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Question

Recovering information from a destroyed partition table

by JeMuriel Aug 22, 2012 10:37AM PDT

Macbook Pro
Mac OSX Lion and Windows 7 BOOTCAMP

A Nightmare

Problem started when I was partitioning my hard drive to create more space for the PC side since I need to run Autodesk programs on it. I was partitioning the drive to NTFS when I was asked if I wanted to make the disk dynamic. Not knowing what it meant I proceeded anyway and it made all the other partitions from primary to basic. I was later told by someone that I destroyed the partition table. I restarted the computer and the Mac side was completely gone and what was left was Windows. However if I would attempt to start Windows it will not get past the loading screen without restarting. I downloaded the trial version of Linux in a CD in order to mount both hard drives to see if I can get move my files to an external hard drive. (I cannot download the full version since it does not recognize any operation systems on the hard drive and will rewrite over the existing one).All my Window files were able to move but none of my Mac ones were able to. If I try to move my user files, it tells me that I am not the owner and do not have permission to access the files. I need to access these files since they contain my architecture portfolio. I was told I can try using Disk Warrior to repair the partition table but there's no guarantee it will work. I want to know if there is anyway to forcefully remove the administrator? Or if there is any way to recover the information from the hard drive? If I end up having to repartition the hard drive and overwriting the existing one, is there any way to recover any files once it has been formatted?

Discussion is locked

1 Posts
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Answer
Rule #1.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Aug 24, 2012 12:26PM PDT

Never write to said drive. Any recovery must be to a clone copy or read-only from said drive. Any one that does recovery knows this rule. Only your fresh faces will debate this.

With that out of the way some tools have been added to the CNET Storage Forum stick at link.
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-7588_102-354911/lost-and-found-or-the-storage-forum-sticky/?tag=contentBody;threadListing

If all this must be recovered then Drivesavers.com is best.
Bob

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