From: moonbug
To: stagecraftentertainment
Subject: Disaster StrikesVery, very bad news.
This morning, while checking her email, Gaby’s iMac suddenly froze and shut down. We’ve since tried everything we can to resuscitate the computer, to no avail. It appears the hard-disc is fried (no more than 9 months after we purchased the iMac no less!!). All of the high-res images were stored on her Mac, and of course we failed to make back-ups…
I’m calling Apple support on Monday – hopefully they will be able to restore the files from the hard-disc. If not, well, then we’ll just have to start from scratch, won’t we…Friday 13 indeed. :(
:(
Go to Prosoft’s website and purchase DataRescue II. Saved all but one of my project files when this happened to me. http://www.prosofteng.com
From what I understand, the Apple stores don’t do any file recovery.
Good luck. I feel for you.
Eric: thanks for the lead (and the empathy). Do you think DataRescue will be of use in a case such as this, where I cannot even access the hard disk? I’ve tried the install disk start up (command c), I’ve tried the firewire hookup with another mac (command t) and the bottom line is I just can’t see the disc…
look in your system documentation and reset the PMU (power management). Try holding down CMD+OPT+P+R and wait for the startup chime to ring 3 times. This nukes the pram back to defauts. Some settings may be lost doing either but just minro stuff (monitor brightness, volume, etc.)
Once more, technology has turned against mankind. There ought to be a system of punishment …
We won’t give you trouble though. Take your time.
Our thoughts are with you!
tom
Helpful FAQ.
Viar: wow, that looks complicated. I’m not at all comfortable with command line instructions, but I might give it a shot… thanks…
it looks like your blessed system file is corrupted.
boot off of your system cd (install disk).
put the disk in your drive, restart computer and hold down the “c” key while its starting up. you should be able to reinstall the system. i highly doubt your HD is fried (though possible).
or you could zap the p-ram as suggested above.
Thanks for the comment Kevin, but I’ve tried that already. Did the command c start-up, p-ram zap, connecting to a “healthy” mac via firewire — never got to see the hard disk, only its controller. It’s in repair with an Apple reseller now; luckily it’s still under guarantee (although I’ll be charged 50 euros for a data recovery attempt)…