Hard Drive Recovery on Mac: Recover Files from Internal or External Drives

Before turning to data recovery software, always check your existing backups first. Time Machine backups, iCloud Drive, or local APFS snapshots might contain the files you need. 

If these backup options don't have your files or weren't set up, then you'll need Mac hard drive recovery software. Download Disk Drill on a different drive than the one you're recovering from, launch it, select your drive, and click "Search for lost data." Once scanning completes, preview the found files to verify they're intact, select what you need, and click Recover to save them to a safe location.

Disk Utility's restore function can help you replace an entire disk or volume with a complete backup image (it won't help you recover individual deleted files without also recovering everything else). This method is ideal when your drive is corrupted, failed, or you're migrating to a new drive, and you have a previously created disk image backup. If you do, then you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Disk Utility application on your Mac.
2. Choose View > Show All Devices.
3. In the sidebar, select the disk you want to restore
4. Click Restore, then choose the backup image you want to use for recovery purposes.
5. Click Restore to recover your deleted files, then click Done.

SSD data recovery requires immediate action because modern SSDs with TRIM enabled permanently erase deleted data within minutes or hours. Your only chance for successful recovery is to create a byte-to-byte backup before the SSD's garbage collection permanently erases the deleted sectors. These are the steps you need to follow:

1. Turn off the Mac as soon as you realize you have lost some data.
2. Use another Mac to download and install Disk Drill. This will be known as the host machine.
3. Restart the affected Mac in Target Disk Mode and connect it to the host computer.
4. Use Disk Drill to create a byte-level backup of the SSD drive to be used to recover its data.
5. If you cannot create the byte-level backup, scan the affected Mac using Disk Drill from the host computer.
6. Allow the scanning process to complete and restore the recoverable data that the application has found.

For older Macs with TRIM disabled or external SSDs, standard recovery methods work normally. 

Disk Drill for Mac is the best Mac hard drive recovery software for those who are looking for professional-grade recovery capabilities with an interface anyone can use. It excels at all recovery scenarios (from simple deletions to complex corrupted drive failures), supports all major file systems, and can recognize over 400 file formats. Its other major advantages include free scanning and preview, byte-to-byte backup capabilities, video repair capabilities, and additional data protection features. 

For users comfortable with command-line interfaces, PhotoRec offers a completely free alternative that's particularly effective for data recovery (not just photos and videos!) from severely damaged drives where file system information is lost.

Also worth mentioning as an alternative is EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, which provides a middle ground with a user-friendly interface and fast scanning but can’t match Disk Drill in terms of data recovery performance and number of available features. 

For detailed comparisons and testing results of these and other recovery tools, see our complete Mac data recovery software review.

Yes, you can recover data from a failed hard drive, but success depends on the type of failure. If your drive has a logical failure (corrupted file system, accidental formatting, bad sectors) and still appears in Disk Utility, recovery is likely. For drives showing early signs of physical failure (strange noises, slow performance, frequent disconnections), creating an immediate byte-to-byte backup with Disk Drill to preserve the drive’s complete state can make recovery possible. Drives that are not recognized by the operating system at all are, unfortunately, impossible to recover.

Before attempting recovery, diagnose whether DIY recovery is safe. Try different cables, ports, and connect directly to your Mac (not through hubs). Listen for clicking, grinding, or beeping (these sounds mean stop immediately and seek professional help). 

If the drive seems to be in good physical shape, then you can connect it to your Mac using a hard drive enclosure or docking station. Once connected, check Disk Utility to confirm the drive appears with its correct capacity. If the drive shows up in Disk Utility (even if marked as unmounted or uninitialized), you can proceed with recovery. Open Disk Drill or install it on a different storage device if you haven't already, select the external hard drive, and initiate the recovery process.

A hard drive recovery process involves retrieving data that has been lost or deleted from a hard drive but is still physically present on it. This process typically involves the use of specialized data recovery software capable of scanning the drive to locate recoverable files, which can then be restored to a secure location.

First, use Mac hard drive recovery software like Disk Drill to scan and recover your files as repair attempts can sometimes make data recovery impossible. Once your data is safe, you have two main repair options. For minor corruption, use Disk Utility's First Aid feature: open Disk Utility, select your drive, and click First Aid to fix file system errors, directory damage, and permission issues. This preserves your data while fixing the corruption. For severe corruption where First Aid fails repeatedly or the drive remains unusable, you can use Disk Utility's Erase function to create a new file system (and erase all data in the process).

When your Mac doesn't recognize an external drive, start with the simplest solutions and work toward more complex ones. First, check your physical connections by trying a different cable and USB port, and connect directly to your Mac rather than through a hub while making sure the drive is getting enough power. 

Next, verify your Mac's settings by opening Finder Preferences and confirming "External disks" is checked under General (sometimes drives are connected but simply not displayed). If the drive still doesn't appear on your desktop, open Disk Utility to see if macOS detects it at a system level. When a drive appears in Disk Utility but not Finder, you can often click Mount to make it accessible. 

However, if mounting fails with errors, your drive is likely corrupted and requires First Aid repairs or immediate data recovery. For drives invisible even in Disk Utility, test them on another computer to isolate the problem.

Force-mounting helps when drives appear in Disk Utility but won't mount normally, showing errors or remaining grayed out. Use these steps to force your Mac to mount an external hard drive using the command line:

1. Use the diskutil list command to find the drive you need to mount.
2. Enter the command diskutil mount "disk name".
3. The command will return verification that the drive has been mounted.

Before you can recover data from an undetected drive, you must first get macOS to recognize it by trying different USB ports and cables, connecting the drive directly to your Mac rather than through a hub, restarting your Mac to reset the system's hardware detection. Once recognized, you can use popular data recovery software like Disk Drill. If the drive remains completely invisible after all troubleshooting, you're likely facing hardware failure and require professional recovery services rather than software solutions.

To recover from a damaged or failing hard drive that can still be recognized by macOS:

1. Use Disk Drill to create a byte-level backup of the drive and preserve it from further damage.
2. Connect the backup media to your computer and launch Disk Drill.
3. Go to the Storage Devices tab and click Attach disk image.
4. Navigate to your DMG backup file and select it. The backup will appear in your device list.
5. Select the backup file and click Search for lost data.
6. Preview and select the files to be restored.
7. Click Recover to perform the recovery.

When dealing with older Macs, especially those running outdated operating systems not supported by modern versions of data recovery software like Disk Drill 6, you have two main options:

• Remove and connect the drive externally: For very old Macs, remove the internal hard drive and connect it to a newer Mac using a USB enclosure or docking station. This method works for all drive types and allows you to use the best recovery software available to scan and recover files directly.
• Use Target Disk Mode: For Macs that still power on, Target Disk Mode lets you connect your old Mac to a newer one via FireWire, Thunderbolt, or USB-C cable. Start the old Mac while holding the T key, and it appears as an external drive on the newer Mac. You can then run Disk Drill 6 on the newer Mac to scan the old Mac's drive without removing it. 

Recovering data from your Mac's system drive requires a slightly different approach to avoid data loss due to system activities. Fortunately, Disk Drill makes everything simple:

1. Start your Mac in Recovery Mode.
2. Once in Recovery Mode, open Terminal.
3. In Terminal, enter the command: sh <(curl http://www.cleverfiles.com/bootmode/boot.xml). This will guide you through the necessary steps for data recovery in Recovery Mode.

For more detailed guidance, visit our Disk Drill Recovery Mode instructions. Remember, data recovery on Mac with T2, M1, M2, M3, or M4 chips via Recovery Mode is not possible due to the encryption of the system disk by security chips.