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Is there anything I need to do, excluding saving info, before I replace the hard drive on Mac Book Pro?

I tried to get rid of Mountain Lion using the wrong utility and now I can't un-mount, erase or re-format the pseudo disks I apparently created trying. Can't re-write the block on the disk. Can't change permissions because it's saying the disk has unrecognized file format and/or no files.

I wasn't able to use the recovery disc. I tried fsck and v-bros also. I was told there is nothing I can do to fix it, which is likely not true, but will take me a year to figure out how! A new hard drive was cheaper than Apple repair places around here which are also very limited.

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I have a tear down step-by-step instruction guide with pictures (bonus).

Anyone have any tips before I venture forward?

Alonso Aguirre
2013-02-22 05:37:56
That happens to me once what you could do is try to reinstall the operativ system, then before installing the O.S. go to the disk utility and select your HDD and then verify your disk, then repair the disk, or you can also verify disk permissions and later repair disks permissions. That restore your disk so your computer can detected it.
SAURAV AZAD
2013-01-17 07:13:45
refer to the apple support site and search for hdd replacement
laura mosher
2013-01-22 09:40:26
haha....that's a joke!
Jan Fritsch
2012-12-30 07:54:33
The most important information is the model of your MBP! You can get that by entering the serial number in the search field at the following page: http://support.apple.com/specsDepending on that you'll have to search the internet for information like searching for "(model) hard drive exchange". The models I've worked with in the past had a limitation of 9,5mm in height for the hard drive.As for the initial problem:1. boot from the installation DVD/media2. along the steps open up the Disk Utility3. select your hard drive and go into the Partition tab4. select 1 new partiton in the drop-down list5. click the options button and change the partition table to MBR6. format the drive* if that one worked7. back to step 3 but this time select GUID Partition TableAnother thing you can try is doing an ATA secure erase e.g. using Parted Magic.This will delete everything from the drive on controller level and is not effected by any damaged or defective partition information the drive.https://go.corsair.com/c/119570/490888/8513?subId1=UUmuoUeUpU79500&subId2=emuo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corsair.com%2Fapplicationnote%2Fsecure-erase
laura mosher
2013-01-22 09:24:48
I already tried that. diskutil made a pseudo copy partition of the install CD and made it 159.3GB of my 160GB drive. It's showing 3 disks mounted. None will unmount. Block one is readin 1 and should be < or some such thing. No file systems on the other (recovery) disk and I am assuming the third has something to do with the pseudo directory/library files. I tried so many times, I wore out my install CD.
Junil Maharjan
2012-12-30 05:46:56
compatibility
Giggity Goebbels
2012-12-30 00:35:05
Just plug in a new hard drive,preferably a ssd.it is faster and reliable especially intel ones.get a 330 or 520.
Paul Pruitt
2012-12-29 17:05:50
Be careful to keep your screws in a container as they are very small and will roll off your table or desk easily if you bump that desk or table. Then because the screws are so small it is hard to find them on the floor :-(.
Giggity Goebbels
2012-12-30 00:35:49
R U Serious?No one is dumb enough to loose the screws!
ha14
2012-12-29 07:15:08
Upgrade Your MacBook Pro's Hard Drivehttp://www.macinstruct.com/node/407Upgrade Your MacBook Pro’s Hard Drivehttp://www.extremetech.com/computing/58220-upgrade-your-macbook-pros-hard-drive-2How do you upgrade the hard drive in the "Mid-2009" through "Mid-2012" MacBook Pro models? What type of hard drive do these models support? Can one replace the hard drive with an SSD?http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/macbook-pro-unibody-faq/macbook-pro-13-15-17-mid-2009-how-to-upgrade-hard-drive-ssd.htmlHard drive upgrade macbook prohttps://discussions.apple.com/thread/4282557?start=0&tstart=0
laura mosher
2013-01-22 09:38:26
Thanks. I purchased a Western Digital 500GB.
susendeep dutta
2012-12-29 07:05:49
If you are to keep the old HDD,then you don't need to worry about the data present in it.If no,then if you are comfortable with booting via USB in your Macbook Pro,then use DBAN -http://www.ehow.com/how_8668190_use-dban-usb.htmlDBAN tool is used to completely wipe out any data present inside HDD and to make it clean.Besides instructions and pictures,a video tutorial is also helpful to replace your HDD -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHKUeRXDMic
laura mosher
2013-01-22 09:11:01
Hey..thanks.
Sashritha Peiris
2012-12-29 01:35:53
You could just remove your hard drive from your computer. Then put it in a drive holder.A drive holder or drive bay is a thing you put a hard drive in that you take out from a computer. make sure you buy a drive bay that has a usb output. research a bit about them. Then connect the drive to a different computer (Mac) and get your personla files from the hard drive and then reinstall mountain lion on the drive
laura mosher
2013-01-22 09:18:16
Thanks.