Data Recovery

Xith

So firstly, my MacBook's something-ma-bobby-insidey-parts broke and it wouldn't boot up a while back, so after a genius appointment I discovered I'd need to ship that out and get the insidey-chippety-stuff replaced for like $310.

The main problem is that because I couldn't start the computer up, there was no way to back up my data without pulling the internal hard drive out. So I'm really not a hardware person, but I did it anyway and read up on the process, basically get an adapter and plug the internal (200 GB) and an external (500 GB) up to some other computer and transfer all the files like they were on USB drives (cause essentially they are).

But all the stuff that should work isn't. The internal won't mount properly and therefore "can't be read" by my friend's Mac. So I intend to troubleshoot a bit more with high-high-up tech support first, and if that fails, go back to the professional data recovery route, which is flapping expensive.

So I was referred to Drive Savers, the #1 name in the business, which is why Apple endorses their service.

And on my estimate form, I listed 'Mudlet contents' as the top priority. (Yes, above the $2000 in purchased music)

So after I had a quote, I called to inquire further and the guy asked, "Mudlet contents?"
I said, "Yeah, Mudlet is a game client for a text-based game that I did a bunch of Lua work in."

"Ahhh, the ole MUDs!" he remarked, with a jocular amount of computer nerd.

"Yep."

Nonetheless, he says the actual end price of recovery is based on the complexity and success of the recovery. I assured him that it's probably a simple issue. Logical error with reading the device and not any actual lost data. And he says if everything is recovered, the total will be at the higher end of their $700-2700 range because of the success. I'm like 'yeah but no complexity' and he's like 'yeah but you could ship it for a free evaluation' and I'm like 'how bout just quote it lower cause I won't pay that much'. Eh.

So just posting here cause I thought you people would appreciate that. And does anybody have advice that doesn't involve self termination? (I've only started using the forums because I can't play)

Nizaris

@Xith: Used to be Geek Squad (yes, I know, we're evil), but in my experience, that price is about par for the course for that service.

Multiple, and off-site backups.

Cooper

Solution: don't buy a mac.

When my 7 year old laptop finally died, all I had to do was rip the hard drive out (45 seconds), remove the e-sata cord from my CD drive in my desktop (6 seconds), attach it to my hard drive (3 seconds), and then click on my new hard drive desktop and get all the files I needed. Took 3 minutes from start to finish.

Crathen

Pro contribution, Marty. Now get in that DeLorean and make a difference.

Xith

Cooper said:

Solution: don't buy a mac.

When my 7 year old laptop finally died, all I had to do was rip the hard drive out (45 seconds), remove the e-sata cord from my CD drive in my desktop (6 seconds), attach it to my hard drive (3 seconds), and then click on my new hard drive desktop and get all the files I needed. Took 3 minutes from start to finish.

Actually the part they believe went bad is one that I believe was comped by nvidia until earlier this year because it was a common fault.

As for the hard drive, that's how it's supposed to work, but it's having a problem reading the drive, which would/could happen with either Mac or PC.

In hindsight, I know I should have had a Time Machine or other form of backup, but here we are.

Cooper

I was just making fun of Macs and how outrageously expensive it is to fix them and buy them.

I really can't believe how pricey it is to recover data, though.

Xith

They are the priciest. But they also recover from drives that have been damaged in floods, fires, and other traumatic stuff. Which is why it irritates me that something that feels to me like probably a very point + click kind of solution would cost in the upper range despite its simplicity.

Antonius

If you haven't already get quotes from other data recovery firms. If you believe it's likely to be pretty trivial (i.e. there's not anything wrong with the drive itself) then you don't need the company that's the best in the business to do it for you.

If they're endorsed by Apple and they're #1 in the data recovery business then you're probably paying a premium for the brand name. The good news is you bought a Mac so you're already used to doing that.

Jonathin

I tried to take the disc out of a HDD and transplant it into another enclosure at my old school. I do not suggest this extreme method because as far as I know, DIY disk transplants do not work, learned from experience.

Mannimar

I could easily do this with any computer except a Mac (only because I've never tried). I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Apple pulled some BS along the lines of your hard-drive only works with the computer it was bought for because serial number 'x' has to match up to item number 'y'. (Vadi does something similar to insure his systems are only used on intended characters. Microsoft does this with their cd drives in their Xboxs.)

I'm positive there is a way around it, but it may require some special equipment or a little bit of ingenuity. Other than that guess, I'd say this thread should be moved to tech support.

Nemutaur

Mannimar said:

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Apple pulled some BS along the lines of your hard-drive only works with the computer it was bought for because serial number 'x' has to match up to item number 'y'. (Vadi does something similar to insure his systems are only used on intended characters. Microsoft does this with their cd drives in their Xboxs.)

I'm positive there is a way around it, but it may require some special equipment or a little bit of ingenuity. Other than that guess, I'd say this thread should be moved to tech support.

There's no such 'locking' of the harddrive to a Mac, I've been able to open my macbook and back up data to my Windows PC using HFSExplorer and then formatting the drive and using it as my new TimeMachine disk by putting it in a USB enclosure.

Mannimar

@NemutaurI see! I've never had to do this with a Mac, so I was just making a guess. Now I know for when my friends finally have an issue. 

Xith

It could probably be formatted for PC, but as a mac-formatted drive, it can't talk to PCs.

And due to the partnership, Drive Savers did say that because AppleCare referred me I get 10% off, so you know, only like $2430. But yeah, won't be going that route without first trying simpler means and continuing to troubleshoot.

I don't think this drive issue is the reason it wasn't booting up, because the first time it happened, I was able to boot it up again in safe mode before (insert problem here) failed completely. The cost for the other issue was $500 in store and $300 to ship it out for repair. I wouldn't call that bad after 4 years on a ~$2400 machine. But I can't be swayed from Macs because for the first 18 years of my life I was on PCs, where I learned that the only thing more annoying than a virus is the antivirus software.

Operation on OS X is just so clean, user-friendly, and error-free that sometimes I forget it's still a computer. But it's not the latest model either, so now I have a reminder of that. :P

Xith

Mannimar said:

@NemutaurI see! I've never had to do this with a Mac, so I was just making a guess. Now I know for when my friends finally have an issue. 

Apologies for doubles here, but just a public service announcement: TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO KEEP THINGS BACKED UP.

Honestly the only reason I'm bothering is because it's highly recommended to back up before factory repairs of course, and I am sure as hell not taking chances.

Mannimar

Xith said:

Mannimar said:

@NemutaurI see! I've never had to do this with a Mac, so I was just making a guess. Now I know for when my friends finally have an issue. 

Apologies for doubles here, but just a public service announcement: TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO KEEP THINGS BACKED UP.

Honestly the only reason I'm bothering is because it's highly recommended to back up before factory repairs of course, and I am sure as hell not taking chances.

They think I'm crazy when I tell them things break... Sooo maybe one day they'll listen.