How To Retrieve Deleted Files On Mac For Free

Files

By Vernon Roderick, Last updated: June 16, 2020

Files

The Downloads folder can mean a lot to many users. It’s where most files go when you download something from the internet. And we all know that this folder is built-in, meaning it is already there before you even got your Mac.

How To Retrieve Deleted Files On Mac For Free

Despite being built-in to the Mac computer, it is still as vulnerable to data loss as other folders on your Mac. In fact, quite a few users have already been complaining about losing their Downloads folder out of the blue.

This article will talk about how you can restore deleted Downloads folder Mac so you may also restore the files contained within the folder. Let’s start with what I consider the best solution.

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Retrieve

Part 1: Restore Deleted Downloads Folder Mac with Mac Data Recovery

Our very first entry involves a third-party tool that specializes in file recovery. File recovery software is known to have the capability of recovering files and even folders altogether. As such, a data recovery tool is a must, and for that, I recommend FoneDog Data Recovery.

FoneDog Data Recovery is a tool that is capable of restoring files from their original state. It supports all kinds of files and can even include folders. Since it supports Mac, it is the perfect tool for the job. Here’s how you can restore deleted Downloads folder Mac with this tool:

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Step 1: Choose File Type and Storage Drive

Open the FoneDog Data Recovery software on your computer. Now on the main page, there will be a selection of file types and storage drives. For the file type, I suggest selecting the Check all file types option since the Downloads folders are likely to have all kinds of files. For the storage drive, select the drive where the Downloads folder is located, which is most likely to be the C: drive.

Step 2: Scan for Files

Once you have configured the settings on the first page, click on the Scan button. This will initiate a Quick Scan by default. However, you may continue with Deep Scan if you want to get more results.

Step 3: Restore Deleted Downloads Folder Mac

The scanning will start after you click on the Scan button. At that point, you will get a list of files on the next page. However, all you have to do is look for the Downloads folder and click on its box. Then, click on the Recover button.

It should be very easy to restore deleted Downloads folder Macwith this tool. However, some people may find it very difficult to trust a tool that they haven’t heard of before. If that’s you, then this solution may not be the most suitable option for you. So you may want to look elsewhere for the best solution.

Part 2: Restore Deleted Downloads Folder Mac from Trash

The keyboard of Mac is the same as of Windows’. They both have the Delete key that is used to delete items on your computer. That’s why if Windows users can unintentionally delete folders in their computer, Mac users can also do the same. If your case is an unintentional deletion, there is a high chance that you will be able to restore deleted Downloads folder Mac.

This is pretty common since there are two ways to send files and folders to the trash. The first one would be by pressing the Command + Delete, and the second one is selecting Move to Trash. Files and folders that go through this process will always be sent to the Trash, but since it is common, a solution was made immediately.

If that’s the case, you can restore deleted Downloads folder Mac by first opening the Trash by clicking on its icon on the Mac Dock. Once you are in the Trash, you can restore deleted Downloads folder Macin several ways:

  • Select the Downloads folder and press Command + Delete. This will return the selected files or folder into its original location.
  • Drag back the Downloads folder outside. This of course will not return the folder into its original location, but into the place where you drag it into.

This is a very quick solution since it won’t take long even if the Downloads folder is filled with files. However, there are many occasions where you won’t be able to use this method. You now have the Downloads folder again. Now, what if you can’t find the Downloads folder in the trash? How will you restore deleted Downloads folder Mac then?

Part 3: Restore Deleted Downloads Folder Mac from Home

Although most files that are lost get sent to the Trash, sometimes you just need to look harder since it was probably sent somewhere else and not deleted. This is the problem with some users. They often assume immediately that the files are deleted just because they can’t find it the same way they did before.

Fortunately, there is a way to automatically go to where the Downloads folder is located and possibly put it into the Dock once again. This is so you can restore deleted Downloads folder Maceasily. Here are the steps to do put the Downloads folder into your Dock again:

  1. Open a session of Finder on your Mac.
  2. On the menu bar of Finder, click on Go.
  3. From the resulting dropdown menu, select Home.
  4. Now you will see a list of folders inside the Home directory. You can now find the Downloads folder here.
  5. Simply click and drag the Downloads folder and drop it into the Dock.

The Downloads folder is now on the Dock once again. With this, you can restore deleted Downloads folder Mac by simply finding it and not recovering it from deletion. However, there are actually two possible reasons why you can’t find the Downloads folder in the Trash. The first one would be because it wasn’t deleted in the first place, which is that case you can solve it with this method.

The second reason would be if it was permanently deleted, thus explaining why it wasn’t sent to the Trash. This is often the case when the user presses Shift + Delete instead of the Delete key only.

Part 4: Restore Deleted Downloads Folder Mac with Time Machine

How do I restore my Downloads folder? If your case involves deleting the Downloads folder permanently, there is only one solution left, and that would be to revert your whole computer altogether into its original state. In other words, you have to turn back time on your computer, which will return the Downloads folder along with other files and folders.

Altogether it is quite extreme; there is an easy way to do this. And it involves a function that is literally named “Time Machine”, and you can probably guess what this function can do.

Time Machine is a built-in function in all Mac devices that allows users to turn back time on their computers. It is often used to solve any issues that may be related to the operating system.

Follow these steps if you are ready to restore deleted Downloads folder Mac:

  1. Connect the Time Machine disk into your Mac. It should be the disk that you used when creating the Time Machine backup.
  2. Go to the Applications folder.
  3. Select Utilities and open the Migration Assistant.
  4. Follow the onscreen instructions until you get to the main page of Migration Assistant.
  5. Select From a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk and click on Continue.
  6. Select the backup that you would like to use, preferably the one where the Downloads folder still exists and you already have the new files. Click on Continue.
  7. Select the files you want to include. I recommend including Applications, the option with your profile name, and Other files and folders. Click on Continue.

This will not only restore deleted Downloads folder Mac, but it will also restore other files that you have lost, regardless of whether you intend to recover them or not. The only downside of this is that you will lose some of your files, most likely the ones that you didn’t have before or the ones you have recently downloaded or transferred into your Mac.

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Part 5: Conclusion

A lot of users complain about not being able to access their Downloads folder the same way they did before. This often leads to many complications, but that just goes to show how important the Downloads folder is to Mac users.

Although it is quite difficult, you can always learn how to restore the deleted Downloads folder Mac. Once you have gained such skills, you can always keep tabs on your Downloads folder and possibly retrieve it if the worst comes to pass.

>Recovery >4 Best Ways to Restore Deleted Downloads Folder Mac for Free
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It's very easy to delete files while you're cleaning your macOS, editing, or managing files. When you find the important files lost, you must desperately want to restore deleted files on Mac. Actually, there are a few ways available to find deleted files on Mac without/with software. In this article, I'm going to introduce you to 5 ways for how to recover deleted files on Mac. The software we're going to use is iBeesoft Data Recovery for Mac. You can download it and be ready to do the recovery.

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Accidentally deleted a file on Mac or emptied trash? Do you have encountered this issue and tried to find a way to recover deleted files on Mac? Whether you remove it intentionally or unintentionally, there are still chances for you to look for and get back deleted files. The sooner the better.

In general, the deleted files from the Mac drive are put into the trash can, from where you can restore easily. If you have emptied the trash, you can recover deleted files on Mac without software by time machine backup, undo options, and terminal command. If these 4 ways are invalid, don't panic! you can also try an effective way to undelete files from Mac. Check out the details below!

Quick Navigation
Part 1. How to Restore Deleted Files on Mac from Trash (Not Emptied yet)
Part 2. How to Recover Permanently Deleted Files on Mac (100% Effective)
Part 3. How to Find Deleted Files from Mac Without Software via Time Machine Backup
Part 4. How to Recovering Deleted Files on Mac with Undo Options
Part 5. How to Mac Recover Deleted Files using Terminal Command

Part 1. How to Restore Deleted Files on Mac from Trash

Whether you deleted the files by dragging them to the trash can or right-click on the files and click 'Delete', all the data are put into the trash can. If you haven’t emptied the trash can yet and deleted the items recently, then you can recover files from trash. Move the mouse over the icon of the trash can in Finder, and you can see the deleted files are listed there. When finding the target files, drag them to the desktop, or right-click on them and select 'put back' to recover deleted files on Mac from the trash.

Please note that you have only 30 days to recover files on Mac from the day you deleted them. After then, the files will be removed by Mac automatically and permanently.

Part 2. How to Recover Permanently Deleted Files on Mac

How To Retrieve Deleted Files On Mac For Free Windows 7

Don't worry about how to find deleted files on Mac after 'command + del' to delete, empty the trash, or other reasons. This safe and effective way will help you to recover deleted files on Mac OS X, no matter you have a backup or not. Here, I recommend trying iBeesoft Data Recovery for Mac to get back all the lost files on Mac. Why is the best way to use the software? Because, after files are deleted, they will be hidden and we can't see them. but the this tool can discover and retrieve them. More importantly, iBeesoft deleted file recovery Mac software has read-only features, so you don't have to worry about data being corrupted or overwritten, causing to undo deleted files on Mac failure.

The best application specially developed for users to completely recover deleted photos, documents, videos, emails, music files, and more on macOS. It works extremely fast and supports almost all data loss scenarios. The interface of the recover deleted files Mac program is both intuitive and well-organized. Overall, iBeesoft is one of the best choices in this software category if you accidentally removed some important files on Mac or external devices. With its help, you can undelete files on Mac with simple steps.

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  • This professional software can recover deleted file from Mac, USB drive, memory card, and other removable storage devices in simple clicks.
  • It provides two powerful scanning mode (quick scan and deep scan), to a better to recover lost files on Mac.
  • It can preview the deleted/lost files before recovery, easily search and filter file types to help you quickly to recovering deleted files on Mac.
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Steps to Recover Deleted Files on macOS

Download the application on your computer now! It is virus-free, so you can install it without worrying about the security issue. It is fully compatible with the latest versions. Check out the steps for how to recover permanently deleted files on Mac.

1. Launch the recover deleted files Mac tool. From the main window, you can see all supported file types are selected. Please uncheck the unwanted ones. It will save you time for finding the target files. If you don’t want to uncheck them, please be patient for the scanning process. The time it takes depends on how many files it scans. Click 'Start' to Mac recover deleted files.

2. In the next window, all drives on your Mac are displayed there. You need to select the disk/volume where the target files used to exist and click the 'Scan' button to analyzing the drive.

3. After the scanning process, you can see all found files are displayed in the main window. From there, you need to click the file category in the left side, then preview the files on the right side. After then, find the target one(s) and click 'Recover' to save them to your Mac.

Part 3. How to Find Deleted Files from Mac Without Software via Time Machine Backup

If you don't use the Time Machine to backup your files, please use the part 1 to begin the recovery of your deleted files on Mac OS X.

Some people like to empty the trash can after they deleted files on Mac which of course will result in the permanent deletion. Luckily, you can still recover deleted files on Mac without software bythe Time Machine Backup.

1. Click the 'Spotlight' icon on the top right of Mac. After then, type in 'Time Machine' in the search box and search for it.

2. Find Time Machine in the search result and click to open it. Click the folder where your target files used to be.

3. Click the upward arrow to the right the Time Machine window, scroll through backup files until you see the deleted files appear.

4. Hold the Command button to select the target files and click 'Restore' to save the deleted items on Mac.

If the target files are in different folders, then you need to Mac recover deleted files by repeating the up-mentioned process.

Part 4. How to Recovering Deleted Files on Mac with Undo Options

Most Mac users will delete unnecessary files to keep the driver clean while using the computer. Sometimes we lose important files because of this action. When it happens, if you don't do anything else, you can easily restore deleted files on Mac by the 'Undo' option. This method is suitable for use immediately after deleting a file or folder and it is not valid after emptying the trash or permanently clearing it. If you wan to recover permanently deleted files on Mac, please use part 1. Follow this method to find deleted files on Mac now!

Part 5. How to Mac Recover Deleted Files using Terminal Command

Apple's terminal application is the direct interface to OS X's bash shell. So you can do many things using command prompt, like restore files, change process priority, delete files, view driver status, create new directories, change file permissions and more. So, you can use the terminal command to recover deleted files on Mac without software.

1. Please go to 'Applications' > 'Utilities' > to open terminal.app

2. Type Unix command: 'cd .Trash', and then hit the 'Return' key on your Mac.

3. Type 'mv name ../' and hit the 'Return' key. Please note, please replace the 'name' with the full name of the file you deleted.

How Do I Recover Deleted Files On My Mac For Free

4. Type 'Quit' in the Terminal application.

If you complete these recover deleted files Mac steps, you can enter the deleted file name in the search bar to check it.

The above mentioned ways are workable to recover deleted files on Mac without/with software. To prevent your data from being lost, the best way is backing up your Mac. That's the reason why Apple officially built-in Time Machine. Anyway, if you haven't had any backup yet, then the most efficient way to retrieve your data back is by using iBeesoft Data Recovery for Mac. It is developed specially for deleted file recovery on Mac.