HELP!!!!! I just wiped my external hard disk!

[EvryDayImShufln]

Here's the deal: I had a 320gig seagate external connected to my MBP. It was partitioned in FAT32, because I had originally partitioned it with my old WinXP PC to transfer data onto my MBP. Since FAT32 didn't allow huge partitions, I had 3 small ones on the hard drive.

Today I decided I would partition one of the 3 into mac journaled, to allow for a huge ISO file to be transferred onto it (since FAT32 has a 4 gig limit or something).

I clicked "erase" on the partition of choice, but instead disk utility crashed and left me with 320 gigs of unpartitioned space!!!!! What can I do to get all my data back?? Plz help! thx in advance

 

[patrick0brien]

-f1400

Since you were wiping the disk anyway, just try again.

Though actually wipe it this time - write Zeros to disk.

 

[spork183]

I clicked "erase" on the partition of choice, but instead disk utility crashed and left me with 320 gigs of unpartitioned space!!!!! What can I do to get all my data back?? Plz help! thx in advance

If I understand you correctly, you wanted to retain the other two partitions with the data there, and only reformat one partition. Based on that, it would depend on what disk utility did before it crashed. I'd give disk warrior a shot first and see if it can unscramble what disk utility started.

 

[EvryDayImShufln]

I was trying to wipe 1 of the 3 partitions. Instead of wiping that 1, it wiped the entire disk!

spork, I'm worried that disk utility might have actually begun the format, as the disk is now labelled as mac journaled. Is disk warrior free? I'll check it out.

 

[spork183]

disk warrior isn't free, but if you have applecare, there should be a utility on the cd that could help you out. it use to be techtool deluxe, i'm not sure if it still is.

If the wipe process started, then you're probably just doing a recovery of as much as you can get back. sorry I can't be more upbeat.

Also, if you have techtool, make sure it is updated. I lost everything running an old version of techtool on a drive with tiger.

 

[himansk]

I was trying to wipe 1 of the 3 partitions. Instead of wiping that 1, it wiped the entire disk!

spork, I'm worried that disk utility might have actually begun the format, as the disk is now labelled as mac journaled. Is disk warrior free? I'll check it out.

I had the exact same problem, I lost the other partitions in the exact same way on an external 80G usb drive. didnt know what to do so just erase and reformatted the whole drive. i already had most of my data backed up and the rest were just ripped movies from my DVDs so I could rip them again anyway. Turned out I have a lot less junk now after the format than before.

 

[EvryDayImShufln]

Damn it doesn't look good. The way the disk was formatted now makes OS X barely even recognize it, disk warrior can't recognize it either.

 

[HowEver]

If there is data on the external drive that you want to preserve, don't do anything with that drive until you have the right tools. Otherwise, all you'll be doing is writing over the stuff you want to find.

Get FileSalvage or a similar app, or take the drive for professional restoration.

 

[EvryDayImShufln]

If there is data on the external drive that you want to preserve, don't do anything with that drive until you have the right tools. Otherwise, all you'll be doing is writing over the stuff you want to find.

Get FileSalvage or a similar app, or take the drive for professional restoration.

Alright, just wanted to update this thread once and for all.

I used filesalvage and managed to recover quite a few files, however not the one's I was looking for, but it worked nicely nonetheless. I was trying to recover a bunch of applications I had acquired for OS X, but instead got all movies pictures documents and music off the disk. For some reason "data" was not really recoverable, I'm not quite sure why.

 

[HowEver]

Good to hear you had a positive if mildly ambivalent outcome.

"Acquired," indeed...

The files must have been over-written, since FileSalvage won't distinguish between file types in its recovery.

Alright, just wanted to update this thread once and for all.

I used filesalvage and managed to recover quite a few files, however not the one's I was looking for, but it worked nicely nonetheless. I was trying to recover a bunch of applications I had acquired for OS X, but instead got all movies pictures documents and music off the disk. For some reason "data" was not really recoverable, I'm not quite sure why.