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

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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.

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.

Data recovery help and options

If you don't want to read the entire diatribe, please answer: Any suggestions as to which data recovery app is appropriate for a ThunderBolt Seagate GoFlex 1TB? It's been 21 hours, should I stop and restart First Aid?
I have a MBP15R that is about a month old. With it, I purchased a Seagate GoFlex 1TB drive with Thunderbolt adapter. I was away from the house for 24hrs, and had shut my MBP off prior to leaving. Upon return, I started the MBP and began my work. About an hour in, I realized I couldn't find a few recent files. I went to Finder, and realized the SGF wasn't mounted. It would not mount, and prompted me to run First aid. The log for this so far is:
2012-12-17 15:27:13 -0800: Disk Utility started.
2012-12-17 15:27:58 -0800: Mount of “FreeAgent GoFlex Drive” failed
2012-12-17 15:28:12 -0800: Verifying volume “FreeAgent GoFlex Drive”
2012-12-17 15:28:12 -0800: Starting verification tool:
2012-12-17 15:28:12 -0800: Checking file system
2012-12-17 15:28:12 -0800: Error: This disk needs to be repaired. Click Repair Disk.
2012-12-17 15:28:12 -0800:
2012-12-17 15:28:12 -0800: Disk Utility stopped verifying “FreeAgent GoFlex Drive”: This disk needs to be repaired. Click Repair Disk.
2012-12-17 15:28:43 -0800:
2012-12-17 15:28:51 -0800: Verify and Repair volume “FreeAgent GoFlex Drive”
2012-12-17 15:28:51 -0800: Starting repair tool:
2012-12-17 15:28:51 -0800: Checking file system
2012-12-17 15:28:51 -0800: Volume repair complete.
2012-12-17 15:28:51 -0800: Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.
It's now been 21 hours, and the boot support partitions for the volume as required has not completed.
I live-chatted with Seagate. The pertinant text is:
You: The question: with approximately 90% of the drive filled from backup, etc., how long should the process of 'updating boot support partitions for the volume as required' take? we're pushing 21hrs now.
Jason H: That is really hard to say. There is not a way to give a time on that, but I can tell you that it should not exceed 5 hours. At that point either the drive is unrepairable, or may be corrupted.
Jason H: It could be a bad drive.
You: ...hmm...your recommended course of action at this point? i'm an it director, am familiar with seatools, but unless i'm mistaken, you don't have a version of seatools for mac
Jason H: That is correct. The only thing we recommend on Mac is to use Mac First Aid Repair to try and correct any issues. I would still wait a little longer even though it has been some time. With the drive being 2TB and depending on the system, and what type of data, it could still be updating the partitions.
You: 1TB
You: video, audio, and documents/spreadsheets. the time machine backups took up over .5 the drive in just under a month. ok, so if another 24hrs doesn't resolve it, 3rd party tools to attempt a repair?
Jason H: The only other program that I can suggest, is even though Mac is not listed for Seatools, if you have an Intel based chipset on your Mac, Seatools for DOS can work. Otherwise, the only other thing I can suggest would be to search online for free recovery programs.
You: seagate will charge for data recovery even though the drive is 35 days old from purchase, correct?
Jason H: Correct, data recovery is not covered under warranty.
I'm getting a 2nd Goflex and USB adapter to push the data to once I get the drive operational, then exchanging the 'bad' drive and TB adapter.
Any suggestions as to which data recovery app is appropriate?

Sorry to hear your problem.
IMHO what you should of done was Shut down the Mac, Disconnected the drive from the Mac (Pull out the TB cord), Restarted the Mac and tried to Reconnect it once the Mac had started.
Could of simply been the drive was trying to draw to much power from the TB port, that is IF that drive did not have it own AC adapter, while the MBP was starting. But once it was up and running it may of been able to supply the correct power to the drive.
sorry I don't have any suggestions for Data recovery.

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

Mail Crashed - Inbox Deleted - Trying Data Recovery - Help

I am running a G4 Powerbook 10.3.9 and Mail 1.3.11 locked up and crashed. My old Inbox is wiped out. Last July, I accidentally deleted my Sent emails but that was intentional (as in I thought I was in the Trash window, selected All and Deleted but as I was in my Sent window, that's what got deleted). I bought Data Rescue II and was able to restore almost all of my deleted Sent email.
So I tried to do the same today. I recovered large "mail" files to the CBR folder. These files are marked as Mail-00034.mbox where the number goes up. Some files are 100MB while others are smaller. I also recovered the INBOX.mbox file but I cannot import either file type into Mail (as in the Import Mailbox function).
I have recovered plenty of big files but none that can be imported into mail. Any thoughts. Thanks in advance

The current INBOX.mbox contents include
content_index 128K
Info.plist 4K
mbox 236K
mbox.SKindex 30.3MB
mbox.SKindex.isValid 0K
tableofcontents 4K
The file size of the mbox.SKindex does not make complete sense as I have only about a dozen or so emails currently in my INBOX (those received after the crash). Either way, the entire INBOX file is way too small (compared with a 1.2G SENT box). I believe the INBOX file size was around 900MB prior to the crash.
As for what the Data Recovery II program found, it recovered a folder called CBR and in it is a folder called Mail, and in that a folder called AppleMail, and in that about 120 files (using the mailbox icon) all labeled "Mail-######.mbox" where the ###### refers to 00001 (the first file) up to 00120 (the last file). File sizes vary from several at 100MB down to 1MB. There is a great deal of data there. When I try and import these files into Mail, the import seems to work but the IMPORT folder is empty.
Data Recovery also got a INBOX.mbox file that when opened, is blank. It too reads as 30.3MB (vs. the 30.7MB INBOX.mbox file noted above). When this is opened, there are 0 emails in it.

Erased P2 Card Data Recovery Help!

One of my students erased a P2 Card accidentally (Don't Ask). Fortunately they realized this as the trash was being emptied. We properly shut down everything right away and didn't save anything to the drive.
The drive is an external LaCie connected via FW800. We are running Power PC G5 Towers and Intel Mac Pro's here with 10.5.4 OS and FCP 6.0.4 I even have one machine (Intel iMac) on 10.4.11.
I ran "File Salvage which I have used once before to recover QT files. That did a great job for QT but the P2 Card had not been Log & Transfered.
In my recovery attempt the application couldn't find anything like an MXF file. Can anyone recommend a recovery program that can maintain the file structure of the P2 Card. Maybe I'm dreaming, Maybe not. All suggestions welcome.
Thank You

Hi,
In many cases, the data recovery software will recover files that don't work well:
Unplayable videos, corrupt audio or video, ...
In such case, you may have to repair the files in a second phase.
There's a free app to diagnose and preview corrupt movie files: Treasured
http://aeroquartet.com/movierepair/
'I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.'
Regards, BJ

My hard drive failed and I can't afford the professional data recovery. Do I have any other options?

I have a 13" Early 2011 Macbook Pro. Last week the hard drive failed (for the second time), and when I took it to the Apple Store I was told it would cost $177 to replace the hard drive and the cables. I intend on going through with this and getting it fixed, however the man I talked to said I should hold on to it a little longer before giving it to them for repair in case I want to recover my data. When I researched how to recover the data, my answers mostly consisted of taking it to a professional to do so. I found a local authorized service provider who said they could do so, however I was told it would cost at least $400 to recover my data (possibly more depending on how much data there is to recover).
I can afford to pay $177 to fix the hard drive. I cannot, however, afford to pay an additional $400+ to get all of my data back. Yes I realize I should have backed my files up onto an external hard drive (I'm not the most computer-savvy person), but honestly, all I really need is my photos. When my hard drive was in the process of failing, I got a flash drive and put a lot of my files onto it so I would at least have some of them when I got my Macbook fixed. At this point, I can't even turn it on, so I am not able to go into iPhoto and get my pictures.
Is there any way I can do this myself? There is no way I can get this done professionally. I would love to be able to all of my data and files back, but if I can just get some that is better than nothing. Any help would be appreciated!

obesity wrote:
It was really empty. Clicked on, nothing.
But no prohibited signs, like these:
Get info on folder, zero kb. Just one user account on each mac.
I did navigate back several days prior to my Mac dying. Still nothing.
Sounds like it may have been excluded, or perhaps damaged.
Just for future reference, it's always a good idea to keep "secondary" backups. See #27 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions for some suggestions.

IPAD 2 , DATA RECOVERY HELP

Sorry, I have recently restored my IPAD2 with ITUNES and it upgraded to ios 7.1.1 as welll, ( coz I h had forgotten its passcode and now i do not have any back up files anywhere). I REALLy wanna know if its possible to recover some of my datas such as my important photos and momentos with any software or sth which can solve my problem. It;s Urgent. Please help me recover my personal datas. I somewhere read that Dr.Wondershare software can do it but I do not know if it can work in latest ios of apple.Co .
I'm waiting for your prompted kind reply.
Yours truly
ONE OF APPLE COMPANY FANS !

FORCE IPAD INTO RECOVERY MODE
1. Turn off iPad
2. Turn on computer and launch iTunes (make sure you have the latest version of iTune)
3. Plug USB cable into computer's USB port
4. Hold Home button down and plug the other end of cable into docking port.
DO NOT RELEASE BUTTON until you see picture of iTunes and plug
5. Release Home button.
ON COMPUTER
6. iTunes has detected iPad in recovery mode. You must restore this iPad before it can be used with iTunes.
7. Select "Restore iPad"...
Note:
1. Data will be lost if you do not have backup
2. You must follow step 1 to step 4 VERY CLOSELY.
3. Repeat the process if necessary.

HT2693 DATA RECOVERY - HELP???!!!!!

My son deleted my entire life by dragging it into the trash and emptying it.
We recovered 100,000 files using FileSalvage and DataRescue but NO NAMES are on any of the files.
Does anyone know whether it's possible to recover data with the file names? A software package or a supplier who might be successful helping me.
This is urgent, thanks for any advice.
Vanessa

Yep, it smarts. Join the club. I cannot help you with your question, but it would be a good idea once you sort out your problem to develop a backup strategy to avoid a future recurrence. Here's a start:
Basic Backup
Get an external drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
Carbon Copy Cloner
Data Backup
Deja Vu
SuperDuper!
Synk Pro
Tri-Backup
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Although you can buy a complete external drive system, you can also put one together if you are so inclined. It's relatively easy and only requires a Phillips head screwdriver (typically.) You can purchase hard drives separately. This gives you an opportunity to shop for the best prices on a hard drive of your choice. Reliable brands include Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. You can find reviews and benchmarks on many drives at Storage Review.
Enclosures for FireWire and USB are readily available. You can find only FireWire enclosures, only USB enclosures, and enclosures that feature multiple ports. I would stress getting enclosures that use the Oxford chipsets especially for Firewire drives (911, 921, 922, for example.) You can find enclosures at places such as;
Cool Drives
OWC
WiebeTech
Firewire Direct
California Drives
NewEgg
All you need do is remove a case cover, mount the hard drive in the enclosure and connect the cables, then re-attach the case cover. Usually the only tool required is a small or medium Phillips screwdriver.
Given the value of your data I would urge you have multiple backups including at least one you would keep off-premises safe from fire and theft.

App data recovery help!

I inadvertently deleted an app. I've had no issues re installing the app but I need to recover the data - can anyone assist?

Was the app still on your iPad when you last backed up - what does the date and time show for the last backup on the Devices tabin Edit > Preferences on your computer's iTunes : do you think that it was before you deleted the app or after ? If before then if all your apps are on your computer's iTunes (you can re-download them if they aren't http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2519) then you could try restoring to that backup

Data Recovery Help Please!

I lost all my data during the iOS 7 update... is there anyway i can get it back? i didnt back up my phone before the update.

Well you can only recover your data from a backup.
If you don't have a current one, then maybe you have an old one to backup to.http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766

Data recovery help for photo's

Hi there
I lost two folders by deleting them. Is there any way I can recover them and if so how do I do it?
Do I have to buy some software and if so, which one would be best suited for one off recovery?
Thank you

I’ve had good results with File Salvage. Similarly, it will scan first and then you pay to recover. It’s $90. There’s no inexpensive way to do this.
Regards
TD

Internal hard drive not recognised, but has a lot of data i need on it!HELP

hi all
i'm on mac pro, quad core, leopard 10.5.2.
basically for some reason my hard drive was working fine, then one day last week i turned my mac back on and the hard drive will not initialize anymore.
i've gone into disk utility to try and repair disk. but it's listed there, not the name i gave it but 'disk1s1'.
i then go to verify disk and it comes up with this error.
*Verifying volume “disk1s1”*
* /dev/disk1s1*
*Invalid BS_jmpBoot in boot block: fa31c0*
*Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.*
so i started looking for data recovery software, i found one called data rescue and its found alot of data on it, some i dont need (like stuff i deleted a long time ago), but i have 3 logic project folders full of projects i need to get finished for releasing!
but the thing with data rescue is... it is renaming all the fle aiff001, aiff002 etc etc, and for logic files this is no good as you need the files named as they were other wise it won't recognise the files and all the individual parts won't load up!
so i need a way of either making the mac recognize my hard drive again so i can drag everything off it and reformat it, or use a data recovery software that does not rename the files?
can anybody please HELP!
cheers
BOOM!
Message was edited by: boomboom1980

orangekay wrote:
SMART is largely snake oil in implementation and practice and it's entirely commonplace for a dead drive to report itself functional and vice versa. I've seen Seagates whose heads were audibly grinding against the platters claim they were functioning normally, and I've seen others that said they were failing go on to provide years of reliable service. SMART status is a ballpark guess at best.
yes I understand that but I wouldn't trust a drive with a non-verified SMART status. as you say, it might continue to function but chances are pretty high that it will soon fail altogether. that's already happened to the OP who should consider himself lucky he can get anything off the drive at all with Data rescue. professional data recovery is of course also an option but a very expensive one. at least when I tried to use a service like this once about 5 years ago they wanted to charge me a small fortune. not sure what that would cost these days...

Any Tech Geeks out there ever done a DIY data recovery from a trashed drive

Hi,
I have a iMac G5 that went belly up about three weeks ago. The problem was undoubtedly the hard drive, which was totally missing even when I used third party recovery programs like Diskwarrior and Data Recovery. I pulled the drive and replaced it. BUT, now I am desperate to get things off the dead drive. I DID back up, but my delightful 2 year old "ate" my back up disks and they are beyond repair.
sigh
I simply don't have $300 to pay for professional data recovery and the missing data has sentimental value, but not much beyond that. I can't justify a price tag of $300 for old pictures and word documents.
Anyone ever done a DIY data recovery and can share the details with me??
I suspect the drive is physically damaged because it makes the ugliest noises when you try to power it up.
Tricia

You can purchase data recovery software such as Data Rescue II or File Salvage ( VersionTracker or MacUpdate ) and attempt to recover the files.
In order for recovery software to work the drive must be physically accessible and connected to your computer. Because you've removed it you would need an external enclosure for the drive (Firewire or USB.) However, if the drive is non-functional (won't run) then recovery software will not help.

I need professional data recovery help

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