Can I recover files from PC hard drive on Macbook?

[thebeefs]

Hi! I have done some research and can't seem to find the answer to this...

I had a Sony Vaio desktop computer and about two years ago I installed a system update from Windows which completely corrupted my hard drive. It wouldn't be such a big deal except I had about a year of photos which I had not backed up. I purchased around $300 of various (and supposedly reputable) data and photo recovery software; however, none of them worked. I could recover thumbnails and that's it.

I currently have a Macbook with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running OSx 10.5.8. I also have Parallels with Windows XP. My question is: If I buy a suitable adapter to connect my Vaio's hard drive to my Mac, could I potentially try something else to recover the photos? Or would it just be a waste of time?

Any help advice would be appreciated. Also, if you know of a way I could recover these photos on the Vaio I would be open to that... I've pretty much given up all hope on that though.

Thanks!

 

[Makosuke]

Yes.

With the appropriate USB (or Firewire) adapter, your Mac will be able to access the drive.

You could try accessing the data directly from the MacOS (it can read both FAT and NTFS volumes), or you can hand the adapter over to Parallels and let XP have a go at it. (Note that in the latter case you'll want to specifically give Windows full control of the adapter's hardware, not just the drive, so lower-level disk programs can work on it.)

As for hope getting anything off, my standard Mac recommendation is Data Rescue. In my experience if anything is going to get data off a corrupted drive, it's that app (and you can see what it will be able to salvage BEFORE you pay). I'm not actually sure if it can handle Windows formatted volumes, but again you can try it without risk, so it's painless to find out.

As for Windows-specific software SpinRite is the only one I'm familiar with. I've never actually tried it myself, so maybe it's useless, but GRC has a very good rep in security, so I'd be inclined to give it a try.

 

[thebeefs]

Thank you so much for your reply!

I am going to try that tomorrow (or tonight if I stay up late enough). I have been trying to do this forever, but ended up giving up after no success. I will reply with results!

Thanks again!