2007 Macbook pro harddrive won't boot at start-up

[DerrickSw]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum so I hope this is the right place to post this kind of question.

My wife's 2007 Macbook Pro running 10.4 will no longer boot from the harddrive. I attempted an install of snow leopard and changed the boot from the harddrive to the install disk. The install didn't work because it was a disk from my new MB Pro, but when I went to boot from the harddrive again it would get to the screen with the apple logo then just turn off.

If I hold down option during start it detects the harddrive and I can select it, but it still just turns off. I ran disk utility and tried a repair, but that failed. When checking the block count for file temp File1.tmp, Temp File 2.tmp and Temp File.tmp it says the block count is 0. It tells me the index key is invalid and it cannot repair the harddrive.

I have no back-up of the computer and have files I need off of it.

Does anyone know how I can retrieve files from the Harddrive?
and
What can I do to repair harddrive?

Thanks so much!

 

[Hellhammer]

http://guides.macrumors.com/Mac_doesn't_boot

You could try booting into Target Disk Mode and then copy the files to your MBP's HD. Another option is to get an external enclosure, put the drive in it and then copy the files.

 

[DerrickSw]

Before I go out and buy a case or firewire cable..would that work if the disk won't mount in the first place?

Right now I'm creating a bootable version of my working MBP on an external to be able to work on the one with a problem. Would this be any different than the other options?

Also are there any programs anyone recommends to recover files from a harddrive?

 

[Hellhammer]

Before I go out and buy a case or firewire cable..would that work if the disk won't mount in the first place?

Right now I'm creating a bootable version of my working MBP on an external to be able to work on the one with a problem. Would this be any different than the other options?

Also are there any programs anyone recommends to recover files from a harddrive?

Yeah, that will work too. Clone the HD or at least her user folder with CCC for example to the external drive. Then you can follow the steps in the link I posted above. It may be a corrupted system file but it's better to backup first because a reinstall may destroy data or make it harder to recover.