dear god my macbook pro is effed!

[lmelanie]

ok here is the deal...I am reluctant to bring my computer to apple because i have no more applecare and my warranty has expired..everytime that happens the answer always becomes.."oh, looks like you are going to have to get a new computer"..

i have had this computer since nov of 2006..its the 2.16 intel core duo..it has 2gb of ram...

until about 3 months ago it was working beautifully..then..it happened..i dont know if i contracted a virus (although unlikely) but now i cant hardly do anything...

everytime i open photoshop it crashes...i am able to work in it for a while but then if i try to scan film when the photo comes through and i try to save it, it crashes...

my hard drive is making that clicking noise and the beachball stays up for sometimes an hour and doesnt go away...i force shut down...

now i know people will say to back up my files and take it to apple..well..it now says that my hd can't be read or written to..which means my files cant be backed up anywhere!

and i have tried reinstalling everything..still nothing..

also my itunes takes at least 5 mins to start once i open the application and copying songs into my itunes also forces this clicking for at least 15 mins....

this is ridiculous..

i cant afford a new computer right now..but i at least need my files off this one!

please help!

 

[JNB]

No virus, but from your description the HDD is toast (or very soon to be). If it lives that long, get a copy of SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner and back up the drive and replace it to a new one. SD & CCC make fully bootable clones and restoration is painless.

From the sound of it though, even though you need a new drive, you may have managed to proceed beyond the point of self-recovery. There are professional recovery services, by that'll cost you as much as a new MBP or more.

If you have no backups, I'm sure this will reinforce the need for them in the future.