Replacing iMac w/Lion hard drive

[macaddict1]

Hello all!

I'm a frequent visitor, but a first time poster. I've been bailed out of countless jams with my mac thanks to this forum, but I'm stuck in one that I haven't found the answer to (yet).

My question is, I just replaced the hard drive on my iMac with Lion, unfortunately I didn't back anything up as I always put it off thinking that my Mac wouldn't ever fail on me. I had it about a year and some months so out of warranty, I purchased a new hard drive and installed it, my question is though will I have absolutely ANY way of getting back anything that was on my mac prior to hard drive failure (photos, programs, documents, etc), I know I can use the internet recover to get back the OSX on there but any steps I can take to get documents or programs back since I didn't use Time capsule or back anything up.

Thanks in advance.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Does the old HDD still function (spin up, make a noise it is running)? Do you have an enclosure for 3.5" S-ATA HDDs or can you get one?

 

[miles01110]

You can't restore from a backup if you have no backup.

 

[macaddict1]

simsaladimbamba,
It does absolutely nothing at all.

miles01110,
Thats what I figured, but I wasn't sure if it was another spot on my mac where it saved information or what not. I'm not really computer savvy, just know some of the basics.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

simsaladimbamba,
It does absolutely nothing at all.

You can try a data recovery service (Yellow Pages, reviews, ...), but if the data is recoverable (the initial analysation might cost 100 to 200 USD) will cost around 1000 USD, if the data is worth it.

miles01110,
Thats what I figured, but I wasn't sure if it was another spot on my mac where it saved information or what not. I'm not really computer savvy, just know some of the basics.

Data is only stored on the HDD, unless you copy it somewhere else (back ups are a copy).

 

[macaddict1]

You can try a data recovery service (Yellow Pages, reviews, ...), but if the data is recoverable (the initial analysation might cost 100 to 200 USD) will cost around 1000 USD, if the data is worth it.


Data is only stored on the HDD, unless you copy it somewhere else (back ups are a copy).

Got it, thank you sir! You've been a big help. Appreciate it!