MAC DATA Recovery.

sixpackshaker · Jun 15, 2010

Friend of a friend deleted 10 years worth of home photos. He is looking for software that can recover his info. Or should he hand his external drive over to a data recovery specialist, and fork over a lot of money too?

Looking for recommendations for software or services that will handle MAC.

SpecialKO · Jun 15, 2010

Is he in a town/city with an Apple Store which has a good rep? The one near me is great for any issues I might have with my Macbook.

sixpackshaker · Jun 15, 2010

I think he talked to an Apple Rep, who could not help him or make recommendations. I don't think he tried the genius counter.

drifter · Jun 15, 2010

Try Photorec. It's a free command line utility that recovers deleted files. It should work with OS X. Some more options are listed here.

sixpackshaker · Jun 15, 2010

Thanks for the tips.

Matt² · Jun 15, 2010

ooh.. not a Mac specialist, but if all else fails, I can get you a discount through Drivesavers since I am a retailer. AND they have known specials specifically for photos, so yeah, it'd be a lot of money, BUT not nearly as much as a full drive recovery.

SpecialKO · Jun 15, 2010

sixpackshaker said:
I think he talked to an Apple Rep, who could not help him or make recommendations. I don't think he tried the genius counter.

The reason why I ask is that they're supposed to be very good for that. At least the ones in NYC are. Getting back mistakenly deleted files is supposed to be one of their things.

PatrThom · Jun 15, 2010

To second what AE says, above.
1) STOP USING THE DRIVE. IMMEDIATELY.
1a) Set up another drive to boot from, if you haven't already. Relatively easy to do on Macs.
2) Some software already exists which will do what you say you need. Data Rescue is one.
3) There are many facilities which do data recovery. Some charge a lot less for the 'I accidentally deleted my files' type of recovery as opposed to 'non-working hard drive' recovery. Check around.

It's not that difficult to recover files PROVIDED THAT you follow the advice in #1, above. Seriously, it's THE most important thing you can do to maximize your chances of data recovery.

--Patrick

sixpackshaker · Jun 16, 2010

I don't think that money is really a consideration with this guy, but free is always better. Power down and removal was my first bit of advice.

MAC DATA Recovery.

Matt²