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Retrieving music from dead MacBook - possible?

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chester1066

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 18, 2012
25
0
Hi there, I have a Macbook which died a death due to water damage.
A while back a friend gave it to a guy who managed to retrieve all my photos and put them onto a data stick.
I have my entire collection of music from itunes on there also. I had already transferred this onto my iPod, however this somehow got wiped too at a later date :( I lost everything!

So, is it possible to retrieve music? Is it a difficult task? should I pay someone to do it? Assuming that because my photos got saved, the hard drive isn't affected.

Thanks all really appreciate the help here.
 
simsaladimbamba

simsaladimbamba

Guest
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
31
located
If you have another Mac or computer with Firewire*, you can try Target Disk Mode.
If not, you can always extract the HDD from the MacBook and put it in a USB enclosure for 2.5" S-ATA HDDs (around 10 to 20 €) and connect it to your existing Mac or Windows based computer and then retrieve the data that way.

*
2012_01_02_pA1_Firewire_Ports.png
 
C

chester1066

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 18, 2012
25
0
Simsaladimbamba - thank you so much for your reply and the diagram!

I purchased a second hand Macbook Pro shortly after, which died after 7 weeks!! So I now have an Acer laptop ( i gave up on Macs as they cost me too much even though I love them!)...

So with this in mind, if I purchased what you suggested, after extracting the hard drive, I may be able to save my music onto my PC laptop?
 
simsaladimbamba

simsaladimbamba

Guest
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
31
located
chester1066 said:
So with this in mind, if I purchased what you suggested, after extracting the hard drive, I may be able to save my music onto my PC laptop?
Click to expand...

Yes, but you either need HFSExplorer or MacDrive (the 7-day trial will suffice) to be able to read the the contents off the MacBook's HDD.
 
C

chester1066

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 18, 2012
25
0
Okay, this is very interesting - thank you so much for your help. I've never done anything like this before and am really worried, but I guess it will do no harm to give it a go. I either try this or I continue to accept that i've lost all my music!

Is there anything else I should know?
 
simsaladimbamba

simsaladimbamba

Guest
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
31
located
chester1066 said:
Okay, this is very interesting - thank you so much for your help. I've never done anything like this before and am really worried, but I guess it will do no harm to give it a go. I either try this or I continue to accept that i've lost all my music!

Is there anything else I should know?
Click to expand...

Go to iFixIt to look for MacBook HDD Replacement guides, but other than that, your are good to go.
 
C

chester1066

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 18, 2012
25
0
Hope this isnt too stupid a question, but ive just been looking for 2.5" SATA HDD enclosures on eBay...is there a specific one to look out for? some are really cheap and others more expensive. Also when it says compatible with for expample, Windows 8 (which im currently running) is that for the computer that its sending the info to, or is it the system that was running on the dead hard drive (i.e. the one from my Macbook)? Sorry to sound dim!!
 
simsaladimbamba

simsaladimbamba

Guest
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
31
located
chester1066 said:
Hope this isnt too stupid a question, but ive just been looking for 2.5" SATA HDD enclosures on eBay...is there a specific one to look out for? some are really cheap and others more expensive. Also when it says compatible with for expample, Windows 8 (which im currently running) is that for the computer that its sending the info to, or is it the system that was running on the dead hard drive (i.e. the one from my Macbook)? Sorry to sound dim!!
Click to expand...

USB 2.0 is an interface standard recognised by Windows and by Mac OS X without further drivers, thus you can buy any USB 2.0 HDD enclosure or dock, that accepts 2.5" S-ATA drives, S-ATA being another standard recognised by Windows and Mac OS X without additional drivers.
 
Last edited:
l.a.rossmann

l.a.rossmann

macrumors 65816
May 15, 2009
1,096
372
Brooklyn
The computer may be dead, that doesn't mean the drive is.

Think of it like organ donation. The person is dead, but their eyes could still happily live on in someone else.
 
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