My Mac (2004 iMac)…
when I turn it on, the screen is blue, there’s a older icon in middle, with alternating finder face and a question mark. What does this mean? Am I boned? What do I do?
It never acted up before. A couple days ago, it was fine.
Update: I started the machine, using the startup disk. My hard drive isn’t showing up as an option on anything like disk utility, install, etc.
My hard drive is boned?
Thanks!
Sounds like you figured it out, but yeah. Classic symptoms of a boned hard drive.
You could try the old “put the drive in a zip-loc bag in the freezer for a few hours and then try it.” It sounds like voodoo, but it apparently works well enough to recover some data.
Ah, I was searching my limited knowledge, and I had a flashback to the episode of Modern Geek, wherein Juan recalled the freezer trick. How complicated is it, cracking open the machine and removing the drive? Easy enough if you read the diagrams and have the right screwdrivers?
Thanks much
The blinking icon on the screen means the mac is having a hard time finding system data to boot off of. So yes, it can’t see/read the drive.
This is a 2004 iMac, the lampshade one? It shouldn’t be too difficult. Easier than popping open one of the newer single panel machines. Here’s a video describing the whole process (I didn’t sit through it, so…)
Also, a guide
(If you hadn’t found them)
Be aware that the freezer trick is something to do as a “I hope I can get my data off of this drive before It completely dies” solution. This is not something that will magically fix the drive and let you keep running. You should get/borrow an external disc case, freeze the disc, and then copy the contents to another disc as the first thing you do. Treat the disc like nitro glycerine - could blow at any moment.
My suggestions for this kind of thing: