Looking for someone to help resurrect a water damaged computer from 2010

December 19, 2017 2:33 PM

I have a real jacked up laptop (MacBook Pro, 13-inch, Mid 2010) that might have some tantalizing information on it It is a rough , but I need to be able to boot the computer up - it won't suffice to just get the files off of it. I am curious if there is someone in the NYC area that might be able to help me to get this thing up and running even if for a short time. Thank you.
posted by to sir with millipedes to Technology (7 answers total)

You want these people. They are literal wizards, and fast, and kind, and give free estimates, and I vouch for them.
posted by halation at 2:45 PM on December 19, 2017 [4 favorites]

I can't speak for the people halation mentioned above, but I will note that the Genius Bar had no problem fixing my water-damaged machine that was identical to yours. It's a little spendy though.
posted by General Malaise at 2:48 PM on December 19, 2017

Actually, looking at eBay, there's some identical machines going for just north of $200, which may be cheaper than a repair. I know you said that it's necessary to get that particular machine up, but if you swap the hard drives, it should boot just the same. Just throwing that out as an option.
posted by General Malaise at 2:51 PM on December 19, 2017 [2 favorites]

If it's not the files that are important, what is important about that particular machine that precisely it needs to be fixed? There are likely to be replacement parts used in a fix which might invalidate your plan.
posted by TheAdamist at 2:54 PM on December 19, 2017 [2 favorites]

If you place the MBP's hard drive into a cheap external enclosure, you can then target boot any Mac younger than the OS currently on the broken computer via target boot.

Hold down the 'option' key while the Mac is powering on and the external drive is connected, and then select that drive to continue booting the computer. You will then boot into the exact user environment you had on the MBP.

If the old MBP can power on far enough to be put into target disk mode itself, you can actually use it as the external HD from which to boot the other computer.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 2:59 PM on December 19, 2017 [3 favorites]

Pantalones has it. You're lucky in some respects that it's a hard drive, as those are easier to remove and can be hooked up to a cheap cable to boot from. You'll need some screwdrivers that you almost certainly don't have lying around the house, but this page explains the process with pictures and links to the necessary tools. If money was no object, you would just send it to the best restoration place instead of trying to boot it, because in theory you could damage the drive by using it, but if it were me I'd first try target disk mode, then remove the disk and try to boot from it. If that doesn't work, then yes, you're looking at $$$ for a specialty place that, frankly, has you over a barrel, not that it's not worth it.
posted by wnissen at 3:47 PM on December 19, 2017

Is there a specific reason you need to boot the machine, such as a Firmware Password? That will complicate things. Otherwise, Pantalones is correct about sledding the drive.
posted by bluloo at 3:55 PM on December 19, 2017