MBP crashes, internal harddrive refuses to mount — options?

[muffinman]

I apologize in advance for asking a question that I am sure has been asked before. The search engine seems to be down.

I have a 2008 Macbook Pro (first generation aluminum unibody) running Lion. It has worked well for the past 4 years but in the past year or so, I have noticed it slowing down and going to sleep randomly if not plugged in, regardless of the amount of charge left in the battery.

The other day, I took my chances and unplugged it from the adaptor and carried it over to my friend. After setting the computer down, the screen went black and I assumed it went to sleep b/c of the lack of external power.

It would not respond to the usual open/close screen and I held down the power button. When I turned it on, it turned on but had a screen with four options: disk utility, look up the problem in safari, back up, or reinstall the OS.

I went through disk utility and the internal hard drive was not mounted and would not mount. When I selected "repair disk," it said that it was corrupt and that I should restore it from a backup.

I have no backups (I know, I know).

Is there any way for me to pull data from my computer if the internal hard drive refuses to mount and it says that it is corrupt (would putting the computer in target disk mode work?)? Is this a physical hard drive problem in which I am screwed? What options do I have?

Thank you all in advance.

 

[spork183]

Target firewire might work. You could also pull the drive, pop it into a case and plug it into another puter to see if it mounts. That would eliminate any questions about processor, bus, ram, gpu, etc. it would also make it easy to run Disk Warrior or something similar.

 

[bobcan]

Hmmmm.. Hopefully __

I have no backups (I know, I know).

Well, given NO Backup at all, I do hope there is NO 'absolutely necessary' Data there..

That being said, as noted above, removing the HD and putting it into a USB Powered Enclosure would be a good start.. You never know if it is the Drive or other component until you try that.. and then Disc Warrior..

Good Luck!!

 

[muffinman]

Well, given NO Backup at all, I do hope there is NO 'absolutely necessary' Data there..

That being said, as noted above, removing the HD and putting it into a USB Powered Enclosure would be a good start.. You never know if it is the Drive or other component until you try that.. and then Disc Warrior..

Good Luck!!

Would this be something that the Apple Store could/would do?

 

[bobcan]

I would believe that they should be capable of that.. I am QUITE certain that my local store (which is NOT an Apple Store, but a Registered Retailer w/ Authorized Service Centre ~ Mid-West Canada) would do that for sure..

As always, a quick 5 minute phone call to your 'neighborhood store' should get you a decent answer.. I'd ask for the Service Manager and describe exactly what you can as simply as possible.. It MAY be a set of symptoms that a good experienced tech has seen before and recognizes even.. Good Luck!!