Re: Recovering Email from Hard Drive

[Frank Rader]

(Chris. I think Emailer list is blocking me from sending this so if it does not show on emailer list please post it for me. Thanks, [EMAIL PROTECTED])

Greetings
These things have been successful with drives that would not mount, clicking or not. This is not strictly a list, but in the order I'd try based on what you may have on hand.

If the machine is in warranty call Apple and get them to fix it. They will try to talk you through several things that may get the drive "up". Apple may not try to recover any data in the fixing (replacing) process if it is sent to them, so you have to try to get the drive mounted one more time before letting Apple handle it.
Ground yourself, unplug the machine, open it up and using a clean pencil's eraser end press firmly on the ribbon connectors and sockets and drive mounts. Don't pull anything off, but plug in things that have worked loose.
Hook up an external drive, put a cd or DVD in the burner or hook up another computer set up as an external drive. If you see your HD at any time, stop doing these things and back your sick drive up by copying the files you need from it onto the drive you've already hooked to your machine.

• Reset the PRAM. (Shut down, start and hold option-Apple-P-R keys (all four at same time) until Mac chimes three times. If the drive comes up, back it up NOW. I prefer a Finder backup onto an external HD or another computer.
• Run Apple's Disk First Aid if it can "see" the drive. You'll have to start from a start up CD (insert cd, shut down, start holding "c" key).
• Turn your machine into an external HD for another machine to see if the other machine sees your HD. Get a firewire cable, plug into both machines. Start the other machine and let it fully load everything, then start your machine holding down the "T" key until you see the "simi-radioactive" symbol on your screen. If the other machines sees your drive, it will show up on the other's screen and you can back it up and get your stuff off and run utility software on it.
• Install your OS from original disks that came with your machine for that purpose. Do NOT "Restore". Just install the OS. (Insert CD, shut down, start up holding "C" key, install. Do NOT restore.)
• Get a copy of Apple's Hardware Tests and run that from the CD or another machine.
• Get "Disk Warrior" and start your machine from the Disk Warrior CD and see if it "sees" your drive let it build a new directory. Go on vacation while this it done. It can take a while.
• After the new directory, let "Disk Warrior" optimize the drive. Go on a LONG vacation.
• Get "Tech Tools Pro" and start from it and if it sees your drive let it run it's suite of tests. If you have Disk Warrior, do not let Tech Tools repair your directory. (IMHO, Disk Warrior is better at Disk Directory, Tech Tools is better at tests.)

After you've gotten the drive "up" and data off, use Apple's HD Set up to initialize the drive and install the OS you want with the Applications you want. Then run Apple's Hardware Test and Tech Tools until the drive "smokes". Start it repeatedly and see if it comes up normally. What you are doing is seeing if the drive is working consistently and start up is a key as well as reading/writing.
The combination of OS and Application installs and testing will start the machine many times.
If the drive bores you with it's performance, put on your data and keep on trucking, adding faithful trips to back up land to your routine. If the drive scares you, replace it and continue to visit back up land.

responding to:
My hard drive with emailer on it started clicking. I shut down the computer and upon restarting the drive, it didn't mount. Any suggestions on how to recover data without spending several hundred dollars for a professional data recovery service?