OKDA  Today I have all of my files back from a 200G failed external firewire drive. Although everything was already backed up a few days before the crash, I lost a 3 days of work on a critical InDesign file. Disk Warrior wouldn't see the drive, Disk Utility wouldn't see the drive, but Data Rescue found all of my files, just using the Quick Scan feature. That was worth the money. A big Thank You!  
(Version 1.2.2)

DFERRELL  Data Rescue II worked very well in recovering data from a damaged hard drive that would not mount. Their tech support was available and very helpful when I was trying the product as a demo and continued with the same fast response when I was convinced that it would work for me and purchased the full version. Features were easy to use, recovery was nearly 100%. It took only a matter of a few hours to scan and recover my data. Prosoft gets 5 stars from me.   
(Version 1.2.2)

SILIZIUM  Unbrauchbares Scheissding! Wollte schon etwa 3 mal Files recovern die ich gerade eben im Papierkorb gelöscht habe. Keine Chance. Systemmüll kommt zum Vorschein aber das was man braucht... nicht zu finden.  
(Version 1.2.2)

KENNEWT  My girlfriend died 2 years ago from Breast Cancer. Before she died she had recorded her voice using Apple's Garageband software. She wanted to put together an audio book where she read a book her sister had written. (Her sister is a well known author, and a National Book Award winner). Unfortunately, she was only beginning the project when her deteriorating health prevented her from continuing the work of reading. She was also trying to do a great job, so there were only a few chapters recorded that she was happy with, and the readings that she was unhappy with, she deleted.

I kept her computer, disappointed that there was so little of her voice left for us, and searched the computer many times hoping to find more files. There were none, and that is when I realized she had deleted her readings if she wasn't happy with them. Two years later, I discovered Data Rescue II and decided to give it a try, to see what might be recoverable.

My initial attempt to recover files, was successful, but also disappointing, as there appeared to be no way to unlock the "packages" that the Garageband software created when it stored an audio file.

I contacted Prosoft support, and within a few days, they got back to me with specific instructions on how to find and open the .aif files that had been recovered.

Thankfully, it worked, and I was able to recover files that had been deleted, and initially seemed unrecoverable, and now her friends and family can have these recordings to listen to any time they wish.

I can't express my gratitude sufficiently to Prosoft for creating this incredible program, and for working with me in finding a way to recover files that initially appeared to be not recoverable.  
(Version 1.2.2)

DJFK2000  Data Rescue is the best program you can get for file recovery on a corrupted drive. Much better than DiskWarrior 4 or FileSalvage, the program's Thorough Scan feature not only found all my files but it recovered all their metadata, such as names, creation and modification dates, folder structure, permissions, etc. Most helpfully, the company offers a demo so you can see exactly what you're getting before spending your money. Truly excellent product, highly recommended.  
(Version 1.2.1)

PRISS HOWELL  Our issue was small compared to a total crash, but was extremely valuable to get resolved. We over wrote a detailed drawing, created in MacDraft that would have taken at least 40 hours of work to recreate. I tried a program that was recommended by our local Mac person to try to retrieve it, but to no avail. They said it would be at least a two week delay in order to build a file for MacDraft. They did give me the name of Data Rescue II as a possible source for further investigation. I talked to Data Rescue's support team several times and sent them sample files of drawings created with MacDraft version 5.5.11. They were able to build the necessary files in 15 minutes to enable Data Rescue II to recognize the files I needed to retrieve. I got the file I needed and the support team was great to work with. I appreciated so much that they sent me detailed instruction on what to do and how to do it. Their expertise was invaluable. I wish I had started with them, but now I know where to go for top notch support and retrieval if I ever need it again.  
(Version 1.2.1)

DOUG S.  I could tell you about my 1TB drive and how it died, but there are plenty of stories like that in the reviews already. Instead I will simply say it works better tan you'll expect it to.

That and that to do a data recovery service it will cost you anywhere from $800-$4,000 if you're doing a 1TB drive. Suddenly $99 for an application you can use time and time again doesn't seem so expensive, does it?

I've seen this program recommended on many websites and in many magazines as well as one rather enthusiastic recommendation from an Apple Genius.

When a drive dies it's a heart-wrenching moment. You fear you've lost everything and you'll never get it back. There are certain programs out there that will help you solve those problems. Data Rescue II is on that list and near the top.

—

For anyone who's reading these reviews as a result of a recent failure, my condolences. I know what you're going through there and have been there myself. Try these following programs and one of them will be able to fix it, or at least allow you to get your data back:

1. Disk Warrior.

2. Drive Genius.

3. Data Rescue II.

I usually use them in that exact order as well. The first can fix any, and I do mean any, directory-based issue and can almost always find all your files if a directory is corrupted beyond repair. Drive Genius will help you diagnose exactly what's wrong with your drive if Disk Warrior doesn't work. And finally, Data Rescue II will get your data back.

Even if you buy all three of these programs you've spent less than you would had you paid for a professional service.  
(Version 1.2.1)

FRANKPIERSON  This is a long story, perhaps useful only to non-gurus, so be warned. But if that's you, then maybe worthwhile. As with most learning curves, the learning accelerates when a problem you've never dealt with and are untrained for, suddenly floors you and your survival instincts get an adrenaline kick. So here's the story of a long time non-guru Mac user suddenly in distress, now what? My LaCie Quadra d2 500GB external drive, following a six week long RV trip rattling around over some rough adventure trails, but never used during trip, upon return home did mount on my MacBook Pro OS X 10.5.5 desktop for a few seconds, then promptly disappeared without a farewell. It was later speculated that static electricity generated in a bag might have been the culprit, but nobody really knows. Anyway, no more Quadra icon although, ear down, I could hear it purring smoothly, And I still had my older smaller LaCie Porsche backup running properly. The Quadra, however, had lots more photo/video files than the Porsche could store, which is why I bought it last March.

My 13 steps to recovery:

(1) I found/learned that whereas my Apple Disk Utility could "see" the Quadra, it could not do anything with it.

(2) LaCie Tech Support, requiring very long waits for contact over long distance line, segued me into establishing a "Ticket" and talking back and forth over several days via email, trying routine potential fixes by checking possibly faulty cables and such to no avail, then authorizes a warranty return/repair or replacement of drive within 30 days, but, BIG BUT...

(3) Data recovery should/must be completed prior to sending in drive since they can only replace mine in one way or another, most likely without any of my old files still there or intact, and they initially refer me to Drive Savers as a likely data recovery answer, so...

(4) I call Drive Savers to learn that whereas they can almost promise recovery, the cost would be from $500 to $2000+, most probably $2000+ (several hundred plus), so...

(5) that being out of my league or some such, back to LaCie, this time choosing to bite the telephone wait bullet in order to talk live with somebody without going through more of the very time consuming email exchanges, and I wait for 40+ minutes which, after a long review of matters garnered a lead to try something much cheaper, specifically Prosoft's Data Rescue II.

(6) I call DR II and their initial news sounds promising: "If Disk Utilities can see your belly up (my term) drive, then DR II can see it", thus permitting it to go to work at possible recovery, plus, why don't you try our free trial download?

(7) OK, now downloaded and following DR II's onscreen instructions, I start what turns out to be a SIX DAY scan of the 360+GBs on my bad drive: sometimes it would go fast, but then hit error bumps and, one night I remember, it scanned only about 1.5GBs during 12 hours. But then a puzzlement that I did not understand but did not question at the time: my little Porsche had only 20 some GBs available to accept the 360GB scan, and while I could not imagine how that could work, it did, and the scan was completed showing a listing of some 150 folders on the bad drive. However, when I tried to open any one, I found "zero on disk", which I figured explained things.

(8) By now I'm thinking I'd better face up to need for a second equal-size backup drive to go with my first bad one when replaced, so why not now? I call LaCie, they give me a seemingly good price, $130, considering my loyalty, many problems, and patience, so shortly thereafter I have a new FedExed Quadra d2 and decide to try DR II scanning once more, this time into a drive with plenty of storage to accept not only a listing of content but also the real thing, actual content. Another several days pass, maybe only four or five this time because now I'm hooked up with 400/800 Firewire cables rather USB2, which meant 400 speed at best though I understand these days 400 is really not much faster than USB2. Guess what, I end up with my second scan looking just about the same as my first, a listing of lost files, but another empty listing.

(9) Back to Prosoft Tech Support, by now I've had two or three conversations with "John", and he gives me direct number so maybe we can cut down on wait-or-get-back times, and he also has the suggestion of one more thing we could try: ALLOCATION BLOCKS. John explains, and here I translate with my non-guru explanation, that allocation blocks act as something like the keys to the kingdom, your lost kingdom. John refers me to the Expert menu in the DR II menu bar, and the pulldown to "Allocation Blocks". That brings up a listing of several‚ choices 1,2,3,4,5, etc. John says for me to work my way through these choices one at a time, preferably selecting a singe sample jpeg file from my empty Scan Results listings, and see what happens. Then try another. I do this complete run-through of allocation blocks once without results, but I'm tired and no longer have much hope or confidence in anything, and have long since begun to suspect my judgment and everything else about my computer prowess even when carefully following instructions. So I sleep on it, and, being stubborn, during the night decide I'll give it one more try before calling John again. A rested, refreshed, and very careful try. Next morning I hit number 2 choice, no luck, then I hit 3 and voila, amazing, there pops a photo in its full glory, reemerged from oblivion! I try another jpeg, hit 3 and voila! I go for a video clip, 3, voila! A second video clip, 3, whammo! So now I'm finished with sampling and ready for the real thing, the complete go-through.

(10) But before I can do that, since DR II's free trial version permits recovering only a few MBs, just enough to prove out some real gold from the claim, I must purchase the full DR II package at $99 for immediate online download, disk to follow by snailmail. Done.

(11) Now I create a new folder, give it a EUREKA! name in hopes of success, select all the empty listings in Scan Results, hit 3, and sit back. Time goes by, a few hours, AND FINALY THERE IS ALMOST ALL OF MY STUFF, rescued by Prosoft's Data Rescue II along with some handholding by John. There are some files highlighted in red, which means they are bad though possibly rescuable if I twang some more with the allocation blocks or something else, but what the hell, I decide they're not important, likely dupes anyway, I'm happy as a lark, I'm finished. Oops, almost...

((12) On checking recovery results more closely, I note there are lots of items with gobbledegook (to me) names and small or no content, aside from the files I recognize and want, but which I don't understand and don't have a clue about. Back to John. He says that most or all of what I'm seeing and confused by is likely just Mac computer stuff not necessary for present purposes, and he suggests a simple though tedious way for me to sort through, organize, and make sense of it all prior to deleting anything. Following his lead, I create yet another empty folder and carefully work my way through the recovered files, dragging only those I really want‚ mostly naked and without any of the gobbledegook items‚ into it and leaving the rest behind. Along the way as I go, I check each file to make sure the content opens and works before moving on. All this took about another day, and, after one more sleep, I felt good enough about things to take the last step, probably forever separating me from any chance of further recovery. Incidentally, I still haven't deleted the separated gobbledegook, but I expect to, as they say, shortly...

(13) Last week I finally dispatched the bad drive to LaCie for repair/replacement.

This learning curve‚ and the doing of each step‚ occupied me from time to time for a little over a month, but it finally worked. Slow learning to be sure, but then, I didn't know much to start with when I found myself suddenly belly up. Oh, and I've also learned quite a bit about backup. Good idea. Sorry for the long read, but my hope is that these five or so minutes of reading may help somebody out there‚ not a guru‚ while also maybe saving some part of a whole month and a lot of dollars, like the month plus $99 it took me to get here from nowhere. Good luck.  
(Version 1.2.1)

JANICE  I have been working on Apple computers for approx 15 years. I run into all sorts of issues in the course of troubleshooting and repairs. One of the most devastating for any computer user is the lost of data. No matter how much I harp, scold, cajole, there are still clients that never backup their computers. I had one such case this past week. A G4 iBook for one of my doctor clients. Without any warning, the hard drive on this computer refused to mount. I tried all the standard things: Disk First Aid, Disk Warrior, TechToolPro, etc., nothing would work! DataRescueII to the Rescue! It retrieved every single piece of information from their hard drive! The client couldn't have been more excited to hear this news!

I've been using Data Resue since it first came out. Not once has it failed to do exactly as it is promoted to do. That is amazing! I cannot recommend this piece of software strongly enough (right along with backing up your data on a daily basis!)

Prosoft, you have me as a lifetime client. I thank you. My clients thank you.

Janice Kempf

Clear Link - Clearlake, Ca.  
(Version 1.2.1)

DDCULLEN  Data Rescue II for MAC has proven to be a life saver! Not only did the application recover deleted files that I sorely needed, they were also recovered completely and with out corruption. The staff at Data Rescue were very helpful when I needed some extra assistance and their patience and professionalism has proven invaluable. Thanks again John! Cheers!

David  
(Version 1.2.1)