[SOLVED] Student in Desperate Need of MacBook Air help

[Jillby]

I am a college student - have been working on a research paper for the past week that is worth 30% of my grade. So I am freaking a little and would very much appreciate any guidance. Kicking my #$%@ because I didn't back up on a jump drive, but I didn't. Now my hard drive appears to be failing. I have created a url for what is showing on my computer:




I have a 1TB Portable External Hard Drive for Mac USB 3.0 coming today and I am hoping someone can tell me how to retrieve my file from my computer using the external hard drive.

I seriously am a literally broke college student so if someone could be kind and help I would be seriously so grateful.

 

[Jillby]

I can't tell if the URL for what I posted is showing so I am posting it again:

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/7831/UD7e8S.jpg

 

[Cowboy303]

I'm not sure what the official method of recovery is, so hopefully someone else can comment on that. But what I've done in the past is download the Linux Ubuntu ISO, load it onto a USB flashdrive (using ISOtoUSB software), the plug the flashdrive into the dead computer and boot into linux off the thumb drive. Note, you are not installing linux, you are simply starting up running linux off the thumb drive, no modifications will be made to your computer. Once started, try to access your failing hard drive to see what data you can get off of it, and then copy it to your external hard drive.

Best of luck!

 

[Jillby]

Thanks so much Cowboy. I have the Linux downloaded on a USB. I know this is going to sound like a stupid question, but how do I boot into Linux?

 

[Jillby]

I feel like I didn't say thank you enough Cowboy. I really, really do appreciate it. My grade and my scholarship depend on retrieving this file.

 

[Cowboy303]

If the ISO file has been put onto the USB drive correctly. Then shut down the computer, plug the USB drive in, then start up the computer and hold down 'alt/options' key, you should see the USB stick as an option, select it and then you should be asked whether you want to install it or preview it, pick preview.

 

[McHenryB]

Don't try to use Linux to access your disk!!! Even if you manage to get it to run on your Mac (unlikely) you will almost certainly corrupt your hard disk further.

Click on "Verify Disk" and then follow any instructions to repair your disk.