Data recovery can be useful in all kinds of situations, whether your SSD just happened to die5 Warning Signs Your SSD Is About to Break Down and Fail5 Warning Signs Your SSD Is About to Break Down and FailWorried your SSD will malfunction and break down and take all of your data with it? Look for these warning signs.Read More or you went on vacation and came back with a corrupted SD card6 Tips to Never Lose Your Photos While Traveling6 Tips to Never Lose Your Photos While TravelingYou should heed the following tips before embarking on your next trip, especially if the resulting photos are one your main reasons for taking the trip in the first place!Read More. Instead of giving up and tossing out the device, you can try recovering your files on your own using an app.
It’s a solution for Windows and Mac operating system to recover deleted data. Using a single recovery tool which supports Windows and Mac data recovery both will more suitable option to carry multiple data recovery software for Windows and Mac OS. Top 6 Best Data Recovery Software for Mac Users. If you want to recover accidentally deleted important data and wondering what are the best data recovery software for Mac, without further ado, let’s explore best data recovery software that you can get for your Mac. Summary - After we tried several data recovery software for Mac and took all things into consideration, we will show you the best data recovery software for Mac to recover lost or deleted files, regardless of what storage device they were on. Below is the quick navigation. Cisdem Data Recovery is one of the top best SD card recovery software for Mac that will help you to recover deleted, lost, formatted or inaccessible files from your memory card including SD, XD, CF, MMC, SDHC, SDXD, micro SD, mini SD, and memory stick.
It may not always work, but when it does, it’ll turn out to be a huge relief. If you’re on a Mac, these are the main apps you should turn to when you need to recover files that have been lost or deleted.
If you’re interested, you can also learn more about how data recovery worksWhat Is Data Recovery And How Does It Work?What Is Data Recovery And How Does It Work?If you've ever experienced a major loss of data, you've probably wondered about data recovery -- how does it work?Read More.
1. Time Machine (free)
Starting with OS X 10.5 (Leopard), all Mac computers have come equipped with a utility app called Time Machine. Snapping tool for mac. The basic idea is that Time Machine keeps incremental backups of your files in case you need to restore them at a later time. It’s not the be-all and end-all though, and there’s lots you can do to properly back up your MacThe Ultimate Triple Backup Solution For Your Mac [Mac OSX]The Ultimate Triple Backup Solution For Your Mac [Mac OSX]As the developer here at MakeUseOf and as someone who earns their entire income from working online, it's fair to say my computer and data are quite important. They’re set up perfectly for productivity with..Read More.
In this case, Time Machine can’t actually be used as a data recovery tool unless it was already enabled and active prior to your files being lost. That’s why you should set up Time Machine now before it’s too latePartition & Use Your Time Machine Hard Drive To Store Files TooPartition & Use Your Time Machine Hard Drive To Store Files TooIf your Mac's hard drive is small and your Time Machine hard drive is big, it might be worth using the drive for both backup and storage purposes.Read More.
There are three methods of recovery:
- Revert all files to a previous Time Machine backup.
- Reinstall OS X and migrate all of your files from a previous Time Machine backup to the fresh installation.
- Browse a Time Machine backup in Finder and manually search for the file(s) you need.
For step-by-step details on how to do this, check out our guide to restoring data from Time MachineHow to Restore Data From Time Machine BackupsHow to Restore Data From Time Machine BackupsIt's really easy to set up Time Machine, the backup software that comes with every Mac — but how do you get your files back when things go wrong?Read More. If this ends up being too primitive or basic for you, then you may want to try these backup solutions that aren’t Time Machine5 Local Mac Backup Solutions That Aren't Time Machine5 Local Mac Backup Solutions That Aren't Time MachineThere are lots of Mac backup options out there, and many of them have features that Apple's default backup app just can't compete with.Read More.
2. TestDisk & PhotoRec (free)
If you didn’t have the foresight to set up Time Machine, there is one other free option that you can try: TestDisk and PhotoRec, which are two open-source recovery tools from the same developer.
TeskDisk is designed to help with partition recovery and drives that can’t be booted for some reason, usually due to software-related faults. PhotoRec is for actual file recovery, including images, videos, documents, and more.
Both tools can be hit or miss, but it won’t cost you a cent to find out if they’ll work for you. If you manage find the files you need, great! If not, you’ll have to move onto one of the paid options below. It never hurts to try TestDisk & PhotoRec first, and you can start with our walkthrough of using PhotoRecRecover Accidentally Deleted Files From Any OS With PhotoRec [Windows, Mac, & Linux]Recover Accidentally Deleted Files From Any OS With PhotoRec [Windows, Mac, & Linux]In June I switched over from a combination of Windows and Linux to pretty much using OS X solely, and being largely familiar with Windows software (and painfully aware of the lack of many Linux..Read More.
We consider this to be one of the most important programs to keep handy, especially for photographers on a budget7 Free Apps & Programs for Photographers on a Budget7 Free Apps & Programs for Photographers on a BudgetPhotography can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Why spend money every month for professional quality software when you don't need it?Read More.
3. EaseUS Data Recovery (free, $89)
EaseUS Data Recovery comes in three single-user versions: Free, Full, and Full + Bootable Media. The Bootable Media version lets you recover data even when the operating system is unable to boot up for whatever reason.
What can it do? All versions can recover deleted, formatted, or otherwise inaccessible data. All file types are supported and all drive types are supported, including hard drives, USB drives, and SD cards.
What are the free limitations? You can only recover up to 2 GB of files. Afterwards, you’ll need to upgrade to one of the full versions.
4. Data Rescue 4 (free, $99)
Data Rescue 4 is consistently recommended as one of the best data recovery tools for Mac users, at least in terms of its success rate in finding files. And yes, different tools may find different files!
What can it do? Recover all file types from any kind of hard drive, whether crashed, corrupted, formatted, or non-mounting. Other features include: cloning hard drives, creating secondary boot drives, and using that boot drive to recover from non-booting Macs.
What are the free limitations? The free demo can scan a drive to see which files are recoverable, but you cannot actually restore those files until you purchase a license.
5. Stellar Phoenix Recovery (free, $99)
Though it’s priced at the same level, Stellar Phoenix Recovery is slightly inferior to Data Rescue 4. Not to say that Stellar Phoenix is bad in any way — they can both detect most lost files. Stellar Phoenix just happens to miss a few more here and there.
What can it do? Recover all file types from any hard drive in a Mac computer, even if the file system is encrypted. It can also pull data from Time Machine backups. But best of all, it can undelete files with original file names in tact (many tools including PhotoRec can’t do this).
What are the free limitations? The free demo can scan a drive to see which files are recoverable, but you cannot actually restore those files until you purchase a license.
6. Disk Drill (free, $89)
Here’s another oft-recommended app, and it’s good but not quite good enough to be the top dog. It’s great at recovering images and documents but struggles somewhat with music and videos. Picture resizing tool for mac. Otherwise, it’s fantastic.
Free Paint Tool Software For Mac
What can it do? Recover all file types from internal and external drives, including USB drives and SD cards. It can also recover files from iPod devices. Data Protection might be its best feature, which guarantees recoverability of all future files from the time the feature is enabled.
What are the free limitations? The free demo can scan a drive to see which files are recoverable, but you cannot actually restore those files until you purchase a license. Data Protection is available to free users, though!
7. Data Recovery Guru (free, $89)
Data Recovery Guru claims to be the easiest-to-use recovery tool on Mac, and I’m inclined to agree with that. It’s extremely straightforward, but the downside is that it has a terrible success rate for music and video files. Everything else is fine.
What can it do? Recover all kinds of files from any device that can appear as a drive on Mac, including digital cameras, mobile phones, USB drives, etc. There aren’t any other special features. It’s a one-job tool.
What are the free limitations? The free demo can scan a drive to see which files are recoverable, but you cannot actually restore those files until you purchase a license.
What Do You Need to Recover?
In summary, we recommend turning on Time Machine and using that to keep backups of your most important files. If something goes wrong, PhotoRec is a good first tool to use because it’s 100% free. Snip tool for mac shortcut. If that doesn’t work, consider one of the paid solutions.
Of the premium options, Data Rescue 4 has the best reliability and highest success rate. Bolster it with Disk Drill’s Data Protection feature and you should be well-protected for whatever future mishaps come your way. Feel free to use another app at your discretion.
Have you ever used a data recovery tool before? Which one worked best? What kinds of files do you tend to need recovering for? Share your thoughts with us below!
Explore more about: Data Backup, Data Recovery, Hard Drive, Memory Card, Time Machine.
- uFlysoft supports almost all file formats for NTFS & FAT32 file systems. Therefore you can recover files not only on your Mac but also on USB Flash drives, external hard drives and other portable devices.
- You missed a really good app called Cisdem DataRecovery, it is what I have been using to deal with all kinds of Mac file loss and it literally has many useful features.
The best free data recovery software for Mac available online is described below. These five applications vary in their characteristics. However, all share one commonality, they are free, and therefore useful for the casual user.
This article is fully updated and valid for the latest macOS Mojave
Best Data Recovery Software Mac
1. Disk Drill
Disk Drill is the free top data recovery app for Mac OS X. Disk Drill Basic, in addition to having previewing capabilities for recovered files, contains several other functionalities, such as Recovery Vault and Guaranteed Recovery, lost partition restoration, boot disk maker and so on, which make it one of the best Mac data recovery software applications available.
Disk Drill works on internal and external hard drives, USB flash drives, SD cards and many other appliances that can be connected to a Mac, including iOS and Android devices. Its last version has an extensive database of file signatures that can be restored from drives even after formatting and uses very efficient and fast scanning algorithms.
Disk Drill is constantly updated and supported by its ever-growing team and covers cases of data corruption resulting from loss of power, or removal of a device without first unmounting it.
Data recovery for free
Your Companion for Deleted Files Recovery
Your Companion for Deleted Files Recovery
Free Features:
#1 Recovery Vault is an advanced extra layer to the Trash Bin that keeps a reference to deleted data.
#2 Guaranteed Recovery is a background service that saves a copy of each file to a user-specified folder. Both data protection modules substantially reduce the possibilities of permanently losing critical data.
#3Data Backup feature provides users with the ability to recover lost data from a byte-to-byte clone version of the device/partition, without having to risk the original storage source.
#4 In addition to that, multiple extra tools like Duplicate File Finder, Disk Health Monitor, Disk Space Analyzer, Emergency Recovery Boot Drive, are available for free.
The user interface is very friendly, and the Pro version includes an effective support service and a lifetime-upgrade option that covers every new version. Disk Drill successfully manages the balance of essential and advanced features for the casual, professional and enterprise users alike, that makes it worth the money spent on the upgrade. There’s something in Disk Drill for Mac Enterprise that even forensic experts and law enforcement organizations will find useful.
2. PhotoRec
PhotoRec is not the most powerful free Mac data recovery tool, but it has the advantage of being open source. This basically means that not only the application but also the source code is available to the public.
PhotoRec can work with OS X, Linux, Free BSD, Net BSD, Open BSD, and Windows. It can recover the most common file formats, such as JPEG pictures, MP3 audio files, OpenDocument and Microsoft Office files, PDF documents and ZIP archives. Files can be recovered from different devices such as digital camera memory cards, USB flash drives and hard disks.
Free Features:
This free file recovery Mac app uses a powerful technology known as file carving. This method consists of two steps. Firstly, it searches for the data block or cluster size. If the file system is not corrupted, this value is obtained from the superblock (ext2/ext3/ext4) or volume boot record (FAT, NTFS). If this is not possible, the app checks each sector of the device, and using the first ten files found, it calculates the block or cluster size.
Secondly, the app reads the device, block by block/cluster by cluster, checking against the different file signatures available in the app’s database, thus assembling and recuperating the available files. Though it’s unclear how many of those file signatures are known to the app.
Overall, it is a nice tool to use when in need to recover some personal files, without having to resort to a professional application.
3. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is another one of the best data recovery Mac software applications. The developer has released three different versions: free, Pro and unlimited.
Free Features:
The free version is limited to a maximum of 2GB of restored data. This free data recovery software can recover data from Mac notebooks, desktops, hard drives, USB drives, SD cards, memory cards, digital cameras, etc. It works on internal HFS+ drives, and on FAT/FAT32 file systems used in USB flash drives and external hard drives connected to an Apple computer.
Easeus tool recovers file formats most commonly used in image, video, music and document files. It is mostly designed for recovering lost files due to unintentional deletes or drive formatting.
Summarizing, EaseUs free data recovery tool is a handy app designed for casual unintentional file deletions.
4. Softtote Mac Data Recovery
Softtote’s app can recover lost files from internal and external hard drives. File types include ONLY .bmp, .jpg, .png, .tif and .mp3. It works on devices supported by NTFS, HFS/HFS+ and FAT file systems. The application has the capacity to preview file details, such as image size and creation date before recovering them.
Just like other apps in this list, this free data recovery software Mac comes with free technical support.
In brief, Softtote’s software can be included among the best data recovery software Mac, and even though it is not so well known, it deserves a try in case of accidental file loss, but mind the limited set of supported file types.
5. MiniTool Power Data Recovery
MiniTool can recover photos, music, videos, emails, documents, and other types of data from Mac computers or other common storage devices. The free version only offers support via email.
This data recovery software for Mac works in four different modes. The first, “Undelete Recovery”, can be used to quickly recover data lost due to accidental deletion. The second, “Damaged Partition Recovery”, recovers lost data from existing partitions. The third, “Lost Partition Recovery”, recovers lost data from lost or deleted partitions, subject to success in finding them. And finally, the “Digital Media Recovery” mode, recovers multimedia files from portable storage devices.
Free Features:
This data recovery Mac software has a personal edition that is free for use only on one computer and with a maximum restore capacity of 100MB. Is that why it’s called a Mini Tool? Possibly. The developer also offers commercial, enterprise and technician editions of the software.
Overall, MiniTool offers a valid option for the casual accidental delete, in cases that don’t involve big volumes.
The Bottom Line?
We recommend going with Disk Drill, as it delivers on its data recovery odds. This awesome data recovery tool is backed up by good looks, a more intuitive user interface and a ton of free disk tools that may become handy for any user.