'''Be careful here!''' Any action on the HDD could damage it more!
'''The first action is to remove it from your iMac and put in a new drive'''
Even that has its own issues! Sadly, this is an older system which will require a drive which can run at SATA II (3.0 Gb/s). Many HDD/SSD’s today are fixed SATA III (6.0 Gb/s) drives which can’t run at the slower SATA II I/O. Review the drives spec sheet to make sure it states it supports SATA II (3.0 Gb/s) as an example here are two
[https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/global.semi.static/Samsung_SSD_860_EVO_Data_Sheet_Rev1.pdf|Samsung 860 EVO 2.5” SSD] (you’ll need an adapter frame)
* [https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/global.semi.static/Samsung_SSD_860_EVO_Data_Sheet_Rev1.pdf|Samsung 860 EVO 2.5” SSD] (you’ll need an adapter frame)
Here’s the guide to put it in: [guide|9028]
Do make sure you transfer the thermal sensor to the new drive!
The highest OS release this series can support is El Capitan OS-X 10.11.6. Apple uses a certificate which can expire within the OS installer. Here’s a bit more on it: [https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/10/24/if-youve-got-an-old-macos-install-image-it-will-probably-stop-working-today|If you've got an old macOS install image, it will probably stop working today] So any installer you have most likely won’t work to even prep your new drive for your system. We either need to back date the system so it thinks its within the certificates window or use a updated installer
[image|2163146]
Then you can use the older installer, or just download this updated version [https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886|How to upgrade to OS X El Capitan] Jump down to Step 4, click on the Blue URL link ‘Download OS X El Capitan’. Follow this guide to create the needed bootable OS installer USB thumb drive [https://www.macworld.com/article/2981585/how-to-make-a-bootable-os-x-10-11-el-capitan-installer-drive.html|How to make a bootable OS X 10.11 El Capitan installer drive].
'''Now with a working iMac we can tackle recovering your files'''
Here we need a powered external HDD case to hold your drive or an adapter cable like [product|IF107-108] and we need a good file recovery program like [https://prosofteng.squarespace.com/mac-data-recovery|Prosoft - Data Rescue 5] unlike other tools this one will only read the drive and then save the recovered files to a second drive (here your new iMac’s drive)
I don’t recommend using any cloning tools as that could kill your drive as they are very intense in their efforts.
Your drive is in a delicate state as the BTree is corrupted which could be the start of a failing head or platter within the drive. You also don’t want to bounce the system (drive) around in this state! Be very gentle with it.
'''Be careful here!''' Any action on the HDD could damage it more!
'''The first action is to remove it from your iMac and put in a new drive'''
Even that has its own issues! Sadly, this is an older system which will require a drive which can run at SATA II (3.0 Gb/s). Many HDD/SSD’s today are fixed SATA III (6.0 Gb/s) drives which can’t run at the slower SATA II I/O. Review the drives spec sheet to make sure it states it supports SATA II (3.0 Gb/s) as an example here are two
[https://www.seagate.com/www-content/product-content/firecuda-family/firecuda/files/firecuda-ds-1903-1-1606us.pdf|Seagate FireCuda 3.5” HDD]
[https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/global.semi.static/Samsung_SSD_860_EVO_Data_Sheet_Rev1.pdf|Samsung 860 EVO 2.5” SSD] (you’ll need an adapter frame)
Here’s the guide to put it in: [guide|9028]
Do make sure you transfer the thermal sensor to the new drive!
The highest OS release this series can support is El Capitan OS-X 10.11.6. Apple uses a certificate which can expire within the OS installer. Here’s a bit more on it: [https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/10/24/if-youve-got-an-old-macos-install-image-it-will-probably-stop-working-today|If you've got an old macOS install image, it will probably stop working today] So any installer you have most likely won’t work to even prep your new drive for your system. We either need to back date the system so it thinks its within the certificates window or use a updated installer
[image|2163146]
Then you can use the older installer, or just download this updated version [https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886|How to upgrade to OS X El Capitan] Jump down to Step 4, click on the Blue URL link ‘Download OS X El Capitan’. Follow this guide to create the needed bootable OS installer USB thumb drive [https://www.macworld.com/article/2981585/how-to-make-a-bootable-os-x-10-11-el-capitan-installer-drive.html|How to make a bootable OS X 10.11 El Capitan installer drive].
'''Now with a working iMac we can tackle recovering your files'''
Here we need a powered external HDD case to hold your drive or an adapter cable like [product|IF107-108] and we need a good file recovery program like [https://prosofteng.squarespace.com/mac-data-recovery|Prosoft - Data Rescue 5] unlike other tools this one will only read the drive and then save the recovered files to a second drive (here your new iMac’s drive)
I don’t recommend using any cloning tools as that could kill your drive as they are very intense in their efforts.
Your drive is in a delicate state as the BTree is corrupted which could be the start of a failing head or platter within the drive. You also don’t want to bounce the system (drive) around in this state! Be very gentle with it.