Recovered files; now what?

Hi, there, Mac experts. Me n00b, so I need to ask some basic questions. So my internal hard drive became faulty, and the external hard drive became corrupted. No data was saved, and so now I replaced the internal HD and basically have a new computer. I got Data Rescue 3, did a deep scan and now recovered a whole bunch of files.
What's next?
I imagine I need to erase and re-format de external HD. But then? Do I just load the recovered files on it, and then ask the Migration Assistant to load all my old data from it? Will that work okay?
Thank you for your input!
D

To possibly make life simpler, try to repair your Time Machine drive with Data Rescue 3, and see if Migration Assistant will work again. It is more robust than Disk Utility.
All else fails, like Eric mentioned, you will have to import the salvaged files into the appropriate programs manually. Be warned that some files that are recovered are going to be incomplete or damaged. It is possible that these can cause issues with the programs that use them, and although recovered will still have to be scrapped. You will also find that many of the recovered items cannot be used at all.
Best bet of recovery of your contact data is if you use the MobileMe service or have an iOS device that has this data as well. You just have to make sure you get that data safely off any iOS device before re-syncing with your rebuilt system.
It is not a fun task, I know from experience.

Similar Messages

  • Recovered Deleted Song Files - Now What

    On Saturday night, I ventured into amateur land in a big way and inadvertently deleted my entire music library about 15gigs worth. Once you've all have had a laugh and have returned to your chairs you may be able to help me out. I've used Boomerang and recovered the files. Unfortunately, the files are now labled 1 through (in my case) around 4500. I have begun the laborious task of manually relabeling each file with the correct song title and placing them in a newly created Album folder which resides inside the artist folder (also newly created)as this is how my memory tells me Itunes does it. Is there any other way to rectify this? When I click on a file it launches in Itunes and plays correctly which has been a big help in the relabeling process. I'm guessing there is no way to import these files en masse? Does anyone have any experience with this or I am I the only clever enough to delete eight days worth of music? I relabeled the first 400 last night and it took nearly 3 hours. I'm very grateful to have my music files back but I'm hoping someone out there has some time saving magic to share. Thanks.

    If it's still an MP3 file and has all the correct tag info, iTunes will rename the files and put them into Artist/Album folders based on what is in the ID3 tags.
    *I'm guessing there is no way to import these files en masse?*
    Drag them all onto the library icon at the top left of iTunes.

  • 2 ipods on, so many files, now what?

    I got both Ipods on the new computer, songs are back on the computer, but even after following the "Multiple Ipods on one computer" (method three) instructions, Itunes is putting things everywhere:(
    I made 2 different libraries. One had my songs, the other had my daughter's.
    I hold "shift", click on "choose a library", and I'm given 2-5 choices. When I click on my library, I get the list of songs but no Itunes. Same goes for when I click on my daughter's library. Now, if I click on Itunes library (which also has a different icon) I get Itunes with my library and my songs. I can't get it with my daughter's at all. How do I get our libraries to separately go to Itunes? I followed the directions perfectly and I'm still lost. It seems like Itunes created multiple folders (most are empty) and it allows me to create libraries, but I'm not allowed have the libraries (with the actual songs) separately open in Itunes when I select the library I want. What am I doing wrong? Did I miss a step?
    Please help...I'm going on 7 hours here. Ugh, it seemed so simple.
    Message was edited by: Clueless77

    I figured it out...when cleaning up files, I tossed her Itunes file (with the actual songs) into the recycle bin. I restored it and all is good, so far. Oy, what a day.

  • Recovered files now UNIX Executable Files???

    After my previous external hard drive failed I had the data recovered and placed onto a new external drive. After looking at the files I have found that a number of them have become "unix executable files." I don't know what this is or how to fix it. It seems to have only happened to things such as saved emails, but there are some photos from my digital camera that have converted to this as well.
    While looking into the problem I found that the company that recovered the data placed it all onto an external hard drive that is an MS-DOS File System (FAT32) format instead of a Mac OS format. Could this be the problem since all of my files were Mac files, and the hard drive they were recovered from was formatted to Mac OS?
    If this is the case, is it something I can fix myself without loosing anything, or should I take it back to the place that recovered the data?
    ANY help would be greatly appreciated!

    Welcome to Apple Discussions!
    Yes the file naming probably was messed about with when they copied stuff over to FAT32. The files are probably there. However, the just need the correct file suffix to associate with the correct programs. A good way to test the files without hurting them is to view them in the Terminal with the program called More. Go to Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal and you will be greeted by a prompt. At the prompt type the word
    more
    followed by a space (do NOT hit enter)
    and drag the file into the terminal following the word "more" and then when the path appears, hit enter. If there is intelligible text, the file is probably an e-mail. If there is no intelligible text, it probably is an image, or a system file. Preview can open the files which are images and save them to specific formats. Depending on the number of files you had rescued, it might be better to ask them to rescue it again, but to a properly formatted volume. You can try yourself if you still have the old disk with Prosoft Data Rescue.
    In anycase, this is a very good lesson to always backup your data in the future as my FAQ explains:
    http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
    Good luck!

  • Flash gives me html file, Now what do I do with it?

    Hi everyone,
    This may seem like a stupid question, but here it is:
    I've converted and published my video in Flash, and now I
    have a swf file and an html file. I've noticed that if I just put
    the swf file on my website, the video plays just fine but the skin
    doesn't show up.
    I'm pretty sure this has something to do with the html file
    not being included, but I'm afraid I have no idea what to do with
    it.
    Any ideas?
    Thanks in advance.

    Add the HTML code into the page where the .swf object
    is

  • Recovered photos, now what ???

    I just purchased Aperture 1.5, it arrived today and I have to say it is pretty impressive, this is coing from an iPhoto and PS long time user. I'm an amatuer digital photographer so this is just a hobby for me.
    I imported my iPhoto library, all 3878 photos worth and everything seems to go pretty smoothly. After using it for awhile I noticed I have a project/folder called "Recovered Photos 1" it has 32 photos in it. They all seem to be fine but I can't seem to move them anywhere. I wanted to drag them to a folder/project (sorry the distinction is lost on me, this is what I called albums in iPhoto) and put them somewhere but nothing happens.
    All of my other photos are able to be dragged anywhere I want, to another folder etc with no problem. These photos seem to be "special" what am I missing? Is there something that needs to be done to put them back where i want them?
    I apologize if this is an idiotic question or if my nonemclature isn't right, llike I said I've only been usng this app for a couple of hours. can't seem to find my answer in the manual so I thought I'd turn here.
    TIA,
    Peter

    I had this strange "recovered photos" folder in iPhoto those days I used iPhoto - and I never realy understod what it was and I couldn't do anything with them in iPhoto. I suppose Aperture have imported that folder and it have all strange behavoir intact :-D Well - try to export them as masters and reimport them to a project.

  • I downloaded both Morgan and Gspot to convert AVI file - now what?

    What do I do to convert my AVI files using either of these two programs?  Actually four programs - I installed three different versions of Morgan.  I was hoping for magic - that I could just drop in my files.  But no.  Apparently I have to do something.  What would that be?
    Thanks!
    Beth

    You're right.  I haven't found exporting the file to be inuitive.  I think I"ve done what I'm supposed to and nothing happens
    I click OK then....nothing...the box just dissapears

  • I just down loaded CS6 updates and saved them to my down load file , Now what

    How do i get them to intergate into the CS6 programs like PS Flash and etc

    For Win:
    After downloading a ".zip" file, use the operating system or a utility such as WinZip or PKZIP to access the file's contents.
    Double-click the "AdobePatchInstaller" application and follow the on screen instructions.
    For Mac:
    After downloading "dmg" file, Double click on the file to mount it..
    Double-click the "AdobePatchInstaller" application and follow the on screen instructions.
    Regards,
    Ashutosh

  • HT1212 I followed everything as described above.  My ipad still says disabled.  It would not recover.  Now what?!?

    Any clue how to undisable the ipad.  The advise here so far doesn't work.  I tried recovering it, and no luck.

    Try Recovery Mode
    Read this: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1808
    Follow the instructions very carefully.

  • I am changing computers, how do I move the bookmarks from one computer to another? WinXP Pro on both, FF $.0 on both. I have found the json file, now what?

    I found the places.sqlite folder......it still will not accept the bookmarks from the other computer

    There's too much above for me to specifically answer your questions, but I'll assume from the title that you're basically trying to sync to a new computer.  So here are some articles to help you.
    iOS: How to transfer or sync content to your computer
    iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer

  • Curious about "Recovered Files" after restart

    Is there a way to find out the source of recovered files and what they mean? Just curious.
    My latest were:
    A folder: <msoclip>
    A folder: <CardModeFiles>
    Thank you.

    Recovered items appear when a program that creates temporary files either crashes or does not clean up after itself properly.  The Mac OS cleans the files up and puts them in this folder. This is an old apple tech note, but it is still valid:
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh2267.html
    I think msoclip comes from some Microsoft software. I don't know about the CardModeFiles thingy. You can safely delete these files.
    charlie

  • HPG62-Reinstalled Windows & Sucessfully Recovered Files...Now What?

    Hello,
    Now that I have my recovered files, including program files and my documents I don't know what I should do. I'm using Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit.
    I have reinstalled MS Office (did this and upgraded to the latest version of Office before the recovery) because at first I was trying to recover improperly. But now everything is there in C: System Recovery Documents.
    I want the documents associated with the MS Office Suite to be back where they were, most importantly for Outlook; old mail, contacts, etc. as well for OneNote. I know that the Word and Excel files will open when I chose them.
    When it comes to other programs, they are listed but I'm not clear what I should do with them and if I have to reinstall each program and then move particular files or not. ???  Most importantly for Adobe Photoshop and Acrobat Pro. Those folders are there, but the actual programs are not.
    I don't want to make a mess of what's now new and clean on my system after the reinstall by just moving program files and potentially rendering programs inoperable. 
    I have found:
    C:\System Recovery Files\2013-11-09 002654\C\Users\JP\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneNote\14.0\OneNoteOfflineCache_Files
    Do I move those somewhere?
    Also found:
    C:\System Recovery Files\2013-11-09 002654\C\Users\Jonah Page\Documents\Outlook Files
    In there is a list of my email addresses saved as Outlook Data Files
    I haven't tried to even open Outlook yet, or try to use old data files to restore my email accounts, and not sure if doing that would restore my old files withing Outlook.
    Also, not as important but I would like to restore my old bookmarks in Firefox. Not sure how to make that happen either.
    Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Thank you!

    Vanessa,
    It sounds like you want to Restore backups made using the Recovery Manager.
    The following document explains how to do that:
    Restoring Files that were Backed Up Using HP Recovery Manager (Windows 7)
    The method is pretty straight forward, although the actual file recovery can take some time.  How long it takes depends on the speed of your system plus the size and number of files that must be recovered (put back on your system).
    My understanding is that the files will find their way back to the proper locations.
    After you recovery the files that you backed up using the Recovery Manager, you may have to install some filework, programs, or data from your regular daily backups.  Whether or not this is necessary depends on how much of your user and program environment you managed to capture when you made the Recovery Manager backup.
    You might have more trouble with the Firefox bookmarks if you never bothered to back up your bookmarks.  I always keep a separate "backup" and also an html Export of my Firefox bookmarks in case they are needed later.  On the other hand, if you backed up your entire user account, the settings may fall back into place when you do the file recovery mentioned above.
    For future reference: 
    Firefox > right-click in the clear area near the center-top of the browser >
    CHECK the menu box >
    Click on Bookmarks > Show all bookmarks > Click on "Import and Backup" >
    Click on "Backup" >> select a location for the file and complete the backup
    Next, Click on "Export" >> select a location, somewhere in your user account is fine >>
    If you like, edit the name to include the date and maybe the name of the computer along with the date >>
    Complete the export
    Later, if ever needed, you can reverse the process and use Import to load the bookmarks back into FireFox (or any browser that can read the bookmarks.html file).  Be careful about importing the file more than once - depending on your browser version, you might end up with duplicates.
    One more hint:  If your bookmarks tool bar lacks the entries after you Import the bookmarks file, open "All Bookmarks" > scroll down the list and look for "old Toolbar" or some such thing.  Open that folder, highlight and copy the files in that folder up to the top of the list of book marks into the "new" (but empty) Bookmarks Toolbar.  Poof!  Your Toolbar bookmarks will show up.
    There are no doubt Mozilla help files on this subject that make more sense than these hastily scratched notes.  Smiling.
    Extra Resource:
    FAQ On Repairing Or Reinstalling The Operating System – XP, Vista, Windows 7
    I hope this helps.
    Click the Kudos Star!
    It is a great “Thank You” to the HP Experts who are here to help!
    Kind Regards,
    Dragon-Fur

  • TS1967 When trying to recover a lost iTunes library file, the programme moved all the normal contents of iTunes folder to the desktop. Now what must I do?

    When trying to recover a lost iTunes library file, the programme moved all the normal contents of iTunes folder to the desktop. Now what must I do? There is no iTunes Library.itl file. On the desktop it is labelled iTunes Library.xml. Several others files have appeared there too including iTunes Music Library.xml
    Before I can use the programme is it necessary to take another step?
    Thanks for advice.

    Don't worry. I'm all for caution. I guess I should have asked a little more about what steps you took while trying to recover your lost library?
    The permissions thing may be a red herring, but if there is a problem with file access rights to the designated media folder iTunes has been known to place files on the desktop instead since it can access this location. The most common cause for such problems is working with a folder on an NTFS drive via a differnt account or on a different computer. In the normal course of events folders created inside user profiles have limited rights for other users.
    Here are the typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
    Normally the iTunes folder will be created at <User's Music>\iTunes with the media folder inside it. The library files should all appear in the same place so your comment about there not being an iTunes Library.itl file is confusing. Is it just the case that the .itl extension is hidden? The two .xml files makes sense from the above and indicates that the active library is not in <User's Music>\iTunes, but you have a recovered file from when it was.
    If, in fact, the situation is that your desktop is acting as the main iTunes folder, and contains the library file, Album Artwork, iTunes Media and (optionally) Previous iTunes Libraries folders, with all other content being inside the iTunes Media folder, then it should be relativly easy to rearrange your into the correct shape and move them to the correct location.
    If things are more complex, with something other than a library folder containing a media folder, then reestablishing the normal order is more complicated. The iTunes consolidate function is used to bring copies of files stored outside of the media folder into the media folder. It may sometimes be needed as part of the process of tidying up, however it leaves behind originals. There are circumstances where there isn't room for two complete sets of the media files on the same drive which is why I suggested the script might be useful as it produces the same results for the library without leaving the originals for manual clear up.
    I think before you do anything however, we should get a clearer picture of exactly what is where. Could you perhaps take a screenshot of the desktop and post it here? Take a look at this post on making a split library portable. The same techniques I outline there can be used to lick your library into shape, it is just a question of working out which to use in which order for the best effect.
    tt2

  • My iMac was stolen in a robbery - no files via iCloud (long story).  I have a new iMac which is set up and being used - how do I recover old iMac files from what looks like back-up files showing on my Time Capsule (also being used for this new iMac)?

    My iMac was stolen - but I think there's a backup on my Time Capsule (which wasn't stolen). I have a new iMac which I've been using normally; I didn't use the 'Restore from...' option at the start because I thought the Time Capsule had nothing on it.  So how do I now recover files from the Time Machine?  I can see various back-ups on the Time Capsule, from various machines - laptops, etc. - but it's not letting me open any of them to see what they contain. Does anyone know how I access this information?

    Use migration assistant.
    See http://pondini.org/OSX/MigrateLion.html
    Although this is only up to Mountain Lion it is still relevant to Mavericks.. only expect Mavericks to kick and buck a lot more.

  • I lost a really important file (an iText Express document) randomly and then one day, a "recovered file" folder popped up and I assume it has to do with that, but the file just contains a doc with a bunch of coding. What do I do with that? HELP!!!

    As the title question states, I lost a really important file with iText Express. I've been using iText Express for a year or two now because it's just the one application I downloaded for writing and saving documents. I was working on one for a few months and randomly one day last month, when I went to open it to resume editing my work, the file was gone! I searched my whole laptop and trash. Then one day, a "Recovered Files" folder popped up in the area my file used to be, so I assumed that was the file I lost being recovered and I felt relieved. But when I opened the folder, the document inside was a "SoftwareMap" document with a bunch of coding written in it. I don't understand what I'm supposed to do with that or how it's going to help me recover my file?!? I lost SO much work!!! If anyone has ANY idea what to do, how this happened, or if the coding is supposed to help me recover my file, PLEASE help!!!

    No, I already tried looking at that. The file that recovered was not in the trash, it appeared in my documents folder. I opened it up and inside was an iText Express document with coding. Then inside of there, was and then and this "SoftwareMap" document contained a bunch of coding and symbols and words.

Maybe you are looking for