When you accidentally delete files from your computers or other devices, don’t panic. In many situations, it is possible to recover deleted files and bring them back. In this article, I will show you some ways to recover deleted files on Windows and Mac.
How to Recover Deleted Files on Mac
Recover deleted files from the Trash bin
Normally, when you delete a file on Mac, it will be moved to the Trash bin. So if you haven’t emptied your Trash bin, you can easily recover deleted files from the Trash.
- Click the Trash icon to open Trash on your Mac, and you will see a list of deleted files.
- Highlight the files you want to recover, and right-click to choose “Put Back”. Then the selected files will be restored to their original locations. You can also directly drag the files from the Trash bin to the specified location.
Recover deleted files from Time Machine
If the deleted files are not in your Trash folder, you can also recover them from Time Machine If you have backed up them to it. Follow the below guide to recover deleted files from Time Machine.
- Click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and choose “Enter Time Machine”. If you can’t see it in the menu bar, please go to Apple menu > System Preferences, click Time Machine, and then tick “Show Time Machine in the menu bar”.
- A new window pops up and you can use the arrows and timeline to browse the local snapshots and backups.
- Select the deleted files you want and then click “Restore” to restore deleted files to their original location.
Recover deleted files on Mac
If you have emptied the Trash bin and had no backup to restore, the only way to restore deleted files is to use a Mac deleted file recovery tool like MacDeed Data Recovery. It helps you recover photos, videos, and audio files, and also recover iTunes songs, documents, archives, and other files from Mac. It also recovers deleted files from external storage devices including SD cards, USB drives, iPods, etc. You can try it free now and follow the below guide to recover deleted files on Mac.
Step 1. Open MacDeed Data Recovery on Mac.
Step 2. Select the hard drive where you deleted files and then click “Scan”.
Step 3. After scanning, you can preview each file. Then choose the files you want to recover and click the “Recover” button to save them on another hard drive.
By the way, you can also use MacDeed Data Recovery to recover deleted files from external devices on Mac. Just connect the external device to your Mac, and follow the above guide to restore deleted files.
How to Recover Deleted Files on Windows
Recover deleted files from Recycle Bin
The Recycle Bin on Windows is just like the “Trash” on Mac. If you just delete files to recycle bin, you can restore them anytime. Just click Recycle Bin icon on the desktop and select the files you want to recover, then right-click and hit “Restore”. The files will be moved to the location they were.
Recover deleted files from backup
You can restore deleted files from backup on Windows if you have backups. Just go to Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance, and then click Backup and Restore. Click Restore my files, and then follow the instructions in the wizard to recover deleted files.
Recover deleted files on Windows
If the above two ways can’t help you recover deleted files on Windows, you need a piece of deleted file recovery. Here I will recommend you MacDeed Data Recovery. It allows you to quickly restore deleted files from your Windows computer, recycle bin, digital camera card, or MP3 player for free.
Step 1. Install and launch MacDeed Data Recovery on your Windows computer.
Step 3. Select the location where you want to recover files from. Then click “Scan” to continue.
Step 2. Select what sort of files you want to recover. You can choose Pictures, Music, Documents, Video, Compressed, Emails, and Others.
Step 4. After scanning, MacDeed Data Recovery will show all the deleted files. To restore the file, check the box next to the file name and click on the “Recover” button.
The deleted file recovery tools recommended in this article also allow you to recover deleted files from SD cards, memory cards, USB drives, external hard drives, and other external devices. From now on, you’ll never worry about data loss.