Even when you diligently save and back up files, mistakes still happen. Delete buttons are hit and files are dragged to the trash can in fits of rage. Sometimes it’s nothing more than an honest mistake. Certain files seem useless to us right up until the moment when we cast them away forever.
It’s a stressful scenario that seems to happen to everyone eventually. If this happens to you, avoid the temptation to cry and hide from your Mac. Instead, follow some of the steps outlined below to recover those files and get back to work!
Let’s talk first about just a few of the easiest, most direct ways to recover files on a Mac.
The first method is to thoroughly pour through your trash bin to make sure the file is permanently gone and not simply sitting there, waiting to be overwritten. Even if you’re certain you emptied your trash, do me a favor and double check. This Is the easiest and most obvious method for file recovery, so don’t be the person kicking herself because she didn’t try it!
If the file is permanently gone, your next step is to check any back up destinations. Possible back up destinations include: email, icloud, and flash drives.
Another back up option you may or may not know about is OS X’s Time Machine. Time Machine only lets you restore files to which it has access, so make sure you set it up. Once you’ve connected to Time Machine, find the file you need and click “restore”. You can restore individual files or groups of them as you see fit.
If none of the above works then it’s time to move on to a recovery application. When trying this method, be sure to stop using the affected drive immediately. Deleting a file doesn’t remove it, but allows the hard drive to overwrite it with new information. Don’t open any programs, or save or delete other files.
Use reviews online to pick the best recovery program for you. There are plenty of options on the market and many of them are free, or at least have a free trial period. Recovery programs will give you an option to scan your computer for lost data. Once you scan and are presented with a list of files, use the preview feature to find the correct one. File names get destroyed when they’re deleted so there may not be any efficient way to search for what you want other than to manually click through all of the recovered files.
After you find what you’re looking for, simply tell the app to recover the file. Make sure to save and back up that file to an external hard drive or USB drive to avoid making the same mistake in the future.
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