Help me hide my files from Apple Care Staff!

[Mac-Addict]

My Macbook Pro is going into an Apple Store for a repair after my sound card is really screwy and I have some important files (trust me there not illegal just important) I dont have anyway of backing them up as they are big and it would take ages, Is there a way I can just hide a folder?

 

[WillJS]

you could do the whole encryted partition thing.

 

[iBookG4user]

What you could do is create another account for the people at AppleCare to use and password protect the one with the files that you don't want them to see.

 

[iMeowbot]

If you don't back up your files, there's no guarantee that they will still be there after service. Find a way to save them before you send the machine out.

 

[xUKHCx]

What you could do is create another account for the people at AppleCare to use and password protect the one with the files that you don't want them to see.

IIRC correctly in the past when i have had mine in they required an admin username and password, which means simply password protecting your account would be simply overcome. The best way would be to put them in an encryted disk image

If you don't back up your files, there's no guarantee that they will still be there after service. Find a way to save them before you send the machine out.

Totally agree, i always make a full backup before sending it in. There have been reports of people losing all of their data. Please backup your stuff.

 

[killerrobot]

You're sending a computer into Applecare without backing up your files?????

You need to get an external and move your files to that. I don't know how many forums I've read where computers get sent in, and come back with the drives reformated and the user's info lost and the original problem was never fixed.
I know it's for the sound card, you know its for the sound card, but I guarantee you'll tell that to Apple and they'll erase your hard drive. If you they are so important you can't loose them, back them up.

 

[MacsRgr8]

....and I have some important files (trust me there not illegal just important) I dont have anyway of backing them up as they are big and it would take ages....

How much will it cost you if those files were lost?
I think most would agree with me that if files are very important: ALWAYS back 'em up!!!
Get some external FW HD, that would probably be the fastest and cheapest way.

Trust me, Murphy is always around..... you just don't want to hear that while reparing your sound card, they accidentally, brutally dropped your MacBook Pro out of the window on the 128th floor. "So some damage to your HD was reported".
Please, please... always make a backup. Especially if you're sending it away!!

 

[Macky-Mac]

it's utter crazy foolishness to send a computer in for repairs without having backed up all of your data


actually, it's utter crazy foolishness just to have "important" files without having a back up

 

[sfisher]

Agreed on hiding / backing up data. Once my iBook went in for logic board repair and came back with a smaller hard drive (which they then fixed, but I never got my original hard drive back). Fortunately I had backups. You could always burn the data to CD or DVD so you don't have to buy an external HDD. An external drive would probably be faster though.

You could also try FileVault and then set up another administrator account on the machine for AppleCare. As long as they don't have the FileVault master password or your password, they shouldn't be able to get into it.

Creating an encrypted disk image is another option - then you just copy the files into it and lock it up with a password you don't give them.

 

[CanadaRAM]

External 320 Gb - 500 Gb drive = $150

Clone the drive to the external. Erase and install the internal if you're really worried about privacy, intellectual property or state secrets.

Your data that was lost when Apple reformatted your hard drive = $priceless

Your lost hours of sleep worrying because you got back a whole new machine or hard drive, and you know your old drive is gonna go into someone else's refurb purchase = irreplaceable.

 

[maccam]

Buy a cheap 1GB flash-drive