retrieve data from MBP HD to iMac

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Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hi all,



Had tea spilled into my MBP from behind. Despite my best efforts to dry and taking it immediately into the Apple store for an "emergency" ingression, I was given it back with the condolences of the store staff...



Basically Hard drive intact, battery intact, DVD drive intact, but what matters most, the Motherboard, has clear sign of coming into contact with the liquid.



I extracted the HD from the MBP and using a Woxter i-Case 25 have connected the MBP HD to my iMac by USB.



Problem #1

Obviously, cannot read the HD in the way it was read by the MBP.

Specifically I want to get to /Users/[username]/Pictures/iPhoto Library as I need to make sure the files are intact and transfer them over to the iMac.



However, connecting the MBP HD to the iMac and opening the Finder from iMac, I can get to /Users/[username]/ but it appears empty!



Is there a trick that I am missing to being able to view the data/file/folders on the profile that was active in the MBP?



I think I had activated, but subsequently de-activated, the File Vault a while back. Is that perhaps why I cannot see through it? How do I get it to allow me the security questions if that is still active?



By the way, there is a 'Deleted Users' folder with an old profile I had created on the MBP, which I can access completely, but it is old and not the one I need access to. I think that profile was deleted/replaced before I switched on the file vault function.



Problem #2



How do I salvage the most out of the MBP? It is the latest model, purchased July 2010. Everyone says to throw it away, but I think that is simply stupid, as it has perfectly good components and it would be irresponsible not to see thoroughly what can be done with it. Could it be recovered?



When put together, pushing the start button, lights up the power LED, but then produces a rather loud 'beep' sound from the left rear side, and the screen does not come on. To stop the sound I have to hold the power button down firm for a while.





At any rate, does anyone know if there is an easy solution to any of the above?



Best

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 2
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    You should be able to boot your iMac from the external drive. Plug in the USB drive, then restart your Mac and as soon as you hear the "startup bong", press and hold the "option"/"alt" button. A list of bootable drives should appear, including the external USB. Click on the external USB drive.



    If it boots OK and everything seems to be there, your problem is probably related to File Vault. However, you now will be able to copy everything over to your internal HDD by drag and drop or using something like Carbon Copy Cloner (although if you use the latter be *very* careful with its settings so as not to wipe your internal drive!)



    In terms of salvaging your MBP hardware, you could either buy a new motherboard from eBay or iFixit, or you could sell the machine (clearly marked as faulty and without HDD etc. in the listing) on eBay - someone will buy it.
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  • Reply 2 of 2
    Did you try booting from the HD like what Mr.H suggests? This will boot your iMac to exactly your MBP. I'm not sure why your user folder is missing but you can try a recovery program to retrieve your files?



    As for the old MBP, if you know it's the logic board that's broken, you can get just get a replacement for that. I'm not sure exactly which one you have but here's a sample from iFixit:



    http://www.ifixit.com/MacBook-Parts/...oard/IF187-003



    They also post instructions on how to replace it.
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