Mac book startup issues

[Afbro1]

Hey!

I foolishly dropped my mac book pro (~2011) last night while it was in a protective sleeve. Although I've done this once before with no issues, unfortunately things have gone awry.

It will start up (i.e. All the right lights will flash, the opening sound plays etc.) however the screen remains blank. It looks dark grey, which I think is probably the back light working, and it returns to black after it 'falls asleep', and then returns to bright if I hit space bar.

My first question, naturally, is if anyone has had this happen before/knows how to fix it.

My second question is, does anyone think I could extract my files from this computer? I'm writing my thesis and Subday is my back up day - which means I'm about to lose at least a week worth of work product!

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[honestone]

First of all, what machine are you using to post here?

Secondly, assuming your machine is this model:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...-13-early-2011-unibody-thunderbolt-specs.html

it has a Firewire 800 port. If you have access to another Mac with a Firewire 800 port, you could "try" and boot your Mac in Target Disk Mode. The reason I say "try" is that without knowing your specific problem, your machine's hard drive might not show up on the other Mac's desktop. If it does, then 1) you could use Disk Utility (or preferably a more robust disk maintenance/repair program like Disk Warrior or TechTool Pro) to analyze that drive, and repair it if necessary, 2) recover data from that hard drive onto another drive.

You could also remove the drive from your machine, place inside an external case, connect that external case to a working Mac, and use/recover the data.

 

[Afbro1]

Yep, that's the model I have. Thanks for your help, I'll give the FireWire a go.