Help Online" option yielded nothing. However, Disk Utility was readily available. The day was saved! Or so it seemed.
When I click on Disk Utility, the only options on the left are "SuperDrive"--the CD drive, which is greyed out--and "disk0," with a dropdown category of "Mac OS X Base System." I have scourged the internet far and wide, and I can find absolutely nothing on what to do next, or what these directories even are. The Apple support site says to highlight my HD, go to the First Aid category, and click "Repair Disk;" however, my HD is not listed (unless it is, for some reason, going by the name of "disk0") and the "Repair Disk" option is greyed out, as are all the others.
I have absolutely no idea what to do next. I have tried booting up in safe mode and single-user mode, but the computer is having none of that. I've reset the PRAM and the SMC. I've tried holding cmd+R, D, and R during bootup to no avail. The only thing that seems to work is holding opt down during startup to get to Internet Recovery. I seriously cannot fathom the possibility that the forced shut down I performed last night could have seriously damaged the physical HD. I may not be an expert on the Mac OS, but I do have some basic computer knowledge. I'm probably going to take it in to a Genius tomorrow (it's Labor Day today), but I'd really like to get this solved without them (my budget is almost non-existent). I'm also really, really hoping that a complete wipe of the HD is not necessary.
Again, I really apologize for the length of this post! But I really want to be thorough so the problem can be solved and quickly and painlessly as possible. Thanks for reading!
