Massive Boot Camp Problem - Please Help!

PHarris82 · Jun 24, 2007

I deserve to be shot!

I installed Boot Camp and didn't back up any of my documents from Mac OSX. The install seemed to go fine, but it appears that I have somehow deleted the Mac partition. I am successfully running Windows on my Mac but can't get back to OSX. Does anybody know if I am able to uninstall Boot Camp from Windows and is there anyway of recovering all my Mac data?

Please help, I have got nothing on my computer!!!

Phil

dtravis7 · Jun 24, 2007

PHarris82 said:
I deserve to be shot!

I installed Boot Camp and didn't back up any of my documents from Mac OSX. The install seemed to go fine, but it appears that I have somehow deleted the Mac partition. I am successfully running Windows on my Mac but can't get back to OSX. Does anybody know if I am able to uninstall Boot Camp from Windows and is there anyway of recovering all my Mac data?

Please help, I have got nothing on my computer!!!

Phil

Reboot and hold OPTION. See if the boot menu comes up and if your OSX is there. If so click on it. Do remember that OSX will not show up in XP as XP can not read an OSX Partition. There is an option in the Control Panel called Startup Disk that will also allow you to select which OS boots at start up. Same option is in OSX.

PHarris82 · Jun 24, 2007

When I hold down the option key when I restart the only option I get is to boot up Windows.

Is there any way of restoring where I was 5 hours ago with just having my mac and all that data there?

dtravis7 · Jun 24, 2007

It sounds like you selected the wrong partition and installed over the OSX install. Most of the time issues like yours is simply people don't realize that OSX will not show up in Windows.

If you did that, there is no way back that I know of since you made a new partition right over OSX.

You are SURE there is no OSX icon under option? If not I know no way back but to zap it all and put in the OSX DVD that came with your machine.

PHarris82 · Jun 24, 2007

There is no OSX icon when I boot up.

Does this mean that all of my data is lost? Is there anyway of recovering my documents that were in OSX?

How do I go about re-installing OSX? Do I just stick the DVD in while I have XP running?

dtravis7 · Jun 24, 2007

Put in the OSX DVD and hold down C till it starts to boot. I am sorry I can't help get your files back, but if XP installed over OSX and not on the partition that BootCamp made, there is no way to recover anything form the OSX install.

Just to be sure, while in Windows, open the control panel and look for Startup Disk. If you see that option, click it. See if you see OSX there. If not, it's gone.

PHarris82 · Jun 24, 2007

OSX doesn't appear in the start-up disk option. I have not been able to get into OSX since I installed Windows!

I don't want to re-install OSX if there is any chance of being able to recover the lost data - would a shop be able to recover any of it?

Otai Mac · Jun 28, 2007

it hear like you install windows on mac partition, Nothing you cant do. just re-install back mac os x and your has been deleted your mac data when you install windows on mac partition. by.......

Aptmunich · Jun 28, 2007

Unfortunately it sounds as though you formatted your OS X partition and installed Windows over it. So not only is most of your data overwritten, you also changed the volume's formatting.

You'll have to start over I'm afraid. But see it as a lesson: Never attempt risky installs without a working backup of your important data! We've all lost files before, so I know it's a painful lesson to learn - but a valuable one!