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For Mac 10.5.8
Does such a beast exist?

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Short answer: yes — but stop using the Mac or the affected drive immediately. Do not install recovery software onto the same disk or run repair tools that write to it; every write reduces the chance of recovery. As began with a search, the practical, free workflow for Mac OS X 10.5.8 is: (1) make a bit-for-bit image of the problem disk, and (2) run file/partition recovery on that image. Recommended free tools: TestDisk / PhotoRec for partition and file recovery, and GNU ddrescue to clone failing drives safely.

If the Mac will boot, boot from an external drive or the install DVD; otherwise use Target Disk Mode to attach the drive to another Mac (so you don’t touch the drive from the running system). Apple’s Target Disk Mode guide is here: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/transfer-files-mac-computers-target-disk-mode-mchlp1443/mac. If the drive shows read errors, image it first with ddrescue (write the image to a different physical disk). Example (replace devices/paths appropriately):

sudo ddrescue /dev/disk2 /Volumes/Backup/disk.img /Volumes/Backup/disk.log

Run ddrescue from a different machine or from an external boot medium; ddrescue’s manual has safety guidance and examples: https://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/manual/ddrescue_manual.html.

After you have an image, use PhotoRec (or TestDisk if the partition table is damaged) against the image or a mounted clone, and recover files to a separate disk. PhotoRec is signature-based so recovered files often lose original filenames and folders; read its notes before you start: https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec.

Caveats: if FileVault (home-directory or full-disk) was used, recovery without the passphrase/recovery key is essentially impossible (see Apple’s FileVault docs). If the storage is an SSD with TRIM enabled, deleted-data recovery chances fall sharply. If the data is critical, stop and consult a professional recovery lab rather than risking further damage.

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For Mac 10.5.8
Does such a beast exist?

Thanks for the help!

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