Accidently wrote external hard drive in NTSF

[WranglinDubs]

I messed up good!

I was attempting to install Windows XP Pro through bootcamp and somehow wrote not only my entire external in NTSF but my whole harddrive. The techs at the Apple Store we able to fix my MacBook and they told me to take it home and preform a reinstall from Time Machine but when I tried that it kept saying "Device not Reconizable." I took it back and they found out that somehow I had written my external in NTSF during the XP install (which didn't work anyways). They told me to try "MacFuse" which will read NTSF files. My question is, is this the route to go? Also will I be able to get my Time Machine backups back and restore my MacBook BACK to Pre-Windows install?

This really sucks. My new iPhone 4 was just delivered too but I can't do anything until I back up my 3G... It's just taunting me now!!

 

[rgwoehr]

If you reformatted the drive you used for Time Machine, those files are gone. I don't think you'll be able to get them back.

 

[i.shaun]

If I understand that correctly, you somehow formatted both the external HDD and the Internal HDD on the mac as NTFS?

I assume Boot camp works off a DVD or something to be able to format the mac's HDD as well without trouble. I don't think there is any way to recover a time machine backup or the original install of OSX after a format (erase) and re-write of an NTFS file system.


Your best bet is to use the Install DVDs to re-install OSX, Properly format and setup a drive or partition with NTFS for boot camp, then format the External back to HFS+J and make a brand new Time Machine backup.

 

[Tumbleweed666]

There are data recovery apps, and also services, which will trawl the disk and pull off any data, irrespective of a format, unless you actually wrote to the entire disk, which is very unlikely.
I would start with something like data rescue. You'll need to first re install OSX on the internal disk, then run DR against the external. That will let you get back your data , but no chance of getting back to the pre messed-up state.

 

[WranglinDubs]

Thanks for the help everyone! I wrote all that in my iPhone and was outside the Apple Store and a little less then happy. Let me clarify what's going on:

I attempted to install Windows XP Pro through Bootcamp on my MacBook. (It's a UniBody, Intell, Late '08 model) I DID perform a Time Machine back up prior to doing all this! All went smoothly until the Windows part took over and it was asking me questions I did know so I attempted to exit the install and I think that's where things went wrong. I also had my external plugged into my MacBook the whole time and I'm guessing SOMEHOW the Windows install saw this as the main Hard Drive and reformatted that as well (GUESSING!!!)

Yes the Mac's hard drive was reformatted to Windows and the Tech's at Apple had no problem erasing that and getting OS X 10.5 back on it. Then they instructed me to re-install everything from the Time Machine back up I did prior to the BootCamp process. That's when I realized that the External wasn't reading either. Back to the Apple Store and they found that my external was formatted in NTSF form. They had a properly split MacBook with Windows on it and that wouldn't read the external either. I came home and installed MacFuse but I'm very confused on how to use it don't want to mess thing up more. I'm relieved to hear that Mac's can read it natively but so far nothings worked to let me look at the external and take stuff off of it. I don't mind if I loose my settings but I DO mind loosing my iTunes and iPhoto libraries. Any more help??

 

[rgwoehr]

You could get your music off the iPhone using iPhone Explorer, but I think you'll have to jailbreak it first.

 

[velocityg4]

Stellar Phoenix Mac will scan the entire disk surface. You may have to reformat to HFS+ first though, they have a deleted partition option. Just don't do a secure erase or start saving new files to the external yet.

Also the recovery drive that the recovered files will go to must be as big or larger than the external. I think Stellar Phoenix will insist on that. Don't bother with Data Rescue or Disk Warrior they are not nearly as thorough. My favorite is Nucleus Kernel Mac but only runs in Windows for some reason.