help me recover my data!

[dpopiz]

I have a 250GB NTFS external drive that had all the stuff I wanted to keep from the last 5 years on it.

I had the external drive connected to an old iMac which I was preparing to install Mac OS 9 on. Unfortunately I did not realize that I selected the external drive instead of the iMac's internal drive to install on.

So I know that the drive is now formatted as whatever filesystem Mac OS 9 uses and it has had a little bit of its data overwritten with Mac OS 9 files.

But if I understand filesystems correctly, most of my 250GB should still be there.


What apps should I use to recover the file fragments from the previous NTFS partition?

[Roguestar]

You're screwed. At best, a decent program might be able to recover some of your files. Other than that your only option is to send it to one of the bank-breaking data recovery firms.

[Tarrant64]

Originally posted by: Roguestar
You're screwed. At best, a decent program might be able to recover some of your files. Other than that your only option is to send it to one of the bank-breaking data recovery firms.

Yeah, you're not in a good position here. Any method you choose to get your data back though, will cost you some amount of $$$. You can start by trying to find a good review on recovery software that's no more than $35-$40. Maybe $50? This way you don't stretch yourself too far. These will at the least be able to give you some idea of what you can recovery, and hopefully do a little bit more than that.

[chusteczka]

[*]Data Recovery Programs

• Data Recovery
• TestDisk
• R-Studio
• Runtime's GetDataBack
• Partition Table Doctor
• Spinright
• Ontrack's Easy Recovery Pro
• Quetek
• http://www.active-undelete.com/
• http://www.partition-recovery.com/
• File Scavenger
• HDD Regenerator
• Freeware Data Recovery Tools ***Free***
• Free Tools to Recover lost data ***Free***
• Freeware Restoration ***Free***
• PC Inspector ***Free***
• Smart NTFS Recovery***Free***
• Smart FAT Recovery***Free***
• ACR Data Recovery
• DataRecoveryWizard
• Recover My Files
• Handy Recovery
• Digital Camera Memory Recovery: PC Inspector
• Flash Media Data Recovery
• BadCopy Media Recovery

[*]Rescue Disks

• UBCD4Win
• BartPE
• Insert
• Knoppix
• Hiren's BootCD
• Ubuntu LiveCD

[mauiblue]

I've personally tried GetDataBack and it works! I formatted a hard drive that had thousands of photo files. I got 99% of my files back. It has a try it before you buy it feature. Give it a shot and good luck.

[Intexity]

yeah i have recommended GetDataBack a few times now and seems to have good success. I have used it myself and gotten files back even after a format. So good luck!