MacBook Problem, Please Help! (Please read post #13!)

1241Penguin

1241Penguin

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Hey there,
my Leopard MacBook was frozen, so I held the power button to turn it off. Now it is stuck in the white Apple screen during startup. How do I fix this? Please bear in mind that I'm not a computer expert and I don't want to lose any of my data. Please help!
 
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1241Penguin
Hey there,
my Leopard MacBook was frozen, so I held the power button to turn it off. Now it is stuck in the white Apple screen during startup. How do I fix this? Please bear in mind that I'm not a computer expert and I don't want to lose any of my data. Please help!
Click to expand...

Have you tried taking the battery out and putting it back in?
 
It's been a while since I've used a Mac, but I think there's an option to re-install OS X but have it preserve your data. Try sticking the OS install disc in and booting up, it should tell you pretty clearly whether or not choosing to re-install the OS will erase your personal data or not.

In any case, you're gonna have to re-install OS X to get the drive to boot. Unless the drive is dead, in which case you're gonna have to get a new one.
 
Take it to a computer shop, they should be able to take out the Hard Drive and get all the data off it. But, it will be a repair job, and if it doesn't work it may set you back a new computer, but from what it sounds like, it's a hardware problem.
 
yaywalter
It's been a while since I've used a Mac, but I think there's an option to re-install OS X but have it preserve your data. Try sticking the OS install disc in and booting up, it should tell you pretty clearly whether or not choosing to re-install the OS will erase your personal data or not.

In any case, you're gonna have to re-install OS X to get the drive to boot. Unless the drive is dead, in which case you're gonna have to get a new one.
Click to expand...

From what I understand, the option you are talking about is called "Archive and Install."

I have tried it, but I ended up with 2 problems:
1. I can't get my computer to read it
2. My worries that my hardrive is dead

I'm still worried that I'll lose data. :(

Has anyone tried "Archive and Install?" If so, did you lose any data at all? And is it "easy" to do?
 
'Round the bend
Take it to a computer shop, they should be able to take out the Hard Drive and get all the data off it. But, it will be a repair job, and if it doesn't work it may set you back a new computer, but from what it sounds like, it's a hardware problem.
Click to expand...

To be honest, taking the computer to the shop is the last thing I want to do. Too much hassle for me.
 
Re-installing is basically re-formatting your system, so yes, you will lose Data on the hard drive.

Since im on a mac, do you mind describing what's happening?
 
Ah ok I remember now.

'Round the bend
Re-installing is basically re-formatting your system, so yes, you will lose Data on the hard drive.

Since im on a mac, do you mind describing what's happening?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Installing with the Archive and Install option just archives the system files currently on the drive and rewrites brand new ones onto it. Other than that, everything on the drive remains the same. No files are deleted whatsoever, only some are moved into a "Previous System" folder.

So yeah, should be safe 1241Penguin. If you try it and your computer still won't boot or if the drive isn't showing up when selecting a destination for the Archive and Install, then your drive is dead and your data is already lost. It's worth investing in an external hard drive to use with Time Machine.

Here's a video of someone doing an Archive and Install on their iMac:


Haha wait a sec, I think you already saw that video. :sly:
 
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yaywalter
Ah ok I remember now.



Not necessarily. Installing with the Archive and Install option just archives the system files currently on the drive and rewrites brand new ones onto it. Other than that, everything on the drive remains the same. No files are deleted whatsoever, only some are moved into a "Previous System" folder.

So yeah, should be safe 1241Penguin. If you try it and your computer still won't boot or if the drive isn't showing up when selecting a destination for the Archive and Install, then your drive is dead and your data is already lost. It's worth investing in an external hard drive to use with Time Machine.

Here's a video of someone doing an Archive and Install on their iMac:
[Video]
Haha wait a sec, I think you already saw that video. :sly:
Click to expand...

My MacBook had the same problem once before. It was fixed, but I lost all my data. Apparently, the drive was dead and it had to be replaced. I just hope that its not the same this time :nervous:.

So... how do I use Time Machine? Does it work with most external hard drives? Also, is it there in case the computers drive dies and the user can backup their data? I don't think I ever backed up my data with Time Machine.
 
If the computer is stuck on the white start up screen, then chances are there's something bad going on with the hard drive. Like others have said, you can try doing a Archive and Install and if that works, great, you bought some time. If it doesn't work, and its still stuck on the white screen, then you might need to replace your hard drive.

Time Machine will work with any hard drive that has been formatted to HFS+ (the Mac partition format). However, Time Machine makes incremental backups while the computer is running. As soon as your OS stops booting, you won't be able to run Time Machine. You can boot from another hard drive and use Time Machine on that to back up your current drive, but at that point, you might as well just manually drag and drop everything from it to do a backup.
 
I have concluded that my hard drive is dead. Is there anyway I can back up the files and then restore it after getting a new hard drive? If so, can you please give me a full tutorial? Thanks!
 
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