Screen and Hard Drive problem

Hi guys,

I have a 17" MacBook Pro, running OS 10.4.11 (or whatever the latest update is). Had it for almost 3 years.

Anyway, I noticed a long while ago, that lines would appear along the length of my screen, but thought nothing of it. Then, in the last week or so, 3/4s of the screen would blank out leaving just the top of the screen readable. I quickly learnt that a few knocks at the side of the screen would return it back to normal.

However, it started happening more frequently and a few knocks turned into quite a few knocks, and then, it stopped working (the knocks).

I left it alone for a couple of days and let the battery run down. When I switched it on again, the famous tone sounded, and the Apple sign appeared and the loading sign just...kept on loading. The 3/4s screen problem had continued, but knocking at the side again a few times, and pressing at the base of the screen where the metal meets the screen, and we're in business, or so I thought. The grey screen just kept on loading. Everything seemed to be ok in the background (disk drive and hard drive making all the right noises), but nothing happened.

Now, I have entered this problem online, and to be honest, it has me running scared. I haven't got the instal disc with me at the moment, but I will be trying that out over the coming week, as well as checking the RAM, but I am worried that the disk drive is failing. I'm anticipating that this will mean that I have lost everything on there (I kept on meaning to get a backup drive, but never got round to it). There are photos and numerous files that cannot be replaced, and I am worried sick that they are lost forever...and no, the blasted Apple cover ran out in October last year.

What can I do?

Rex

Sounds like you might not only have a failing hard drive, but also possibly something wrong with the graphics processor, or perhaps the video cable to the display.

I don't know what exact model you have, but certain MBP machines are still covered under an Apple extended warranty because of defective GPUs. It may pay to give Apple service a call and find out if you're still covered.

As for the hard drive.... I suggest this software: Data Rescue III. It's $99 but well worth the price if you value your data. You can download a trial version to test with. If it can get your data back, dig out your credit card and buy a license.

Let us know if you need more help.

Regards.

Thanks for your help.

So I download this onto a DVD and load it into my laptop. What then? I have over 100 gig of stuff on there. Can I attach an external hard drive to the laptop, and Data Rescue will allow me to transfer the files onto the external hard drive. Reading it online, it sounds like it might just help me, but I need to know how I'll do it properly.

How do I find out the exact model?

Thanks,

Rex

You can find out which model (nomenclature) by clicking on the Apple icon on your top menu, select "About This Mac", and then press the button that says more info. Make sure you also write down which GPU you have. You'll need that info when inquiring to Apple whether or not it's covered under the extended warranty.

As for Data Rescue III, yes, you should have an external drive where you can copy the rescued data to. Obviously, you can't use the drive that's giving you trouble.

Regards.