All “best Mac recovery software” articles begin with lists of downloads to try out. This is in reverse order. The determining factor for whether any of these scanners will be able to assist you with your problem, however, comes down to one question: where did the files live? Were they stored on your Mac’s built-in SSD, an external hard drive, or a memory card? These are all different responses to what the problem may have been, and therefore, there are only two of them that require the installation of any type of scanning application.
When looking at an internal Mac SSD, first check the bin and backup data rather than using any scanners since TRIM had wiped out the rest. If the files are stored on a healthy external drive or card, then they can be scanned freely. If the files were being accessed from a problematic drive, do not attempt to scan the problem drive; instead image the bad drive.
Now we get to the part that the advertising often leaves off. Modern Macs boot from their internal SSD. Once you remove data from a Mac via deletion, it immediately sends a TRIM command to the SSD. The SSD then removes all of the data blocks previously occupied by the deleted data. It does this quickly (almost instantly) so as not to leave unused space lingering around the SSD like older spinning disks do. When using a scan tool against the internal SSD, it usually finds nothing but cache clutter and gives you unrealistic hopes. To recover lost files on an internal SSD, you must use a feature Apple has provided called the Trash. In addition to the Trash, you also need to check the 30-day auto-empty setting for the Trash. In addition to that, you should also check for deleted items in iCloud Drive’s Recently Deleted section. It quietly covers your Desktop and Documents in case you accidentally delete important information on multiple devices synced together through iCloud. Lastly, if you want to search for deleted files on your Mac, you should open Time Machine from the original location where you originally saved the file. Spending ten minutes going through the above mentioned options is all that you really need to do in terms of doing things yourself regarding recovering lost files from your Mac. After that point, any further discussion about recovery will relate to backup processes and not recovery tools.
External drives and memory cards do not receive the same aggressive (TRIM) treatment when it comes to their deleted or formatted data; therefore, deleted or reformatted data is “alive” for some time, which allows for a use of a scanner. The honest pecking order: PhotoRec and TestDisk, free and limitless, recover files from an external disk and rebuild partitions using the Terminal, yet with professional quality; Disk Drill as the paid version which plays fairly by allowing preview of all possible recovered items before one has to pay money, thus allowing purchase based upon actual proof; and EaseUS and Stellar as good alternatives whose ‘free’ versions are trial versions with limited ability to save, okay if you understand them. Regardless of the label on your chosen solution there are still the same basic rules to follow: Save the file(s) that have been successfully recovered onto your Mac, never back onto the drive you’re rescuing; install absolutely nothing onto the external drive you’re trying to recover; and define recovery as successful only when you can actually open files. Our free recovery software guide takes the tool-versus-professional question further.
A disk greyed-out in Disk Utility that clicks, quits during a copy operation or freezes Finder; a Mac displaying the question-mark folder; a MacBook unable to wake up after many years of being used as a photo repository: running a scan on any of these will be loading additional strain onto a damaged system. This is the imaging branch (storage is read only once, in a gentle way, by equipment specifically designed to handle slow disks). We include FileVault in this process using your encryption key. In addition, we make all attempts against the copy instead of the original. That’s what we do for Mac and MacBook recovery. There is one honest limit that we feel should be stated clearly: when storage on a Mac is permanently attached to the motherboard (T2/Apple-silicon models), and that motherboard has failed, there is nothing to image and therefore nobody can recover anything; if that is the case for you then we will let you know straight away at no cost. Our free 48-hour diagnostic is to place you in the correct branch so that you don’t spend the remainder of the evening working down the wrong branch.
Yes, as long as you remain within the limitations of the software; it’s the Mac scanner we criticise least. The free tier of this Mac scanner will preview everything it can see prior to payment, and thus turn the decision to purchase into an educated decision. The scanner, like any other tool, cannot however restore TRIMmed blocks on an internal SSD nor can it read a drive that the Mac cannot detect initially.
Ultimately this depends upon what happens to that storage when you delete something from it. Older Windows machines that utilise a hard drive leave deleted items in free space until they are located by a scanner. Modern MacBook devices all use solid-state drives (SSDs) which employ a function called TRIM. Therefore, as soon as you delete something on your MacBook, macOS will instruct the SSD to remove or erase those blocks. This is the reason why the Mac equivalent of scanning is essentially checking the nets that Apple created: the Trash, iCloud’s “Recently Deleted” and Time Machine.
Generally a partial overwrite occurs. The scanner was able to locate the file’s entry or some portions of it; however, the file has had portions of its body reused, therefore an image opens partially grey and/or documents throw an error. A deep professional pass may be able to restore more information on externals and cards than on an internal Mac SSD where TRIM typically gets to it first. In either case, a failed recovery is based on timing, not on anything you did incorrectly.
Simply tell us where the files existed and what the device is doing, and we will give you our honest assessment absolutely free, prior to spending a penny.