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Help URGENT- dropped laptop

A

applestressed

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 18, 2011
5
0
Toronto, CA
Okay im an idiot, I take care of my machines but this one literally slipped out of my hands.
there is physical damage on the top rightside it has a very big dent, I know this is not covered in my apple care and I havent reported it yet but my worry is my system because it was on at the time of impact it froze i panicked and turned it off took it to plug it in and turned it on again, it worked although much slower than usual I quickly attached my exterior memory and copy everything when my machine slowed down more, I tried to open different windows and I imagine it was to much work, it really slowed down more then I started to hear some clicks, and then it completely froze, I have now shut it down and let it plugged in.

is there ANY way to recover my files?, will bringing it to the store will they help me recover my files or do I have to find someplace else?, will apple care help me with the operating system even though i dropped it Im not that worried about the case right now? can apple help me at all?

now I tried powering it up again and it has completely failed to do so I get only the gray apple screen, have I completely lost everything?
 
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As far as I know, the genius bar will help since you have Apple care, but if you want them to replace anything it will cost because the physical damage will be considered "user" damage.
 
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Sounds like your hard drive has broken, as expected. You said you attached your external drive, how many of your files were you able to transfer? If the hard drive has been properly broken it'll be expensive recovering files, you'd likely need to pay someone to search it using some fancy technology. You could always try removing the hard drive, attaching it as an external to a different computer, then browsing through it. That way any other damage to your laptop won't get in the way.

Sorry to hear that it happened though! You'd probably be able to get some help at an apple store, they'd know a lot more than I do.

Do you do back ups? This is why it's good to do back ups, especially when your laptop is your main computer.
 
I plan on going tomorrow then

this is a disaster, I havent backed up since december, I know its a bad habit not doing it monthly, my taxes and other important documents were there and thats my main concern, I could only copy 5 files, I will have meet up with the geniuses tomorrow then im completely worried it will cost me a lot of money,

my other problem is im new to this country and city and dont know where to find a place were they can look through my memory and recover my files, fml
 
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Well

the screen is a bit out, but I can seem to get it to place it back without having to open the whole piece

ill try to take pictures, but im in my old laptop which has no camera and Im having technical difficulties with my camera too, this has been the worst week with technology for me
 
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Check out the term Data Recovery Services in both your local area and online. You'd probably do better via an online located service, as they're easier to research, and are more likely to have things like disk manufacturer and ISO certifications. Also look for any customer reviews you can find.

A local shop is more likely to have significant limitations as to what they can do, and much less likely to have any certifications/partner relationships with drive makers (i.e. software based only; not swap out drive controller boards = need identical drive models in stock or pull the platters and do a deep scan = forensic recovery in the most difficult cases that the certified companies can).

Please understand, that no recovery service is 100% effective all the time (you can get missing or corrupted files), but it's better than no files at all when they're critical.

Unfortunately, Data Recovery Services are not cheap ($2k+ per disk isn't unheard of). It may not be that much (lots of dependencies on the specific methods they need to use as well as the amount of data), so get a quote before you panic. ;)

Examples:
Kroll Ontrack
SalvageData
Data Recovery Services

Hope this helps. :)
 
Sounds very much like the impact has likely damaged the HD. If the HD is damaged, as it sounds like, then your only real recourse is to get a new one. Pop a new drive in and it should be good as new… minus the dent.

As for recovering your files the real question is how critical were they? You can try connecting your current drive as an external drive once you get a new HD setup and copy any special files back over. If the drive is damaged then booting and running an OS off it will be difficult at least. Best solution is to connect it to another computer and try to get the files off that way. If you still cannot recover the data off your current disk then you pretty much would need to send it to a disk recovery specialist, but be warned this is often VERY expensive depending upon the type of data.

There is one final trick you can try, but be warned it can damage your disk further. Take the drive and put it in a ziplock bag (try to get as much air out of it as you can) and stick it in the freezer for a couple hours. In some limited situations it can make enough of a difference to allow you to at least recover some data. Again, this can also further damage the drive if you are not careful. Do so with trepidation.

But yeah, it sounds like the drive was damaged. If you want to ensure this doesn't happen again… get an SSD. I would be surprised if any "Genius" is going to be of much more help than the above suggestions. However, from what you describe it sounds like a new HD should take care of all your issues. The best thing is HD's are super cheap these days
 
hope u can see them

DSC08605.jpg

DSC08603.jpg


Moomba said:
As for recovering your files the real question is how critical were they?
Click to expand...
taxes, projects and official documents I really need them, I mean I can fill my taxes again, and I got some backup of the official documents but everything else is much a goner if i dont get it back, fml really:(

Moomba said:
Best solution is to connect it to another computer and try to get the files off that way. If you still cannot recover the data off your current disk then you pretty much would need to send it to a disk recovery specialist, but be warned this is often VERY expensive depending upon the type of data.
Click to expand...

can it be done from laptop to laptop that is all i got at the moment
 
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applestressed said:
now I tried powering it up again and it has completely failed to do so I get only the gray apple screen, have I completely lost everything?
Click to expand...

There are professional services that can recover files from burned laptops, drowned laptops, etc. I don't think your damages are anywhere near as severe. You can try to either take it to GeekSquad or one of these services where they can recover your files and put it on a DVD for you. As for your laptop, you must decide if you want to get it fixed or replaced.

Perhaps a Time Capsule, Dropbox or similar solution for the future may not be a bad idea.
 
did exactly the same thing but the HDD seemed to stay in place. Open it up and make sure all your connections are good. Replace the HDD now with a new one and then get an enclosure for the old one to see if you can get the files off yourself. If they are critical, and i mean worth $3-500, there are recovery services that will take the platters out and used sophisticated techniques to get the data off.

I guess you have learned your lesson re: Time Machine.
 
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