How To Recover Deleted Files On Mac

How To Recover Deleted Files On Mac
  • Jan 11th, 2024
  • Ranjeet Singh
  • Computer
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Do you accidentally delete some of your photos? Can you not find some videos of your college days? Maybe you have been working on a Word or Excel file for 5 hours, and it has been somehow deleted? Now you want to know How to recover deleted files on Mac? You have become so frustrated with recovering those deleted files that you can do nothing. Well, it is a problem for everyone at some point. Then you did some Google searches to collect information on How to recover deleted files on Mac. But, after that, you become more frustrated and furious because you are not finding the correct information. Most Google results talk about 2-3 steps, and most often, none of them works. You made the right decision if you click this page because you are optimistic about finding meaningful results. In this article, I talk about five different methods you can try. If one way does not work for you, then try others. You are in the right place where you will find the most truthful information which you can trust. Every file, picture, video, document, and presentation is stored on your Laptop or PC. These data do not erase even after you delete a file permanently. There are plenty of ways you can try, as I said earlier. 

  1. Keep Backups
  2. Check the trash
  3. Check the other trash
  4. Use disk drill
  5. Recover deleted files with the UNDO option

Keep Backups

Keeping backups is the easiest method yet most effective to save your essential data from deletion. You can back up all your data by storing them in an external device or cloud storage. Both are effective. Mac has an inbuilt system, which is called macOS Time Machine. You can use it for an automatic backup. To use this function, you first need an external hard disk. If you already have an old one, use it unless you buy one. It is not too much costly.  

After getting a spare external hard drive, hook it up with your Mac. Then, some options will appear on your screen. Then, you navigate to the option called 'System preferences.' Then click 'Time Machine.' Then select back up disk. Then, you must select the external drive you fit for backup purposes.

At last, click on 'Turn on Automatic Back up.'  In this way, you can quickly store your data, which you can easily access later. If you do not want to save data on a hard disk, you can use cloud storage services like Dropbox, AWS S3 instance, or Google Drive. They are affordable these days. Cloud storage has another benefit: accessing your data anywhere and from any device. 

Check the trash 

Sometimes, you open your Mac and find some data is absent. Well, the first thing you can try is to open your Trash folder. After accidentally or consciously deleting some files, it does not permanently erase from the Laptop. Instead, it is stored in the trash folder. 

The Trash folder temporarily stores all the deleted data from your Laptop. You must manually delete data from the trash to get rid of them. If you cannot find some critical data, search for them in the trash folder. Hopefully, if you are lucky, you can find them in the trash folder easily. Recovering a file from the trash folder is elementary and straightforward. You must click on the Recover file. The trash folder is generally situated at the end of your Dock. First, right-click it, then click on the 'open' command. Then, it will show you the files deleted from your Laptop recently. From there, you can recover the deleted files very quickly.

Check the Other Trash

Have you stored your file on an external device? These external devices, such as pen drives, hard disks, or memory cards, have their trash folder. However, you cannot exceed this trash folder easily. If you want to access these files to recover your data, you must first learn how to use this function. These trash cans are generally hidden, and you cannot access them easily. MacOS has a system that makes hidden files in your Laptop or PC if you connect an external hard drive to your system. One of these hidden files is called 'Trashes,' which holds the recently deleted files.

For Sierra or Later Versions of macOS

The process is straightforward if you use a Sierra or later macOS versions. You click SHIFT+CMD+. Hotkey (that's the period key) on your keyboard. 

  In this way, you can easily access the files hidden in Finder. Using this method, you can recover your important files that were deleted by mistake.

Read Also:  How to Fix MacBook Air Trackpad?

For Older Versions 

If you are using an older version, you must do more digging. Because in older versions, the process is not so simple. But no worry. I will guide your step-by-step process. You follow the steps of the following method. These steps are as follows— Step 1: To find the hidden files and access the Finder, you must first run some Terminal commands. Press Command +Space simultaneously and type 'Terminal' with the keyboard. Then, pass the following lines at the same time on the prompts. The two lines are— 

  1. defaults write com. apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
  2. killall Finder

Press enter after pasting each line. The folder called '. Trashes' will appear on the laptop or PC screen after running these two lines of commands. These '. Trash files hold all the deleted files. If you have ever used a USB external hard drive, you may know that you can't utilize a USB drive's full disk size. These are because of the deleted files, which remain in the '. Trashes' folder if. If you do not clear it, then the file will be there. Even though the USB drive shows nothing, the deleted files are secured in some corners of the driver. If you do not need them, you can quickly delete them, and in this way, you can also free up some space from the USB. You can also quickly recover the files from the '—Trashes' folder. Step 2: After step one is completed, you can see many deleted files (which remain hidden) starting to appear; trust me, there will be many of them. You can restore the ones you need. After that, you want to clean the drive and delete all the unnecessary files. To do that, follow the same procedure again. Just replace the "TRUE" with "FALSE" in the command.

  1. Defaults write com. apple. finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
  2. kill all Finder

Read Also: How to Fix MacBook Battery Not Charging Issue

Disk Drill

If you recently delete some file and later remember that you need it or accidentally delete anything, you can quickly recover it using an app called "Disk Drill." You can get back the deleted files if another deleted data does not overwrite the deleted data, which means you do not delete any other files after deleting the file that you want to get back.  

This is because the recently deleted file replaces the last deleted file. Even though you delete something from your system with macOS, the file is still there as an available space and does not get erased permanently immediately. The tool "Disk Drill" scans your macOS operating system inside out; thus, it can easily find a file you are searching for. If it finds the file, it can quickly restore it because it will wait to be overwritten by another file or for recovery. You can do either one. You have both options at hand. In this way, you can recover things literally from the grave. But there is a problem with the tool 'Disk Drill.' If you already have that in your macOS, then there is no problem, but if you do not, you probably do not have it right now in your system.

First, you must install 'Disk Drill' to use the to-use system. This is the problem because installing a new file in the hard drive could overwrite the deleted file, thus deleting it permanently. Sometimes, the deleted file is not overwritten by another file, even after installing a new one. But there may be 50/50 chances to get the deleted. Now it's your decision if you want to take a risk. If your data is essential and you are extra cautious, you can download Disk Drill on another macOS. Then, put that file in a flash drive. Then, insert the flash drive in the Mac from which you want to recover your data. 

Read Also: How to fix MacBook Laptop Wi-Fi not working problem.

How to Use Disk Drill?

Now, I will discuss briefly how to use 'Disk Drill.' After opening the application 'Disk Drill' for the first time, it will ask you to choose the drive you want to scan. Then click scan. If your data gets erased from the primary purpose, select OS X. If you wish to choose another option, click accordingly. But, one practical suggestion is that, before doing anything, gather appropriate knowledge.  

Depending on the specification and version of your Mac, the scan will take some time, maybe some minutes. After the scan, you can see the recently deleted files. You can open them as well. You can recover each of them if you want. But most of the files, which were there, are junk files. There is no point in recovering all of them. You must search for the file from there that you are looking for. Maybe you are looking for an image or video. Then, look for .jpg, .png, or MP4 from the list. Once you find them, right-click it and click the 'Recover' option. Select the disk where you want to save it and give it a name. However, keeping the file may cause difficulty. Saving the file in your hard disk may overwrite another file. So, it is recommended to use an external hard disk to protect the data. If everything goes right, you can now easily access your recovered data directly from the disk where you stored it. But the older the data is, the more difficult it will become to recover because you delete and install several files that overwrite your data as time passes. Hence, please act as soon as possible. The earlier you use the "disk Drill," the greater the chances of recovery. However, the accessible Disk Drill version does not recover your data. The free version only shows you the deleted data, which you can use to verify it is there. Then, you can buy the paid version and recover deleted data quickly. But if you have 'Disk Drill' installed on your Mac, you can use the 'Recovery Vault.' With this option, you can track all the deleted data. It also gives you a chance to save a copy of your file. By using this, you can always recover a deleted file. However, it has some advantages and disadvantages. The gift is that it is entirely free. You can use it without paying a penny. The burden is that it uses some space from the hard drive to store information. 

Read Also: MacBook Screen Replacement Cost in India

Recover Deleted File With the UNDO Option

You can recover a deleted file with the help of the UNDO option as well. But applying it immediately after accidentally accidentally deleting a file is helpful. To use it, go to the edit section and click 'Undo Move.'  

You can also click the Command+ Z button simultaneously. This way, you can also recover the file by the UNDO function. 

NSS Laptop Service Center  

Trackpad troubles are always frustrating and high cost. If you are in a situation where you are searching for How to Fix your MacBook Air Trackpad, then undoubtedly, you may come to the NSS Laptop Service Center provider. Laptop service providers are here to rescue you from this unnecessary burden. They provide quality support and assistance in troubleshooting your trackpad problems. NSS laptop service centers can be your one-stop solution for all MacBook-related problems. NSS  laptop service assures you swift and prompt service. They provide doorstep delivery with your repaired device. Fixing your trackpad becomes super easy with their credible services.

Here is the List of Apple Authorised Service Centers in India:-

How do you recover deleted files on a Mac? —Final thought

Finally, I am optimistic that one of these works for you and that you can recover the necessary file, which was deleted by mistake. If one method does not work, then try another. There are plenty of them. I am pretty sure that if one does not work, others will. But still, if you can't figure it out, How do you recover deleted files on Mac? Then you can go to your nearby service center. They will do the task for you. 

#recoverdeletedfiles #macOS #recoverdeletedfilesonmac #appledeletedfilesrecovery #macdatarecovery 

Frequently Asked Questions

Laptop Repair | Computer Repair | Printer Repair

Yes, you can recover deleted files from Recycle Bin. The recycle bin is a temporary storage area for the files and folders in your computer. It is like a trash can where deleted items are held for a specified amount of time before being permanently deleted. If you want to save anything from this "trash," you need to do so before the item is thrown out permanently.

Yes, you can recover permanently deleted files mac because we have powerful Mac file recovery software that can easily get back your files.

In order to restore permanently deleted files from the Recycle Bin, you will need a backup copy of the files to restore from. If you don't, you will need to use an effective data recovery solution or have the data professionally recovered using a data recovery service.15

If you have ever tried to recover your files by software, you know it's not easy. You will need to run a computer-savvy professional software on your Mac and scan the hard disk, but it might take hours or even days. If you don't have time or patience, this article will help you to find an easier way to restore lost files from Mac easily.

Right-click the file or folder, and then select Restore previous versions. You'll see a list of available previous versions of the file or folder. The list will include files saved on a backup (if you're using Windows Backup to back up your files) as well as restore points, if both types are available.

Some people don't realize that when you delete a file on your Mac, it's not actually gone. Mac OS X still stores the file, but marks it as available space. This helps you avoid overwriting important files as new ones are created. So, where do deleted files go? They go straight to the trash bin. And if you empty your trash bin, you'll actually free up physical disk space on your computer—but don't try to remove these files permanently from your hard drive because they aren't gone yet!
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