Greyed out HD in Disk Utility (HELP!)

[VanDamage]

So my drive is on it's way out and I'm trying to salvage what I can before I'm ready to buy a new one. I'm trying to save some $$$ instead of sending in the drive to a data recovery service. Is it possible to mount the problem drive once I have another computer connected and be able to pull off info that way? If not what are some of my other options. I have already been to the Apple geniuses and they couldn't help me outside of just ordering me a new drive. So any helpful knowledge would be great.

Thanks in advance,
-V

 

[benwiggy]

If you have two Macs with FireWire, then you can run the problem Mac in Target Disk mode, where it acts entirely like an external drive. Hold T and boot up.
I believe Thunderbolt may offer the same feature. Alternatively, take the drive out and put it in an external case.

I have to say it: you should EXPECT drives to fail, and be prepared for it. That's why you need a good backup of all your files.

 

[VanDamage]

If you have two Macs with FireWire, then you can run the problem Mac in Target Disk mode, where it acts entirely like an external drive. Hold T and boot up.
I believe Thunderbolt may offer the same feature. Alternatively, take the drive out and put it in an external case.

I have to say it: you should EXPECT drives to fail, and be prepared for it. That's why you need a good backup of all your files.

When I connect the two computers and run disk utility. It just sits there trying to gather information on the drives and does nothing. Do you really think I would have much better results if I took out the drive and put it in a SATA docking station?

 

[benwiggy]

Do you really think I would have much better results if I took out the drive and put it in a SATA docking station?

From the sound of it: no, not really.

If the drive just isn't showing up, then it's beyond what Disk Utility can do. There are other disk recovery software programs that you could try, though they cost money.
Disk Warrior and Data Rescue III are the usual choices. The latter is probably better for very dead drives.

 

[VanDamage]

From the sound of it: no, not really.

If the drive just isn't showing up, then it's beyond what Disk Utility can do. There are other disk recovery software programs that you could try, though they cost money.
Disk Warrior and Data Rescue III are the usual choices. The latter is probably better for very dead drives.

How would I use the DR3 program? Would I just run it from another computer while having the problem computer connected by firewire?

 

[Macman45]

How would I use the DR3 program? Would I just run it from another computer while having the problem computer connected by firewire?

You'd run it on the dud, but to be honest, it sounds a dead duck...Disk Warrior used to have a trial version, but i don't know if they still do that...either way it's a darn site cheaper than data recovery folks who really will charge you $$$