I Think I Killed My Mac

Let me start off by stating one very important fact.  I am an idiot.  If we can all start from here, I think this will go much more smoothly.

So yesterday morning I realized it had been quite a while since I ran a software update on my 24″ iMac that is still running Tiger.  There were several updates that needed to be downloaded, including the Intel security update.  Of course I didn’t run a backup before doing this, why would I do something so logical?  After all the updates downloaded, I restarted the machine, and that’s when the fun began.

The machine froze up during the reboot, and I had to restart it.  Not a good idea.  The second time it rebooted, I got the wonderful broken folder icon that told me things were going downhill quickly.  I hunted down my install DVD, and booted up from the disk.  I tried to run a disk repair, but was told I have an invalid node structure.  I thought that was getting a bit too personal.

I went ahead and continued to make things worse by restarting the computer again, and the iMac automatically booted from the cd.  I decided to try an archive and install installation in the hope that I wouldn’t lose all the data I haven’t backed up in far too long, but when the installation process got to the volume to install selection screen, my hard drive wasn’t listed.  In fact, nothing was listed.  I then tried to boot into target mode to see if I could access my files from my MacBook Pro, but the only thing my MBP could find on the iMac was the install disk.

The short of it…I’m in trouble.  I can’t access my hard drive with any of the means I am aware of.  I know the logical thing to do at this point would be to bring the machine into Apple (of course I don’t have Apple Care on it anymore) and let them have at it.  But the thing is, I don’t want to.  I got myself into this mess, and I’d kind of like to get myself out of it.  Or at least have people tell me how to get myself out.  So here’s my request.  I’m begging for help.  Does anyone have any idea how I can get back to good?

I’m thinking the next thing to try would be to disassemble the iMac and reseat the hard drive in the hope that it will once again come up as available so I can try the archive and install.  WIth my luck, I’ll end up breaking everything.

Can anyone help?  Or does anyone know anyone who can make a suggestion?  I’ve already established that I’m an idiot, so that suggestion won’t help at the moment.  I’ll just go ahead and post this and hope.

The End of a Beginning

I find it only fitting to make my first truly official blog post a somewhat imploding, inward spiraling discussion about blog posts. Somehow that seems like literary cannibalism, but don’t quote me on that.

I seriously had an incredible time building this blog. I wish there was some way I could have captured each step and created a very cool time-lapse video like that guy did of his wife every day she was pregnant. I guess the effect wouldn’t have been quite as dramatic. It’s just pretty astounding to look back at my experience and realize how much I learned about how I learn through this process.

So I began this experiment with the thought that I would establish a professional blog for reflecting and connecting with my colleagues in a field at which I am very new. I’ve been quite invested in the field of education for many years now, but it’s the educational technology leadership role that’s so fresh. I have so many ideas and so many things I’m itching to try, but I have to find the self-control to reign that all in and take things in the order in which they’re meant to be taken. That’s going to be a learning experience all on its own.

I started all this with an idea and an absolute lack of any semblance of a single web development skill. I ended up with a product I’m very proud of, and I got here through trial and error, much research, several very near misses at controlling expletives, and an enormous amount of help from a very good friend. Looking over that list, I think it’s a pretty accurate summary of the learning process, controlling expletives not withstanding. How I got to the end of my beginning is something I need to keep right at the front of my brain, so I can offer this same experience to the teachers I teach, and especially to the students who those teachers will teach.

I won’t go on anymore about this, other than to say, if you’re at all interested in how I somehow managed to get from this to where I am now, I’d love to talk it over with you. I will say, at the end of your beginning, you’ll likely look back and say it wouldn’t have happened without help. Isn’t that what makes living in today’s world so amazing? Our sense of community is growing, and I hope you and I can be an active part of that.

Thanks to Mely-O for the Flickr image.

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The Revolution’s Cliff

So here we stand. All of us. Together. We’ve shuffled up to the edge of the cliff, and the timid are leering over with great trepidation, the curious have started toeing pebbles over the edge, and the impatient, emboldened ones are heaving boulders over just to see what might be hit below.

It’s more than just something we can see. We can feel it. Something is in the air, and we all know it. There’s change coming, but no one can predict exactly what shape the change is going to take. It’s exhilarating and terrifying equally at the same time. Our culture is about to shift. Learning is about to become radically different, and beneath it all, I have this sneaking suspicion that technology will be the impetus. Keep throwing the rocks and peering into the haze below. It won’t be long now until we start seeing something real taking shape down there.

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