Forum Discussion
What is the best data recovery software for macos?
10 years old Windows user and switched to Mac recently. I recently lost some important files due to accidental deletion (they're not in the Trash anymore), and I don't have a Time Machine backup. I ...
If you are finding a best data recovery for mac osx. You can usr the Local Snapshots. This is the most overlooked and often successful free method. If you were using an APFS-formatted drive (which is standard on macOS since 2017) and had enough free space, macOS automatically creates local snapshots on your internal drive, even if Time Machine isn't set up to an external drive.
How to Check and Restore from Local Snapshots:
- Open Terminal (Go to Applications > Utilities > Terminal).
- List the available snapshots by typing this command and pressing Enter: tmutil listlocalsnapshots /
- This will show a list of snapshot names with timestamps (e.g., com.apple.TimeMachine.2023-10-05...). If you see any, you're in luck!
- To browse a snapshot, you need to mount it. It's easier to use a free tool for this, but the manual command is: tmutil mount snapshot [snapshot_name]/
Easier GUI Method for Snapshots:
- Download and install TimeMachineEditor.
- Go to the menu bar icon and select "Enter Time Machine Browser...".
- This will open a Finder window similar to Time Machine, but it will be browsing your local snapshots. You can navigate through time and restore files as if you were using a real Time Machine backup.