Stupidly restored internal HD in recovery mode disk utility after failed Mojave update caused OS to disappear. I think I know the answer to this, but is there any way to recover data? No time machine back-up...Mojave now installed via internet recovery mode. . .
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Restored imac HD by mistake. Any way to recover data?
- Thread starter chimpgibbon
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Ooops... Unless...
If you were running OS 10.13.x and are booting from an internal SSD formatted APFS and had Time Machine turned on—even if no back up drive was selected... Then APFS Snapshots can restore your system to its previous state.
In the highly unlikely chance that all of the above conditions were met, contact me and I'll tell you how to recover.
Oh... unless you do backups to Carbon Copy Cloner (it destroys APFS Snapshots every time you run it). But, if you're backing up with CCC, why would you be asking your original question?
Diskwarrior won't work for Mojave internal HD recovery... cheers though.
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Thanks. Sadly was updating to Mojave from Yosemite so not an option. You learn the hard way sometimes...
Almost fearless prediction:
Without a backup, you're not getting that data back. It's gone.
There could be a "very slim chance", but again... not likely.
NEXT time you do a major OS upgrade...
... do a full cloned bootable backup FIRST using either CCC or SuperDuper.
If you had done that, you would be back up and running pronto.
Without a backup, you're not getting that data back. It's gone.
There could be a "very slim chance", but again... not likely.
NEXT time you do a major OS upgrade...
... do a full cloned bootable backup FIRST using either CCC or SuperDuper.
If you had done that, you would be back up and running pronto.
Yup I hear you! HOWEVER I’ve found a programme called iBoysoft that is finding my files somehow! It works like DiskWarrior but supports internal HD recovery in Mojave unlike DW...
"I’ve found a programme called iBoysoft that is finding my files somehow!"
That sounds good.
I'm guessing that's a data recovery app.
Let the program "finish its scan".
Does it find enough to justify paying the registration fee?
BE AWARE that just because it "finds" the files is no guarantee that it can actually recover them.
But... you'll also need ANOTHER HARD DRIVE to receive the recovered files.
Also be aware that you MIGHT lose previous folder hiearchies and file names.
That's a common situation with data recovery software.
But the compensation is ... you get the data back.
That sounds good.
I'm guessing that's a data recovery app.
Let the program "finish its scan".
Does it find enough to justify paying the registration fee?
BE AWARE that just because it "finds" the files is no guarantee that it can actually recover them.
But... you'll also need ANOTHER HARD DRIVE to receive the recovered files.
Also be aware that you MIGHT lose previous folder hiearchies and file names.
That's a common situation with data recovery software.
But the compensation is ... you get the data back.
I’ve done a test run with the free version and it’s recovered everything to internal HD desktop so far.... and found 542GB in files in total ... only question remaining is Whether to buy the food version which allows you to boot from an external disk or a slightly lesser version doesn’t have this option
There are quite a few recovery programs out there. I've had good luck with Prosoft Data Rescue in the past. (https://www.prosofteng.com)
What they basically do, is scans the hard drive sector by sector... all the "empty space". This is because the way a drive technically works, is that an erase or format doesn't actually erase or overwrite your data. It marks that area of the drive as now available to write onto. So the data that's most definitely gone is the area of the drive that the new OS was overwritten onto. All the "empty space" still has a good chance of having your old data on it. And that's what these recovery programs do - search that space bit by bit.
Also, what that means is anything you add to your drive now is overwriting some of your old data. So it's recommended to boot from a different drive to run this, and then recover to another drive.
Good luck!
What they basically do, is scans the hard drive sector by sector... all the "empty space". This is because the way a drive technically works, is that an erase or format doesn't actually erase or overwrite your data. It marks that area of the drive as now available to write onto. So the data that's most definitely gone is the area of the drive that the new OS was overwritten onto. All the "empty space" still has a good chance of having your old data on it. And that's what these recovery programs do - search that space bit by bit.
Also, what that means is anything you add to your drive now is overwriting some of your old data. So it's recommended to boot from a different drive to run this, and then recover to another drive.
Good luck!
Good. Someone has figured out how to recover data from APFS Snapshots without Time Machine. If you had Time Machine enabled, it would have taken a few minutes to return the drive completely to its earlier state before you screwed everything up. I discovered this accidentally and wrote about it here. I do testing for this and that and have royally messed everything up by installing apps not ready for prime time. APFS Snapshots has bailed my out every time. On my old, creaky 2010 iMac, the process takes about 3 minutes.
http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=64689
If your data is recovered, you no longer need a data recovery program. Get an external drive and enable Time Machine. My favorite is the WD My Cloud since it works over ethernet. No sleep issues ever. Time Machine is one of the default settings and very easy to set up. These use the WD Red drives, a low energy HDD with extra heavy bearings designed for NAS.
https://www.wd.com/products/personal-cloud-storage.html
Avoid cloning software. Besides being unnecessary, CCC will destroy the APFS Snapshots every time you use it (yes, really). SuperDuper doesn't, boasting that it works with Snapshots and TM, so what's the point? If you're not cloning drives for archival, you have no need. Cloning software doesn't actually "clone" a drive, btw, it copies files over which is not the same thing.
http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=64689
If your data is recovered, you no longer need a data recovery program. Get an external drive and enable Time Machine. My favorite is the WD My Cloud since it works over ethernet. No sleep issues ever. Time Machine is one of the default settings and very easy to set up. These use the WD Red drives, a low energy HDD with extra heavy bearings designed for NAS.
https://www.wd.com/products/personal-cloud-storage.html
Avoid cloning software. Besides being unnecessary, CCC will destroy the APFS Snapshots every time you use it (yes, really). SuperDuper doesn't, boasting that it works with Snapshots and TM, so what's the point? If you're not cloning drives for archival, you have no need. Cloning software doesn't actually "clone" a drive, btw, it copies files over which is not the same thing.
CCC's snapshot support is entirely configurable. I have it disabled, meaning it neither creates nor remove snapshots from the volume being cloned.
It does show a handy list of the APFS snapshots though and even allows users to remove or restore them.
If your boot drive fails, you're not going to have access to any of the APFS snapshots which is, of course, the entire point of cloning.
CCC is worth every penny. It's saved me from drive failure on numerous occasions. It's worth it for the ability to boot directly from the cloned volume alone.
So the data was important, but not important enough to back up? Now you know better for next time.
No. That shows the value of Time Machine. Cloning as backup is a time consuming way of accomplishing what TM does in the background. Now with APFS, cloning apps are more useless than ever.
The only reason to use them is if you make archival drives. Clone, store offsite in a secure vault and never look at again unless a disaster occurs. How many of us really need to do that? Some business and government agencies do but are you one of them?
Nope. CCC never saved you from drive failure in a way that TM couldn't. No once, not ever since OS 10.5. Ok, excepting Mavericks 10.9.4 but those issues were fixed in 10.9.5 and have never reoccurred.
If you're pushing drives so that they fail often, you should consider TechTool Pro. BTW, it can "clone" too but its chief benefit is to give you early warning on impending drive problems in ways that other tools can't. It doesn't actually fix anything anymore—neither do any of the others except Apple's Disk Utility and Terminal—but it's a very good diagnostic tool.
I have CCC set to automatically clone my boot volume daily and it does so in the background. Since it only backs up any data that has changed since the last operation, it generally takes about 3 to 5 minutes.
I use CCC to make a bootable clone in the event of hardware failure.
I'm not sure what your problem with CCC is but if you prefer Time Machine, that's your prerogative. I'm not saying Time Machine is not a viable option for backup. I use Time Machine as well for the purpose of quickly restoring accidentally deleted files, etc.
For quickly getting back up and running from a failed boot drive though, nothing beats CCC in my opinion.
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Mike seems to have something against CCC (or SuperDuper, as well).
Personally, I have never had a problem with a cloned backup, and the times I've had to "restore" from one, the installation went "as desired" (everything "was there" afterwards).
I cannot conceive of any reason why I would want a TM backup paradigm, with copy after copy after copy after copy after copy after copy after copy (had enough?) of the same stuff over and over and over and over again.
I routinely boot from my cloned backups to do maintenance and other tasks on my "main drives".
I COULD NOT DO THIS from ANY TM backup. For that, they are useless to me.
I regard CCC as one of the premier examples of Mac software "out there" today.
Mr. Halloran and I will have to agree to disagree on this.
Personally, I have never had a problem with a cloned backup, and the times I've had to "restore" from one, the installation went "as desired" (everything "was there" afterwards).
I cannot conceive of any reason why I would want a TM backup paradigm, with copy after copy after copy after copy after copy after copy after copy (had enough?) of the same stuff over and over and over and over again.
I routinely boot from my cloned backups to do maintenance and other tasks on my "main drives".
I COULD NOT DO THIS from ANY TM backup. For that, they are useless to me.
I regard CCC as one of the premier examples of Mac software "out there" today.
Mr. Halloran and I will have to agree to disagree on this.
Disagree all you want. I will now reveal the dirty little secret (shhhhh — don't tell anyone)
You are paying money for functionality contained in Disk Utility. Everything you claim is possible without CCC, SD!!!!! or even TechTool Pro. This article is as good as any on the subject.
https://www.lifewire.com/use-disk-utility-to-clone-macs-drive-4042367
1 You don't need cloning software.
2 You never did. Disk Utility is faster.
3 It doesn't make an exact copy — it can't.
4 Time Machine is far superior for backup and restore — since APFS, even more so.
5 For setting up a new system, Migration Assistant is far superior—and every time you recommend CCC over that, I will point out why you are wrong.
6 Nothing that anyone has posted on the subject—and there's been plenty—contradicts me on this. For every advantage claimed, I can show how it's not necessary.
I have no dog in this fight. I don't have a competing product nor am I associated with anyone who does. Yea, I've used Super Duper! to make a few hundred desktops identical—the GUI is nicer than Disk Utility but the last time was years ago. Apple's enterprise server architecture has made that method obsolete. I doubt that I will ever use it again.
i'm done here.
Even this article concedes in its final paragraph that the primary advantage of using Disk Utility to clone is that it's free and that it requires more steps and lacks the features of third party apps like CCC.
I personally find CCC to be totally worth the price for those features it provides such as fully bootable backups, smart updates and scheduling, none of which you get with Disk Utility.
The functionality that is not included in Disk Utility is what I'm paying for. That may not be something you find worthwhile but you shouldn't presume the same for everyone else.
I have never posted a negative review about a company, until now. And it seems to be the proper thread.
Company is Cleverfiles. Their data recovery product is DiskDrill
Bottom Line: Cleverfiles stood fast on their "no refunds at all" policy even though I had extenuating circumstances, and said thus would accept a partial refund. Their email exchanges were boilerplate, never addressing my reasons for request. Cleverfiles claimed that any user should be able to tell if they need to buy the "PRO" version after trying out the free version.
Their program may be the best on the market. Would a more experienced user known not to buy the program? Probably. But, their implication was that I used the program, it worked, and I was trying to screw them for a refund. I would spend my money elsewhere.
Company is Cleverfiles. Their data recovery product is DiskDrill
Bottom Line: Cleverfiles stood fast on their "no refunds at all" policy even though I had extenuating circumstances, and said thus would accept a partial refund. Their email exchanges were boilerplate, never addressing my reasons for request. Cleverfiles claimed that any user should be able to tell if they need to buy the "PRO" version after trying out the free version.
Their program may be the best on the market. Would a more experienced user known not to buy the program? Probably. But, their implication was that I used the program, it worked, and I was trying to screw them for a refund. I would spend my money elsewhere.
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Hi chipchen - Please see my Data Rescue post, please respond if you have any advice