A data loss on a Mac computer is quite unpleasant. It seems your hard drive has problems and is ready for substitution, and, what is more, your files are lost. Usually, the lost partition goes to the unbooted section, where it needs formatting. Unfortunately, in this case, the files will be lost forever. Fortunately, there is a way out – a data recovery tool can recover the lost files. Today, we will talk about Mac backup software to use in 2021 and how an average person can use them.
Data Recovery Tools: Common Features
The main feature of the data recovery tools that you should know about: there are free and paid versions. Let’s consider the main advantages and disadvantages:
- Free tools, yet they do not charge any money, vary in functionality and features. You can find really useful tools that can do a lot. The others will not help at all. The free partition recovery on Mac is usually complicated. The missing funds do not allow building a comprehensible GUI. In addition, Mac technologies update frequently. For instance, the new M2 chipset is coming, while the majority of free tools cannot work with M1 yet.
- On the other hand, paid data recovery for mac means more reliability and functions. As usual, these utilities are user-friendly and let you use many additional features (working with APFS, for instance). They get constant updates and can work with the latest mac versions, despite the chipset used. However, there are some demerits:
- usually, a free version of a paid tool does not let you perform recovery but scanning only;
- some paid tools charge for the number of files to be recovered;
- it is not beneficial to use a paid tool for a single file recovery only.
Note: some recovery tools, both free and paid, may conflict with antivirus or firewall software, so mind turning them off for a while. Also, data recovery is a long process that lasts up to several hours, so be patient.
How to Install Data Recovery Tools?
To start data or partition recovery on Mac, you need to download the official version of the desired tool. Check the article with the links to official sites: Mac data recovery tools to use in 2021. As a rule, the tools do not require additional installation (otherwise, find an install utility in the main folder and follow the installation guide).
Video Guide:
If you’ve got a system partition corrupted, your OS will not start. In this case, you need to create a bootable disk with recovery software. We recommend using the flash memory card with one or two GB of space. Make sure it is clear from other files and passed through formatting. Copy the tool files to the memory card (each tool might have special instructions), insert the flash drive into a computer, and restart it. Hold the “Option” button until you see a menu. Go to the Apple menu and Startup disk. Choose a memory card and restart a computer again to launch a tool.
How to Recover Files With File Recovery Tools
Each file recovery tool for mac has got a menu that shows all found partitions. Click on a partition damaged and choose the option “Scan” or “Recover.” If there is no partition needed, scan the unbooted disk space.
A tool will scan the partition for the lost files. In the end, it will provide you with a list of data that can be restored. Choose a healthy partition and start restoring the files. The new files will appear in the destination folder.
If you’ve chosen a paid tool, and it has an option to create a disk image (Recovery Vault of Disk Drill tool, for instance), we strongly recommend using it afterward. It will ease the process in case the situation repeats.
