Proven Ways | Recover Deleted Time Machine Backup

Quick Access to Troubleshooting Tips

This article provides solutions on how to recover a deleted Time Machine backup in its entirety, as well as how to recover lost or deleted files from the Time Machine backup.

Workable Solutions	Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Fix 1. Recover Deleted Time Machine Backup	1. About Time Machine backup; 2. The tool you will need; 3. steps to recover the deleted backup...Full steps
Fix 2. Recover Files from Time Machine Backup	Method 1. Recover files from the Time Machine backup disk...Full steps Method 2. Restore files from local snapshots...Full steps

Part 1. How to Recover Deleted Time Machine Backup

Yes, it is possible to recover deleted Time Machine backup files. If you have a Time Machine backup disk connected, you can restore from the last backup that was made before the files were deleted. If the backup disk is not connected, you can try using a third-party data recovery software to scan your Mac's internal drive for deleted files. However, please note that the success of recovery depends on various factors, such as the type of files deleted, the time elapsed since deletion, and the condition of your Mac's drive. It's also recommended to stop using your Mac immediately to prevent overwriting the deleted files. I can guide you through the process if you'd like. Would you like me to explain the steps in more detail?

About Time Machine Backup

Time Machine is a built-Time Machine is a built-in backup utility in macOS that automatically backs up your Mac's files to an external drive, Time Capsule, or NAS device. It periodically saves your personal data, partition, or entire disk to a designated backup destination, with external drives being the most common choice. However, even backup files on a Time Machine destination drive are not entirely safe, as data loss can occur due to accidental deletion, formatting, or virus attacks, which can result in lost backup files.

To restore a deleted Time Machine backup, you can try using the Time Machine utility to re-add the backup, or use a third-party data recovery software to scan for and recover the deleted backup files. If the backup is still on the external drive, you can also try to recover it by re-adding the drive to Time Machine and then restoring from the backup. If the backup is completely deleted, you can use a data recovery software to scan the drive and recover the deleted files.

Tool You Will Need

To effectively recover your Time Machine backup, you'll need a reliable data recovery software tool that can recover deleted files on Mac or Windows. I recommend trying Deep Data Recovery for Mac, a program with powerful data recovery capacity and an easy-to-use interface, which can not only recover deleted or lost Time Machine backup but also recover other deleted files.

You can recover files from a Mac, external hard drives, USB, SD card, memory card, digital camera, and other Mac-compatible devices using a reliable data recovery software. The process involves connecting the device to your Mac, downloading the software, and following the on-screen instructions to scan and recover your lost files.
Losing files due to accidental deletion, formatting, system crashes, or OS reinstallation can be frustrating. Fortunately, there are tools that can help retrieve lost files in such situations.
Get back lost photos, videos, audio files, and documents, including Microsoft Office Word/Excel/PPT files and Adobe files, with the help of a reliable data recovery tool. These tools can retrieve deleted or lost files from various storage devices, including hard drives, solid-state drives, USB drives, and memory cards, even if they have been formatted or corrupted. They work by scanning the device for recoverable data, allowing you to select the files you want to recover and save them to a safe location. With the right tool, you can recover lost files and get back to work or enjoy your memories without worrying about data loss.

Qiling data recovery software outperforms its equivalents in scanning speed, depth, and success rate of data recovery. To recover a deleted Time Machine backup, simply install the software on your Mac and follow the next steps.

Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Steps to Recover Deleted Time Machine backup

Qiling doesn't overstate the usability of this tool, as you can easily retrieve your deleted Time Machine backup with simple steps, making it a reliable option for recovering lost data.

 Important: Time Machine backups are saved in a folder named "Backups" with the extension ".backupdb". After scanning the backup disk, you can filter the results by extension to quickly find and recover your Time Machine backup.

Step 1. Launch Deep Data Recovery, select the file types you want to recover, and click "Next" to initiate the recovery process.

Select file types that you want to recover

Step 2. To recover deleted files, select the location where your important data & files were deleted and click the "Scan" button.

select the location where data was deleted and click scan

Step 3. The software will perform both quick and deep scans on the selected volume, working diligently to locate as many deleted files as possible.

click recover now button to recover deleted files

Step 4. The scan results will be displayed in the left pane, allowing you to select the desired file(s) and click the "Recover" button to retrieve them.

Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

To restore files from your Time Machine backup, simply connect your Time Machine drive to your Mac, open the Time Machine application, select the date and time you want to restore from, and then choose the files you want to restore. You can also use the "Restore" option to restore an entire system from a backup.

Part 2. How to Recover Files from Time Machine Backup

You can recover files from your Time Machine backup in two ways: directly from the backup disk or from local snapshots stored on your Mac. If you need to recover deleted files but don't have a Time Machine backup, you can also use a data recovery tool like Qiling to recover deleted files without Time Machine.

Method 1. Recover Files from Time Machine Backup Disk

Step 1. Connect your backup disk to your Mac and turn on your computer. Then, click on the "Disk Utility" icon located in the Utilities folder.

Step 2. If your Mac starts up to the setup assistant, you can set the details of your country, keyboard, and network, then transfer your information from a Time Machine backup using the Migration Assistant. Alternatively, if your Mac starts up to the Finder, you can go to Applications > Utilities > Migration Assistant and transfer your information from a Time Machine backup.

Step 3. Select the wanted Time Machine backup and click "Continue".

Step 4. If you have multiple backup options to choose from, select one of them and proceed with the next step by clicking "Continue".

Step 5. Choose the files to transfer and click "Continue".

Step 6. When the transfer is complete, restart your computer and log in to the target account, and you'll see all the recovered files.

How to Recover Files from Time Machine Backup

Method 2. Restore Files from Local Snapshots

Step 1. Enter "Time Machine"

Step 2. Select the file or folder you want to restore, then select an older version of the file or folder from the available versions.

Step 3. Press "Space" bar to preview and see whether it's the one you want.

Step 4. Click Restore to restore the selected file.