There are several ways to recover deleted files on macOS. We’ll show you how you can even recover files you thought were long lost.
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Restore files from the Recycle Bin
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Restore Mac files with Time Machine
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Prevent data loss on your Mac
You’ve probably deleted an important file by mistake before. However, depending on how quickly you react and whether you made a backup, you may still be able to recover the file.
Whether it’s a document, a photo, or a download, macOS offers several ways to recover files. From searching the trash to using Time Machine, we’ll show you various recovery options in this article.
Restore files from the Recycle Bin
If you accidentally deleted a file from your Mac device, the first thing you should do is check the Trash. Deleted files are temporarily stored here until it is emptied. To open it, click the Trash icon in your taskbar.
Right-click on the files you want to restore and then click “Put Back”.
Restore Mac files with Time Machine
If the recycle bin has already been emptied, you can use Time Machine. This in-house program allows you to restore files and entire systems using backups. Check out our step-by-step guide on how to create backups and restore data with Time Machine.
Remember that Time Machine can only recover deleted files if you have previously created a backup using the program. If not, there are numerous third-party software that you can use to recover Mac files.
Prevent data loss on your Mac
The most effective way to minimize the risk of file loss on your Mac is to create regular backups. There are many ways to do this. Firstly, there is the Time Machine function, which automatically creates backup copies of your files once configured.
And then there’s iCloud. This stores your files in the cloud and makes them accessible to your paired devices, whether it’s an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
You can also create a burn folder on your Mac to store files you want to burn to CD or DVD. Simply navigate to the location where you want to create the folder, then click “File” and then “New Burn Folder.”
Now you can move the files you want to burn into this folder. When you’re done, open the burn folder and then click “Burn”. Note that the option to create a burn folder will only appear if you have an external optical drive connected to your Mac.
Finally, you can use Disk Utility to create a backup of your Mac. This allows you to compress and save large amounts of data in a single file. To use this function, open Disk Utility within the “Utilities” in the “Applications” folder.
Then navigate to “File” in the menu bar and select “New Image” and then “Empty Image”. Decide on a storage location, select the storage size and click “Save”. Now you can copy important files to the disk image.
Do you want to learn more about data backup? In our ultimate backup guide you will learn about the different backup strategies and programs.
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