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New HD.. What to get?

S

superman4388

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 7, 2006
35
0
Pretty sure my hard drive is shot.. or so an expert tells me..
I have an invalid B-tree file.. and when i boot up with the install disk, it doesn't read my hard drive at all..

when i go to disk utility though, it shows that my hard drive is there but it will not repair..

I was thinking about throwing down the $100 to get disk warrior, but i dont really want to get it and find out that my hard drive is shot too..

Would it be smarter to just get a new HD? or try disk warrior?

Also what should i get? i had a 160GB before and that was fine..

And where should i get it?

Thanks for any insights
 
First of all keep in mind that a b-tree problem indicates corruption of the disk's directory structure and is seldom a hardware problem. It can be the result of something as simple as having to "force shut down" your computer with the the power button when it is totally hung.

No, disk utility will normally NOT repair a b-tree error, so do not be surprised by that result.

Now keep in mind that I am a DW fan- so read this with an eye to that for fairness OK?

Over the years I have had several instances of B-tree errors, all of which have been successfully recovered using Disk Warrior. I work on a lot of Macs and consider it one of several essential software tools myself. I am surprised the expert did not have it available before making a diagnosis that the hard drive is shot.

My feeling would be that you should get a copy of the latest DW first. You will have it on hand for quick future use should it be needed- and it is a whole lot cheaper than replacing your hard drive whenever there is a directory error! ;-)

NOW- all that being said, since chances are it is just a software/directory error keep in mind that you DO have the option of doing a clean install of the OS free (which will reformat the drive and take care of directory errors) but that may or may not be attractive depending on what is on your drive. Since you can see your drive in Disk Utility you should be able to start up your machine in Target Disk Mode and backup some if not all of your user data off it if you have another Mac or you know someone that will let you use theirs.

If you choose to get a new hard drive, try the selector at OWC since I don't know what model Mac you have-- http://eshop.macsales.com/
 
If you end up getting the new drive, get a Segate or Samsung.

No Western Digital any more. Most others are fine.
 
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