How to Recover Data on Failed Mac Storage – Guide
It’s important to back up your data, but if you don’t, there are still ways to recover it. Our guide will show you how to repair a damaged drive and recover your data, as well as what to do if the worst happens and you don’t have a backup.
Accidentally deleted files can be recovered, but only if they have not been overwritten. Once the part of the drive containing the data has been replaced, it cannot be retrieved.
If you have an SSD instead of a hard drive, the chances of data recovery are much lower. Repairing an SSD is a different process than repairing an HDD, so it’s important to explore all available options.
Make sure your Mac is not just confused
If your Mac’s backup isn’t working, the first step is to use Apple Disk Utility. If that doesn’t help, it’s time to check for essential files on the hard drive. Our guide explains how to troubleshoot a Mac hard drive.
Decide what you need to recover
People who don’t regularly back up their Macs can avoid costly and time-consuming data recovery by ensuring their important files are stored elsewhere. Commonly forgotten items include photos, music, documents, emails and contacts.
Emails
If you use web-based email, such as Gmail or Yahoo, your emails are stored on their server. You can also have a copy of them on your Mac if it is not web-based. If this is the case, it will be based on IMAP which means the email server has a copy of your emails. Before attempting to retrieve them, log in to your web email and check if everything is there. If you don’t usually access your emails via the web, contact your provider to find out how to do so.
Contacts
Losing your email addresses can be a hassle, but iCloud can help. Check the iCloud web interface to see if your address book is stored in the cloud. If not, you can use programs like Email Contact Extractor to find them from old emails.
Photos
Photos are irreplaceable reminders of moments that can never be recaptured, something I’ve come to appreciate over time.
Song
Apple’s iTunes allows customers to re-download their purchased music, and other online companies offer the same service. If you have the original media, such as a CD, you can copy the song again without needing to purchase or use recovery software - though ripping discs can be tricky.
Office-style documents: text, spreadsheet, presentations and databases
You can use OCR software to extract information from printed documents, and verify that you’ve sent them electronically to someone else.
Software programs and applications
If you’ve lost the serial number or other files associated with a program, reinstalling it from the disc or downloading it again may be your best bet - recovery software may not be able to help.
Other things created through a program: financial documents
The remaining items necessary for a functioning hard drive can be found in this category.
Old Tricks It will not work
Despite the potential risks, some unusual methods of data recovery have been suggested over the years. These include placing a unit in a freezer and attempting to fix mechanical problems yourself. However, these techniques should only be used as a last resort, as they may cause further damage to the unit.
Multifunction tool: Data Rescue One
If your Mac’s drive is failing, you won’t be able to boot from it and run data recovery software. Without access to another Mac, you won’t be able to recover your data.
Before proceeding!
Don’t install data recovery software directly onto the computer from which you’re trying to recover data. Instead, follow Prosoft’s example and copy the model used for Data Rescue One: buy an external hard drive, download your recovery software to it or a USB flash drive, then recover that external hard drive. Leave the failed hard drive untouched.
If your data is irreplaceable, DriveSavers may be worth the cost. Their clean rooms allow for successful data recovery, but attempting to do it yourself can render the disk unrecoverable.
Pay-As-You-Go: Data Rescue Mac
Prosoft offers a unique pricing model for data recovery: start with the free version and pay more as more data is found. For less than 2 GB, the program is free; 250 GB of data costs $49 with the “Lite” option; and five units can be recovered unlimitedly for $99. If no data is recoverable, you don’t have to pay anything.
Other data recovery programs
Prosoft offers exclusive data recovery products, but they face competition from other programs that allow users to test recovery for free without paying. This means users can try out the product before committing to a purchase.
Mac Data Recovery Guru is the go-to choice for effortless data recovery. With just a few clicks, users can quickly scan their drive and select the files they want to recover. It’s that simple!
Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery offers users more control over their data recovery process. It allows you to select the types of files you want to recover, as well as image the drive first for faster scanning later. Unfortunately, I have not had good experiences with customer support in the past.
R-Studio is a powerful program with low system requirements, capable of recovering data from Mac, PC, Linux and RAID volumes. Despite its confusing interface, the program offers excellent documentation and allows users to customize memory usage and number of attempts in bad sectors.
Final note
If you’ve experienced data loss on a Mac, this guide can help. Have questions? Reach out to us. Spread the word and share with friends.
