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I erased the partition on an external drive. My Security Option was "don't erase data" so it should be relatively easy to recover. However I would prefer not to pay $200 for a copy of Boomerang. Any other suggestions? Many thanks!
Message was edited by: J Michael
MacBook Pro with lots of extra stuff,
Mac OS X (10.5),
iPhone in pocket, iPod in car, Adobe everything
I have used Data Rescue II. It got me back up and running. Although, it does cost $99. That's half though and if it really matters that's a good price to get your stuff back.
I have used Data Rescue II. It got me back up and running. Although, it does cost $99. That's half though and if it really matters that's a good price to get your stuff back.
You don't have to pay for Data Rescue "up front". The "trial" version will scan your drive for recoverable files and list them for you. Then if it's worth it to you, you can pay for the "full" version which will actually recover the data.
Sorry, I forgot that part. But I didn't find out until after I used it. And that made it a moot point. I would have had to pay for it to do what I needed anyway. So . . .
Actually, I used to be in the business, but only on the enterprise side. So yes, I'm familiar with the prices, but typically for consumer-grade products you can get something for free or shareware. Backup, bootable disk cloning, encryption, is all pretty much a commodity these days unless you want the bells & whistles or enterprise functionality.
Then you should be well aware that nothing is free. Especially on the consumer side. And especially now with everything being made into/classified as a feature. I am still in the business on all sides. And this has been an axiom since day one. Only limited "test"/"approval" versions are free. That is what you see here and will everywhere.
I don't understand what you are expecting for free? Most any developer in this aspect would not release a fully capable version that most would only need once, then not need again and subsequently not buy. That would defeat the purpose of being in business.
I have to respectfully disagree, but thanks for posting.
I have partial and full disk encryption products, backup, and file synchronization, and bootable disk clone applications, all of which I obtained legally and for free. These work well for my simple needs. The "full" versions of these products have more bells and whistles. For example, the "full" backup product offers comprehensive scheduling, which I do not require. For example, the bootable disk cloning software requires a full write, and does not do incremental clones. That is fine for me, as I can supplement the initial clone by using a free file synchronizer.
Based on these experience, I was expecting to find a disk recovery application that could do what I'm looking for, for free - and that is a simple recovery of a non-erase format, which is the lowest level of security. I can see paying for more functionality or for a utility that does sector recovery, but again, I don't really need that.
In the end, I'm quite happy to pay $99 to get my data back. I am simply looking to see if there is a less expensive way that suits my rather simple needs.
I respectfully disagree aslo. Maybe on the over developed PC side, there's tons of small dev applications for free, but not Mac that can effectively do the job. I have been there and for what you are looking for, when I needed the same, I found tons of free PC software, but only "limited trial" versions, as the trial version of Data Rescue II that you may be running now, for the Mac. But in the end, I had to pay for the Mac versions that did the job and not told you it could.
If you find exactly what you are looking for, by all means, post back so that we all may be enlightened.
I'm not familiar with PC apps, but I am quite familiar with Mac offerings. There are many excellent and free applications available. As I have said, they may not have all of the bells and whistles of their "full" versions, but they work quite well.
I have the free versions of these products:
Super Duper
Carbon Copy Cloner
Encrypt This!
SyncTwoFolders
Well you could argue that there
should be something free that you could use. But, it's really up to the developers to decide if they want (or can afford) to be philanthropic or if they actually need to make a living from their work. I have used a lot of open source software and I am always amazed that there are people out there in this day and age who actually have the time (and are willing) to put so much effort into these products without any compensation. My family would starve! I might add that I think it is more than fair that DataRescue is free to use for the purpose of scanning a drive for recoverable data. If you feel that the actual recovery of that data constitutes "bells and whistles" I would question the value of the data.
The financial model is actually simple and has been proven effective. By offering a free 'sample' you are actually marketing to potential customers who would otherwise never test out your software. They will become familiar with the product and, if they like it, and if they want the extra features that are not available in the free sample version, then they will purchase the full version. This is pretty common in the software industry. Another commonly used marketing tactic is to make the full version available for a limited amount of time. Both are excellent ways to attract potential customers.
It's the closest thing that the internet has to a changing room where you can try on the clothes to make sure they fit 🙂
Apples and Pineapples. You're right and generalizing. The conversation is FREE RECOVERY applications. Not applications in general. I have Super Duper (which is Shareware, not all features (bells & whistles) are Free) and CarbonCopyCloner (which I love and is Free/Donationware. I have donated. Have you?). So . . .
Back to the topic. What have you found in FREE RECOVERY applications that will do the complete job you need? Which by all consideration is a full job that one would expect Photoshop (not free) or Word (not free) to do.
And my next point was going to be or I was hoping that you would realize, since you "were in the business" is exactly what David DeCristoforo said. +"Exactly what he said!"+
But free only goes so far. So generally speaking, if you get a free or "Donationware" application that you may only use once and probably never again are you going to pay for it if you use it and it does what you want? Or are you considering that a FREE feature? And are you going to pay for it to have it around "just in case"? If not, I think the "industry" term for this action is called "leaching".
I hate to say it, Sir, but your attitude I have only seen in one place and it's not a Mac condition. I would say as a whole that most Mac users have a higher level of respect for developers and their work and although a free thing is cool and nice, there are times, especially in the Mac world where it's more often, since development is more finite and the costs more, when you're going to have to pay for that which you need. You can get Norton 360 for free after rebates for the PC. You will never, unless under very special circumstances, see that done on the Mac side. And what I remember of Symantec, since it's been awhile since they bailed on the Mac (which built their empire, sighting PC's are easier and cheaper to develop for with greater profit margins) is great upgrade offers for previous (paid for) Mac users, but nothing ever free.
I have relayed this conversation to my brother the VP of IT for a large oil company and he asked if this was a Mac or PC forum. I said Mac. He was surprised and said that he would expect this conversation in a PC forum, not Mac.
So good luck on your hunt and as I said, let us know what you find. I am very interested now.
