please HELP! I think my HD is broken, NEED data!!

hi guys, im in a major bind. Powerbook crapped out on me couple of days ago. It turns on but only goes to gray screen with gray apple. Guy at IT did a start up from the disk and got a kernel panic that read "kernel error- we're hanging here" (Im not kidding). So the higher level IT guy had it overnight and said it may be HD or Software; he just called saying he thinks HD failed and data is probably gone and wants to replace the HD.

Do I have any options here, there is a file that I REALLY need, i was thinking target disc mode but if the HD is shot this may be futile. any other options?

Thanks in advance, all help is much appreciated

Unfortunately, if you don't have a backup, your options are pretty limited.

You could try Paragon's Rescue Kit, which is still in beta testing. That may allow you to salvage some data, depending on how far gone the HD is.

Alternatively, you could send the HD out to a data recovery service, but those services are usually cost-prohibitive (usually starting at $500 and up).

I Will try this Paragon thing. It should work with PowePC's right?
Does the target disc mode have any chance of success or is it a pipe dream? (Havent tried it yet, need another mac to link with)

caloge said:

I Will try this Paragon thing. It should work with PowePC's right?

Click to expand...

I'm not certain on that, to be honest. Give it a shot.

Does the target disc mode have any chance of success or is it a pipe dream? (Havent tried it yet, need another mac to link with)

Click to expand...

If the drive will mount, you may be able to pull some files off of it this way, assuming you have access to another, functioning Mac of the same or similar specification.

Either way, do yourself a favor and purchase an external hard drive of the same or greater capacity than the replacement hard disk. Get in the habit of doing regular backups with Time Machine or SuperDuper. This is especially important when you use a laptop as your primary machines, since laptop hard drives have a far greater failure rate than desktop drives.