# My Mac Just Died **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 19, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515 "2008-06-19T20:44:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/1 "2008-06-19T20:44:01Z")
And on it are many of the documents I need for my son’s upcoming Bar Mitzvah (as in this Saturday). Most are printed out, but we were getting ready to print the place cards and it just died. Grey screen. Won’t boot beyond the Apple insignia. In the process of re-entering data into my other computer. Extended family is on route to my house for dinner and I am not pleased. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/2 "2008-06-19T20:46:55Z")
[Man, that sucks!](http://blogs.indiewire.com/swestphal-solary/archives/mac%20v%20pc.jpg) I hope everything gets straightened out in time for the big day. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/3 "2008-06-19T20:52:19Z")
You sure it’s DEAD dead? Maybe the system just went corrupt, or something similar. Have you tried inserting your installer disc, and booting up while holding down the C key (or is it the C and D keys?)? That should force it to boot up from the disc. From there you should be able to open Disk Utility from one of the top menus and run some repairs, or at least be able to recover the data from your HD. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/4 "2008-06-19T20:53:54Z")
[QUOTE=cmyk] You sure it’s DEAD dead? Maybe the system just went corrupt, or something similar. Have you tried inserting your installer disc, and booting up while holding down the C key (or is it the C and D keys?)? That should force it to boot up from the disc. From there you should be able to open Disk Utility from one of the top menus and run some repairs, or at least be able to recover the data from your HD. [/QUOTE] We’re doing the disk utility right now-- good advice! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/5 "2008-06-19T20:58:41Z")
OK. First: **Don’t Panic!** Do you have a friend with a Mac laptop? Get them to come over and mount your machine using “FireWire target mode.” You will most likely be able to recover all of your documents that way. Once you have your documents back, you can go ahead and try standard recovery techniques (Disk Warrior, re-install, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/6 "2008-06-19T21:02:33Z")
Update: The disk utility (repair) said: invalid sibling link underlying task reported failure on exit Any words of wisdom? ETA: No friends that can come over tonight- it’s good idea for next week to begin recovery. We have four computers in this house but only ONE hooked up to the printer. The MAC. Arrgh. So after we redo the data we have to get it hooked up to the printer. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/7 "2008-06-19T21:04:10Z")
Yes. Disk Warrior, but try the FireWire trick first, if possible. If DW fails, there’s always DataRescue. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/8 "2008-06-19T21:11:13Z")
No idea what that means, ITD. Did you try repairing, then? No luck? Maybe try a fresh install of the system. I have $10 that says it’ll do the trick. Just do an Archive and Install… Also, [here’s](http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661) how to use Target Mode. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/9 "2008-06-19T21:16:18Z")
It wouldn’t let me repair… bastard. 🙂 HOw do I do an archive if I can’t get it to boot? I just found out that my stepson is coming with his Macbook tonight! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/10 "2008-06-19T21:25:19Z")
Dude, Macs suck. You should totally switch to Windows… _d&r_ ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/11 "2008-06-19T21:27:01Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Dude, Macs suck. You should totally switch to Windows… _d&r_ [/QUOTE] You wear your user name well… 🙂 (I kid, I kid) ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/12 "2008-06-19T21:27:47Z")
[QUOTE=cmyk] Also, [here’s](http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661) how to use Target Mode. [/QUOTE] Let me just bookmark that for when I finally get around to moving everything off my old eMac onto my new iMac. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/13 "2008-06-19T22:01:09Z")
[QUOTE=IvoryTowerDenizen] It wouldn’t let me repair… bastard. 🙂 HOw do I do an archive if I can’t get it to boot? I just found out that my stepson is coming with his Macbook tonight! [/QUOTE] All you need to do is boot up from your installation disc, and begin a new install. At some point during the beginning of the process, it’ll give you a few options (such as, Clean Install). Make sure you select “Archive and Install”. What this will do, is archive your old system, and move over all your prefs, bookmarks, email accounts, apps, documents folder and such, and put it into a fresh, new system folder. I’d give it a shot. Good luck! Let us know how it all pans out. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/14 "2008-06-19T22:02:27Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Let me just bookmark that for when I finally get around to moving everything off my old eMac onto my new iMac. [/QUOTE] When you buy a new Mac, and turn it on for the first time, it asks you if there’s an older computer you want to move the data from. If you say yes, you hook up a firewire cable, and it works its magic. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/15 "2008-06-19T23:29:11Z")
Yeah, but I didn’t actually own a firewire cable the first time I turned on the new Mac. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/16 "2008-06-19T23:37:35Z")
First, try the easiest thing. Boot up holding the Apple and the ‘S’ key. Then type /sbin/fsck -fy Repeat until it doesn’t find any errors. Type reboot. More than half the time that does the trick. -NurseCarmen Systems Administrator University of Minnesota Supercomputing Institute. (Anyone who tells you to dump the mac doesn’t understand the power of Unix.) ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/17 "2008-06-20T00:40:20Z")
So it doesen’t “Just work” :dubious: That said, find a mac tech, they will probably be able to pull your drives and offload them in a jiffy. Might set you pack a couple hundred they might be able to fix your existing machine so you don’t need to do any kind of trick recovery work. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/18 "2008-06-20T01:07:05Z")
[QUOTE=drachillix] So it doesen’t “Just work” :dubious: That said, find a mac tech, they will probably be able to pull your drives and offload them in a jiffy. Might set you pack a couple hundred they might be able to fix your existing machine so you don’t need to do any kind of trick recovery work. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that will probably be the plan. Right now the utility disk is in the drive but we get an error when it tries to fix anything. I can’t seem to bypass it or get it to eject. ☹ That being said, as an owner of 2 PC laptops and my Mac, I still love my Mac best. I just want it to get better! **Nurse Carmen** - I tried your trick, but I can’t get it to not reboot off the utility disk, which doesn’t work, so I’m kinda in a loop. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/19 "2008-06-20T01:45:12Z")
[QUOTE=IvoryTowerDenizen] Yeah, that will probably be the plan. Right now the utility disk is in the drive but we get an error when it tries to fix anything. I can’t seem to bypass it or get it to eject. ☹ That being said, as an owner of 2 PC laptops and my Mac, I still love my Mac best. I just want it to get better! **Nurse Carmen** - I tried your trick, but I can’t get it to not reboot off the utility disk, which doesn’t work, so I’m kinda in a loop. [/QUOTE] Ejecting a disk at startup; when you hear the startup chime, hold down the mouse button until the disc ejects It sounds to me like a corrupted system on the hard drive, as reccomended above, boot off your original install disc (or the current install disc if you’ve updated to a newer Mac OS) by holding down the letter “C” at boot, if this does not work, reboot the machine, and hold down the “Option” key to get to the boot manager, click on the icon for the installer disc then click the arrow to proceed booring off this disc when you arrive at the installer screen, select the main language, and on the next screen, click the “Options” button in the lower left of the window, select the "Archive and Install option, and the “save original items” option, then proceed with the reinstall if you want to save some space on the hard drive, on the next screen, click the “custom install” button, and de-select the language packages and extra fonts, that prevents the installer from installing the international language packs, click the triangle next to “Printer Drivers” and de-select the printer manufacturers you don’t use then proceed with the reinstall, good luck, it should work fine ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515/20 "2008-06-20T02:37:25Z")
**MacTech** , I respect your opinion because I know you are a mac geek. But I still think an fsck is the best option here, only because I’ve seen it work several times. If he ejects the disk and boots into single user, he will boot directly into the kernal, and I have found that with THIS particular issue (gray screen reaches the darker gray apple, then goes no further) the fsck then a reboot works incredibly well. In fact, when I first got here, a satellite office of the IT department here at the U was running a craptacular Webstar server on a G4 running 10.4, and this exact issue was happening over and over, and all we did was boot to single user, fsck it, and reboot. Worked like a charm every single time. Eventually, once he gets past the mitzvah, he can fix it right, but for now, he just wants to get up and running. And I think for that, skip the CD and go to the kernal. If that doesn’t work, then use the CD. (well, if you want to be specific, DVD) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mac-just-died/453515.md?page=2)