[hmccorkle]

Hey all, I have a 13" Core 2 Duo MacBook with 1GB RAM and an 80GB hard drive (I believe), and I dropped it yesterday. No, it wasn't the power cord; it was actually on a drafting table on top of a 36" ruler, metal side up, and it just slid off the edge and fell flat on its top.

After I was done freaking out in disbelief, I plugged the poor guy into the wall and powered him up. The white booting screen came up, then the , then the spinning gear. It sits at the spinning gear for 10 minutes, then proceeds to a light blue screen, where I presume it spends its time processing the automatic login. About 5 minutes later, it takes me to the desktop, where things get weird:

BTW, I'm running 10.5.5:
• The dock loads, but hovering over the icons doesn't yield a floating title.
• The menu bar takes 2 minutes to appear.
• My usual desktop icons never appear, after an hour.
• Clicking on Safari puts the icon in the "clicked" state, but never the "unclicked" state, and never loads.

Here are my thoughts:
• Since the hard drive is the most likely piece of hardware in the machine that would be affected by a three foot drop, I would assume that it is busted.
• However, the MacBook -is- loading things stored on my hard drive, like the wallpaper on the desktop, so I don't think the hard drive is the issue.
• Perhaps one or two of the two 512MB sticks of RAM was jerked out of place, and now the machine is running at half speed, or no speed at all.

Has this happened to you or anyone you know?

[OreoCookie]

Sounds like your harddrive is dead. Fortunately, it's user-replaceable and (compared to the rest of the machine) cheap. Do not clone a broken harddrive! Copy your user data and settings by hand.

It doesn't hurt to double check whether the RAM modules are seated properly, takes about 1 or 2 minutes.

PS Unfortunately your sig is too large. Can you resize it to 200x50 px? Thanks

[analogika]

Yes, your hard drive is borked.

Often, it will be the spindle or bearing that gets busted loose, meaning the motor no longer has proper "grip", and it takes ages to read anything from the disk.

[hmccorkle]

Aha okay, that explains it all. I really appreciate the help.

I'm going to start Googling for a new MB hard drives... any sites you'd recommend? I also found a YouTube video by MacWorld on how to remove the hard drive and check the RAM... no sweat on that.

Also, as far as replacement is concerned, exactly how small of a Phillips-head screw driver will I need?

Thank you for your input. Signature fixed.

[hmccorkle]

Anyone?

[Cold Warrior]

newegg is good for computer stuff

[hmccorkle]

Alright, what about the size of the screwdriver? The screws are pretty small.

[OreoCookie]

You need a Philips #0 and a Torx T6 or T8 screwdriver (I've heard conflicting stories here, some claim you don't need a Torx screwdriver at all). Just get a set of computer screwdrivers for $10, the set should contain all you need. Do not try to use anything but a Torx screwdriver for Torx screws.

You can find a video guide on YouTube.

[hmccorkle]

Thank you for the great reply. MacNN forums are a wonderful resource.

[analogika]

It's a T8.

It's only necessary for unscrewing the hard drive from the carrier plate, whose *sole* purpose, AFAICS, is having the little plastic tab stuck to it that allows you to pull the hard drive out of the socket. The hard drive will fit without it, but you'll have much more fun trying to get it out again, later, so I recommend getting that torx driver.

[hmccorkle]

Okay great. I have everything I need. Thanks a bunch guys.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by analogika 

Often, it will be the spindle or bearing that gets busted loose, meaning the motor no longer has proper "grip", and it takes ages to read anything from the disk.

Where'd you hear that gem?

Have you ever seen a hard disk with motor problems? I have. You get nothing until the disk has reached full operating speed.

Slow disk access is a result of repeated read attempts. Those are normally the result of failed sectors, but if the drive's been dropped, it's not the motor that's gonna get damaged. The motor's components are (comparatively) large and sturdy. The head assembly, on the other hand, is exceedingly delicate. The head itself, or the wires that connect it, could have been damaged in the shock.

And as for not cloning a damaged disk... I would. I'd first see if I can clone it off, THEN migrate from the copy to a new HD with fresh OS install.

[hmccorkle]

Well, I already ordered a new one... not sure how exactly I would clone the old hard drive. I'm going to assume everything lost and back up next time.

[tooki]

Leave the dying drive inside the machine for the moment and put the new drive in a FireWire or USB housing (or use one of those USB drive adapters) as the destination. Once complete, put the new drive in the machine.

[hmccorkle]

Anything I have to do to make the MacBook realize that I want to clone the broken drive?

[hmccorkle]

Success. Replacement worked; I'm all back to normal now. Thank you guys for your help.