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Data recovery, possible to get the file structure back as well?

2K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  Alt-rtt 
#1 ·
Hi Tech Smarties,
I closed my laptop lid on my external LaCie drive without ejecting the drive first (smart one!). After that the external drive wouldn't mount. I've used Data Rescue 3 (I use an Apple Mac) to recover all the files from the drive... however it's just lumping all the files into one big batch :-( ...anybody know if it's possible to get the files into the correct files structure they were at before the drive got corrupted?
Assistance would be HUGELY appreciated.
Many thanks
Kind regards
Doug
 
#2 ·
Normally we image the drive to another same size or larger to then perform DR on in case of any mistakes and to keep the original "safe" Try r-studio demo for MAC see if its able to re-create the DIR structure if yes may be worth purchasing. DR3 is a really good tool as well many of us that do DR use it as well. Have you run the MAC Disk utilities to check the drive ?
 
#3 ·
Hi! thank you for your reply! I'm downloading R-Studio now... could I maybe ask you to be a little more 'step-by-step' regarding your explanation? (would be greatly appreciated) ...I'm not hugely knowledgable when it comes to data recovery. Do I run R-Studio on the previous confused drive that won't mount? or on the new drive I've transferred the recovered information to? (considering that all the files are now - as previously mentioned - just all dumped into one main folder... and I really need to get the files into their previous tree structure with relevant file names that made sense to me. Kind regards. Doug
 
#4 ·
Doug R-studio website support has tons of info almost step by step and the help within the program is good.

This is the way we do it in the DR field. Most people just keep pounding on the existing drive and making mistakes attempting to format and initialize etc really bad idea best to make an image and work off the image takes a while but much safer in the long run. If your not willing to take the risk of DIY recovery process then send drive to a PRO for recovery your data your choice.

Step one: use r-studio to make an image of the drive to another drive that is the same exact size or larger ( The demo will allow you to make the image no need to purchase yet)

Step two use r-studio to load the image and scan for files if you find them and in the structure then buy it and recover the data to another location.
 
#6 ·
Thanks Doug keep me posted on how it goes as well very interested in the outcome as we don't see many Mac recoveries here on this forum however I do them professionally so I have seen a few.
 
#7 ·
I've tried everything from Data Rescue 3, Disk Warrior, Stellar Phoenix, Disk Drill and R-Studio... my problem comes in that the process becomes rather technical... I tried creating a disk image... the process starts... says it's finished... and then there's no file in the resulting directory. I've spend a fair amount of time on this... and I'd like to think I've got a couple marbles upstairs ;-) ...but these programs are just not that intuitive for the basic data recovery first time user. I guess I'll contact a professional to have some assistance.
Thanks to all anyway for the breadcrumbs along the way.
Kind regards
Doug
 
#8 ·
I think that it's too much earlier to give up.
Is this a single LaCie drive or a RAID from that vendor?
I guess, a single drive, and I'll advise you about this case and how to use R-Studio for Mac to salvage your files. If this is not the case, post about this, and we'll go through another path.
1. Make an image of the drive. R-Studio help: Images explains how. All data recovery professionals always image the disks and work with the images, but this step may be omitted for how recovery, if you're sure that the drive has no hardware issues.
2. Scan the disk or image. R-Studio help: Disk scan. Specify 6 GB for Size, select HFS on File system, and be sure to save scan information (in case you have to temporally stop recovery and resume it later).
R-Studio will show some Recognized partitions. The same help page will help you to select a right one.
3. Then open it and see the file structure. R-Studio help: Basic file recovery should help you in file recovery .
And should any question arise, I'll help you in solving it.
 
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