- Fortunately, there are several ways to recover deleted data in macOS. On every Mac, deleted files are first sent to the Trash. If the files are also deleted in the Trash, a copy is saved on the hard drive of your device. This copy is not overwritten by other data until later.
- Aug 04, 2021 Luckily, you can still recover deleted files on Mac without software bythe Time Machine Backup. Click the 'Spotlight' icon on the top right of Mac. After then, type in 'Time Machine' in the search box and search for it. Find Time Machine in the search result and click to open it.
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Free Mac Data Recovery provides many of options to help you recover data at your pace and quickly find the files you need. Recover deleted, formatted and lost photos, music, videos, emails and any other files from your Mac computer. With its friendly interface, you can complete the whole recovery process within only 3 simple steps.
It's very easy to delete files while you're cleaning your macOS, editing, or managing files. When you find the important files lost, you must desperately want to restore deleted files on Mac. Actually, there are a few ways available to find deleted files on Mac without/with software. In this article, I'm going to introduce you to 5 ways for how to recover deleted files on Mac. The software we're going to use is iBeesoft Data Recovery for Mac. You can download it and be ready to do the recovery.
Free DownloadAccidentally deleted a file on Mac or emptied trash? Do you have encountered this issue and tried to find a way to recover deleted files on Mac? Whether you remove it intentionally or unintentionally, there are still chances for you to look for and get back deleted files. The sooner the better.
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In general, the deleted files from the Mac drive are put into the trash can, from where you can restore easily. If you have emptied the trash, you can recover deleted files on Mac without software by time machine backup, undo options, and terminal command. If these 4 ways are invalid, don't panic! you can also try an effective way to undelete files from Mac. Check out the details below!
- Quick Navigation
- Part 1. How to Restore Deleted Files on Mac from Trash (Not Emptied yet)
- Part 2. How to Recover Permanently Deleted Files on Mac (100% Effective)
- Part 3. How to Find Deleted Files from Mac Without Software via Time Machine Backup
- Part 4. How to Recovering Deleted Files on Mac with Undo Options
- Part 5. How to Mac Recover Deleted Files using Terminal Command
Part 1. How to Restore Deleted Files on Mac from Trash
Whether you deleted the files by dragging them to the trash can or right-click on the files and click 'Delete', all the data are put into the trash can. If you haven’t emptied the trash can yet and deleted the items recently, then you can recover files from trash. Move the mouse over the icon of the trash can in Finder, and you can see the deleted files are listed there. When finding the target files, drag them to the desktop, or right-click on them and select 'put back' to recover deleted files on Mac from the trash.
Please note that you have only 30 days to recover files on Mac from the day you deleted them. After then, the files will be removed by Mac automatically and permanently.
Part 2. How to Recover Permanently Deleted Files on Mac
Don't worry about how to find deleted files on Mac after 'command + del' to delete, empty the trash, or other reasons. This safe and effective way will help you to recover deleted files on Mac OS X, no matter you have a backup or not. Here, I recommend trying iBeesoft Data Recovery for Mac to get back all the lost files on Mac. Why is the best way to use the software? Because, after files are deleted, they will be hidden and we can't see them. but the this tool can discover and retrieve them. More importantly, iBeesoft deleted file recovery Mac software has read-only features, so you don't have to worry about data being corrupted or overwritten, causing to undo deleted files on Mac failure.
The best application specially developed for users to completely recover deleted photos, documents, videos, emails, music files, and more on macOS. It works extremely fast and supports almost all data loss scenarios. The interface of the recover deleted files Mac program is both intuitive and well-organized. Overall, iBeesoft is one of the best choices in this software category if you accidentally removed some important files on Mac or external devices. With its help, you can undelete files on Mac with simple steps.
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- This professional software can recover deleted file from Mac, USB drive, memory card, and other removable storage devices in simple clicks.
- It provides two powerful scanning mode (quick scan and deep scan), to a better to recover lost files on Mac.
- It can preview the deleted/lost files before recovery, easily search and filter file types to help you quickly to recovering deleted files on Mac.
Steps to Recover Deleted Files on macOS
Download the application on your computer now! It is virus-free, so you can install it without worrying about the security issue. It is fully compatible with the latest versions. Check out the steps for how to recover permanently deleted files on Mac.
1. Launch the recover deleted files Mac tool. From the main window, you can see all supported file types are selected. Please uncheck the unwanted ones. It will save you time for finding the target files. If you don’t want to uncheck them, please be patient for the scanning process. The time it takes depends on how many files it scans. Click 'Start' to Mac recover deleted files.
2. In the next window, all drives on your Mac are displayed there. You need to select the disk/volume where the target files used to exist and click the 'Scan' button to analyzing the drive.
3. After the scanning process, you can see all found files are displayed in the main window. From there, you need to click the file category in the left side, then preview the files on the right side. After then, find the target one(s) and click 'Recover' to save them to your Mac.
Part 3. How to Find Deleted Files from Mac Without Software via Time Machine Backup
If you don't use the Time Machine to backup your files, please use the part 1 to begin the recovery of your deleted files on Mac OS X.
Some people like to empty the trash can after they deleted files on Mac which of course will result in the permanent deletion. Luckily, you can still recover deleted files on Mac without software bythe Time Machine Backup.
1. Click the 'Spotlight' icon on the top right of Mac. After then, type in 'Time Machine' in the search box and search for it.
2. Find Time Machine in the search result and click to open it. Click the folder where your target files used to be.
3. Click the upward arrow to the right the Time Machine window, scroll through backup files until you see the deleted files appear.
4. Hold the Command button to select the target files and click 'Restore' to save the deleted items on Mac.
If the target files are in different folders, then you need to Mac recover deleted files by repeating the up-mentioned process.
Part 4. How to Recovering Deleted Files on Mac with Undo Options
Most Mac users will delete unnecessary files to keep the driver clean while using the computer. Sometimes we lose important files because of this action. When it happens, if you don't do anything else, you can easily restore deleted files on Mac by the 'Undo' option. This method is suitable for use immediately after deleting a file or folder and it is not valid after emptying the trash or permanently clearing it. If you wan to recover permanently deleted files on Mac, please use part 1. Follow this method to find deleted files on Mac now!
Part 5. How to Mac Recover Deleted Files using Terminal Command
Apple's terminal application is the direct interface to OS X's bash shell. So you can do many things using command prompt, like restore files, change process priority, delete files, view driver status, create new directories, change file permissions and more. So, you can use the terminal command to recover deleted files on Mac without software.
1. Please go to 'Applications' > 'Utilities' > to open terminal.app
2. Type Unix command: 'cd .Trash', and then hit the 'Return' key on your Mac.
3. Type 'mv name ../' and hit the 'Return' key. Please note, please replace the 'name' with the full name of the file you deleted.
4. Type 'Quit' in the Terminal application.
If you complete these recover deleted files Mac steps, you can enter the deleted file name in the search bar to check it.
The above mentioned ways are workable to recover deleted files on Mac without/with software. To prevent your data from being lost, the best way is backing up your Mac. That's the reason why Apple officially built-in Time Machine. Anyway, if you haven't had any backup yet, then the most efficient way to retrieve your data back is by using iBeesoft Data Recovery for Mac. It is developed specially for deleted file recovery on Mac.
We’ve all experienced that horrible stomach-churning pang of dread when we delete a file that we didn’t mean to delete. Or when we realise that the file we trashed last week is the one we need for an important piece of work that’s due to be submitted tomorrow. The bad news is that there’s no Mac undelete feature. The good news is that, most of the time, and depending on what steps you’ve taken beforehand, it’s relatively easy to recover deleted files on Mac.
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Download Disk Drill FreeCheck if the file has really been deleted
The first step is to check if the file is gone. If you dragged it to the Trash but haven’t emptied it recently, it should still be there. Click on the Trash icon in the Dock and inspect the Finder window that opens. If you see the file, drag it out of the Trash and onto the Desktop. If the file isn’t there, things get more complicated, but there’s still hope.
How to recover deleted files on a Mac with Time Machine
This is the part where we remind you that you should have a regular incremental backup plan in place. Preferably, it should incorporate two separate backups to two different destinations, in different physical locations.
If you use a tool that makes a bootable clone, such as Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper, and regularly update the clone, all you have to do to recover a file is mount the clone and copy the file back to your Mac. If you take away nothing else from this article, please understand the importance of backing up your Mac on a regular basis. Your future self will thank you for it.
The simplest way to backup files on a Mac is to use Apple’s Time Machine, which is installed as part of macOS. You set it up once and forget it. Assuming you use Time Machine, it’s very easy to recover individual files. Here’s how:
1. Go to the Time Machine menu in the Mac’s menu bar and choose Enter Time Machine.
2. Swipe upwards with two fingers on your Mac’s trackpad or press the up arrow next to the Finder window that appears in order to navigate to a time before you deleted the file.
3. Once you’ve reached a backup from a time before you trashed the file, click on the Finder window and navigate the Finder in the normal way until you find the file you want to recover.
4. Press the spacebar to preview the file, and if it’s the one you want, click Restore. The file will now be restored to your current Finder and you’ll be able to open and edit it.
How to recover deleted photos on Mac
When you delete a photo in the Photos app, it doesn’t get rid of it straight away. Instead, it outs in an album called Recently Deleted and keeps it there for 30 days. Then it’s removed permanently. So, if the photo you want to recover was deleted less than 30 days ago, all you have to do is go to Recently Deleted, under Library in Photos’ sidebar, click on the photo you’re looking for and press Recover. It will then be moved back to your main Library.
How to recover music files in iTunes
If you delete a track from iTunes, it asks you if you want to move the file to the Trash. If you said no, all you have to do to recover the file is go to the Finder and navigate to your iTunes music folder (usually in Music>iTunes>iTunes Media), find the file and drag it onto the iTunes icon in the Dock.
If you said yes, and the file is still in the Trash, do the following.
1. Launch iTunes and choose Preferences from the iTunes menu.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Makes sure there’s a checkmark in the box labelled 'Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library’.
4. Close Preferences.
5. Drag the file from the Trash onto the Desktop.
6. Drag it onto iTunes’ icon in the Dock.
7. When it’s imported, drag the file from the Desktop back to the Trash (a copy will have been added to your iTunes folder).
If you’ve emptied the Trash since you deleted the file from iTunes, you can use Time Machine to find it in the earlier version of your iTunes folder and recover it from there.
File recovery on Mac: How restore older versions of a document
Built in apps on macOS, such as Text Edit and Preview, as well as the iWork apps and many third party applications use a feature of the operating system known as versioning. That means that when you open a file and edit it, macOS retains copies of previous versions of the file so you can revert back to them if you need to.
Here’s how to use it:
1. Open the file.
2. Click on the File menu and choose Revert to then Browse all versions.
3. You’ll see that the screen changes and looks a bit like Time Machine.
4. To find the version you want to revert to, click on the tick marks on the right of the screen or click on the title bars of the documents on the right of the screen, or click the up arrow to the right of the documents.
Recovering Deleted Files Mac Osx
5. You’ll see the date of each version displayed below its preview. If the document preview doesn’t display automatically, click Load Version to download it from iCloud.
6. When you find the version you want to revert to, click Restore or to open it as a new document, hold down the Option key and select Restore a Copy.
If you open a document, make changes to it, then decide you don’t want to save them, go to the File menu and select Revert To, then Last Opened.
Data recovery on Mac when you don’t use Time Machine
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If you don’t use Time Machine, all is not lost (though we’d suggest you start using it — it’s the easiest way to recover files you accidentally delete).
There are several options when it comes to data recovery software for Mac. One of the best is Disk Drill, which scans your Mac for deleted files, allows you to specify the kind of file you’re looking for — text document, audio, file or video, for example, and lists everything it finds. You can then preview files to check if they’re what you’re looking for and recover them if they are.
The key point when using any data recovery tool is to stop using your Mac as soon as you realise you need to recover a file. When you empty the Trash, files in it aren’t deleted immediately. Instead, the reference to them in the file index is removed and the space they occupy made available for use. If you stop using your Mac immediately, the file won’t be over-written and data recovery software will have a good chance of recovering it intact. The longer you use your Mac, the more chance there is of it being over-written completely.
How to delete files safely
If you want to delete files easily and never worry about removing the wrong ones, use a great tool CleanMyMac X. Its Smart Scan relies on just one button to scan your Mac and then remove all the junk it finds. All the files are 100% safe-to-delete as CleanMyMac always refers to the Safety Database in order to correctly select and remove the junk. Moreover, you can always view the files before removing them and decide whether you really want to get rid of them. CleanMyMac is incredibly easy to use, so give it a try. It's available for a free download here.
Mac data recovery: the last resort
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If none of the above solutions work, and if the deleted files are very important, the last resort is to take your Mac to a specialist data recovery company. These services use specialist software to interrogate your Mac’s drive and rebuild lost files. However, it’s a very time consuming and expensive process and a step you should only consider if the files you need are more important than the cost of recovering them or you really can’t live without them. If you do decide to use such a service, research the companies carefully and, if possible get word of mouth recommendations from people you trust. And, as with using data recovery software, stop using your Mac immediately.
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To conclude, putting a file in the Trash doesn’t delete it. And even emptying the Trash doesn’t get rid of it completely. There’s still the possibility of recovering it. However, by far the best way of making sure you don’t irreversibly delete a file you need is to make regular backups of your Mac. If you do that using the built in Time Machine, recovering a file or folder you’ve trashed is very easy indeed.