HFS+ data recovery

[LiamC]

Hi all,

I'm trying to recover a Mac external drive HFS+ that was plugged into a Windows 7 computer, and now just shows up on a Mac as a New Volume. What tools should I look at that might be able to recover the data? Mac based, Linux based or Windows. Free is best, but paid if necessary?

On a Windows PC it shows as a New Volume with no files but it the properties say that some space is being used.

 

[Chewy509]

Hi Liam,

Most of the stuff I know that will do HFS+ costs $$$$, however FTK Imager should be able to read HFS+ partitions/filesystems assuming the MBR/GPT hasn't been overridden. However I don't know if the free version will let you extract the data needed, but it should at least let you see if it's available. (FTK Imager is a free component of the FTK Forensic suite).

http://accessdata.com/product-download/digital-forensics/ftk-imager-version-3.4.0

http://www.appleexaminer.com/Resources/FTKMacForensics/FTKMacForensics.html

I also would have said ProDiscover but it's no longer free...

 

[Mercutio]

This tool for HFS recovery under Linux is still under active development. I've been aware of it for a while but I haven't had a reason to try it yet.

 

[LiamC]

I ended up buying Easeus Data Recovery Wizard for AUS$130. The free version only allows 2GB to be recovered. I tried TestDisk, but it couldn't read the disk. I also tried a GParted plugin (I forgot the name) but whilst it could read the disk, it didn't find any files. So I ponied up.