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TICKET ARCHIVE -> recovering deleted files

bretthall - Jun 8, 2006 - 4:54 pm

I just inadvertantly emptied the trash with my "pictures" function and all my stored photos. The help function tells me there is data recovery software available to recover this data. Where can I find this?

Thunderthud - Jun 8, 2006 - 5:01 pm

The best is Data Recovery II. You can get it at CompUSA. Alternatives include Norton Utilities, Tech Tool Pro, etc.

Anything you do that modifies your hard drive, like downloading software, reduces the chance that you will be able to recover your data.

bretthall - Jun 9, 2006 - 5:52 pm

Thanks. I will try Data Recovery II. I went to CompUSa and they didn't have it though. I found it online but it's called Data Rescue II. Could this be the one you're referring to?

Thunderthud - Jun 9, 2006 - 6:21 pm

Sorry, yes, Data Rescue II.

bretthall - Jun 9, 2006 - 6:23 pm

Yeah, that's it. I just ordered it from macmall. I'll be careful not to download any software until it arrives. Obviously, though, I gotta install it when it comes. I trust that won't diminish my possibilies of recovery?

Thunderthud - Jun 9, 2006 - 6:57 pm

You do not need to install it - it comes on a bootable CD. But you will need some other media to recover the data to - CDs, DVDs, another drive, etc. Data Rescue will not recover data to the same drive it is recovering from - no recovery utility will.

bretthall - Jun 9, 2006 - 7:09 pm

Hmmm... this is getting a little tougher... so my mac with a single CD port is going to need some other device to dump the recovered data on to... a flash drive on my usb port will probably not be large enough. Is there a web solution? A site where I can dump the data and then retrieve? An online network/server? Or is my best bet to buy an external cd or dvd burner that I can hook to the the USB port?

Thunderthud - Jun 9, 2006 - 9:26 pm

You can get an external USB or Firewire disk. There are web services that allow you to store data for a price - iDisk from Apple for instance.

I don't like to encourage people to spend money but my choice would be an external disk drive. I have 1 external drive and 2 additional internal drives in my Mac.

Other World Computing offers many external drive options.

bretthall - Jun 18, 2006 - 12:43 pm

I just got the Data Rescue II software and purchased a 2.0 Gb SanDisk Cruzer Micro USB Flash Drive onto which to dump the recovered data. The SanDisk package states that it has Mac compatibility with minimum system requirements of OS X v 10.1.2+. I have 10.3.9. I tried plugging it into the USB hub as well as the USB port on the back of the computer and, either way, i get the message: "The disc could not be used because the disc drive is not supported (Error Code 0x80020025)"

Now what?

bretthall - Jun 18, 2006 - 12:51 pm

I googled the error message and found a forum telling me to dowload patchburn (http://www.patchburn.de/download.html) or to upgrade to Tiger or at least 10.4. But you mentioned that altering my hard drive with new software would make the data more difficult to recover.

Again, now what?

Thunderthud - Jun 18, 2006 - 1:09 pm

Boot from the Data Rescue CD and plug in the flash drive. If it recognizes the drive use it to recover your data. Then get Tiger and install it. Once you have the data safely on the flash drive you need not protect your hard drive any longer.

Once Tiger is installed you can get the data from the flash drive and you're good to go.

bretthall - Jun 18, 2006 - 1:13 pm

Thanks for the quick response. I'll give it a try now and let you know.

bretthall - Jun 18, 2006 - 2:07 pm

So far, so good... it seems. Now on to Tiger to see what I have on the flash drive.