[sielo_X]

My powerbook started acting up by freezing constantly and haveing very slow start ups. Sometimes taking 20 minutes. Then finally it completely stopped working. I took it to an Apple store and they said that it was a bad hard drive. All my data would be lost because I've been to lazy to back it up. So I dealt with it and sent it in to get a new hard drive. Then I get a call from Apple care saying that I have a requote for $1350 to fix my LCD screen and the bottom case. But the computer started up just fine when they tried it. So I told them that I can live with the defects and had my powerbook returned. I turned it on and my dock is full of question marks. Most of my software like Adobe CS, Firefox, AIM, and OS 9 is all gone. Several important folders with lots of pictures are also missing. Has anyone else had a problem like this before? Does anyone know how I can get it all back?

[ibook_steve]

Didn't you just say that they told you you would lose your data? Why are you surprised? I guess it is unclear from the message, but did you have them replace the hard drive or not? If they did replace the drive, you have to reinstall everything. If they didn't replace the drive, then I'd put that puppy in Target Disk Mode, get my stuff off of it, and get the drive replace as soon as possible.

Steve

[sielo_X]

Yes I was told that my hard drive was going to be replaced because it was defective. But the people that actually fix the computers told me that the hard drive was fine and the powerbook was operating normally. So why did it come back with half of my information missing? - Michael

[bighead]

If your hard drive is dying, and you haven't backed up recently, it is likely that it is intermittent. I've seen hard disks get through zeroing just fine and then fail days later. I had a Seagate 100 GB laptop drive make odd sounds that qualified for an RMA, even though there was no information loss. Not all hard disk failures manifest themselves in the same way, nor are they always consistent.

Be thankful that some of your data is recoverable. If you want more of it, I would suggest considering a data recovery company like OnTrack or Drivesavers. It'll cost you a lot, but that's the price you pay for not backing up on a regular basis.

[sielo_X]

I just find it very odd that all my third party software is gone. It feels like someone went through my applications folder and picked out everything not made by Apple.