iMac crash/won't load OSX

[iMadMax]

Hi
I bought an 27" iMac in march last year:
•2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
•4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
•1TB Serial ATA Drive
•ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
•8x double-layer SuperDrive

Yesterday it started making noises(the harddrive I'm guessing), and finder among other programs stopped working. So I reboot and then OSX (10.6.8) won't load, all I get is the flashing question marked folder.

I checked online and it said something about holding down the option key during the startup. That doesn't do anything except the question mark folder doesn't show up, the only thing that does show up is the mouse arrow, nothing else. On the same web page it said something about holding down the C key, that however doesn't do anything, at all.

Slipped in the install dvd into the drive and tried running disk utility and repairing the harddrive, it only fails.

What do I do now???

 

[RedCroissant]

Hi
I bought an 27" iMac in march last year:
•2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
•4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
•1TB Serial ATA Drive
•ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
•8x double-layer SuperDrive

Yesterday it started making noises(the harddrive I'm guessing), and finder among other programs stopped working. So I reboot and then OSX (10.6.8) won't load, all I get is the flashing question marked folder.

I checked online and it said something about holding down the option key during the startup. That doesn't do anything except the question mark folder doesn't show up, the only thing that does show up is the mouse arrow, nothing else. On the same web page it said something about holding down the C key, that however doesn't do anything, at all.

Slipped in the install dvd into the drive and tried running disk utility and repairing the harddrive, it only fails.

What do I do now???

Do you have Apple Care on it? Try the disk utility route a couple of more times and see if anything changes. If not then you could always see if the OS will reinstall. If those methods don't work, then you'll need to get a new HDD. And since that HDD should not have failed within one year of purchase, maybe there's something you can do when you talk to Apple Care or someone at a retail store about it.

What machine are you using to get online?

 

[iMadMax]

Do you have Apple Care on it? Try the disk utility route a couple of more times and see if anything changes. If not then you could always see if the OS will reinstall. If those methods don't work, then you'll need to get a new HDD. And since that HDD should not have failed within one year of purchase, maybe there's something you can do when you talk to Apple Care or someone at a retail store about it.

What machine are you using to get online?

Thanks for the reply and um no idea. I ordered a 2 TB external harddrive which I'm waiting for in order to copy everything from the internal harddrive. Since I really can't risk losing anything. After that is done I thought I would format the HDD and then do a fresh install of OSX. It's been like 1 year and 4 months since I got the iMac, so...no warranty left

With my luck I will probably have to get a new internal harddrive for the iMac so I've checked videos and what-not about replacing the original one. And I thought upgrading the RAM was tough hahaha.
Would Western Digital Desktop Black 2TB - SATA 6Gb/s (SATA 3.0), 64MB Cache, 7200RPM, 3.5" be a good replacement? I read it might be a little noisy but I honestly don't care, I just really liked the whole 5 year warranty

Earlier I was using a random computer at work and now I'm using my (crappy) windows laptop.

 

[RedCroissant]

Thanks for the reply and um no idea. I ordered a 2 TB external harddrive which I'm waiting for in order to copy everything from the internal harddrive. Since I really can't risk losing anything. After that is done I thought I would format the HDD and then do a fresh install of OSX. It's been like 1 year and 4 months since I got the iMac, so...no warranty left

With my luck I will probably have to get a new internal harddrive for the iMac so I've checked videos and what-not about replacing the original one. And I thought upgrading the RAM was tough hahaha.
Would Western Digital Desktop Black 2TB - SATA 6Gb/s (SATA 3.0), 64MB Cache, 7200RPM, 3.5" be a good replacement? I read it might be a little noisy but I honestly don't care, I just really liked the whole 5 year warranty

Earlier I was using a random computer at work and now I'm using my (crappy) windows laptop.

The WD caviar black would be good and powerful, but the noise would bother me since I don't like the high-pitched whine of electronics and purposely buy stuff knowing what kind of noise it will make while in operation. It will also most likely run hotter than the drive you have now and might even cause it to fail faster. I would almost recommend getting a 2.5" 5400rpm drive if the capacity was high enough because you would get the same seek times as you would on a laptop(which are pretty good).

So I would recommend either the WD caviar blue(but the capacity is really limited) or the Seagate Barracuda. Mine is a 3TB version and it cost me $170. I then paid for geek squad($50) to replace the HDD and bought a docking station($50) to boot from the old drive and then clone it to the new HDD.

Oh, and next time, buy Apple Care. I almost didn't with my iMac, but when the HDD started failing, Apple Care covered everything and a certified apple tech came to my home and replaced the HDD in my kitchen. So it was absolutely worth it.

 

[blueroom]

Some credit cards offer an additional year of warranty.

How do you plan to recover your data, if you weren't backing up?

 

[goRoostr]

Some credit cards offer an additional year of warranty.

How do you plan to recover your data, if you weren't backing up?

Drivesavers.com is an option if the Hard Drive is dead...

 

[iMadMax]

So I would recommend either the WD caviar blue(but the capacity is really limited)

I found a 1 TB Caviar Blue for about half the price of the Black one which sounds pretty good to me.

Some credit cards offer an additional year of warranty.

How do you plan to recover your data, if you weren't backing up?

Cloning the HDD over to a 2 TB external drive using Restore in disc utility?
if that doesn't work... I guess I'll be buying Carbon Copy Cloner.

Drivesavers.com is an option if the Hard Drive is dead...

pretty sure it isn't dead... at least yet. It only made the "clicking noise of doom" for 20 or so minutes. Where as the last time one of my harddrives started breaking down I managed to use it for about a week before it died. Thanks for the link also, how much do they usually charge?