Buzz
All data recovery tools for lost files require the use of a dedicated recovery drive to copy the recovery files. The data rescue disk must have enough free space to store the data. You can use an external hard drive, a USB Flash drive, or another Mac in Target Disk Mode, or even an iPod to store the recovery files.
Several utilities are available to recover deleted files, with SubRosaSoft FileSalvage and Prosoft Data Rescue being the two most effective. You can download both software applications below.
Download and install SubRosaoft FileSalvage: Download FileSalvage
Download and install Prosoft Data Rescue: Download Data Rescue for Mac
Typically, you have the option to choose the scanning level for recently deleted files, ranging from Quick Scans to Full Salvage. This facilitates the recovery of deleted or damaged drives. Speed up the process by specifying the file types you're looking for. Start with the quickest options and gradually increase the scanning level if needed, especially if you can't find what you're looking for.
The file recovery process involves two steps: first, scanning the drive to identify recoverable data, and then restoring the data. This process may take a few minutes, hours, or even days, depending on the drive size, the number of files to recover, and the condition of the files. A damaged or slow drive can significantly slow down the process.
FileSalvage displays the number of found files in real-time, while Data Rescue analyzes syntax after scanning. The result is a list of recovered files sorted by file type—documents, audio, video, images—though without filenames.
These utilities prove useful for recovering thousands of Microsoft Word documents, but they fall short when dealing with files named D3464.doc, D3465.doc, etc. The same holds true for all file types: .xls, .pdf, .jpg, .tif, .mov, et al.
Restoring Lost Filenames
Wondering why filenames go missing after successfully recovering data on Mac? Here's the explanation from ProSoft and SubRosaSoft:
- ProSoft: It could be an issue stemming from reformatting the old file directory. It depends on the file type and the program that created these files. Some programs embed metadata (in the case of MP3s, they're called ID3 tags; for camera images, it's called EXIF data) that may contain the filename, but this isn't true for every file type.
- SubRosaSoft: The disappearance of filenames occurs because they aren't actually stored within the file but in the system's /b-tree directory. Right after a file is deleted, the information is wiped, and the space is reclaimed and overwritten. FileSalvage will recover your files to the folder of your choice, but the specific folders containing files and their locations won't match.
This can be quite inconvenient, especially when recovering a large number of files. Instead of manually opening and renaming each file, is there another option for you?
Good news! You can opt for FileSalvage: after recovering deleted files on Mac OS X, the program will ask if you want to restructure the filenames. Although the resulting filenames aren't the original ones, they are reconstructed from the data within the files that FileSalvage can read.
Text files and word processing documents are often named using the first words that appear in the file. While not perfect, this feature makes FileSalvage the tool of choice for recovering lost filenames.
Although the filenames aren't preserved, the metadata within the files remains intact. This is particularly helpful for large files like video and music files.
You can import affected files into iTunes via File =>Add to Library... iTunes will scan embedded metadata and add items to your library with accurate information, even if the files are generic.
Import images into iPhoto (or another photo manager) to do the same for photos. The importing process may take a while, but once done, you can view everything in an expanded grid, examining any embedded metadata.
For text-containing documents (Word, Excel, PDF, etc.), Spotlight will index the content, allowing you to search through text search.
Thus, Mytour has just introduced to you how to recover deleted data on Mac OS X, helping you retrieve accidentally deleted data. If you're using a Windows computer, the best way to recover data is to perform data recovery with Recuva on your computer. Recuva data recovery software is widely favored for its speed and accuracy.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to drop them in the comments section below the article. Mytour will respond to your inquiries as quickly as possible.
