Help! My 13" white MacBook has deleted everything on its hard drive!!!

[Klosteral]

Alright forum, I have previously enquired about optimal builds and such but this time I really need your help.

I have a 13" white MacBook and a 250GB hard drive. Inside this drive, there was both the pre-installed Macintosh OS-X software and the Ubuntu 11.04 that I installed myself. Today I decided that I need the extra 100GB space I allocated to the Ubuntu for the Mac instead so I used the "Try Me" or DVD-based utility to delete the partition. I received an error saying something along the lines of "The drive is busy" so I could not delete the Ubuntu partitions. When I restarted the computer to continue working on the Mac, I received an icon of a folder and an exclamation mark, indicating an inability to boot. Back in the Ubuntu DVD-utility, I am told the hard drive is [250GB Unknown Space] and not the three partitions that it was before.

I require this computer and all of its data for college and work so I cannot afford to lose this data. I know I am an idiot for not backing up my hardware more but I really wasn't expecting this...

If there is any more information you guys need, please let me know and I will do my best.

Please help me!
-Klosteral

 

[WR2]

Hello Klosteral;

You're running LION, right? The latest version of OSX.
I'm guessing you hadn't used the Recovery Disk Assistant tool to make yourself a rescue/recovery disk.
Hopefully it's just a missing bootloader or something like that.

Data Rescue 3 - For Mac has a good reputation.

What you really want to do is drop this question into a Mac forum since it's nearly a 100% OS question.
In your position I'd create a disk image before doing any troubleshooting. Just in case any troubleshooting goes awry.

 

[Klosteral]

Well I kinda screwed it up with Ubuntu but you get all types here.

Seeing as it did not take long - only a quick reboot - to go from all to nothing I suspect that it was just a hard drive label issue. Its just when I try to change that in ubuntu I can't because apparently the drive is 'read only'. I have no idea...

 

[dormantreign]

Sounds like a virus!

 

[WR2]

apparently the drive is 'read only'. I have no idea...

Are you able to 'mount' the drive when you right click on it?

 

[leandrodafontoura]

Take the hard drive out, put in a exernal enclosure and contect to the computer, then you may perhaps check the files.