Problem with my Time Machines Backup hard disk

LeoDaVinci — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:25:25 +0800

After performing the Quicktime update this morning and restart my Macbook, I realized that my Time Machines Backup hard disk can no longer be detected in Finder, which also means that I can't backup now.
I tried to repair it in Disk Utility but it says I can't repair it and I have to reformat it.

Darn. I really don't feel like going through the process of backing up my existing files in other place then reformat my external hard disk. If that's the case what's the point of using Time Machines?

Does anyone know what happen to my ext hard disk? I didn't do anything to it. But somehow now it can only be read (cannot write).

It's a WD 160GB portable harddisk.

My HDD is clicking...

LeoDaVinci — Fri, 02 May 2008 09:33:58 +0800

My Macbook's HDD is producing this clicking sound when I want to access certain files sometimes. Is that a sign it is going to die soon? It fell down from my table while I was surfing the net few weeks ago. The problem only arises after that incident.

I tried to search for the videos of clicking HDD in Youtube but the clicking sound produced by those dying HDD is quite different from mine. The one which indicates HDD failure is slow clicking sound but mine is rather fast, which is like 3 or 4 clicks per second. And whenever it clicks the whole machine will just freeze. I get so fed up last night so I reformat the whole system but the problem still persists while I tried to restore my iTunes library from my Time Machine external HD.

My question is whether this is a sign that the HDD is dying and slowly corrupting my data? Is there a way to curb this problem? I tried to diagnose the HDD using Disk Utility and OnyX but it turned out to be ok. So what's the underlying problem? Is this problem under warranty?

Thanks.

*this problem is driving me mad as I have final exam on Monday wth*

Macbook: Keyboard freezing with Leopard

LeoDaVinci — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 14:14:43 +0800

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Some users of Apple's Intel-based portables are reporting that their keyboards are periodically seizing up during use, especially after upgrading to Mac OS X Leopard.

Numerous posts in Apple's support forums for the MacBook and MacBook Pro, as well as AppleInsider's own forum, attest to the glitch. By most indications, the flaw effectively shuts down the keyboard at unpredictable intervals until either resolved on its own or else by restarting or waking the system. The trackpad and external keyboards continue to function normally, according to the claims.

More drastic steps such as resetting the PRAM on the system fail to return the keyboard to life, system owners say. The flaw also appears to plague Intel-based portables regardless of their age, as reports demonstrate the lockups occurring with original MacBooks from mid-2006, MacBook Pros, as well as the new MacBooks introduced early this month .

Third-party software is also being dismissed as the culprit by owners of the Mac notebooks, as systems with different combinations of third-party software and even untouched installations reportedly suffer from the problem.

In nearly all cases, the root cause appears to be Mac OS X Leopard, whether preloaded with a new system or installed afterwards on an existing computer. The freezes may not begin immediately, but sometimes pick up in frequency over time and are not affected by the 10.5.1 software patch or similar updates.

"This problem has only occurred with Leopard," one user at Apple's forum says. "Everything has been fine for the last 6 months on Tiger."

No readily identifiable fixes or specific errors have been found, although some report success by forcing Finder to quit and relaunch. One user also notes that his internal keyboard disappears from the USB device list of Apple's System Profiler utility when unresponsive.

Apple is not known to have characterized the random freezing as a widespread issue and is so far attributing the flaw to hardware, offering to replace keyboards for at least some users who contact technical support. And to date, those customers aware of the apparent connection have been unable to persuade the Mac maker's representatives that a common link exists.

"I took my MacBook into the Apple Store today," notes one MacBook owner. "I told [Apple's Geniuses] about this thread and they basically dismissed the idea that it could have something to do with Leopard. [...] I think it's strange that they don't even want to listen to any ideas."

Source:Macbook, MacBook Pro owners suffer keyboard freezing with Leopard

My newly-purchased MB faced the same problem last night. It simply didn't give any response when I pressed it. I have to wait for a while before it became responsive again. I wonder what's wrong with it? Is that because of Leopard?

My Macbook also hang quite a few times already. Sometimes the temperature will soar up to 78C suddenly although I didn't open any programme that will take up a lot of memory. From the memory status bar in iStatPro, I noticed that my MB was in a very busy mode. The point is I just run NeoOffice, Safari, Mail and Preview. That's all! I thought these are just some normal programmes that don't require much memory? But of course I believe this is just a rare case because it happened once or twice only. I mentioned this because I think Leopard is still not stable. In fact, the chances of experiencing softwares hang are so high that I am beginning to doubt the validity of our common understanding that Mac OS X is stable...

By the way, my MB temperature will go as high as 80C whenever I open Youtube in full screen mode. Even if I open it in normal frame, the temperature is still substantially higher, which is around 69-75C. I wonder this is something normal?

Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by LeoDaVinci

Problem with my Time Machines Backup hard disk

My HDD is clicking...

Macbook: Keyboard freezing with Leopard