Re-installing OS-X over-wrote my iPhoto's and Music? How Come?

[macshoes]

Hello All (newbie post)...

I've recently (3wks) made the switch and love my iMac (20" intel-dual) completely (no more $ to Mr Gates... : ) ).

While attempting to download an OSX patch from Apple my iMac froze and I ended up doing a forced shutdown after which I couldn't get my iMac to boot up at all.

I had 100 photos and some albums loaded onto the Mac and didn't want to lose them so took the following approach (remember I am a newbie)...

> Used my install disk to start-up the Mac and tried to browse through my library folders to retrive my files onto my iPod (no luck).
> Finally took a deep breath and re-installed OSX hoping that by just doing an install I would overwrite the operating system only and leave my library files relatively intact.
> When done installing mm iMac is fina, all my other applications (Office) that I had installed prevously are still there but my iPhoto and iMusic libraries are gone!!

> This was a mini-disaster for me losign those photos so would appreciate any advice as I am going to buy an external HD and want to avoid this happening again....

1) What did I do wrong?
2) If I'd used a different username when I re-installed would my old libraries under my old username still be there?
3) Any chance of still getting my files back?
4) Once I get my external HD, aside from backing up my photos from my Library to another folder, do you have advice on how I should set things up? ie: in future when I have another lockup how should I have booted my iMac back up to safely work with my files before I go ahead an re-install the OS?


Sorry for long first post - would appreciate any advice (my wife will kill me if I lose photos like that again).

[Satcomer]

1. If you did a re-install only, you wiped the drive clean to write OS X over it. You should have used the Archive & Install. This would have preserved your Home folder (where you Music & Pictures were kept).

2. No. See number 1.

3. Drive Savers and next time learn to have an external backup.

4. SuperDuper

[macshoes]

Satcomer,

Thanks for the prompt and direct response. Can't believe I missed the option to install and archive. Will make sure to do that next time if need be to preserve my user folder(s).

Thanks also for the links - I checked out drive savers and some others on google. Very expensive and not to my taste to ship a HD, but it led me to doing some additional research and I ended up downloading a demo and then full version of Media Recover and was able to retrieve almost all of my files from the original SD card.

Will check out cloning / backup options in future as well.

Thanks again

[lurk]

I suspect that since you still had office installed you actually did do an archive and install. I wonder did you have File Vault turned on?

[macshoes]

Hi Lurk,

No, I didn't have file vault on (just read up on it after seeing your post). I think Satcomer is right and I did an install without Archive which wiped clean my user folders?

Anyway, I'm good to go now as I have managed to get my photos back off my media card and I've also purchased an external HD so I'll have no excuse not to backup my files going forward.

Aside from that - in future when re-installing the OS, I'll make sure to use the Archive option anyway. Thanks for tipping me off to Filevault - I'll figure out how that works too.

[lurk]

Don't, just stay away from filevault. It eats directories!