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How to recover deleted files on Mac — step by step (2024 Guide)

backup and recovery

Cyber Protect Cloud for Service Providers Try now Mac computers and iPhones are some of the most widely used devices nowadays. Millions of people are currently using them in their everyday activities because, in fact, Apple’s products are one of the most reliable on the market, known for their long-life and bug-free OS. For that reason, Mac is widely preferred and used by individuals of all ages. On these computers and phones, we are storing our precious information, like photos, videos, documents, and, of course, sensitive private information about us. We can currently say that in these devices, we are storing a big part of our lives. Unfortunately, using them carries risks related to hardware failures, accidentally deleted files, cyberthreats, and natural disasters, which can be a reason for lost files from our Mac devices. The backbone of protecting your data and keeping it safe in case of unexpected scenarios like a cyberattack is having a data recovery software capable of restoring this information in case of need. In this article, we will talk about the options for data recovery in emergency situations. Is it possible to recover deleted files and lost data from Mac? The answer to this question is “yes”. Mac devices make no exceptions in their ability to recover lost data in all file formats. There are different options and methods to do this, and we will discuss them. Apple has already simplified this process by designing data recovery app for Mac, and it is named “Time Machine”. This feature provides you with the option to recover your data. As the name suggests, this software is capable of recovering data with a blink of an eye and wiping out your concerns if unexpected events occur. Mac Time Machine is your salvation for keeping your data recoverable no matter what happens. This type of Mac software is the backbone that keeps your data’s “body” whole and fully functional. What is Mac Time Machine? Time Machine is designed to create incremental backups of your files that can be restored at a later point in time. It allows you to retrieve files or the whole system from an external hard drive or from your Mac’s PC internal storage in case of an unexpected event or when you are replacing your old PC with a new one and you need a data transfer solution. It works with a number of applications, such as Mail and iWork, making it possible to restore files and objects (emails, contacts, text documents, presentations) without leaving the application. For backups to a network drive, Time Machine provides the option for the user to back up Mac computers over the network and supports backing up to certain network-attached storage devices or servers, depending on the version of Time Machine. The earlier versions of this software worked with a variety of NAS servers, but later versions require the server to support a recent version of Apple’s Filling Protocol or a recent version of the Server Message Block protocol. On the other hand, Apple’s Time Machine no longer works with servers using earlier versions of SMB. Apple’s Time Capsule, which was introduced in 2008 and discontinued in 2018, acted as a network storage device specifically for Time Machine backups, allowing both wired and wireless backups to the Time Capsule’s internal hard drive. Another critical benefit of Mac’s Time Machine is that it may also be used with other external or internal storage devices. You can also recover files over a local network. Let’s say you’re a network administrator who wants to recover data after a company-wide breach; you can deploy R-Studio remotely on multiple Mac PCs under your enterprise network and recover files simultaneously. This tool can recover files from different hard drive formats, including HFS+, NTFS. How does exactly this software work ? Time Machine has the option to create hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for everything older than a month until the device runs out of space. And when that happens, Time Machine deletes the oldest weekly backup. This software is very useful in an emergency and is a real lifesaving option. But how can you restore your Mac data from the Time Machine? We will give you a step-by-step guide to follow in order to complete the process easily. At first you have to set up the software. Wondering how to do it? Don’t worry, we will explain it now. You have to make sure that your external hard drive is formatted to Mac OS Extended. To do so, follow the instructions here. 1. Plug your external hard drive into your computer 2. Open “System Preferences” by clicking on the apple icon in the top left corner of your desktop. 3. Click on “Time Machine” under the heading “System.” 4. Press the “Select  Disk” button and select the drive to use from the list that appears 5. On the left hand side of the screen, slide the bar to “On” and make sure “Show Time Machine in menu bar” is checked. After setting up Time Machine, the program automatically makes backups of your data. These include continuous hourly Time Machine backups over a 24-hour period. The program saves daily backups for a month and weekly backups for previous months. Once the disk is full, Time Machine automatically deletes the oldest backups in order to free space for the new ones. Time Machine offers several ways for you to personalize your backups. Follow this step-by-step guide to make it easy and fast. Step 1. To backup immediately, click Time Machine and go to the menu, then click “Back Up Now”. Step 2. To disable the automatic Time Machine backup, open time machine preferences. For macOS Sierra or later, you can deselect Back Up Automatically. In OS X El Capitan or earlier, you need to turn off Time Machine. If you choose to turn off automatic backups, you can still manually back up your Mac using “Back Up Now.” Step 3. To terminate an in-progress backup, go to