[Maced] Resuscitating a hard drive (from a G4 PowerBook)

[Matt Skoss]

Success...using Data Rescue II.

What an amazing product.

Thanks also for the MacFixit lead...

MacEd...your collective wisdom is worth bottling!

Regards, Matt.


On 30/05/2008, at 9:06 AM, Nathan Zamprogno wrote:

> I have seen many examples of physically visible (in Disk Utility)  
> but non-mountable drives. Doing a repair using Disk Util does not  
> work, so what next?
>
> Two options: If you boot in single user mode (Apple-S and then hold  
> down through the start chime) there is the fsck tool. This is  
> essentially what the GUI in Disk Util offers but because you're at a  
> command line I find some things get repaired that the GUI version  
> won't touch. Perhaps it's because the system is running in a "cut  
> down" mode with fewer files flagged as "in use".
>
> The trick in your case (if the drive is setup as a second drive, not  
> the boot drive) is to use the fsck tool to target this drive or  
> volume and not the current boot volume. Invoking fsck without  
> arguments usually assumes you want to target the boot drive, but  
> with the right flag you should be able to attempt a repair of the  
> bus-visible but otherwise inaccessible PBG4 drive. Check the "mount  
> point" info for the unmountable volume in Disk Util and use that as  
> the argument. Go "man fsck" at a terminal window for more information.
>
> The second (and my recommended) option is Disk Warrior. Disk Warrior  
> has saved my bacon on many occasions. It has repaired volumes that I  
> thought were lost for good. It routinely repairs volumes Disk  
> Utility says it can't. Make sure you get the new version rated for  
> Leopard. I think you can get it online- it's worth the investment  
> for every Mac using IT department.
>
> -Nathan.
>
>> Last night I successfully performed open heart surgery on my out-of- 
>> warranty G4 PowerBook (Al) to replace an ailing hard drive.
>>
>> It can be seen in Disk Utility, but won't mount...so it's not  
>> completely dead. Are there any particular tools to try to lift some  
>> of the data off?
>>
>> I'm also on the hunt for a replacement Combo drive for this unit. I  
>> was quoted $500+ for a replacement from our local Apple dealer in  
>> Alice Springs. Would anyone have a dead laptop that I could  
>> cannibilise? Or  a new unit in a cupboard, that is now superseded  
>> by more recent models? Happy to buy it.
>>
>> Regards, Matt.
>>
>> PS New email address: matt.skoss at netspeed.com.au (my ISP went out  
>> of business)
>
>
> -- 
> Nathan Zamprogno,
>
> IT Manager, Wycliffe Christian School.
> nathan at wycliffe.nsw.edu.au Ph: 0247 536 422 ext 911    Mob: 0412 141  
> 811
> http://www.wycliffe.nsw.edu.au
>
> "I can tolerate being judged; far better than to be of no  
> consequence."
> -Mr Spock, "World Enough and Time"