Recently, a friend of mine accidentally deleted few video files from her MacBook Air. She tried undoing the operation but couldn’t salvage her treasured videos. When she spoke about the incident to me, I wondered if I could be of any help to her. So, I posted the event on different forums to get advice from Mac community. Then I came to know that recovering deleted files/videos from Mac is not a cumbersome task. If you, by chance, have to help a friend or relative in retrieving deleted files from Mac then follow this helpful article.
Data loss incidents like accidental file deletion, emptying of Trash, formatting of a partition, etc. are common and can occur to anyone. In some cases, you need expert advice to troubleshoot and recover the data from Mac. In this article, you will learn a few great and easy-to-use methods that enable you to help someone in recovering deleted files from Mac.
First off, tell your friend to remain calm. Then ask if they have checked the Trash folder. In case they have emptied the Trash folder, then advise not to use the Mac storage drive anymore to rule out overwriting the deleted data. Also, inquire about the Time Machine backup or a clone of the Mac start-up disk. Ask whether the auto sync of important folders to iCloud is enabled.
Often, we trash unneeded files from our Mac. But we don’t empty the Trash folder immediately.
So, if your friend has not emptied the Trash, then guide them to perform the following steps:
Note: Undo operation works when your friend acts immediately after deletion. In case of delay, chances of undoing the delete operation reduces. So always check the Trash folder for deleted files.
Most of us use iCloud to sync the Desktop and Documents folder to the cloud drive. This auto syncing allows Mac to update the synced folders to iCloud drive in real-time.
Ask your friend to execute the following steps for iCloud recovery:
Usually, Mac users use Time Machine application to back up the Mac startup disk. This application takes incremental backup and stores all the backed-up data in backup drive in the form of. backupdb file.
So, if your friend has set up Time Machine backup, then suggest performing the following steps to recover deleted files:
Ensure your friend connects the Time Machine backup disk to your Mac.
Data recovery Mac software such as Stellar Data Recovery Professional finds applicability if the data is lost from the storage drive without any backup’iCloud, Time Machine, or otherwise. The software helps recover permanently deleted, formatted, or lost data from Mac system(s).
Instruct your friend to carry out the following steps:
In this article, we’ve shared how to help someone recover deleted files from Mac. The first step in the recovery process is to check the Trash. If the deleted files are in the Trash folder, restore them. If not found in Trash folder, check if Time Machine backup is taken. Use Time Machine backup to restore deleted files. If Desktop and Documents on Mac are synced to iCloud, then visit icloud.com to restore the data to the local iCloud Drive on your Mac.
In case your friend has emptied the Trash and has no backup, then recommend using a data recovery software for Mac to scan the drive and recover deleted files.
Stellar Data Recovery for Mac is available in Professional, Premium, and Technician versions. Download from Stellarinfo.com.