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Which Data Recovery Software Will You Choose?

#1 User is offline   DataProtection 

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Posted 06 May 2012 - 06:35 PM

I googled for mac data recovery software and i found the tools below:

Disk Drill Mac Data Recovery
macintosh Mac Data Recovery
MiniTool Mac Data Recovery

Which one is better and why? thank you.
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#2 User is offline   Evildave 

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Posted 06 May 2012 - 06:48 PM

Time Machine + NAS: Already built in, and prevention of data loss through routine, automatic backup is infinitely better than attempting 'recovery' without it.

Backup will 'recover' your data even if the original hard disk is physically destroyed with a sledge hammer, thrown into a bonfire hot enough to melt glass, and the drippings collected and scattered at sea.

Just the slightest mechanical or electronic fault can make a hard disk irrecoverable, no matter how ingenious the 'recovery' software that is trying to scrounge leftover tidbits.

Similar answer for windoze: Backup.

BACK UP YOUR DATA OR YOU COULD BE VERY, INCONSOLABLY SORRY.

Like wearing a seatbelt, or making your kid wear a bicycle helmet, it isn't optional. But if you disagree, perhaps scrambling your brains with a massive and preventable head trauma would be an improvement. Backup is equivalent to your kid's head being crushed by a bus, then getting up an hour later, completely unfazed, as if nothing had happened.

Bad things happen to computers, especially portables.

BACK IT UP.
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#3 User is offline   waldojim 

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Posted 06 May 2012 - 07:01 PM

View PostEvildave, on 06 May 2012 - 06:48 PM, said:

Time Machine + NAS: Already built in, and prevention of data loss through routine, automatic backup is infinitely better than attempting 'recovery' without it.

Backup will 'recover' your data even if the original hard disk is physically destroyed with a sledge hammer, thrown into a bonfire hot enough to melt glass, and the drippings collected and scattered at sea.

Just the slightest mechanical or electronic fault can make a hard disk irrecoverable, no matter how ingenious the 'recovery' software that is trying to scrounge leftover tidbits.

Similar answer for windoze: Backup.

BACK UP YOUR DATA OR YOU COULD BE VERY, INCONSOLABLY SORRY.

Like wearing a seatbelt, or making your kid wear a bicycle helmet, it isn't optional. But if you disagree, perhaps scrambling your brains with a massive and preventable head trauma would be an improvement. Backup is equivalent to your kid's head being crushed by a bus, then getting up an hour later, completely unfazed, as if nothing had happened.

Bad things happen to computers, especially portables.

BACK IT UP.

You do realize that you aren't helping in the slightest, right?

OP: I suggest Stellar Phoenix. I have used this before on peoples memory cards, it works extremely well.
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" -- Isaac Asimov
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#4 User is offline   Evildave 

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Posted 06 May 2012 - 07:08 PM

"Which Data Recovery Software Will You Choose?": NONE

Recovery software is not helpful. You may as well hawk 'antivirus' and magic rocks.

How 'helpful' is NOT telling someone when something as absolutely, fabulously useless?

I mean, sure, if someone asks whether hopping on their left foot or right foot will help, and what form of avian sacrifice will best appease the bit gods, I will leave it to YOU to sagely nod and helpfully say, 'Left, and Pigeon'.

Back up your data.

'Recovery' is simply the last desperate stage of a series of stupid errors, beginning with NOT BACKING UP CRUCIAL DATA.
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#5 User is offline   LiveBrianD 

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Posted 06 May 2012 - 07:22 PM

Backup is a definitely good idea, but if someone needs recovery software, it's probably already too late to backup the files. That's like telling someone to wear a helmet after they just crashed their bike and incurred a head injury. Yes, helmets are a good idea, but at the moment, you should be dialing 911 and trying to rush them to the hospital.

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 06 May 2012 - 07:24 PM

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#6 User is offline   waldojim 

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Posted 06 May 2012 - 07:30 PM

View PostEvildave, on 06 May 2012 - 07:08 PM, said:

"Which Data Recovery Software Will You Choose?": NONE

Recovery software is not helpful. You may as well hawk 'antivirus' and magic rocks.

How 'helpful' is NOT telling someone when something as absolutely, fabulously useless?

I mean, sure, if someone asks whether hopping on their left foot or right foot will help, and what form of avian sacrifice will best appease the bit gods, I will leave it to YOU to sagely nod and helpfully say, 'Left, and Pigeon'.

Back up your data.

'Recovery' is simply the last desperate stage of a series of stupid errors, beginning with NOT BACKING UP CRUCIAL DATA.

Ok - and if this question has come up - then backups are likely no longer an option. Recovery must take place. For that, shut up about the "woulda coulda shoulda" moments - and be helpful.

This post has been edited by waldojim: 06 May 2012 - 07:30 PM

"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" -- Isaac Asimov
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#7 User is offline   Evildave 

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Posted 06 May 2012 - 07:47 PM

Similarly, if you didn't back up your data, relying on 'recovery' first is a recipe for tears. If it's come to the point where you're considering 'data recovery', you failed to backup, and now you're already staring into the abyss.

So, yeah, you can dangle a tiny hope of 'recovery' in the face of the teary eyed people whom you never bothered to preach the religion of *BACK IT UP* to. There's even a very dim chance of recovering what they needed. Better than 0%, but much worse than virtually 100% guaranteed recovery.

Which data recovery will I choose? The one that ALWAYS works: Backup.

For OS X, that's gonna be 'Time Machine', and probably a 'Time Capsule' (or other form of NAS), for most people. Very easy to set up, and you never have to do anything to keep your files completely backed up, from then on. You come home with your notebook, you log into your network. You're backed up. You've been working on your document for an hour? It gets backed up. You wanted a version from two days ago? It's backed up. Simple.

It's very easy, and extremely inexpensive, compared to trying to 'fix' what has been very likely destroyed forever.

This post has been edited by coastie65: 09 May 2012 - 04:50 AM

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#8 User is offline   LiveBrianD 

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Posted 06 May 2012 - 07:58 PM

<smacks self on forehead>
I give up...
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#9 User is offline   waldojim 

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Posted 06 May 2012 - 08:26 PM

OP: on topic, again check out Stellar Phoenix. I can tell you, that when I needed it to help others, it always worked for me.
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" -- Isaac Asimov
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#10 User is offline   Evildave 

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Posted 07 May 2012 - 01:01 PM

If you are planning for the future (not panicking over past errors), buy a Time Capsule or other example of Network Attached Storage.

Because 'planning' to use 'Data Recovery' someday, rather than BACKUP, is like planning to have your head re-attached, so you can play hopscotch around spinning helicopter blades.

Or clicking on every link 'cuz you trust your antivirus.

Or jumping into the tiger cage 'cuz you have a magic tiger repellant rock that someone sold you for $50.

Anything you can run in Linux for data recovery on a USB attached drive will work in a virtual machine on the mac that supports 'attaching' USB to the VM, too. Those will at least be more numerous, and free.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q...x+data+recovery
http://www.virtualbox.org/
http://www.parallels.com/

On topic...
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=osx+data+recovery
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#11 User is offline   Evildave 

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Posted 07 May 2012 - 01:18 PM

Also, any 'windoze' data recovery will work on USB attached data, running in a virtual machine that supports USB attached drive, too.

Not that this will ever be helpful, but you should remove any drive mounted by the OS and 'recover' data separately in a read-only mode. If you boot off the drive you're going to try to 'rescue' files from (because someone was VERY stupid, and didn't back anything up), it will potentially reuse space that were part of the files that you are attempting to 'recover'. That would be 'bad news'. As in, the files are overwritten.

BTW, driving home the FACT, the absolute unarguable FACT that BACKUP is infinitely superior to 'recovery', is a sacred mission that you all should all take up.

I will continue to press BACKUP as the default 'recovery' and 'protection' solution tirelessly, until every n00b already HAS backup. Which is basically forever, at the going rate of user ignorance.

It is the only EFFECTIVE solution.

Spread the GOSPEL of BACKUP!

The people and organizations who don't BACKUP risk going through the HELL of attempting recovery, and FAILING.

Because even 'thinking' backup will make you consider what is going on when you are about to delete files or reformat media. IS IT backed up yet? NO??? Then what the hell am I doing?
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#12 User is offline   DataProtection 

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Posted 07 May 2012 - 05:29 PM

Thank you all the guys, the problem is that I have lost my data and didn't backup. so...
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#13 User is offline   Evildave 

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Posted 08 May 2012 - 12:45 PM

View PostDataProtection, on 07 May 2012 - 05:29 PM, said:

Thank you all the guys, the problem is that I have lost my data and didn't backup. so...


So, you lost your data from... what, how?

These are kind of important questions. For instance, if you 'lost' data on the same computer you're posting to the forum on, the likelihood that you have overwritten what was 'lost' keeps going up.
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#14 User is offline   DataProtection 

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Posted 08 May 2012 - 05:45 PM

View PostMarryWilson, on 08 May 2012 - 02:23 AM, said:

Kernel for Windows is an ingenious Windows recovery software that recovers data from formatted and re- formatted Windows partitions having FAT and NTFS file systems. It completely repairs the drives and recovers deleted, permanently deleted, lost and inaccessible data files and allows the users to reuse them. Additionally, it can recover files and folders from any version of Windows operating system.



What if it is a Mac.
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#15 User is offline   DataProtection 

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Posted 08 May 2012 - 05:50 PM

View PostEvildave, on 08 May 2012 - 12:45 PM, said:

View PostDataProtection, on 07 May 2012 - 05:29 PM, said:

Thank you all the guys, the problem is that I have lost my data and didn't backup. so...


So, you lost your data from... what, how?

These are kind of important questions. For instance, if you 'lost' data on the same computer you're posting to the forum on, the likelihood that you have overwritten what was 'lost' keeps going up.


Yes, it is the same computer and it is a Mac, It is the first time I use a Mac, I lost the important data because of a wrong deletion. I know little about data recovery so I want to find an easier way.
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#16 User is offline   LiveBrianD 

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Posted 08 May 2012 - 05:57 PM

Look at the program waldojim recommended. Also, it's a good idea to recover the file to a different drive if possible, to minimize the risk of overwriting something.
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#17 User is offline   smax013 

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Posted 08 May 2012 - 05:59 PM

View PostDataProtection, on 06 May 2012 - 06:35 PM, said:

I googled for mac data recovery software and i found the tools below:

Disk Drill Mac Data Recovery
macintosh Mac Data Recovery
MiniTool Mac Data Recovery

Which one is better and why? thank you.


I have not used any of those.

One that I have made use of is Data Rescue 3 by Prosoft: http://www.prosoften...data_rescue.php

Yes, it is not free, but if you really want your data back, then the $100 might be worth it (assuming it does in fact work).

Your other option is a data recovery service such as DriveSavers: http://www.drivesave...tarecovery.com/

This option will DEFINITELY not be cheap...you should expect it to cost at least several hundred dollars if not more. But, again, if you really want your data back, then price may not matter.

At the end of the day, if you have not backed up your data files and they are now lost, I would not personally trust any old free software to trying to recovery them if I actually cared about/needed to get them back. The only way I would consider free software is if it has a REALLY well established record of doing what is says it does. Frankly, the same standard would apply for paid software. And that is why I mentioned Data Rescue 3. I have seen it in action myself, plus it has gotten very good reviews from a number of well known/respected computer/Mac magazines.
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#18 User is offline   waldojim 

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Posted 08 May 2012 - 11:15 PM

Quick note - the "home" version of Stellar Phenoix's software is $50, and I can tell you that I have personally used that version (for Windows though) to recover TONS of data for people I know. The best part is, you can download a free "trial" that will SHOW YOU everything it can recover.

It is the easiest software I have used, and it works. There have been dozens that I have tried that went nowhere.
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" -- Isaac Asimov
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#19 User is offline   Evildave 

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Posted 09 May 2012 - 12:40 PM

View PostDataProtection, on 08 May 2012 - 05:50 PM, said:

Yes, it is the same computer and it is a Mac, It is the first time I use a Mac, I lost the important data because of a wrong deletion. I know little about data recovery so I want to find an easier way.


Also, there was someone who had a similar problem before, who accidentally dragged their files into a 'different' folder. This is actually easy WAY too easy to mistakenly do in any file management GUI. So try just pull up 'Finder' window and try searching for one of your 'lost' files with the little search box with the magnifying glass in it.

If you really deleted them, and they're not just sitting in the 'Trash' folder, every day you use that computer, the 'important files' are less and less likely to be intact.
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#20 User is offline   DataProtection 

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Posted 09 May 2012 - 05:34 PM

View PostEvildave, on 09 May 2012 - 12:40 PM, said:

View PostDataProtection, on 08 May 2012 - 05:50 PM, said:

Yes, it is the same computer and it is a Mac, It is the first time I use a Mac, I lost the important data because of a wrong deletion. I know little about data recovery so I want to find an easier way.


Also, there was someone who had a similar problem before, who accidentally dragged their files into a 'different' folder. This is actually easy WAY too easy to mistakenly do in any file management GUI. So try just pull up 'Finder' window and try searching for one of your 'lost' files with the little search box with the magnifying glass in it.

If you really deleted them, and they're not just sitting in the 'Trash' folder, every day you use that computer, the 'important files' are less and less likely to be intact.



Thank you very much.
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