White MacBook Dead - Transferring Data?

[YoMigs]

Hello,
I have a dead White MacBook (model: A1342) from a few years ago. One day, it just died on me and I never took it for repair. When I went to the Apple Store a few years later to see about getting it back up & running, they told me that since it was so old, they no longer worked on the white MacBook’s. I have reached out to several repair shops, and I keep getting not-so-hopeful responses.

I just need to get the pictures, videos, files, etc.., from the notebook. What do I need to do? Repair shops are trying to charge me $150 - JUST to open the MacBook to see what the issue is! I currently have a Windows PC. Is there any way to get the data onto the PC, or even a new MacBook? It doesn’t even charge anymore. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best!

 

[sublunar]

The hard drive should be user removable. I believe you have a late 2009 model. If you can get it out then putting it into an external USB 3 case should be easy.

 

[YoMigs]

The hard drive should be user removable. I believe you have a late 2009 model. If you can get it out then putting it into an external USB 3 case should be easy.

Thanks for your time & reply. Can you give me a little more info, and an affordable “External USB 3” case? Would I just unscrew the bottom portion of the MacBook and take the drive out, then put that drive in the external USB and plug that into my PC?

 

[Mike Boreham]

Thanks for your time & reply. Can you give me a little more info, and an affordable “External USB 3” case? Would I just unscrew the bottom portion of the MacBook and take the drive out, then put that drive in the external USB and plug that into my PC?

That's basically right but not sure whether all PCs will recognise a hard drive formatted for Mac without some third party software (eg by Paragon) but you could plug the external into another Mac and have direct access.

 

[YoMigs]

That's basically right but not sure whether all PCs will recognise a hard drive formatted for Mac without some third party software (eg by Paragon) but you could plug the external into another Mac and have direct access.

Thank you. What kind of external hard drive do I need exactly? I got confused when sublunar said 3. If possible, please link me to an affordable option.

Best.

 

[donny0603]

Thank you. What kind of eternal hard drive do I need exactly? I got confused when sublunar said 3. If possible, please link me to an affordable option.

Best.

You should be able to Google removing the hard drive from your MacBook. Once you've done that, Google connecting a Mac hard drive to Windows. You should be able to get all the information needed by using information readily available online. It's a relatively simple process if you've done it before and a relatively easy process to learn about. Trust me, I'm no genius <sheepish grin>.

 

[BrianBaughn]

The easiest thing to connect a bare, 2.5" hard drive via USB is something like this.

 

[sublunar]

The easiest thing to connect a bare, 2.5" hard drive via USB is something like this.

That looks a decent solution. There's no guarantee that the hard drive will be operational so no point in spending too much money on an enclosure. Ideally you'd need to find another Mac to connect it to.

 

[YoMigs]

Thank you for all of your replies! I have ordered the external USB from Amazon, and I hope to get my files back.

Best!
[doublepost=1523352103][/doublepost]Whoops! One more question: What would be my best option to do with the dead MacBook after I successfully (hopefully) get my files back? Is there anyone, or any website that would by it for parts and/or the unibody? Is it worth getting it fixed?

 

[Guy Clark]

Follow this iFixit tutorial to remove the Hard Drive

MacBook Unibody Model A1342 Hard Drive Replacement
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Unibody+Model+A1342+Hard+Drive+Replacement/1670

 

[gnasher729]

Thanks for your time & reply. Can you give me a little more info, and an affordable “External USB 3” case? Would I just unscrew the bottom portion of the MacBook and take the drive out, then put that drive in the external USB and plug that into my PC?

Entering "External USB 3 case" in Amazon's site finds quite a few under £10.

Yes, you just take the drive out, check carefully what it was connected to, and the external drive should have the same connector. Then plug it into someone's Mac - a PC most likely doesn't know how to read it.