Bill: Thanks. Following your advice, I have downloaded Data Rescue and will attempt to use it on the malfunctioning drive tomorrow.
I don't know if an eMac can accommodate a second hard drive. Does anyone out there know that? Assuming it won't, I plan to install a working system plus Data Rescue on an external Firewire drive and try to boot the eMac from that drive. I'll let you know how it goes. Dan > Dan, > > I've had very good luck with a program called "Data Rescue" which is > available through this site --> http://www.prosofteng.com > > I was using OS9 at the time, so don't have experience with the OSX > version. > > Here is the approach that I, personally, would take if the machine can > accommodate a second hard drive. Get another drive - cheap. I've been > seeing 100 gig drives for around $100 dollars. > > If the machine can't accommodate anther internal drive, get a firewire > drive > and ignore the master/slave stuff below. If a firewire drive can be > used as > a startup, all the better. If it can't, you'll have to start up from > the > CD. > > Assuming internal installation is practical, configure the new drive > as the > master (default) and the old drive as the slave (usually by moving the > jumper to the third position - it should be printed on the drive). > Install > the system on the new drive and see if the utility will recognize the > old > drive in the slave position. Might happen, might not. > > If it doesn't work that easily, I'd get and install "Data Rescue" on > the new > drive and go from there. Unless you have a physical failure of the old > drive, that's very likely to be successful. The program cost $89, but > I've > known it to work in situations where the only other choice was to send > the > drive to a data recovery outfit and pay a lot of money. Than, after > getting > your files, reformat the old drive and designate it (or the firewire > drive) > as your backup so you don't get in this position again. > > There's some possibility that you'll still have to have the files > recovered > professionally. Good luck. > > Bill Holt > >> From: Dan Crutcher <dcrutcher at loumag.com> >> Reply-To: macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu >> Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 13:32:48 -0400 >> To: macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu >> Subject: MacGroup: Help! Data Recovery >> >> I can no longer access the hard drive on an eMac, with 10.3.3 >> installed. It will not boot by itself (gives the blinking >> folder/question mark). >> >> I can and will reinstall the system on this machine, but it has some >> critical data that is not backed up that I would very much like to >> recover if there is any way to do so -- and I'm willing to try just >> about anything. >> >> Here is the current state of the machine: >> >> It will boot from the Restore and Install CD, but the neither the >> Install program nor Disk Utility can find a volume on the internal >> hard >> drive. Disk Utility does find the physical hard drive. >> >> Apple Hardware Test gives an "Error Detected" message when testing >> Mass >> Storage. The error code is "2STF/2/3: MAC-10 ata-4 ? Master" >> >> Disk Warrior (3.0.2) also finds the hard drive, but not a volume. >> Running its test gives the message "This hard drive does not have >> built-in S.M.A.R.T. diagnostics." It can go no further because it does >> not find any directories to rebuild. >> >> I have called Alsoft tech support, who confirms that D.W. can't do >> anything unless it can find a volume. Their best guess is that the >> partition map is munged. >> >> I have called Apple tech support, who says all I can do is reinstall >> the system. They gave me the name of a data recovery company. >> >> I seem to recall that under similar circumstances on machines running >> OS 9 I was able to recover some data files using Norton's recovery >> utilities. I could, for instance, specify certain filetypes, and tell >> Norton to find all files of that type. Usually, some of them were >> recoverable. I do not have Norton's for OS X, nor do I know if it has >> that capability. >> >> I am also wondering if there is any way to boot into Terminal or some >> kind of command line that would let me type in some magical Unix >> gobbledygook that would cure everything -- or at least let me recover >> a >> few data files? >> >> I eagerly, and anxiously, await any and all responses. >> >> Dan >> >> >> >> >> | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will >> | be May 25. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. >> | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> >> | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup> >> > > > > > | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will > | be May 25. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. > | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> > | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup> > | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will | be May 25. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup>
