Retrieving a deleted folder

[Kong]

I don't know why I did this, but I deleted a folder off my desktop that has a lot of valuable files that I want. I then emptied the trash (non-secure). I don't have any pre-installed software to save me from deleting files.

I DO have some apps tho on disc to help debug my Mac when they are acting weird (DriveGenius, TechTool and DiskWarrior). Any thoughts on which of these I should use first to see if it can bring the folder back from the grave?

I'm feeling a sense of dread tho', and realizing I should never use a computer before drinking a morining cup of coffee.

 

[matticus008]

Unfortunately I think you screwed the pooch on that one. How much is the data worth to you? A data recovery service might be your only option, and it's unlikely that they'll be able to recover everything if you've continued using the computer.

You could try FileSalvage and see how that goes, and there are a few other similar utilities. In the mean time, try to avoid too much activity that's disk-intensive.

Good luck!

 

[CanadaRAM]

STOP USING THE MACHINE. TURN IT OFF.

The longer you run the machine, the more chance there is of OSX overwriting the files' sectors in the background doing normal Virtual Memory operations.

Use DataRescue II to try and recover your files. You are going to want to have a second hard drive to save the rescued data to -- there could be a lot of it as DRII will attempt to rescue all of the files that meet your criteria. Ideally, you have a Firewire drive with an OS on it you can boot from and rescue the files to.

In this situation, drive REPAIR tools like Disk Utility, DiskWarrior and most of the TechTool suite will make matters worse, not better, Do not run them.