Retrieve PC files on MAC

donnej1 · 09-15-2009, 09:47 PM

Ok, not sure where to start or what info to give you?
I had a Sony Vaio PC running XP. Had lots of problems with viruses and the likes so bought a WD Passport 120gb.
Used WD sync to transfer my files and use as back up (I know now, was not a great idea!)
My PC crashed a couple times with Blue screen of death, managed to restore it couple times, but then battery died and I became frustrated with it and tried a factory restore. It asked for the recovery discs that I never had and I was angry and beat it up.....
Being completely annoyed with PC's I went and purchased a MacBook Pro. Love it and want to get all my files (25GB worth) transferred on to it.
Plugged in the WD and opened up the drive. I can not get anything off it? I can see a couple of folders for WD Sync data, but contains 4000 plus unrecognized files, I assume are the sync files. I also see a setup.exe but it will not run on MAC.
Searched the net and appears WD Sync is not available for Mac? Not sure if that means my data is lost forever and I can not get it back? When I use WD Passport in another PC and try to retrieve files I lose some or they come through with funny characters or the size of them are 6mb instead of 23kb per file.
So, I purchased rocketfish enclosure and removed the Sony harddrive (SATA) and plugged it into Mac. It says error reading drive, initialize or reformat? Not sure I can do either without losing the data?

So in summary, I have a Mac, I have a WD Passport with encrypted files I want, and I have a hard drive that was left in mid factory restore with files I want. Can I use either to get them back and how can I do it on the Mac??

Your help would be gratefully appreciated.

sinclair_tm · 09-16-2009, 09:43 AM

I would be contacting WD about the drive, and the issues you've had with restoring the files under the other XP PC. The best thing to do is leave the drive in the WD Passport and connect it to another PC and get your files restored, then you can copy them to the Mac. If you initialize or reformat, you will lose everything. And it seems that the only way to get the data off of the WD Passport is with the WD software. Hopefully WD can give you some help in restoring your files.

donnej1 · 09-16-2009, 05:35 PM

What about getting my files off the hard drive? Is there anyway to retrieve the data on the Mac or other pc bearing in mind I left it in restore state. I would assume the files are still on there, so why can I not access them? When I plug it into a PC it states the disc is not formatted and asks to format it.

sinclair_tm · 09-16-2009, 06:30 PM

Is this with the hard drive back in the WD Passport enclosure it came in?

donnej1 · 09-20-2009, 07:35 PM

I have the files in two locations.
1: I used WD Sync on my old pc and they are stored on the WD, but I can't get them off. I contact WD and they have been little to no help whatsoever. My Mac does not recognize the WD Sync software. On another laptop the WD Sync fires up, but when I try to copy the files half the files do not copy, I get error messages while copying, and those that do copy ok seem to be 5 times the file size and corrupt.
2: I have the hard drive from my old Sony Vaio in a Rocketfish enclosure. The Mac recognizes a drive but wants to initialize it and will not show any files in the Disc Utilities. If I plug it into my work laptop, which is windows based, it shows the drive but says it needs to be formatted. Again, will not show any files. When the vaio last worked, I had started a factory restore because it was so slow and I had a load of viruses I could not get rid of. I was at the point it was asking for recovery discs on boot up but I did not have them, then my battery died and that was the point I just gave up with it.

I will be eternally grateful if you could help me retrieve my files from one of these sources. I have everything on there, my music, all my photos from the last 6 years, and lots of documents.

Jase

sinclair_tm · 09-20-2009, 10:10 PM

I'm afraid there if the drives area all coming up as needing to be formatted, there isn't much that can be done. You could buy some recovery software and try that. If that doesn't work, there are some places that do data recovery, but it's pricey, and it may be the only option you have now.

09-15-2009, 09:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
donnej1 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 3 OS: MAC OS X 10.5.8	Retrieve PC files on MAC Ok, not sure where to start or what info to give you? I had a Sony Vaio PC running XP. Had lots of problems with viruses and the likes so bought a WD Passport 120gb. Used WD sync to transfer my files and use as back up (I know now, was not a great idea!) My PC crashed a couple times with Blue screen of death, managed to restore it couple times, but then battery died and I became frustrated with it and tried a factory restore. It asked for the recovery discs that I never had and I was angry and beat it up..... Being completely annoyed with PC's I went and purchased a MacBook Pro. Love it and want to get all my files (25GB worth) transferred on to it. Plugged in the WD and opened up the drive. I can not get anything off it? I can see a couple of folders for WD Sync data, but contains 4000 plus unrecognized files, I assume are the sync files. I also see a setup.exe but it will not run on MAC. Searched the net and appears WD Sync is not available for Mac? Not sure if that means my data is lost forever and I can not get it back? When I use WD Passport in another PC and try to retrieve files I lose some or they come through with funny characters or the size of them are 6mb instead of 23kb per file. So, I purchased rocketfish enclosure and removed the Sony harddrive (SATA) and plugged it into Mac. It says error reading drive, initialize or reformat? Not sure I can do either without losing the data? So in summary, I have a Mac, I have a WD Passport with encrypted files I want, and I have a hard drive that was left in mid factory restore with files I want. Can I use either to get them back and how can I do it on the Mac?? Your help would be gratefully appreciated.

09-16-2009, 05:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
donnej1 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 3 OS: MAC OS X 10.5.8	Re: Retrieve PC files on MAC What about getting my files off the hard drive? Is there anyway to retrieve the data on the Mac or other pc bearing in mind I left it in restore state. I would assume the files are still on there, so why can I not access them? When I plug it into a PC it states the disc is not formatted and asks to format it.

09-20-2009, 07:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
donnej1 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 3 OS: MAC OS X 10.5.8	Re: Retrieve PC files on MAC I have the files in two locations. 1: I used WD Sync on my old pc and they are stored on the WD, but I can't get them off. I contact WD and they have been little to no help whatsoever. My Mac does not recognize the WD Sync software. On another laptop the WD Sync fires up, but when I try to copy the files half the files do not copy, I get error messages while copying, and those that do copy ok seem to be 5 times the file size and corrupt. 2: I have the hard drive from my old Sony Vaio in a Rocketfish enclosure. The Mac recognizes a drive but wants to initialize it and will not show any files in the Disc Utilities. If I plug it into my work laptop, which is windows based, it shows the drive but says it needs to be formatted. Again, will not show any files. When the vaio last worked, I had started a factory restore because it was so slow and I had a load of viruses I could not get rid of. I was at the point it was asking for recovery discs on boot up but I did not have them, then my battery died and that was the point I just gave up with it. I will be eternally grateful if you could help me retrieve my files from one of these sources. I have everything on there, my music, all my photos from the last 6 years, and lots of documents. Jase