need data recovery advise- mac

[mopinko]

ok, i have already been flogged. i know, i know. but my hard drive on my mac book crashed, and the apple guys couldn't copy stuff off. no back up. i have a gizmo that i can plug it in as an external drive. so, i have 2 big questions-

first- would it do me any good to put leapard/time machine on the new drive to begin with? would it help at all to put files back where they need to go? (gonna get it anyway.) or is os x gonna be able to find things and put them back? ie- old email, contacts, font book, programs?

second- i have my contacts and tunes on my iphone that i could restore if this fails. i am just afraid that it might decide to sync in the wrong direction, and leave me with nothing. would it do this, or would it know to sync from the place with all the data? it does the push/fetch thing now. i am sort of afraid to turn the computer on. who knows how they talk to each other with all this wireless shit.

thanks in advance and please give this a kick.

[hobbit709]

1. Any data that was on the old drive is in never never land

You're going to have to get a new drive and install the OS and all applications from scratch.

[mopinko]

3. drive has been replaced, os is fine.

apple took care of that part. i don't mind reinstalling software. have the disks for all that. just a lot of work on there that i really hope i can get back.
if i can't get a last gasp out of it, i will have to send it out to be copied. no way i can walk away from the work on that disk.

[hobbit709]

5. That won't come cheap!

The data can be recovered but It will cost you an arm and a leg.

[mopinko]

8. I know

I have too much work on there, tho. another reminder to take myself more seriously.

[NYC_SKP]

2. You need a mac genius...

That's a person at an apple store at the service counter.

If you're not too far away from one, set up an appointment, it's by far the best way to solve problems, with a real person and you and your hardware on the counter doing it in real time.

If you are not near an Apple Store, call one and ask for real person genius help over the phone.

That's the best I can do for ya, good luck!

[mopinko]

4. i have a one to one membership

and procare. they took a walk on this, tho. said it was dead and hopeless. i will get right on the phone if i can get it to breathe at all. probably wont even try for a few days, as i assume they will be swamped with x-mas problems. i am near 2 stores, and they will not have service tomorrow, as they expect to be trampled with day after bargain hunters.

[Pierre.Suave]

6. SO, the old drive with all your work on it

is already out of the computer?

Do you have an external enclosure for it so you can plug it into the computer?

If you have done this already, does it spin up?

FYI, mac os will not automatically pull data off of this drive, it is more involved than that.

and, I am sure you have heard this a billion times by now, but BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP.

Harddrives FAIL.

[mopinko]

7. yes, dead drive is out

have the thingy to hook it up, but have not tried it yet. wanted to be ready first.
if I can drag of the doc file, I will be pretty happy. old email is next. fonts would be good, but have most of them elsewhere.

and, yeah I know, I know. I think I will get leapord. tempted to spring for the wireless back up drive. I'm sure it is cheaper than what I am about to spring for. will definitely spring if I get out of this unscathed.
I have been down this road before, but DH always rescues me. spoiled I am.

[Pierre.Suave]

9. hook it up

it wont break anything, and then you will know if it spins, or if it will even mount.

then go from there.

you do not need leopard to backup, here is a free backup tool

http://www.grapefruit.ch/iBackup/

I use this exclusively on all my computers, also, you can plug the backup drive right into the computer, or if you have a server attach the drive to that as NAS and back up to it without time machine. There are ways to do this by sharing a drive over the network too if you have another computer.

Wireless backups with Time Machine dont always work yet and are wonky anyway.

[mopinko]

10. i just figure it has only so many spins left in it.

plus i would rather wonder at least until it isn't christmas anymore.
i do have a LAN, and other computers, but i am the only mac, (although we gave the youngest a used laptop for christmas.) fine to just park some files, but not so fine to back up the whole hard drive. it's a laptop, which makes a tethered back up a little difficult, tho not impossible.
i am kinda wonky for an old lady. but the price on those drives is pretty spendy.

[Pierre.Suave]

11. getting a drive that plugs right into your mac

is the cheapest, and easiest, option.

[mopinko]

12. well, i hooked it up

it spins, it makes the sad little noise that it made before it died, but my mac can't see it, DH's computer can't see it either.
sigh. hoping that my photographer friend whose images i was holding can get her hubby to take a look at it. he worked for mac medic for a while, but he has another job now, something better, but i don't know what it is.

at least i have a reason to be happy that i own an iphone- lots of stuff was on that phone. got all that back. something anyway. just had to call india to reinstall my photoshop and indesign.

oh, well. i'll keep trying.