SOLVED Restore?? Hard drive

[Blackthnder]

My intent was to erase an external HD. I accidently erased the mac pro lap top hard drive. How do I restore? Which is the best software to purchase (if I need to purchase anything) to get the job done. Would apple support via telephone be an option. I'm basically a novice but have owned a mac for over 15 years. Thanks for all assistance.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

A few questions for you:
-Which model MacBook Pro?
-Which version of OS X/mac OS was installed?
-How did you erase the drive - using the Recovery Partition or started up from an external HD?
-Did you have a Time Machine or other backup of your data?
-Is there any data you need to recover from the erased drive?

C

 

[Blackthnder]

Hello and welcome.

A few questions for you:
-Which model MacBook Pro?
-Which version of OS X/mac OS was installed?
-How did you erase the drive - using the Recovery Partition or started up from an external HD?
-Did you have a Time Machine or other backup of your data?
-Is there any data you need to recover from the erased drive?

C

2010 mac book pro
high sierra
son advised me to erase new external hard drive using exFat -- plugged in the external HD, found the format, pushed erase. Afterwards I realized the default choice was the MacBook pro. I stopped and have done nothing else
I had an external hard drive for back up, however it hasn't been plugged in for 40 days due to travel and its never been organized
I don't know if Time Machine was engaged, I've never used/looked at it
All of my banking, fathers personal banking, scanned documents are of great concern. I live out of the country most of the time and don't have access to personal "tech" support. And, I'm evidently not too smart and a novice.
Thank you for any and all support

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, thanks.

Not sure how that happened, as Disk Utility prevents you from erasing the drive the Mac is started up from by disabling the Erase button? Do you remember the steps you took when the issue occurred?

Time Machine is on by default, and it asks you when you attach an external drive if you would like to use it for Time Machine. You can veerify if there are any backups by navigating to  > System Preferences... > Time Machine. You can check if Back Up Automaticall is checked, and if so, it will tell you the name of the drive it is using and when the last backup was made.

Data recovery software doesn't work very well unfortunately, and a professional data recovery service is quite expensive.

C

 

[Blackthnder]

OK, thanks.

Not sure how that happened, as Disk Utility prevents you from erasing the drive the Mac is started up from by disabling the Erase button? Do you remember the steps you took when the issue occurred?

Time Machine is on by default, and it asks you when you attach an external drive if you would like to use it for Time Machine. You can veerify if there are any backups by navigating to  > System Preferences... > Time Machine. You can check if Back Up Automaticall is checked, and if so, it will tell you the name of the drive it is using and when the last backup was made.

Data recovery software doesn't work very well unfortunately, and a professional data recovery service is quite expensive.

C

I stopped all actions when I realized what thought I'd done. That being said, maybe I haven't erased anything but the files.
So, I'll open Time Machine and check. Frankly, I'm not familiar with any of this and am almost afraid to touch the dam thing. I certainly don't want to ??overwrite anything which might prevent the capture of files. I with the help of folks like you, will do some self educating.

 

[Cory Cooper]

In situations like this, it is sometimes best to be able to see the Mac hands-on. Because this is an Internet forum, we recommend visiting an Apple Store if you have one close to you, as they can see it in person and diagnose it much easier.

If that isn't possible, then we'll be happy to troubleshoot it and try and determine the best action. We are also cautious in troubleshooting, as we don't want you to lose any data either.

C

 

[Blackthnder]

With some help, we got to the Sierra Op System, launched Time Machine, then restored files using my External Hard Drive that had files upto 7/4/19. All of July and August is gone, but compared to the alternative, that's ok. I am greatly appreciative to Cory for responding. I'm not as confident as I once was. Living out of the country with no facilities less than 6 hours away, this was a great resource.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Excellent! I am so glad to hear you restored most of your data and are up and running. Time Machine can be a life saver!

Let us know if there are any lingering issues.

Be well,

C