Macbook Pro Operation!
Yesterday the unthinkable happened, my MacBook Pro wouldn't start. Instead of launching like normal I got the flashing folder of death. (Dear PC users, yes, my mac had a problem. It's my first one in three years. I would hear your Mac jokes but I can't over the sound of your daily vista frustrations.) Luckily I backed up the day before so I wasn't too worried.
After a little research I learned that the problem was the hard drive. At first I thought I'd have to drop a ton of dough on the Apple techs but then I found some courage deep within and decided to preform the operation myself. After a quick bite to eat and a run to Fry's I headed home to prep for surgery. I laid out the tools and attempted to reboot one last time. Much to my surprise it booted up fine! I couldn't believe it. But I wasn't in the clear yet. Turns out this is common with failing hard drives.
So today, as a preventative measure I decided to install the new upgraded hard drive. With special screwdriver in hand I cracked open the laptop and got to work. The entire surgery only lasted a half hour. I had a little problem booting up at first but after that it worked like a charm. I used Time Machine to restore all my data and about an hour later I was back in business. All the files, my background, my passwords, desktop items, notes on my sticky pads on my dashboard, everything was there! When I opened Firefox it even asked me if I wanted to restore my session! It was awesome. I had to run a serious update but other than that it went great. A hundred bucks well spent. If you aren't backing up with Time Machine I can't encourage it enough. It saved the day and made this horrible experience a quite pleasant one.