You can also search for all files with a certain extension by entering general information about their file format, such as Excel or PDF, in the search field. Select the file you wish to restore. Right-click on the file and select the Put Back option to restore it from the Trash. The free version only scans for files and shows you that they exist. This isn’t too bad though, because at least you can verify that your files are there before buying the app. The exception to this is if you have Disk Drill already installed, you can use their “Recovery Vault” to track deleted files and save a copy when you delete them. This ensures that whenever you accidentally remove something, you can always get it back, and it’s a completely free feature.
It’s happened to everyone at least once: You accidentally select a file and move it to the trash or unintentionally delete data that you urgently need. So what do you do if a family photo or important documents wind up in the Trash on your Mac? 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. In other words, even if you’ve already emptied the Trash, your data is not necessarily lost. In this guide, we’ll explain how to restore deleted data on your Mac, either from the Trash, an old backup, or directly from your hard drive.
Mac: recovering deleted files – a step-by-step guide
When you delete data on your Mac, it is first moved to the Trash. As long as the Trash has not been emptied, you always have the option to manually restore files from the Trash on a Mac. To do this, proceed as follows:
Step 1: Open Trash
Double-click the Trash icon in the dock. You’ll see a list of all files that are still in the Trash on your Mac.
Step 2: Select the file and move it to the desktop
To restore a file, double-click it and select “Put Back”. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the file back to the desktop or into another folder.
Did you delete a file on your USB flash drive or external hard drive? These devices have their own Trash, which is hidden. You can use a command to show this folder as well as other hidden files and folders on a Mac.
macOS: recovering deleted files using Time Machine
Time Machine is a native macOS application that automatically creates backups. These backups allow you to restore deleted files on your Mac in an emergency. Once configured, Time Machine backs up your applications and settings as well as other personal files at regular intervals.
You should create backups of your Mac regularly to prevent unwanted loss of data.
All you need is an external storage device such as an external hard drive or a USB drive with sufficient storage space. After connecting the device to your Mac, set up backup/recovery as follows:
Step 1: Configure Time Machine
Go to System Preferences and select the Time Machine backup application. Click “Select disk”, enter your storage device, and specify how often you want the application to create backups.
Step 2: Restore the file from an old backup
Open Time Machine. The easiest way to find this application is by using Spotlight. Go to the date of the backup you’re looking for and open the deleted file in the appropriate folder.
Recovering permanently deleted files on a Mac using Disk Drill
What if you can’t recover the deleted file from the Trash or using Time Machine? Fortunately, files that have apparently been permanently deleted can often be recovered on a Mac and are not necessarily lost forever. macOS stores files on the local hard drive until they are overwritten by other data. With special data recovery software and a bit of luck, you can locate and restore lost files on your hard drive.
For example, you can use a program called Disk Drill. This data recovery software scans your hard drive for deleted files that have not yet been overwritten by the system. The faster you react, the more likely it is that you can use Disk Drill to recover the file you want.
Even Downloading or installing Disk Drill could overwrite data on your hard drive. To be on the safe side, first download the software onto an external device such as a USB drive.
The free version of Disk Drill allows you to search your hard drive for deleted data. However, you need the full version to actually recover your data. Nonetheless, Disk Drill is useful for locating files that you think are lost. Once you’re certain that the file is still in your system after scanning your hard drive, you can download the full version and restore the deleted data on your Mac.
Step 1: Install Disk Drill and scan your hard drive
Install Disk Drill. Note that you need to give the application access to your hard drive. Then launch the application and click “Recover” next to the icon for the hard drive with the data you want to restore.
Step 2: Recover data
Once you've found the file you want to recover, right-click “Recover” again and select the directory where you want to save the recovered file.
If you’re using a Microsoft operating system, you also have a range of options for restoring deleted files from the Windows Recycle Bin.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is specially designed for Mac owners to recover a wide range of lost data files, which can be accidentally deleted, or disappeared because they formatted or corrupted their Mac hard drive. The advantages of using software to retrieve files not in the trash bin anymore are basically as follows.
- Super easy, fast, and full automation
- Powerful enough due to advanced technology in scanning and reconstructing data
- Nothing is required for users but a simple click of download and install the software on their MacBook or iMac
Speaking of the disadvantages? The free offer is file size limited, and you must upgrade to a pro version for full file recovery. Nonetheless, everyone can start with the free program for a full preview of found pictures, documents, or videos before recovery. In case you'll change your mind after noticing the great advantages of using software to get data back on Mac, we demonstrate a simple user guide here for you.
Step 1. Select the location where your important data & files were deleted and click the 'Scan' button.
Step 2. The software will run both quick scan and deep scan and work hard to find as many deleted files as possible on the selected volume.
Step 3. The scan results will be displayed in the left pane. Just select the file(s) and click the 'Recover' button to get them back.
Without Software Solutions: How Do You Recover Deleted Files on Mac?
Though Mac data recovery software is available to recover deleted files on HDD, external USB drive, SD card, or fusion drive on a MacBook and iMac device, it is still good to command the knowledge of how to recover deleted files on Mac without software.
Solution 1. Recover Deleted Files from Mac Trash Bin
Good for: Undo recently deleted files; Simple and temporary deletion
The Trash Bin, or simply Trash or Bin, contains all deleted items you removed, including drag and drop a file onto the Trash icon on the Dock, Control-click a file and then choose Move to Trash, or select a file and press Command (⌘) and Delete keys. Any of the three methods send your files and folders to the Trash Bin.
Trash Bin keeps the deleted items for a short period of time, usually 30 days, after then the files are automatically removed. Therefore, try to retrieve files from Mac Trash as soon as possible.
Step 1. Locate the Trash icon and open it.
Step 2. To filter specific files or folders you want to recover, you can manually look for the files by names or directly use the Search feature with either a file name or a certain file extension.
Step 3. Press and hold the Command key and click on the target file, and use the Put Back option to recover the files to their original locations.
Solution 2. Recover Deleted Files Using Mac Terminal
Good for: Experienced users; Recover deleted files temporarily and permanently
The operation of the macOS Terminal is based on a variety of command lines. What command line is used to retrieve deleted files? Look at the following steps.
Step 1. Follow the path to open the Terminal application on your Mac: Applications >Utilities >Terminal.
Step 2. In the command line, you'll need to enter the command lines each by each:
- cd.Trash: this command is for changing the directory to the hidden Trash folder
- ls: This command is to list all files in the Trash folder
- mv../: This is to move the specified file to the home directory. So, replace the filename with your own deleted file's filename
Step 3. Return to the home directory so you can check the restored files through Terminal.
How To Recover Deleted Files Mac After Empty Trash Free
What Else Can You Do to Recover Mac Deleted Files?
Regarding the topic 'How to recover deleted files on Mac without software', we basically demonstrate two ways with a step-by-step guide, including restoring from the Trash Bin and using the Terminal method. Both solutions are good to deal with the recently deleted files on all the major macOS versions, like Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave and so on.
How To Recover Deleted Files On Mac For Free
As a matter of fact, there are other solutions to deleted file recovery on Mac. For example, restore from the Time Machine backup as long as you create timely backups of essential data files through Time Machine. Of cause, if all the manual ways failed to help you recover the lost files, do not hesitate the try the all-around EaseUS Mac data recovery software, which can tackle 100+ cases of data loss scenarios and disasters even though you cannot boot the Mac operating system at all. The sooner you try, the less pain you'll suffer.