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Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Operating System
AT MY WITS END: How to Back Up Data After OS Failure
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<blockquote data-quote="chas_m" data-source="post: 1310517"><p>It sounds like your hard drive is heading toward oblivion. This is what I would do in your situation:</p><p></p><p>1. Buy a new, "bare" hard drive that will soon be your new internal hard drive. As cheap as they are these days, might as well go for a 500GB or higher. You'll also want to buy an external case (separately) that fits your new 2.5" SATA HD. Firewire would be best but USB2 will do fine if that's all that's available.</p><p></p><p>2. I would open up the MacBook Pro (instructions are online at iFixit.com for this), remove the existing (failing) hard drive, and install the new drive. Put the old drive in the case you bought.</p><p></p><p>3. I would install Snow Leopard or higher on the new drive. Set up a new account that has the same name, password and status (Admin) as your old one.</p><p></p><p>4. You will be asked during this setup process if there's another volume that Migration Assistant can move to your new account. Attach the external drive with your failing hard drive in it. MA will ask you to pick general categories you wish to move over. Skip the apps (they can be reinstalled) but go for everything else. Hopefully the drive will be able to work long enough for you to copy over all the useful data.</p><p></p><p>5. Should that prove successful, offer thanks to the deity of your choice, and go out and buy an NEW bare hard drive. Take the failing drive out of the case, put a magnet on it, and put the new drive in the case. Let Time Machine format and prep the new drive to be your backup drive and let it do it's thing.</p><p></p><p>6. Live a happy life.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="chas_m, post: 1310517"] It sounds like your hard drive is heading toward oblivion. This is what I would do in your situation: 1. Buy a new, "bare" hard drive that will soon be your new internal hard drive. As cheap as they are these days, might as well go for a 500GB or higher. You'll also want to buy an external case (separately) that fits your new 2.5" SATA HD. Firewire would be best but USB2 will do fine if that's all that's available. 2. I would open up the MacBook Pro (instructions are online at iFixit.com for this), remove the existing (failing) hard drive, and install the new drive. Put the old drive in the case you bought. 3. I would install Snow Leopard or higher on the new drive. Set up a new account that has the same name, password and status (Admin) as your old one. 4. You will be asked during this setup process if there's another volume that Migration Assistant can move to your new account. Attach the external drive with your failing hard drive in it. MA will ask you to pick general categories you wish to move over. Skip the apps (they can be reinstalled) but go for everything else. Hopefully the drive will be able to work long enough for you to copy over all the useful data. 5. Should that prove successful, offer thanks to the deity of your choice, and go out and buy an NEW bare hard drive. Take the failing drive out of the case, put a magnet on it, and put the new drive in the case. Let Time Machine format and prep the new drive to be your backup drive and let it do it's thing. 6. Live a happy life. [/QUOTE]
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AT MY WITS END: How to Back Up Data After OS Failure
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