Macbook Air Recovery: How to Recover Data from MacBook Air

Have you lost critical business documents or priceless family photos? Use Disk Drill free software to scan your MacBook hard drive and find out if your files are still there. Quickly recover lost files from your MacBook Air with this MacOS Big Sur-ready software app!

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MacBook Air or Pro Data Recovery is possible because the files you thought were lost are often simply invisible to the operating system. When macOS deletes a file from your MacBook’s HDD, it does not immediately remove it from the storage media. The space a file occupies is marked as available for use, but the data remains accessible until it is overwritten by new information.

Disk Drill uses four types of scanning algorithms that scan your MacBook Air’s drive, repair damaged partitions, and get back files that you thought were lost for good. MacBook data recovery is simple and efficient with Disk Drill with an intuitive interface that is suitable for all users.

How to recover data from a MacBook Air with Disk Drill

Use the following steps to recover data from a MacBook Air hard drive.

1. Download and Install the Software

Download and install Disk Drill Data Recovery for Mac. Since you are attempting recovery on your MacBook’s main drive, you cannot use it for the download and installation without risking corrupting or overwriting the data you want to restore. Use an external storage device such as a flash drive to download and install the program.

Download and Install the Software

2. Select the Disk or Partition

Launch Disk Drill and select the MacBook’s drive or partition from the list of available devices.

Select the Disk or Partition

3. Scan for Lost Data

Once you have selected the drive or partition that will be scanned, click the Recover button to initiate the algorithms. The best recovery results will be attained by allowing the software to run all of its scanning procedures in their optimal order. You can also manually select the type of scan to minimize recovery time. Scans can be paused and restarted at any point and files can be recovered as they are identified by the app.

Scan for Lost Data

4. Preview Recoverable Items

As the scan proceeds, Disk Drill compiles a list of recoverable files and folders. You can filter the scan results to more easily identify the items you want to restore. Files can be previewed before you commit to recovering them to avoid wasted time.

Preview Recoverable Items

5. Complete the Recovery

After previewing the files, make your selection for recovery and designate a safe storage location where the restored items will be saved. DO NOT use the MacBook drive that you are recovering or you risk overwriting the data you wish the retrieve. Once you have chosen the files and selected a storage location, click the Recover button again to perform the recovery.

Complete the Recovery

Recover Lost and Deleted Data from any Mac Computer

Disk Drill supports MacBook Pro hard drive recovery as well as restoring data on all types of Mac computers. Whether you use a MacBook Air or Pro or a desktop model like an iMac, if it runs macOS, Disk Drill can recover its lost data.

MacBook Air (Retina)
MacBook Air (Retina)
MacBook Pro 13-in.
MacBook Pro 13-in.
MacBook Pro 16-in.
MacBook Pro 16-in.
iMac
iMac
Mac mini
Mac mini
Mac Pro
Mac Pro

Recover Virtually Any Type of File

Disk Drill’s advanced deep scanning algorithms can identify and reconstruct over 400 different file types from your MacBook’s hard drive. The tool recovers lost videos, images, audio files, documents, archives, and other types of files with just a few clicks. Here are some of the file types that can be recovered with Disk Drill.

Video
Video
AVI, FLV (Flash video), MKV (Matroska Video), MP4 (MPEG-4 video), BRAW (Blackmagic raw video format), SWF (Flash movie)
Audio
Audio
AU (Audacity audio files), M4A (Apple Lossless Audio), MP3 (MPEG Audio Stream, Layer III), OGG (Ogg Vorbis Compressed audio file)
Images
Images
AI (Adobe Illustrator), CR2 (Canon Raw Image), DNG (Digital Negative), GPR (GoPro raw image format), NEF (Nikon camera RAW image)
Documents
Documents
APK (Android Package), CS (Visual C# Source Code File), DOCX (Microsoft Word), HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
Archives
Archives
7Z (7-Zip Compressed), CAB (Windows Cabinet File), ISO (ISO-9660 CD Disc Image), RAR (WinRAR Compressed Archive)
Other Files
Other Files
M (Objective-C Implementation File), JKS (Java KeyStore), SQL (bundled SQL queries), MYO (MYOB Limited Windows File), PSS (Password Saver)

What's the Difference Between Mac SSD and HDD Recovery Process?

Your MacBook may be equipped with a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD). There are definite differences in how effective data recovery software is in recovering deleted data from these two types of drives. Here’s a breakdown of how Disk Drill can be used to recover data from each type of drive.

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We strongly recommend instituting a regular policy of backing up your SSDs and configuring Disk Drill’s Guaranteed Recovery to protect your most important files and folders. It’s the best way to keep your information safe when using a solid-state drive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Updated on by Disk Drill Team

How do I recover data from a MacBook Air hard drive?

Use these steps to recover data from a MacBook Air hard drive:

  1. Downland and install Disk Drill on a flash drive or removable storage device. Do not use the MacBook’s hard drive.
  2. Launch the program and select the disk from the app’s list.
  3. Click Recover to scan the disk for deleted data.
  4. Preview the recovered files and select those you wish to restore. Choose a safe storage location on a different disk that that being recovered.
  5. Click Recover again to perform the recovery.

How do I get files off my Mac that won't boot?

You have several options when trying to get data off a Mac that won’t boot.

  • Connect the affected computer to another Mac with Disk Drill installed and see if the software recognizes the disk. If it does, you can restore your data with the recovery software.
  • Try starting Disk Drill in Recovery Mode.
  • If you cannot gain access to the drive from another machine, you may need to use a data recovery service.

Can you recover data from a failed MacBook hard drive?

Possibly. A hard drive failure recovery can be performed with software if you can get the device recognized by the operating system. If that doesn’t work, your choices are to restore your data from a backup or send the device to a data recovery service.

Can you recover data from a dead MacBook Air or MacBook Pro?

You may be able to recover data, if your MacBook won’t turn on, with the following procedure. This will only work if the disk can be seen by the second computer. If not, you will need to send the drive to a recovery service to get its data back.

  1. Connect the dead MacBook to another Mac with Disk Drill installed.
  2. Launch Disk Drill and select the drive from the disk list.
  3. Click the Recover button to start scanning the device.
  4. Preview the found files and select those you want to be recovered.
  5. Click the Recover button to complete the recovery.

How do I recover data from my MacBook Pro hard drive?

Use these steps to recover data from a MacBook Pro hard drive:

  1. Downland and install Disk Drill on a flash drive or removable storage device. Do not use the computer’s internal hard drive.
  2. Launch Disk Drill and select the disk from the app’s list.
  3. Click Recover to start the scanning process.
  4. Preview the recovered files and select the ones you want to restore. Designate a safe storage location on a different disk to store the recovered items.
  5. Click Recover again to perform the recovery.

How much does Mac data recovery cost?

The cost of Mac data recovery depends on if you can access the drive and use software or need to engage a data recovery center. Using recovery software, the cost should be under $100. A data recovery service will undoubtedly be more expensive, but an exact price can’t be determined until the device has been examined by the center’s technicians.

How can I Restore a disk using Disk Utility on MacBook Air?

Use the following steps to use Disk Utility to restore an external hard drive with your MacBook Air.

  1. Connect the external drive to your MacBook.
  2. Open Disk Utility and choose View > Show All Devices.
  3. In the sidebar, select the external volume you want to restore, then click the Restore button. This volume will be erased and become an exact copy of the source volume.
  4. Click the Restore pop-up menu and choose the volume that will be copied to the external drive.
  5. Click Restore and then Done.

How to recover data from MacBook Air SSD?

To recover lost data from your MacBook Air, you need to download a data recovery software application and use it to scan the SSD:

  1. Download and install Disk Drill for Mac.
  2. Launch Disk Drill and select the SSD you want to recover.
  3. Click Search for lost data and wait.
  4. Preview & select lost data.
  5. Click Recover and specify a recovery destination.

Keep in mind that encrypted system SSDs can’t be recovered using applications like Disk Drill. In such cases, backups are the only option.

More How To's on file recovery on Mac OS X

How do I recover lost data?

See what Disk Drill fans say

Angelique Malabey, SJSU Angelique Malabey, SJSU
I love the program. I have been having a lot of fun with it and surprisingly recover files from a lot of different things that I thought I had lost forever.
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It’s simple, well-organized, and most importantly – it works a majority of the time. I was able to see and undelete files I got rid of long ago with just a few clicks. Ant
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