NH Web Design Blog

I sat at the Apple Genius Bar on Friday the 13th wanting to scream.

It was really bad news for my iMac.

The Apple Genius said hello. She looked friendly in her royal blue t-shirt and seemed knowledgeable. I needed hands-on technical support for my Macintosh computer and I needed it right away. But when she said the words ‘hard drive failure,’ I began to tense up. How could it be?

Click of Death

My last hard drive failure was only two years ago and it went like this:

• The computer was acting weird.
• Programs kept freezing up.
• It acted like it was possessed.
• It was behaving this way for weeks.

This hard drive failure went like this:

• It was hard to start the computer again after an improper shut down.
• It only happened yesterday.
• I heard a clicking sound when it finally started up.
• Soon I couldn’t start it at all.

Unfortunately, I had one of the most common signs of hard drive failure this time. It was the infamous ‘Click of Death.‘

The friendly Apple Genius got out her diagnostic tools and then gave me even more devastating news. “No files could be detected. I’m sorry.” It was like getting a horrible medical diagnosis. I shut down. I could see her face and watch her mouth move, but it was like watching a silent movie.

External Hard Drives

I was trying to remember what I had backed up and what I had lost. I knew I had my important web design folders on my Iomega Ego Portable Hard Drive, but I hadn’t figured out the Lacie external hard drive that I had brought with me to the bar. I was supposed to be backing up files on that. I shook my head knowing that it was empty. The room began to look fuzzy. My head was spinning. Luckily, I was not alone at the Genius Bar. My husband began to get more involved in the discussion.

The Apple Genius began to direct her conversation towards him and would give me a sympathetic glance anytime I had the nerve to look up at her. I don’t know what she was saying, but it was comforting anyway. She gave my husband instructions on how to use the Lacie external hard drive and began filling out paperwork to order a new hard drive for my Mac. Fortunately, it was covered under the warranty. Before we left, she also gave us a data rescue kit to try at home while we waited for the hard drive to come in. It might be able to recover files, she said, but reminded us that there were no guarantees.

Emergency Hard Drive Recovery Kit

When my husband put the Prosoft Emergency Hard Drive Recovery kit into the computer, it could not successfully recover any files either. But as he ejected the DVD, all of a sudden I could see my username and password box come up on the screen. My computer was suddenly working!

I began giving ‘high fives’ to everyone around me.

Then I poured a glass of wine and got to work backing up all the important folders to my Iomega eGo Hard Drive (my favorite) and my Lacie hard drive.

After I was done, I stared lovingly at my computer desktop in all its glory, knowing that it could all disappear again at any moment.

Upgrade to Mac OS X Leopard

When I return to the Apple Genius Bar, I will be having my iMac upgraded to Mac OS X Leopard which includes Time Machine.

Time Machine backs up your system files, applications, accounts, preferences, music, photos, movies, and documents. It is an automatic backup built right into Mac OS X Leopard. It sounds like a great solution. Even though my mac may still crash at any moment, I still love it more than the pc sitting on the other side of the room.

I also appreciate the Apple Genius Bar and the Apple Genius who tried to console me. I’m sure she sees people like me every day. We probably all have that same pathetic expression on our faces when we get the bad news.