MBP won't turn on. How do I get my stuff off it?

[tru002]

I'm going to preface this by saying I'm technologically challenged. Please be kind.

My 2007 MBP won't boot up, or at least the screen won't turn on. The genius diagnosed it as an issue with the logic board. I'm not quite two months out of warranty, so it's $310 to fix -- but I spilled water on it three years ago, and if damage is detected, my repair options start to get pretty pricey. I'm now the proud owner of the base-model 13" MBP, which is great, though it hasn't been 24 hours yet.

I'm still planning to send the old MBP out to attempt the $310 repair, and we'll keep it as a backup if they'll fix it. However, I'd really like to get my data off the hard drive before I ship it out. I keep hoping it will magically boot up -- it's come back to life a couple of times since I started having this problem -- but I can't expect it to.

What is the easiest way to get my info off the hard drive so I can load everything onto my new MBP? I don't want to do anything more that would give Apple reason to say they can't do the repair. I know I should've backed up, but I didn't, and I can assure you I've learned my lesson ... the hard way.

 

[deeddawg]

Pull the drive out using instructions from someplace like ifixit.com

Put the drive in a cheap external enclosure from Newegg.com -- see here.

Plug into new computer and pull your data off it.

 

[shyam09]

Pull the drive out using instructions from someplace like ifixit.com

Put the drive in a cheap external enclosure from Newegg.com -- see here.

Plug into new computer and pull your data off it.

and this my friend is the only way to do it

unless of course your computer magically boots ups

 

[Freyqq]

you can try target disk mode...not sure if you'll be able to do it though b\c you can't boot

this is when you plug a firewire cord into both your computer and another computer and hold T during boot on the computer you want to transfer files from. This mode basically turns that computer into an external drive and the other computer can copy files off of it.

 

[nateo200]

you can try target disk mode...not sure if you'll be able to do it though b\c you can't boot

this is when you plug a firewire cord into both your computer and another computer and hold T during boot on the computer you want to transfer files from. This mode basically turns that computer into an external drive and the other computer can copy files off of it.

I would give that a try before before ordering the enclosure...though the enclosure works nicely. One of my old laptops completely crashed and failed and I did the enclosure thing and transfered the new stuff over. I actually reused the old drive to transfer stuff to my new MBP and it worked like a charm.

 

[deeddawg]

FWIW, I thought about suggesting target disk mode -- but with a potentially flaky logic board, if I were in the OP's shoes I'd be particularly nervous about data integrity of the stuff I copied over from the disk.

If OP has no cheap local source for a 2.5" SATA drive enclosure (last one I bought was ~$7 from Microcenter nearby) and has to wait for mailorder, then perhaps try target disk mode.

 

[tru002]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Honestly, I wouldn't attempt to remove the hard drive by myself; I'm not kidding when I say my relationship with technology is touchy at best. I got a quote for data recovery from a friend of a friend, and it was $200, which is just more than I'm looking to pay right now. I ended up wussing out and getting One to One at the Apple store. The data transfer is free with that, and then I'll have a year's worth of lessons to improve my skills. Plus, it's an excuse to hang out at the Apple store, though that's potentially dangerous for my bank account.

 

[tru002]

OK, new question: If a friend offers to remove the hard drive, hook it up to his computer and pull the data off manually, is that a good option? Granted, I already paid for the One to One deal ... and I'm concerned that if Apple detects someone else has been in there, they won't do the logic board repair.

So do I just suck it up and wait till Friday and give my computers to Apple for them to do the transfer over the weekend, or do I let my friend pull the data and do the transfer myself?

And can I return the One to One if I already activated it but didn't use it? Probably not.

 

[StopSign24]

Taking it to your friend would be just as effective as taking it to One-on-One. If your friend is willing to put it into his computer for free, I would definitely take the offer.

The process is pretty simple:
1. Remove HDD from your MBP
2. Plug HDD into friends computer (make sure it's turned off)
3. Turn on the computer, and you should see the hard drive as if it was another partition.
4. Copy files over to friends hard drive
5. Repeat with the new MBP except this time, take the data that is on your friends HDD, and put it on your new HDD

 

[mac8867]

One option, if you are uncomfortable taking out the hard drive yourself, take the old laptop back to the Mac store, where you just spent a lot of $$, and ask them to remove the drive for you. Heck, stop at best buy on the way and pick up an eternal HD enclosure and ask them to put it in there for you.... You could always ask (maybe call ahead)

 

[tru002]

One option, if you are uncomfortable taking out the hard drive yourself, take the old laptop back to the Mac store, where you just spent a lot of $$, and ask them to remove the drive for you. Heck, stop at best buy on the way and pick up an eternal HD enclosure and ask them to put it in there for you.... You could always ask (maybe call ahead)

This is how I ended up with the One to One membership -- they wouldn't deal with the hard drive or data without it. They won't refund me because I activated it -- trying to figure out what all I signed up for -- so I'll just let Apple have my computers for the weekend. They said they'll put all the data in the right place, which would be really helpful. I just don't want to give up my new toy for that long, which is why I'm being indecisive, but I suppose it'll be worth it.

And then I'll start backing up my new MBP ASAP. And learn my way around all the programs I don't know how to use. (I have an electronic drum set that I'm told HAS to be hooked up to GarageBand for additional awesomeness.)