buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

Good Morning;
Recently I had some problem with my Mac Pro gradually "losing" information (images,) after having the logic(?) board replaced. (Initially thought it just needed a new battery.) Went back and forth with Apple on this, (said that they had NEVER seen such a problem,) as the computer ended up not allowing the Hard Drive to be renamed or reboot. (IF I am using the wrong terminology, my apologies, I'm going by memory.)
I'm "kinda" up and running again, (and part of that included Apple wiping my computer completely, then me reinstalling the files from a WD Passport.) But there SEEMS to be a few "missing pieces"
I have just discovered that some of the images that I wanted to use in a major project seems to have been deleted. (Apparently it MIGHT have had something to do with my lack of understanding on how to use the Time Machine properly.)
I have only some thumbnail images (couple hundred KB's on 1-2 MB's) left. Can these somehow be improved to the point where I can enlarge them to use? OR are the larger files "buried" in my computer? If so, how (or who) do I call to try and retrieve them?
I also have read about services that can go thru your hard drive, and recover lost files. Is this still possible with my computer, and if so, where do I find such services? Thanks for any help or advice offered.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

So the computer's drive wiped, and you're working from the external Time Machine drive. It can cost a fortune to have a company recover lost files. Since your drive was wiped, I doubt that would work. Time Machine works automatically, so it should contain everything that was on your hard drive at time of the last backup. If images on your computer's drive were lost, then TM would not copy them. Take your time and look carefully at the folders on the external drive. There are ways to recover lost files from a drive, so you can try some of them. I'd hesitate to bring the computer to an "expert," unless it's an Apple store. Actually, you could bring just the external drive and see if they can find your missing images. Let us know how this turns out.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/136677/article.html
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17119/windows-7-recover-lost-deleted-files
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2147668/how-to-recover-deleted-files.html
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/software/how-recover-deleted-files-free-3365461/

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

Thanks Jerry.
never thought about it that way, but guess you are right. (I'm a WD owner, and NOT an Apple!)
One other question. On my external drive, there are only, separate individual images, several files with images, and some copies of various HD's, apps. etc...
Would images be on the WD in anything OTHER than in the ("blue") files, or individually? (Excuse my ignorance in these matters..)
Will give your last suggestion a try. I live in Miami where the Apple Stores are SWAMPED, so it may be awhile before I can fit this in. But will let you know what happens. Thanks again.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

All I have done with Time Machine is let it run, so my knowledge is limited. However, it should have the same files and folders that were on your hard drive. I would expect to see a folder with all your images, unless that was not present on your computer for some reason. Maybe it would be worth a drive of an hour or more to a less crowded Apple store. Apple people would know all about Time Machine.

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

Thanks again..

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Hopefully, some Apple experts will post an idea.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

Recently I was checking an xHD to make sure it had all my most recent images. At first I thought it did not. I opened some "obvious" folders and some were missing. However, on further exploration of what was on there, I did find a folder that had ALL my images.

Not sure why, but the automatic backup seems to save things in more than one place, so doing a thorough search of your Time Machine may very well discover the images you are looking for. The folder will not say "My Images", it probably will have a series of letters and numbers... I use a WD, but suspect your Time Machine might have a similar process.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Thumbnails cannot be enlarged to the original size. Recovery of "erased" data is sometimes possible but if you have continued to write to the drive the chances of recovering the data are much lower and getting lower the more that you use it.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Good to know.

jackpi Loc: Southwest Ohio

If Time Machine ever backed up the images you are looking for and they were lost after Time Machine backed them up, they are recoverable from Time Machine files. Don't give up.