[ale] Know anybody who knows macs, hd, etc. in NC Triangle?

[millia at panix.com (david w. millians)]

You know the slogan about the problem with making a computer idiot 
proof, how you make better idiots? Yeah...

In spite of my best efforts, my cousin may or may not have backed up her 
mac with time machine. (How much more PAINLESS can you make backup? Plug 
it in, say yes, that's it... anyways...)

Her mac was booting to a white screen. There doesn't appear to be a 
click-o-death situation here. The mac geniuses repaired it, and said it 
was the hd. Fair enough.

Being as how it wasn't click of death, does anybody know somebody in the 
research triangle area of NC who you would trust to use a recovery tool 
on an external drive? The computer's about 9 months old, so my gut is 
that the HD just corrupted some boot areas, but not the data...

Or, any advice about mac hd recovery would be welcome. If it's not COD 
on a mac hd, is it endangering it more to try this afore resorting to 
the $3000 recovery people?

Sigh,
David