Is There A Data Recovery Program that is 100% Free??

I had a file on my flash drive that I backed up to my hard drive on my mac (In Design File). I restarted my mac and they are gone as if they never existed after spending hours on it. I exited the program properly, checked recent files in Finder and In Design, trash bin, the recover file for In Design but that won't open, and searched in Finder but nothing came up. I tried recovery programs and they did find something, but I couldn't open it because they want me to pay hundreds of dollars just to recover the one file. Techs charged over a thousand dollars and Genius Bar won't help me at all.

I was just going to create the file all over again, but I was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions? Are there any programs that recover for mac that are 100% free? All the programs I found want me to pay. So far I tried Stellar.

I am going to start using time machine now.

Thanks

Sadly not. They all charge plenty because data recovery is expensive.
Maybe worth a try though is this:

Exif Untrasher - Carsten Blüm: Mac Development

Now I know it's designed for camera memory cards, but they are flash memory, so can't be too different, and it can't hurt to try, it's free and won't damage anything.
Hope it helps/works.

Kevriano said:

Sadly not. They all charge plenty because data recovery is expensive.
Maybe worth a try though is this:

Exif Untrasher - Carsten Blüm: Mac Development

Now I know it's designed for camera memory cards, but they are flash memory, so can't be too different, and it can't hurt to try, it's free and won't damage anything.
Hope it helps/works.

Click to expand...

Thanks I'll give it a shot

Moved to appropriate forum

@cdaverett

Why did you place this in Macworld? Please read forum descriptions before posting.

cdaverett said:

Are there any programs that recover for mac that are 100% free?

Click to expand...

Yes, but they require that you run them from the command line.

testdisk*(free)
TestDisk - CGSecurity

Photorec (free)
can recover deleted .jpg & .mov files. It's also capable of recovering other types of deleted files as long as the file header for that file type is known to the program.*
PhotoRec - CGSecurity

___________________________________________

Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
OS X Maintenance And Troubleshooting
___________________________________________

Thanks for posting the links. TestDisk looks like something that could be very useful for recovering lost partitions and files in OS X. I might play around with it a bit when I have some time. I notice that it needs to be compiled first. That means installing the developer's kit.

Maybe if Van is reading this thread he can test it for us?

chscag said:

Thanks for posting the links. TestDisk looks like something that could be very useful for recovering lost partitions and files in OS X. I might play around with it a bit when I have some time. I notice that it needs to be compiled first. That means installing the developer's kit.

Maybe if Van is reading this thread he can test it for us?

Click to expand...

You sure? I got the Mac OS version from here, TestDisk Download - CGSecurity and I didn't need to compile first.

Thanks. The link Randy provided had several links describing which files were needed of which the instructions said it needed to be compiled.

I just downloaded it from the site you linked to and unarchived the files. I'll play with it later after I read the docs.

I should add that I trust Data Rescue because ProSoft has a long-standing great reputation for offering excellent software. I'm not sure that I would trust any of the other choices in this field.

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+1 for Data Rescue 3. A bit pricey at $99, but how much is your valuable data worth?

how anything works

McYukon said:

You sure? I got the Mac OS version from here, TestDisk Download - CGSecurity and I didn't need to compile first.

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Hi
I have a dreadful feeling that I'm in way too deep having bought an imac. I can't even get the page to keep still while I type, so scoff all you like but I have a question. I think I lost some files so I tried to use recovery software. The free stuff lies as they ask for money once you've done all the bits that should sort you out. This made me suspicious and I think rightly as I now cannot delete it.

So I opted for a donate system (test disk), and I would happily pay something but all I get are files in a folder - nothing happens.

Please do not begin by saying you have to configure it or do something first. I cut my teeth on macs twenty years ago - you clicked on an icon and the software opened and it worked. I am not a computerist. All I can do is click on or off. Any suggestions or should I just get a windows PC? flippin heck I can't even get this forum to work it tells me to ask a random question and I am asking a specific one

T100SS said:

Hi
I have a dreadful feeling that I'm in way too deep having bought an imac. I can't even get the page to keep still while I type, so scoff all you like but I have a question. I think I lost some files so I tried to use recovery software. The free stuff lies as they ask for money once you've done all the bits that should sort you out. This made me suspicious and I think rightly as I now cannot delete it.

So I opted for a donate system (test disk), and I would happily pay something but all I get are files in a folder - nothing happens.

Please do not begin by saying you have to configure it or do something first. I cut my teeth on macs twenty years ago - you clicked on an icon and the software opened and it worked. I am not a computerist. All I can do is click on or off. Any suggestions or should I just get a windows PC? flippin heck I can't even get this forum to work it tells me to ask a random question and I am asking a specific one

Click to expand...

Firstly welcome to the forum. I doubt anyone here wants scoff or belittle you so lets clear the air first by saying that there are lots of people on here that have a similar background to you, right through to tech professionals. The no affiliation to Apple it's just a bunch of users that try and help each other out.

You've raised a couple of things but let's start with the lost file.
1. What happened exactly? How did the file go from being usable to lost? (as far as you know?)
2. What sort of file is it? (Pages document, text document, music file, picture etc)
3. When you ran Test Disk did it find the file you're interested in?
4. Apologies for the question but have you checked in the Trash?

If you like we'll address the 'page wobble' thing after we've tried to get your file back

How the files were lost

mrplow said:

Firstly welcome to the forum. I doubt anyone here wants scoff or belittle you so lets clear the air first by saying that there are lots of people on here that have a similar background to you, right through to tech professionals. The no affiliation to Apple it's just a bunch of users that try and help each other out.

You've raised a couple of things but let's start with the lost file.
1. What happened exactly? How did the file go from being usable to lost? (as far as you know?)
2. What sort of file is it? (Pages document, text document, music file, picture etc)
3. When you ran Test Disk did it find the file you're interested in?
4. Apologies for the question but have you checked in the Trash?

If you like we'll address the 'page wobble' thing after we've tried to get your file back

Click to expand...

Hi, thank you for the assurances, most gratefully received.

1 I believe accidentally deleted the files - I think this occurred when I'd imported them into imovie, made a movie, then deleted all the cutting room floor bits.

2 photographs, mostly jpeg but I couldn't swear to that - they are from a Canon bridge type camera

3 I cannot tell what files it found, there were just some folder type logos with numbers of recovered files - not details

4 By the time I discovered that I'd misplaced (presumably deleted) the files I had already emptied the trash and run carp cleaner several times.

That you've running a cleaning tool doesn't make it easy to recover files. In fact, with any type of file recovery the more the disk is used the less likely of a successful recovery.

cannot tell what files it found, there were just some folder type logos with numbers of recovered files - not details

Click to expand...

That's not unusual for a recovered file. It does, as you note, make it difficult to know if it's the file you're looking for.
Do you still have the images on a camera memory card perhaps?

I'd suggest a tool like Data Rescue 3 or Disk Drill but both are in the $80 -90 range and there are still no guarantees. But they'll let you copy all recovered files to a folder where you can browse through them to see if they are the files you're looking for. But it can be hit and miss with this kind of process.

I can't think of any good but free recovery tools. Perhaps others will.

mrplow said:

I can't think of any good but free recovery tools. Perhaps others will.

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There are free recovery tools, and I'd even classify them as being "good", but they aren't for newbies and users with minimal knowledge of how a computer works. e.g.

PhotoRec (free)
can recover lost files including video, documents and archives from hard disks
PhotoRec - Digital Picture and File Recovery

There are a bunch of file recovery software programs for the Macintosh (I can give you a list, if you like), but the easiest to use, and probably the best is:

Data Rescue ($99)
Mac File Recovery Software | Prosofteng

I'm afraid that, as with anything, you get what you pay for.

For anyone struggling with their Macintosh, I highly recommend this book:

OS X Mountain Lion: The Missing Manual
About $20
OS X Mountain Lion: The Missing Manual: David Pogue: 9781449330279: Amazon.com: Books

There are also these very helpful free online tutorials:

Mac OS X: PC to Mac - The Basics
Mac OS X: PC to Mac - The Basics

Mac Basics - comprehensive beginner tutorials
Apple - Support - Mac Basics

Mac 101: Mac Essentials
Mac Basics: The essentials

Guided Tours of the Mac -extensive collection of video and text tutorials
Apple - Find Out How - Mac Basics

Quick Assist
Get Help With a Mac Activity (e.g. e-mail, printing, software installation)
Apple - Support - Quick Assist

Thanks for posting the links Randy. I was also surprised to see a new version of "TestDisk" (which I downloaded) from the same folks. It's one of the few free apps that I know which can recover a lost partition.