Awwwwww fuck

[HibiscusKazeneko]

I was messing around with some music files in iTunes but then the application decided to lock up. I stupidly decided to run Safari in the background while this was going on and it locked up too. I tried Command+Option+Escape (the Mac equivalent for Ctrl+Alt+Del) and it wouldn't work, so the only option I had left was to manually shut off the computer (hold down the power button for 5 seconds).
Now here's where things get sticky...
The external hard drive where all my music is stored doesn't show up when plugged in! I Googled "external hard drive not recognized" and ran across a message board that suggested I run Disk Utility. I did this and after trying to verify and repair the volume it said it was unable to repair it.

Am I royally fucked or do I have other options? It's too late at night to attempt to plug it into my PC for comparison purposes.

[Harri]

It's a mac?

There is your solution.

er...

lack there of.

[HibiscusKazeneko]

It's a mac?

There is your solution.

er...

lack there of.

That's not funny, Harri.
The last thing I need a this time is bigotry and harassment.
Let me clarify: I formatted this disk as FAT32 so I could switch it back and forth between PC and Mac.

I ran a second test and there may be a sliver of hope: I could try to back up the contents onto my PC's hard drive (at least temporarily). The HD on this Mac is too small to hold my massive collection.

[Mike808]

If you really can't find a soultion. Try make an appointment with the apple store and take both the hard drive and your laptop in.
My experience with the support there has only been positive.

[HibiscusKazeneko]

If you really can't find a soultion. Try make an appointment with the apple store and take both the hard drive and your laptop in.
My experience with the support there has only been positive.

This is an external Hitachi hard disk. My dad has done stuff like this in the past; I'll have to ask him if there is anything I can do. I did some Googling and thought one possible solution would be to format the disk and do a file recovery from there. Is this even possible? I'm hesitant to get professional help because that disk contains over 150 gigs of music.

[Jake]

If you really can't find a soultion. Try make an appointment with the apple store and take both the hard drive and your laptop in.
My experience with the support there has only been positive.

This is an external Hitachi hard disk. My dad has done stuff like this in the past; I'll have to ask him if there is anything I can do. I did some Googling and thought one possible solution would be to format the disk and do a file recovery from there. Is this even possible? I'm hesitant to get professional help because that disk contains over 150 gigs of music.

Don't format the disk.
Wrap the drive (that's been taken out of the enclosure) in a few sheets of aluminum foil and then tightly seal it in a plastic bag, making sure to suck all of the air out. Place it in the freezer and wait for 24 hours. After that time try to access the disk as normal.
Try to assess how much you're willing to spend on recovery. There are many services available for data recovery but they are expensive. If the only data loss is content that you didn't generate, like music or movies that were downloaded, you may not want to allocate any funds for recovery but simply purchase a new drive for the enclosure and then acquire the media again.

[HibiscusKazeneko]

Don't format the disk.
Wrap the drive (that's been taken out of the enclosure) in a few sheets of aluminum foil and then tightly seal it in a plastic bag, making sure to suck all of the air out. Place it in the freezer and wait for 24 hours. After that time try to access the disk as normal.
Try to assess how much you're willing to spend on recovery. There are many services available for data recovery but they are expensive. If the only data loss is content that you didn't generate, like music or movies that were downloaded, you may not want to allocate any funds for recovery but simply purchase a new drive for the enclosure and then acquire the media again.

I can only reacquire so much. A lot of it came off sites that don't exist anymore or links that have since disappeared.
Need I remind you this was not a crash; the machine locked up while an application (iTunes) was trying to write to the disk, I had to reboot and now it's corrupt.

[Jake]

We don't know why the application locked though. It could be either a hardware or software issue. That being said I am skeptical that a problem in itunes could have corrupted your entire drive. Freeze it, try to access it and let us know what happens. If you can access it, start to copy the files that can't easily be reacquired and hope for the best.

[Ackybur]

If you really can't find a soultion. Try make an appointment with the apple store and take both the hard drive and your laptop in.
My experience with the support there has only been positive.

This is an external Hitachi hard disk. My dad has done stuff like this in the past; I'll have to ask him if there is anything I can do. I did some Googling and thought one possible solution would be to format the disk and do a file recovery from there. Is this even possible? I'm hesitant to get professional help because that disk contains over 150 gigs of music.

Don't format the disk.
Wrap the drive (that's been taken out of the enclosure) in a few sheets of aluminum foil and then tightly seal it in a plastic bag, making sure to suck all of the air out. Place it in the freezer and wait for 24 hours.

Almost similar to my suggestion. After the initial 24 hours take it out of the bag slowly, remove the foil (make sure none of it sticks to it because sometimes it can.. use pam if you're afraid it will stick), then you need to leave it outside from sunrise to sunset. This is called "the shock treatment" it's like using icyhot on your muscles. After it's been thawed in about 12 hours of direct sunlight, try to use it after. If it won't work then repeat, but freeze in a bag of rice this time.

[HibiscusKazeneko]

I talked with my dad, and he suggested I try Norton Utilities.
We've had this issue before with a corrupted drive, and he was able to restore a good portion of its contents.