I made a mistake erasing my hard drive

[Timolars]

This is my first post so I hope I'm using the correct forum.

I downloaded Mavericks yesterday (because it was free) and then later regretted it when my older MacBook Pro wasn't running well. I read that I needed to erase my hard drive and re-install Mountain Lion-which is what I want to do. I have an external hard drive but it isn't showing up on the OS X
Utilities---> Restore from Time Machine Backup

While in Disk Utility, I erased "Macintosh HD" and now my start up icon is missing and I am stuck in Disk Utility. (I can't pull up the specs on my computer, sorry) Should I have erased the other option "200.05 GB Hitachi HTS7) instead?

When I click "restore" I see a page with Source and Destination. Will this help me?

I hope this made some sense.

Thanks for helping a frustrated newbie.

 

[orangezorki]

Okay, the way I see it is that you have two ways to view your dilemma:

1. It's gone. If you have a backup (clone or time machine), then the best thing to do is just install a fresh copy of the OS you want, then use the migration assistant. This is the cheap way of dealing with this.

2. If you really don't have a backup, and you absolutely have to get that data back, then take your machine (or the bare HD if you are happy taking it out) to a shop that does data recovery. Most importantly, switch off the machine and don't turn it on - even that could cause new data to be written over the precious data.

And please, please backup. Not a 'judgement', just coming from someone who is thinking 'there but for the grace of God...'.

David

 

[Timolars]

Hi David,

I have backed up my data, but my main concern is how what to do with
"Choose Startup Disk" and I no longer have a choice.

Also, at the "Restore from Time Machine Backup" screen, my external hard drive is not recognized.

My data is not essential. I have the original discs to my MacBook Pro, does that help at all.

Thanks, Tim

 

[sarakn]

Can't offer any help just good wishes. Hope you're able to recover your data. I bet you had that cold chill the moment you realized what happened.

 

[HBP]

Reinstall OS first, then restore from time machine using migration.

 

[Timolars]

Thanks...

 

[orangezorki]

Hope you sorted it, but just to check, do you have two hard drives in the computer? If so, be careful to choose the one you want or you could end up having erased both!

If you only have one drive, and haven't partitioned it (e.g. Bootcamp), then perhaps the confusion is that in disk utility, you see the drive listed (the hardware), and then below that, the volume (the collection of data that the computer sees as a disk). If you want to erase and start again, make sure that you select the drive, rather than the volume.

All the best,

David