No hard drives listed in Disk Utility

[scissorband]

My MBP apparently rebooted itself while I was sleeping (I had left it on; no sleep or hibernate or anything) and I thought this was weird so I signed in and thought I'd reboot it again for some reason...

Anyway, from this point on I got up to the gray apple logo and the spinning circle but after leaving it on for about an hour it just stayed that way.

I tried repairing it through single mode or whatever with fsck -fy and after that it didn't do anything still.

With verbose mode it kept saying something like disk0s2 not there or whatever.

I booted with the SL install DVD and when I went to reinstall, in Disk Utility there is nothing except just the DVD.

Does this mean I have to buy a new hard drive? I've never had a hard drive fail on me before and I have several dozen HDDs from over 10 years ago that still run fine...this is my first Apple product I've purchased and already there is a failed hard drive when any other computer I had bought worked well for 5+ years without an issue until I upgraded to a better computer...I probably won't purchase from Apple again but before I give up is there anything I can do with this MBP to make it work? If there is nothing I can do I will probably just rip it open and try to transfer over my work files but if the hard drive is completely dead I will definitely be too upset to buy anything from Apple again.

 

[Kyzelios]

It does sound as if the hard disk has failed in your computer. Do you hear any odd clicking noises or anything like that coming from your computer around the palm rest area?

Also, how old is your MacBook Pro and do you have AppleCare? If your computer is still under warranty I'd recommend contacting Apple or visiting an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider in your area to see about getting the hard disk replaced. There have been some reported cases where even if you're out of warranty they'll replace your hard disk to get you back up and running.

 

[scissorband]

It does sound as if the hard disk has failed in your computer. Do you hear any odd clicking noises or anything like that coming from your computer around the palm rest area?

Also, how old is your MacBook Pro and do you have AppleCare? If your computer is still under warranty I'd recommend contacting Apple or visiting an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider in your area to see about getting the hard disk replaced. There have been some reported cases where even if you're out of warranty they'll replace your hard disk to get you back up and running.

There's no clicking noises or anything. If I leave it on too long when it freezes (with the gray apple logo and spinning circle) the fan will start to run, but other than that it is pretty much silent unless I am running the DVD in which case I hear the DVD running. Nothing remotely close to 'clicking'.

The MBP is a late 2009 model I believe. I don't have AppleCare. At this point it's not really about replacing the disk, I want the information I had on it back if I cannot salvage anything else

 

[Kyzelios]

There's no clicking noises or anything. If I leave it on too long when it freezes (with the gray apple logo and spinning circle) the fan will start to run, but other than that it is pretty much silent unless I am running the DVD in which case I hear the DVD running. Nothing remotely close to 'clicking'.

The MBP is a late 2009 model I believe. I don't have AppleCare. At this point it's not really about replacing the disk, I want the information I had on it back if I cannot salvage anything else

You could try reseating the connector to the hard disk to see if maybe there's a loose connection there. Just disconnect and reconnect the connector for the hard drive The instructions to getting to the hard disk in your computer can be found in the manual that came with your computer under a section titled "Replacing the Hard Disk Drive". This link will take you to the manual for the Mid 2009 15-inch MacBook Pro.

Failing that, I'd recommend dropping into an Apple Store or Service Provider who would be able to determine exactly what the issue is and whether or not your data will be recoverable.

Best of luck and have a great day.