How to Recover Deleted Files from Mac after Emptying the Trash (2024 Tips)

How to Recover Deleted Files on a Mac

Open the Trash on your Mac by clicking its icon. Search for and locate the file you want to recover. Right-click the selected file or folder. Choose "Put Back" to restore the deleted file to its original location on your Mac.

5 Ways to Recover Deleted Files on a Mac

You can quickly recover recently deleted files from the Mac Trash. If you've emptied the Trash, you can use Mac hard drive recovery software, the Revert option, Time Machine backup files, and Terminal commands to restore deleted files. There are five different methods for retrieving deleted files on a Mac. The table below outlines these options.

You can watch this video to learn how to recover deleted files on a Mac.

• 00:00 File Recovery after Deletion
• 00:23 Data Recovery Wizard Tool
• 01:14 Recover to Original Location Option
• 01:41 Undo Option
• 02:12 Time Machine Data Recovery
• 03:07 File Recovery using Terminal

If you prefer a step-by-step guide, follow the instructions below to recover deleted files on your Mac:

Method 1: Recover Deleted Files on Mac with a File Recovery Tool

This applies to macOS 10.9 through macOS 13.

This method is the most effective, as it supports macOS 10.9-13. The steps are the same, regardless of which version of macOS you use. The Mac Data Recovery Wizard is an ideal tool for Macintosh data retrieval. No other file recovery utility is as easy to use.

Regardless of the reason for your data loss – whether it's a damaged or corrupted file, accidental deletion, or a formatted drive – we can help you get it back. In addition, a good Mac hard drive recovery tool can restore files emptied from the Trash, recover formatted drives, and even fix a crashed operating system or a Mac affected by a virus.

Please download this Mac data recovery software and follow the steps below to recover deleted files from Mac.

Note: You should first create a backup by clicking on "Disk Backup" on the left. The software will recover the deleted files from the backup image, which prevents further damage to your disk and data, making it safer and more reliable.

Step 1: Scan for the deleted files

Select the hard drive, external drive, or SSD from where your important data and files were deleted, and click “Search Lost Files.”

Step 2: Filter out lost files

The software will perform a quick and deep scan to find as many deleted files as possible on the selected volume. Filter the required files by “Type” and “Path” options.

Step 3: Recover the deleted files

Double-click to preview the files and then hit the “Recover” button to get them back.

If you're a Windows 10/8.1/8/7/XP user, you can also use a 100% effective solution to recover deleted files. The methods below provide you with four practical solutions to recover deleted files on Mac without third-party software. Keep reading to learn how to recover deleted files on macOS Ventura/Monterey/Big Sur/Catalina/High Sierra.

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Method 2: Restore Deleted Files from the Trash on Mac

Where is the Recently Deleted folder on Mac? If you drag a file to the Trash or right-click and choose Delete, and you haven't emptied the Trash yet, the recently deleted files go to the Trash. The steps below will quickly restore data from the Mac Trash folder.

Step 1: Click on the “Trash” icon on your desktop and you will see all your deleted files.

Step 2: Locate the files you want to recover and drag them to your desktop. Or right-click on them and choose “Put Back” to restore files from Trash on Mac. The files will go back to their original location.

You should be able to view the recovered file on your Mac's desktop. If you're using Windows, the process for recovering from the Trash is similar, except you'll right-click the file and choose Restore.

Method 3: How to Use the Undo Option to Recover a Deleted File on Mac

If you accidentally delete important files on your Mac, you can easily recover them by using the “Undo” option. However, you must do this immediately after deleting the files. This method won't work after you empty the Trash or permanently delete the files.

Step 1: After deleting the file, click the “Edit” menu and choose “Undo Move.” You can also use the keyboard shortcut ⌘+Z to undo the deletion.

After that, you can put the lost files back to your Mac. Both methods help recover lost data on Mac that haven't been permanently erased. If you emptied the Trash, you'll need to use a Time Machine backup or macOS data recovery software.

Method 4: Restore Deleted Mac Files via Time Machine Backup

Time Machine is Apple's backup solution for the Mac. If you have Time Machine backups enabled, you can restore deleted data from your Mac even after you empty the Trash. If you don't have a backup, this won't work. If you need help recovering a permanently deleted file without a backup, check out the section on Mac deleted file recovery software.

macOS High Sierra through macOS Ventura

Restore deleted files on Mac using Time Machine:

Step 1: Connect the backup media you created earlier to your Mac – this could be an external storage device.

Step 2: Open Time Machine on your Mac. Click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, then choose Enter Time Machine, or use Spotlight to find Time Machine.

Step 3. Use the up and down arrow keys on your screen to locate the specific file you want to recover. You can then press the spacebar to preview it.

Finally, click the “Recover” button to put the recovered files back where they belong.

Apple Support provides detailed instructions on how to restore items using Time Machine on your Mac. You can find the information in the following article: [Restore items from a Time Machine backup on Mac](https://support.apple.com/zh-hk/guide/mac-help/mh11422/mac).

Method 5: Recover Deleted Files on Mac via Terminal

If you want to recover data from Mac without software, using the Terminal is a good option. But keep in mind that Terminal commands only work for files deleted from the Mac Trash. If the Trash has been emptied, turn to a Mac data recovery tool for help.

To recover deleted files on your Mac using Terminal, follow these steps:

Step 1: Click on “Finder,” then “Applications,” then “Utilities,” and then double-click “Terminal.”

Step 2. Type cd .Trash on your Mac, and then hit Return.

Step 3: Type in "ls -al ~/.Trash". This command lists the contents of your trash.

Step 4: Press the "Enter" key after typing mv filename ../ (where "filename" is the full name of the file). The command will only work if you include the full name of the file.

Step 5: Type Quit in the Terminal window, and then close the Terminal.

Recovered files are located in your Home directory. You can go there to check the items.

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How to Recover Deleted Files on Mac with Terminal

First, open Terminal on your Mac via Utilities. Then, type cd . and hit Enter. Next, input ls -al ~/.Trash to view the files or folders within the Trash. Learn More >>

5 Common Reasons for Data Loss or Deletion on a Mac

The following are the most common ways to delete files/folders on a Mac. These deleted items can be recovered even if they are no longer in the Trash using a professional Mac data recovery software.

• Drag the file into the Trash, then restart your computer.
• Empty the Trash regularly to permanently delete deleted files.
• Use the "Option + Command + Delete" shortcut to permanently delete a file.
• Click the Finder menu and select "Empty Trash…" to delete files.
• On a Mac, the Trash deletes files automatically without asking.

It's also an amazing testament to how powerful software is to recover data from files that don't exist.

How Can I Recover Deleted Files from Mac?

When you delete a file, you remove the entry rather than the data itself. Initially, the space occupied by the deleted file is marked as "available" for new data to be written over. This is key to why you can use a macOS Ventura Data Recovery Software to trace deep entries and eventually locate the original file!

Thus, once new data takes the “available” spot, it's very difficult for any software to retrieve the overwritten files. That's it. The sooner you find a data recovery solution, the more deleted files you can restore.

More help for Mac data protection

Regular backups are an easy and effective way to protect your data from accidental loss. macOS's Time Machine is a great built-in tool that handles backups automatically.

Backup Mac data with Time Machine

Step 1: Connect the external hard drive to your computer or MacBook

Step 2: Go to System Preferences > Time Machine > Select Backup Disk.

Step 3: Choose where you want to save your Time Machine backups, then click “Use Disk.”

Select “Back Up Automatically” to have Time Machine back up everything on your Mac automatically.

If you want to backup Mac without Time Machine, you can rely on a trustworthy Mac backup tool that allows you to create a full backup, incremental backup, or differential backup.

Conclusions

This article should help you with file recovery on your Mac after deletion. There are five methods to try. The first one is for when you don't have a Mac backup. Follow the mentioned steps to recover data from any macOS version. The other methods let you retrieve files before emptying the Trash. You can also use Time Machine to restore Mac data if you have a backup.

Share is caring. Help more people who need to recover deleted files.

With an all-in-one Mac deletion recovery tool, you can easily restore files and folders from the emptied Trash! This fantastic tool comes in really handy when you've lost important data on your internal hard drive, USB flash drive, memory card, or thumb drive… why not share the joy of retrieving your deleted files with others who are in trouble?

Frequently Asked Questions About Recovering Deleted Files on Mac

After you perform Mac data recovery, you can read through these FAQs for more help.

1. Can deleted files be recovered on a Mac?

Yes, you can recover deleted files from a Mac. Usually, when you delete files from your Mac's hard drive, they go to the Trash, from where you can quickly restore them. If you've emptied the Trash, you can still recover deleted files on a Mac without software using Time Machine backups, the Undo option, or Terminal commands.

Recover Deleted Files from an Empty Trash on Mac

Step 1: Download and launch the Mac data recovery software. Select the location from where your data or files were deleted and then click on the “Scan” button.

Step 2: The software will scan your device quickly and deeply, trying to locate your deleted files.

Step 3. Select the files and tap on the “Restore Now” button to get them back.

How can I recover permanently deleted photos from my Mac?

Deleted files are not gone forever. You can securely get them back for free – recover deleted photos from Mac with this method.

• Recover deleted photos from the Photos app on Mac
• Restore deleted photos from the Trash or an emptied Trash
• Retrieve deleted photos from a Time Machine backup
• Use Mac data recovery software to restore erased images and photos from your Mac

How can I recover permanently deleted files from my Mac without software?

Recover permanently deleted files on Mac without software:

Step 1: Open Time Machine on your Mac.

Step 2: Use the up and down arrows on your screen to locate the deleted file you want to restore.

Step 3: Click on the “Recover” button and your deleted files will return to their original location.

Where do deleted files go?

Files moved to the Recycle Bin (on a PC) or Trash (on a Mac) remain in those folders until the user empties them. Once they are deleted from these folders, they still exist on the hard drive and can be recovered with the right software.