HELP Data Recovery

Hello everyone
Please just tell me i am not Screwed, My 14" ibook G4 was acting up and so I ran the cd that came with it and erased my entire drive INCLUDING my 2005 TAXES that I made with turbo-tax is there any way I can get it back?
If you can help me I will really appreciate it.

See my "Data Recovery" FAQ for comprehensive advice that may help you with this problem.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

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Data recovery - HELP!

Hi there
I have done the stupidest thing EVER! I back up my entire MacBook on an external hard drive - so far, so sensible. Only I've updated what I've backed up by replacing folders with newer versions and I've only just realised. I've lost four years' worth of digital photos and I'm praying there's some way of recovering them. Please help me! I'll name my future children after you and put you in my will!
Here's what I've done in full:
- I upload all my photos to iPhoto, edit them and then save them into a folder within a folder on my desktop
- I started getting very low on operating memory so I got an external hard drive with a fire wire and began backing everything up. I took all my photos in the Photos folder off my desktop altogether and trashed them, so I had more operating memory.
- I did this in May/June
- I also had photos from 2004/2005/2006 on there which were from before I had a Mac and uploaded to iPhoto
- I've since overwritten this folder with a new (thus virtually empty with only a few recent photos) version and I think I've done it twice since I originally backed everything up, but I've only just realised I've been overwriting everything.
- I've looked in that iPhoto library in Pictures that I have and I can recover some photos, but there appears to be a lot missing and because I'm a keen photographer who is anal about editing and organising (the irony!) my photos, they're all mixed up - which is why I had them in separate folders in the first place
Is there ANYTHING I can do?
Can they be recovered from the hard drive itself?
Is there software that can be downloaded free or paid for to do this?
I've googled it a bit and it looks like there's stuff you can download for a PC. I have access to a PC, so I can have a go on that if that's what it takes.
If they can't be salvaged from the hard drive, will I perhaps be able to find them in a secret place on my MacBook from the time I trashed the original folders a couple of months ago? 'Secret place' is about as technical as I get!
I can't get an appointment at the Genius Bar for a while. Any help on this would be much appreciated. I know I'm an idiot - but I was half way to being a non-idiot by backing up in the first place...so small victories...!
Thanks,
Rachael

Basics of File Recovery
If you simply put files in the Trash you can restore them by opening the Trash (left-click on the Trash icon) and drag the files from the Trash to your Desktop or other desired location. OS X also provides a short-cut to undo the last item moved to the Trash -press COMMAND-Z.
If you empty the Trash the files are gone. If a program does an immediate delete rather than moving files to the Trash, then the files are gone. Recovery is possible but you must not allow any additional writes to the hard drive - shut it down. When files are deleted only the directory entries, not the files themselves, is modified. The space occupied by the files has been returned to the system as available for storage, but the files are still on the drive. Writing to the drive will then eventually overwrite the space once occupied by the deleted files in which case the files are lost permanently. Also if you save a file over an existing file of the same name, then the old file is overwritten and cannot be recovered.
If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten by using recovery software such as Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive.
The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.
Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.
Since it sounds like you overwrote files and folders then the data that were overwritten are gone for good and can not be recovered.
In the future you should make multiple backups including an archival backup on DVD media that can be stored away safely. It's good that you have some backups, but your backup plan is obviously inadequate.

Need help in oracle data recovery

Friends ,i need help in oracle data recovery.
I had an oracle 8i database running on windows.
For some reason Windows operating system crashed.
It is not booting up.
I dont have current backups.But my database physical files are in the disk.
Controlfile,datafiles and redo log files are there.
Is there any way I can recover my database?
Please help in this issue.
regards
Ajith

HI citrus,
thanks for the reply.
I have installed database 9i on the same PC after O/S reinstallation.
You are saying that ,I need to keep oracle root folder same as that of my old installation ,and copy control files,redo log and data files in exactly same folders as that of old database,and then start the database?
thank you for your patience and support.
regards.,
Ajith

Hard Drive Failure on HP DV 6000 Pavilion laptop Windows-XPsp3 OS - Need Data Recovery Help

Hard Drive Failure on HP DV 6000 Pavilion laptop - Need Data Recovery Help
HP Pavilion DV 6108 NR, RG365UA, purchased in late 2006 at Best Buy, with Windows XP, upgraded to Service Pack 3. It has a Fujitsu hard disk, 60 gigabyte, partitioned into C: and a Recovery D:.
Windows tries to boot up, but goes to blue screen with the message: "Unmountable Boot Volume" for one second, then just keeps recycling until I force a shutdown.
BIOS Phoenix, hard drive test result: " #1-08 Fail "
I ran a disk analysis/recovery program on the Cdrive and it seemed to show the directory structure intact, and it was able to recover some files. I was using the free one from Seagate (which only recovers small files). The second pass didn't run so well, and during the third run the program said I should not proceed further, and I should contact a professional disk recovery company.
However, the D drive seems to be intact, so, I wonder if the disk is corrupted or just some aspect of the logical C drive is bad.
How can I get the D: to run the recovery software on it? The recovery disks, made by Best Buy, only proceed to the R / F / Q option screen, and when I press R, I get a blue screen every time.
Tapping the F10 key during startup gets me nowhere. Ditto the F11 key.
I dont care about the hard disk; it is the data (files, docs, images, etc) that I want.
I contacted HP to order recovery disks but they are no longer available for my computer.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Jon
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Update...
I found a website that offers the following:
http://www.computersurgeons.com/p-13442-recovery-kit-435422-001-for-hp-model-number-dv6108nr.aspx
Recovery Kit 435422-001 For HP Model Number dv6108nr
Price: $27.00
Recovery Kit Set (An Entire Image of the Computer hard drive when the computer was new)
But I wonder how useful it would be. Early XP , no doubt. And if my hard disk problem is a mechanical fault, would any recovery disk even work? The disks made by Best Buy when I bought mine new in 2006 don't do anything more than go to the R /F/ Q screen and then goes to a blue screen when I press R (to recover the OS and apps and data files). And, as I wrote, it is the data that I want, not the disk drive.

I need professional data recovery help

Can anybody point me in a good direction for people who can help with Mac-related data recovery? (I've been trying AppleCare all day and they've been no help at all)

I hear SeaGate does a nice job. Their service is called ActionFront. You can find it here: http://www.actionfront.com/ .
- Majicman

IPod data recovery- Help!!

I recently lost all of the songs, videos and pictures I had on my 80gb ipod video (at least over 3000 items) and don't have any of the files in my computer anymore.
Now I've downloaded 3 trial versions of programs that claim to restore your iPod data, and I wanted to take into consideration your suggestions before making a quite possible unnecessary expense.
The first programs that I installed were Recover My iPod and iPod Data Recovery.
However, the problem with these two was that they either presented a list of over 8000 songs, with no names mind you, (an amount i vividly remember not having) or they would just appear as error files.
Then I stumbled upon an alternate option, which was iPod Recovery. It offered me a detailed list of all the songs i had in my iPod. So I left it yesterday almost the whole day, but in the end, it only allowed me to download 15 songs.
I don't know if this is the limit for the trial version, but before buying the full software, I wanted to ask if any of you had encountered the same problem, or if you know whether it would be a good choice to buy the program, and if it will allow me to recover all of my data. Please help me!! I don't care if I have to spend a lot of money in those programs, I just want to be sure that they will be able to recover all of my lost data.
Any comments or suggestions are highly welcomed and encouraged. Thanks in advanced, and please excuse any inconveniences I may have caused.

*They can rescue data that has not been overwritten.*
This is what I wanted to know, I thought they were scammers and that I'd not get anything out of it.
*can they recover all lost data? Most likely, no.*
T_T
*You do still have everything on your computer though, correct?*
If that were the case it would be unnecessary to look for programs that can "recover" your data
If you don't have the files on your computer, you do make regular backups of at least the important files on your computer, correct?
No...that's my mistake and I'm paying too big a price for it. sighs
Thanks a lot for your responses *Chris CA*, I'll still buy one of those programs and a backup memory x_x

IMAC Fusion Hard Drive failure, help with data recovery

I've got a Late 2012 iMAC 27 Inches 3.4GHZ with a Fusion 3.1TB HDD. My machine has booting issue the past few weeks and when contacted through Apple Care UK, after a few over the phone diagnostics they wanted me to take the machine over to get the Hard Drive checked. I had transferred some of my vital data from another HDD a few days before that and did not have an up to date backup. When booked in they said the HDD will have to be replaced and they will migrate the data over. But when I collected the machine, they said they couldn't transfer data as 'it didn't mount' and therefore unable to transfer. I was gutted as I have 2 wedding on their which were WIP and had to be delivered to the client in a few days. I have got my old HDD from the apple store...but unable to read data..can you help? Guess as a final resort I'd have to obtain the expensive data recovery services.

Ouch...
But before going for an expensive data recovery service, you have some other options.
At first you have to get that harddrive connected to your iMac. There are several solutions to that. One is to buy a SATA USB Docking Bay (see picture). You can put the harddisk in it and connect it via USB to your iMac.
Next you'll need recovery software. Disk Utility will probably not help you, but it is worth the try (because it is free and comes with OSX).
A great piece of software to look at is DiskWarrior. It once helped me accessing a dying External Harddisk and got most of the data off it before it really died. There are more applications, just google 'Data Recovery OSX', and you will find a lot more.
Oh, and make sure to start a good back-up plan for the future. Time Machine is great, or Carbon Copy Cloner, and maybe invest in a decent NAS to copy your data on.
Good luck!

Iphone data recovery software.....plz help

Can you tell me that can I get back my contacts using iphone data recovery software

Before you recover contacts from iPhone you are not allowed to connect your iPhone to computer directly, because iTunes will save the recent data automatically. First of all, you should check whether you have the backup files
iTunes> preferences> devices
All your backup files are listed here.
Then click iTunes>preferences> devices "prevent iPhone from syncing automatically." select OK and close the window after checking" don't sync"
Now you can connect iPhone to PC and make the iPhone data recovery based on you have the backup files.
Click the File menu and select Devices > Restore from Back up.
The method above is based that you have the backup files
And if you are unlucky to have the backup, you may Google iPhone data recovery, paid or free, which offer the trial version and have a try to choose suitable one.
Hope to help you!

HELP! Does anyone know a "Data Recovery Expert" for I-Phone? - My calender disappeared during transfer of data from my old I-Phone 4 to my new I-Phone 5s. It was on both I-Phones then vanished. (It was evidently not syncing during back-ups on the laptop)

HELP! Does anyone know a "Data Recovery Expert" for I-Phone? - My calender disappeared during transfer of data from my old I-Phone 4 to my new I-Phone 5s. It was on both I-Phones then vanished. (It was evidently not syncing during back-ups on the laptop)

What calendar were you syning to? Outlook? Google? Something else? The directions on how to resync vary a bit.

HELP! Does anyone know a Data Recovery Expert for I-CIoud? -My calender disappeared during I-Cloud transfer of data from old I-Phone 4 to new I-Phone 5s. It was on both I-Phones then vanished. (It was evidently not syncing during back-ups on the laptop)

HELP! Does anyone know a "Data Recovery Expert" for I-Cloud & I-Phone? - My calender disappeared during I-Cloud transfer of data from my old I-Phone 4 to my new I-Phone 5s. It was on both I-Phones then vanished. (It was evidently not syncing during back-ups on the laptop)

HELP! Does anyone know a "Data Recovery Expert" for I-Cloud & I-Phone? - My calendar disappeared during I-Cloud transfer of data from my old I-Phone 4 to my new I-Phone 5s. It was on both I-Phones then vanished. (It was evidently not syncing during back-ups on the laptop)
The Apple techs are looking. But they can't find it. Nor can they find a back up on my laptop, Evidently when I backed up my Iphone to computer the calendar wasn't syncing. Since I only use the calander on my phone - I never noticed.
The Apple store rep that sold me the I-Phone 5 on Monday, was transferring my contacts and calendar thru I-Cloud (I never used I-Cloud before that moment - and always had it turned off). He successfully transferred the contacts - which are still on my phone), but the Calendar weirdly split into 6 calendars (2 of which were linked to my G-Mail which only had a few entries) (4 were linked to my MSN / Hotmail email and contained all the major events/data). I never created calendars that were separate or liked them to 2 different emails. I just typed entries into the I-Phone calendar. However, the calendar did exist on the new I-Phone for 24 hours. Something happened during transfer. When the Apple Genius Bar tech was attempting to back up my Calendar & merge the 6 calendars, everything disappeared in his hand while he was looking at it.
I am hoping that some really good data recovery expert exists that can restore the calendar that was in both I-Phones yesterday. It is completely devastating if I can't recover it.
Any help, or referrals, is great appreciated!!!!
Thanks!

Help! hard drive failure and data recovery

I am a happy PC-traitor who has been using my Macbook successfully for over a year now. I love the Mac.
Until now.
Last night, while downloading torrents onto my computer, it froze. I restarted. A blinking folder with a question mark was displayed. I tried resetting the PRAM. Disk Utility does not see my hard drive, so I cannot attempt to repair it.
In short, I think it's dead.
Disk recovery is so incredibly expensive! Can I stick the hard drive into an external housing and access the data via Firewire? Can I freeze it overnight? I'm desperate! I can't afford a data recovery service. Help!

If she's dead, she's dead. Could be a loose cable. If you boot from a DVD and DU can;t see the HD, that's usually a really bad sign.
If you are comfortable removing it, you can try something like
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/U2NV2SPATA/
which will allow you to mount just about any HD via USB.
You can try stuff like
http://www.macintosh-data-recovery.com/download-mac-data-recovery.php
http://subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?mainpage=product_info&productsid=1
http://prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
And then there's DiskWarrior and TechTool.
Some of these may see HD's that won't mount and allow you to recover data.
Others may chime in with more detailed experiences.
hth
Jeff

Help needed! Usb Data recovery software for word documents?

A friend of mine has saved ALL of her precious work on a USB pen, which for no apparent reason has stopped working!
It isn't being recognised by windows, but my mac is detecting it with trial software which I cannot buy on my measly student income. Not doable.
Is there any data recovery software available for macs which detect microsoft documents which is....ummm free?
It's beginning to drive me mad I've been looking at this stupid pen for ages. But my mate has offered me 50 quid if I get it sorted, so I am persevering! Any help would be appreciated guys!

You can try the free Demo version of Data Rescue. It does not detect Word files; it's looking for anything on the device that matches the criteria you set.
Hope this helps,
Mulder
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iMac G4 700Mhz Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Help! Best data recovery software?

Help!
Accidentally put some important photos in the Trash Can, and emptied it.
Best data recovery program = ?
Thanks!

Click here and pick a product. Don't write anything else to the drive until the files are recovered or you choose not to recover them.
(105730)

Data recovery software? Help?

I lost most data and pics because I didn't backup first before recovering. In November I accidentally deleted all texts from my friend, and I tried to fix last night but ended up making things worse. Is there anything I can do to get all my data and pics back? I've researched data recovery software but not sure it's safe. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766 only way to get your data back, is to restore from a backup you create either thru itunes or icloud.

I just used stellar phoenix mac data recovery and it seemed to work but now my files won't open. Even though they are "jpeg, mov" files the error message is could not be opened. The movie's file format isn't recognized. " Any help or are they corrupted

I just used stellar phoenix mac data recovery and it seemed to work but now my files won't open. Even though they are "jpeg, mov" files, the error message is "could not be opened". The movie's file format isn't recognized. " Any help or are they corrupted?

Sounds to me like the file is probably corrupt. If you had hard drive corruption or damage, that could easily result in recovered files not being fully intact. If you were trying to recover accidentally deleted files, it's possible they might have been partially overwritten before recovering. There are never any guarantees with file recovery.
Without more information on the circumstances that led you to try recovery, it's hard to give advice on what to try from here. You could always try another file recovery tool, like Data Rescue 3. Just be sure you're taking appropriate precautions when doing recovery. See Recovering deleted files.

HELP Data Recovery

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