How to Recover Permanently Deleted Files on Mac with Free and Paid Solutions
Quick Navigation:
| Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| 1. Free Mac Data Recovery Solutions |
1. Open-source 100% free - e.g. TestDisk...Full steps 2. A limited free offer - e.g. Qiling Data...Full steps |
|
2. Paid Mac Data Recovery Solutions |
Select the device location you deleted files...Full steps |
Losing data on a Mac is a common experience, and many readers have been there. Data recovery is a popular topic, and it's not just about recovering deleted files, but also about the emotional pain of losing valuable data. To help, we'll start with a general guide on how to recover permanently deleted files on a Mac, which can no longer be found in the Trash Bin in macOS.
What you'll learn in this post:
- ■ Permanently deleted files ≠ Permanently lost
- ■ Some data recovery solutions can be free
- ■ When you must invest in a paid Mac recovery solution
1. Permanently deleted files ≠ Permanently lost
The permanent deletion of files on a Mac can be achieved through various methods. One way is to use the combination keys Shift-Command-Delete or Option-Shift-Command-Delete, which will remove the selected files without sending them to the Trash. Additionally, other paths can be taken to permanently delete files on a Mac.
- Delete Immediately
- Secure Empty Trash
- Secure Empty Trash
- Mac Terminal rm command or rmdir command
- Use some third-party apps to force deleting or emptying the Trash
- In Finder Preferences, go to Advanced, and select the option to "Remove items from the Trash after 30 days" to automatically delete items from the Trash after 30 days.
Permanent deletion on a Mac means that the data you delete is completely gone from your computer, and you'd have to rely on a backup to recover it. However, a specialized Mac data recovery program can still help you retrieve deleted files, even if they're no longer visible to the naked eye.
- What a Mac data recovery application recovers for you
- Recovering permanently deleted files can sometimes result in retaining the original filenames and folder structure, but other times, even if the data is recovered, the filenames, folder paths, and date/timestamps are lost. However, if the file content is what matters most, losing these attributes is often a trade-off worth making.
2. Free Mac Data Recovery Solutions
If you're looking to retrieve files that were permanently removed, you may need a dependable data recovery solution. For users of free data recovery software, there are only two types of such recovery solutions to choose from.
- 1. Open-source 100% free - e.g. TestDisk
- 2. You can offer a limited free version of a software, such as Deep Data Recovery for Mac, which allows users to recover up to 2GB of data for free, with the option to upgrade to a paid version for additional features or larger data recovery capacity.
TestDisk Overview
TestDisk is a free, open-source data recovery software that specializes in recovering lost partitions and making non-booting disks bootable again. It can also be used to recover deleted files on various platforms, including Mac OS X/macOS.
You can find the product information and a download link on the official website.
https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk
While the interface may not be the most intuitive for computer novices, the Mac data recovery utility is a powerful tool that's completely free to use. Once you get familiar with the procedures, it's a reliable option, but getting there may take some time.
Deep Data Recovery for Mac Overview
Deep Data Recovery offers the best user design and highest data recovery quality among 10 products tested, making it the most mature recovery software in the market. Its free plan allows for the recovery of up to 2GB of files, which is the maximum among free offers, making it a suitable choice for those who don't feel confident using open-source alternatives like TestDisk, especially when recovering a small number of files.
3. Paid Mac Data Recovery Solutions
Having free data recovery software to retrieve deleted files from a Mac's disk, external USB drive, or SD card can be a great relief. However, even the best free recovery software may not be completely safe and reliable, especially when it comes to recovering important files that could impact your job, career, or reputation. In such cases, it's best to invest in a professional paid recovery program that offers a reliable service.
Data recovery applications can restore deleted files, formatted disks, or corrupted data. However, the recovery result depends on how the lost data is handled after an incident. It's recommended to avoid writing new data to the device and not use cracked software, and instead seek technical help to locate the target file if it has lost its original filename and folder path.
When researching reputable recovery solutions for Mac, you'll likely come across Qiling, Disk Drill, and Stellar, which are highly recommended on forums and review websites. Each of these products has its own strengths, but ultimately, the best choice for you will depend on the overall score and your personal experience with the trial version.
Since the three solutions are all applicable to the permanently deleted files recovery on Mac, if you need a remote service & a manual data recovery service, choose Qiling.
What makes Deep Data Recovery stand out
- User-friendly interface
- Powerful as you heard of
- The long brand history of over 10 years
- Competitive price for the 99.7% successful recovery rate
- Standalone manual recovery service from professional IT teams
- 24x7 remote IT support is available for any recovery issues, and on-site support is also provided to solve problems.
- 1. Repairing a corrupted RAID structure, an unbootable Windows OS, or a corrupted virtual disk file (.vmdk, .vhd, .vhdx, etc.) requires specialized tools and expertise. For RAID corruption, tools like Qiling Backup, Acronis True Image, or Disk Drill can help rebuild the RAID array and recover data.
- 2. Recover/repair lost partition and re-partitioned drive
- 3. Unformat hard drive and repair raw drive(Bitlocker encrypted drive)
Deep Data Recovery for Mac offers both free and paid solutions to recover permanently deleted files on Mac. To get started, download the software on your Mac and follow the steps to recover your deleted files as soon as possible.
Step 1. Launch Deep Data Recovery, select the file types you want to recover, and click "Next" to begin the recovery process.
Step 2. Select the device location where the files were deleted from, then click the "Scan" button to locate the permanently deleted files.
Step 3. Deep Data Recovery for Mac will list the files it finds in the left-hand sidebar.
Step 4. To recover permanently deleted files on a Mac, preview the items you are looking for and click the "Recover Now" button. This will restore the files to their original location.
FAQ
1. Can Apple recover permanently deleted files?
Unfortunately, you can't recover permanently deleted files with Apple's built-in utilities on Mac, but you can restore them if you have backed up the deleted files with Time Machine or use third-party data recovery tools like Deep Data Recovery for Mac.
2. How can I recover permanently deleted files from Mac without software?
Apart from third-Time Machine, the built-in backup utility on Mac, is the only party data recovery software you can trust to recover permanently deleted files. It saves selected files to a backup disk, allowing you to recover both individual files and the entire operating system when needed.
3. What happens to permanently deleted files Mac?
Permanently deleted files on a Mac are completely removed, including from the Trash, and can only be recovered through a backup or data recovery software.
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