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My imac will not finish the bootup process. Its frozen on the apple logo. I tried disk utilities to repair the bootup problem, but am getting a message that the problem is unrepairable. Is there a way to retrieve my data from the imac? How do I proceed? what is my next step ? There are both Mac hd and also disk images showing on this imac.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
"There are both Mac hd and also disk images showing on this imac."
Showing where?
You can *try* Target Disk Mode:
Transfer files between two Mac computers using target disk mode - Apple Support
But if that does not work, you might have to pull the hard drive out of the computer and get an HD->USB interface.
I guess I should assume you have no backup...
Please tell us the model year and screen size and we can provide you with links that show how to disassemble the computer.
By the way it may be wise to take the computer to the local Apple Authorized Service Provider in your area to remove the drive. ALSO, if your wife is getting a new Mac DO NOT let her use it without a backup plan. All drives eventually fail which means operating ANY computer without a sound backup plan is a 100% guarantee of lost data. As I mentioned earlier, this has likely already happened 1x don't let it happen again. I suspect you are not familiar with Time Machine, if that is correct please read Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support
if you have a Time Machine backup of the computer which I am guessing you don’t then there is a very good chance you cannot retrieve your data. The reason I put it this way is your internal drive may have crashed which means the data is gone.
However to answer the question, remove the hard disk from the computer and then put it in an enclosure. Then attach the enclosure to another Mac and see if Finder can see the drive. If it can’t then copy and paste to your hearts content.
if you have a Time Machine backup of the computer then connect that Time Machine backup to the replacement Mac and use Migration Assistant to migrate data, apps and settings.
In any Apple Silicon Mac, or any Intel Mac with a T2 security chip, you can forget about retrieving data by pulling the encrypted internal SSD.
Most of the time with these Macs, the flash chips are soldered in, but even where the chips are on modules, they are raw flash modules (not standard SSDs) and there is the “little” problem of the encryption.
Which only underscores the need for proper backups.
Both the hd and the disk images are showing in the sidebar under disk utilities. No backup. Wife's computer. I have a usb enclosure if it comes to that. Never pulled a drive from an imac before.
I am Apple at my office and use Time Machine there. Thanks for the suggestions. Wife's machine is personal use only, but I would like to try to get her data backfor her if poss.
Thanks for the suggestion. Im going to try Target disk mode as a first step and see if there is access to copy her data onto a backup drive.
"Both the hd and the disk images are showing in the sidebar under disk utilities."
I assume in recovery mode?
Yes , in recovery mode.
Is there a way to recover data from unrepairable bootup on iMac?
