Hi all, first post here. My parents were using their 2010 iMac and they suddenly heard a 'zap' sound and the screen went dark. I concluded that this was probably a PSU or mobo failure/shortcircuit, and I was wondering how I would go about (or if I could) remove the HDD from the computer and extract files from it onto my PC, as they have many important documents on it.
How should I recover an HDD from a 2010 iMac?
- Thread starter Hamter
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You don't say which SPECIFIC iMac this is, but here are the HD replacement instructions for the 21.5" 2010 iMac. If that's the wrong size, then poke around the iFixIt site until you find the first model/year/size and you will see the step-by-step instructions to get access to the HD.
Once you do get access to the drive, know that it is either formatted as HFS+ (likely not APFS) and Windows doesn't know how to read that format. I think Linux can read that format. Others might suggest ways of dealing with that part when it comes to it.
Once you do get access to the drive, know that it is either formatted as HFS+ (likely not APFS) and Windows doesn't know how to read that format. I think Linux can read that format. Others might suggest ways of dealing with that part when it comes to it.
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Hi and Welcome to our forums:
As has been pointed out, remove the hard drive from the iMac, (see instructions at iFixit: The Free Repair Manual) and then attach it to your PC with a USB cable and adapter (you will need an adapter (Apple Mac Upgrades - RAM, SSD Flash, External Drives and More) for the bare drive to work).
You will then need software to read and extract data from the Mac hard drive.
The "How to Geek" is a good place to learn how:
How to Read a Mac-Formatted Drive on a Windows PC
Let us know if you need more help with this.
As has been pointed out, remove the hard drive from the iMac, (see instructions at iFixit: The Free Repair Manual) and then attach it to your PC with a USB cable and adapter (you will need an adapter (Apple Mac Upgrades - RAM, SSD Flash, External Drives and More) for the bare drive to work).
You will then need software to read and extract data from the Mac hard drive.
The "How to Geek" is a good place to learn how:
How to Read a Mac-Formatted Drive on a Windows PC
Let us know if you need more help with this.
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Obviously if you have a docking station and another Mac you should be good to go. Alternatively a suitable External USB HDD that will accept the Mac HDD could be a solution.
Was there no backup? Like Time Machine or similar, obviously that is no good unless you can restore it to something but at least it is saved.
A few more details please.
Was there no backup? Like Time Machine or similar, obviously that is no good unless you can restore it to something but at least it is saved.
A few more details please.
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