How do I deal with data that was recovered from my iMac?

You have just discovered why it is important to have good backups. The data recovery service was only able to recover the data and not the file names or folder structure which is unfortunately quite common when recovering data from an Apple drive when doing a deep scan of the drive.

Many of those files will be from temp & cache files from various apps (most will be from the web browsers) and perhaps even hidden system data files. There is no easy way to figure out which ones are your important files and which ones are junk files. You cannot even go by file size since many legitimate pictures may have a very small file size. I've seen this occur when I performed data recovery on some Apple drives for some people.

FYI, you can do a quick view by highlighting a file and pressing the Spacebar. Then use the arrow keys to navigate up & down the files in the Finder to view them more quickly.

Good luck sorting through them.

Your experience with those Data Recovery services is the same as others. They have no problem taking your money, but restoring files is likely not going to occur in any satisfiable way. Follow up with them on how their service was able to help your situation. You paid them, at least they owe you that.

Backing up your data is the only solution that will keep your information safe. It is usually recommended to have 2 of them stored in different locations if you really value the data.

Gpconst wrote:

Thanks. Most of the music was original work, or downloads. I did have a lot of music but I can’t see theMP3 folder being 40.9 GB.

Some of them could be duplicates. Many of the files recovered may have already been deleted at some point, or perhaps some of them may have been from temporary or cached copies. Plus apps & perhaps even web browsing put them on your system (from the browser's temp & cache files).

A low level scan for files will pull everything it can find that remains on the hard drive which includes deleted items. There are literally millions of files.....most very small files on your system.....many from the OS itself, to each one of your apps with the web browsers having the most small files of them all since web pages are full of all sorts of things which get temporarily stored on your computer.

One lesson you can learn from this is the importance of the nuances of backing up your computer. These nuances include:

1. Redundancy: When it comes to back ups it is really wise to have redundant backup systems. I (and many others) use Time Machine as a primary backup and I also also use SuperDuper! on a completely separate External Hard Disk to keep a second backup. You can also use Carbon Copy Cloner which does the same thing as SuperDuper!, it's really personal preference.
2. Test your backups on a regular basis. Part of my routine is to do a monthly check of each backup system. I test SuperDuper! by booting from it and also looking at the app to verify that it backed up the previous night. To test Time Machine I simply restore and old (and of no importance) file.
3. Don't keep EHD's beyond 5 years or so. All HD's fail, it's not a matter of "if" it's a matter of when. While some fail after 5-10 years of use some can die after 30 days of use, bottom line is there is no telling. So it's a good idea to move the old ones out of your backup routine and replace them with new drives every 5 years or so. If the old drive is still functioning well, just repurpose it to some other non critical use.

When it comes to backing up, it's really up to your level of paranoia. If you can live with a 100% loss of data, then role the dice and gamble. You will eventually lose, it's just when that occurs. If you want or need to preserve your data then think of a plan that you will follow and discipline yourself to follow it.

This sounds typical of data recovery.

You can sometimes pull data from a failed hard drive, but it's like getting a bunch of singed jigsaw puzzle pieces and trying to put them back into a coherent, assembled jigsaw puzzle – or, at least, part of one.

MacAddict magazine used to rate applications on a scale which included "Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick" and "Please pass the sharp stick". I would not be surprised if the experience of dealing with recovered data is somewhere between these two lower levels of the scale. For MP3s, it may make more sense to go and slowly pull in music from your CD collection, all over again, than to try to deal with recovered "MP3" files. At least if you do fresh imports, you avoid wasting time on corrupted data.