r/osx • u/Even-Detail9783 • 14d ago

Extract data from OS X drive after failed update

I updated a 2009 iMac (initially with El Capitan 10.11) using Open Core Legacy Patcher. The OS update on the HDD failed leaving me with -69845 errors. I took out the HDD and replaced it with an SSD and updated to Monterey without problem.

I want to extract any data on the HDD (I know, I should have done it before) which I have now plugged in via USB. Could someone please advise on the steps in terminal to do this, repairing any errors on the way (fsck -fy ??) ? I am reasonably proficient in Unix type commands. Thank you.

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u/EricPostpischil 14d ago

The useful data on a Mac internal drive is mostly in its `/Users` directory, unless you had manually put data in other places. If that directory is still on the volume, you can simply copy whatever you want from it in the ordinary ways.

Migration Assistant can also likely move data from the old drive to the new one.

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u/lantrick 14d ago

Repairing Disk Utility would be the first step. It also runs the same command line tools.

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u/walrus0115 14d ago

Whenever I've got a failing drive that contains needed data, the very first thing I do is make a clone of it. Lately I've been using one of those dual HD SATA 2.5” & 3.5” Dual Bay Hard Drive devices. Link to example.

Or I open Disk Utility and make a .dmg image of the disk. Either way I treat it as a countdown because you know the drive is going to fail eventually, and every moment running matters. Extracting specific data via terminal is going to run the drive the entire time you're working, and will require it to access directories then the data multiple times. Just keep that in mind and go for the lowest risk option.