How to...

I had some .mpg files on a camcorder (Sony Handycam DCR-SR42) that had disappeared. Disk Drill originally couldn't detect the files. However, the developer personally worked with me and was able to update their program so that it could detect the file! I was able to successfully recover all the missing files.

Paul7

Disk Drill is a professional but extremely simple Mac data recovery software that helps you rescue data on your Mac disks, external or internal hard drives, memory cards, cameras, iPods Classic, etc. So if your hard drive was damaged, or you accidentally deleted your favorite photos, music, videos and other data, no worries about data loss. Disk Drill will recover deleted files on your Mac!

AN Jay

It is a must for all Mac users as it can save you by undelete and recover files that are accidentally deleted or files lost due to hard drive problems. I would recommend you try it out.

Nihar

Download Disk Drill now!
(File size:24MB / 17th Apr, 2012)

Runs on any PPC
or Intel Mac with
Mac OS X 10.5+

Disk Drill Portable Mode: When You Need It and How to Use It

Like many apps, Disk Drill can be installed either on your Mac's main hard drive or on another disk, in what is called "portable mode." The advantages of portable mode are especially significant when you are trying to recover data. This article will explain what exactly portable mode is and when it is useful, and how to use Disk Drill's portable mode for recovering your precious data.

#1 Why Portable?

If your hard drive isn't working, then no application (even Disk Drill) is able to start. This may seem like a catch-22, but as long as Apple’s Disk Utility can detect your hard drive, it's still possible to recover your data! Another situation is when you want to recover data on another computer, but you don't want to go through the process of installing Disk Drill on it. In both cases, Disk Drill's portable mode will allow you to recover your information, even if you haven't installed Disk Drill in the "normal" way. And even if you can't start Disk Drill from your normal hard drive after starting up your Mac.

#2 How does portable mode work?

The Disk Drill app starts from another disk that is plugged into the computer: this disk could be a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, or another storage device. So as long as you have that USB drive or hard drive handy, you can recover data from your Mac.

#3 How do I recover data in Portable Mode?

To recover data using Portable Mode, you need to first install Disk Drill onto a portable disk, connect the portable disk to the recovery computer, and then start recovery.

Take a USB flash drive or external hard drive (almost any size will do), and connect it to a working Mac. The icon for the drive should show up on your desktop in the Finder.

#4 Get Disk Drill!

Download Disk Drill from the Disk Drill website at www.cleverfiles.com. A file named "diskdrill.dmg" should appear in your Downloads folder. You will be asked to accept the license agreement. Click "Agree."

#5 Portable Mode Installation

You will then see a window with two icons: on the left is the icon labeled "Disk Drill." On the right is the icon labeled "Applications," with a small arrow on the lower left.

Select the Disk Drill icon by clicking on it one time. This highlights the icon, but does not open the application. Now copy the Disk Drill application to the external disk: click and hold down the touchpad button/mouse button, while dragging the Disk Drill icon over to the external disk's icon. When the Disk Drill icon is over the icon for the other disk, and you see a green circle with a plus sign, let go of the touchpad button/mouse button. The Disk Drill application is now being copied onto the other disk.

To double-check, on your Mac's desktop, double-click the icon for the external disk that you connected during step 1. You should now see the Disk Drill icon in that disk's window. If you do not see the Disk Drill icon, repeat step 4.

Now you have a disk that contains a copy of Disk Drill. That means that you can eject the disk from your Mac: a) by clicking the triangular button next to the name of the disk in any window, or b) by clicking on the disk once to select it, and entering the keyboard shortcut Command-E. You can now safely disconnect the disk from your Mac.

Don't forget to protect your HFS/HFS+ disks with Recovery Vault

#6 Launch Disk Drill

Connect the disk to the Mac from which you want to recover data.

If the Mac from which you want to recover data is not already started up, start up the computer. You may need to start up the computer from another hard drive (see Apple's website at http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1948 for instructions).

If the window for the Disk Drill disk does not open automatically, double-click the disk icon on the desktop.

Double-click the Disk Drill icon.

#7 No protection in Portable Mode

When Disk Drill’s welcome screen asks you about protection options, clear all of the check boxes; otherwise, Disk Drill will install components on the current computer’s hard drive. Disk Drill will then walk you through the recovery process. You can save and recover files on the Disk Drill disk, another hard drive, or anywhere else you choose.

If you encounter any difficulties, consult the Disk Drill help website at http://help.cleverfiles.com. Hard drive problems are never pleasant, but with Disk Drill, these problems can be quickly solved and you can be back to normal – with your data safe and sound.