Formatting your Mac hard drive improves performance, fixes errors, removes malware, and prepares the drive for new installations or partitioning. However, when you format your Mac’s drive, all its stored content gets deleted. You may lose all the cherished photos, videos, documents, and other types of files stored on your Mac hard drive.

Luckily, there are several Mac data recovery tools and techniques available that you can use to restore your lost files. This comprehensive guide explores various methods on how to recover data from a formatted Mac hard drive and preventive tips that you can consider to avoid data loss on a Mac. Keep reading!

Why Should You Format a Mac Hard Drive?

As you know, formatting is sometimes risky and can put you in trouble. It is important to understand when you should format your Mac hard drive to avoid such inconvenience. Some common scenarios include:

• To Fix Corruption or Errors: When your drive becomes corrupted, unreadable, or shows frequent errors, formatting can help you resolve these issues.
• Before Selling or Donating: It is important to format your Mac to erase all personal data stored on it and prepare the drive for a new user.
• For Reinstallation of macOS: A clean installation of macOS often requires formatting the system drive to remove old files and configurations.
• Improving Performance: Formatting the drive and starting fresh can improve your device performance, especially for older or heavily used drives.
• Removing Malware or Viruses: Though chances are quite low if malware infects the Mac drive, formatting ensures a clean slate.

How do I Recover Data from a Formatted Mac Hard Drive?

When you find any file missing from your Mac hard drive after its formatting, avoid saving new files on it to prevent data overwriting. Overwriting the deleted file can complex the recovery process or even make it impossible. Go through the below methods one-by-one for data recovery on Mac:

Method 01: Use Professional Mac Data Recovery Software

Let’s start with the simplest approach first. Third-party Mac data recovery tools like Stellar Data Recovery Free for Mac allow you to recover files from a formatted Mac hard drive without any cost. Not only formatting, you can use this tool to restore files lost or deleted due to accidental deletion, virus attacks, system failure, or any other reasons.

Key Features of Stellar Data Recovery Free for Mac Software:

• It offers an intuitive interface, allowing you to recover lost files without any technical expertise.
• It supports various file systems like APFS, HFS+, FAT32, NTFS, and many more.
• You can use this tool to recover deleted files of various types, including photos, videos, documents, and more.
• The free version supports recovery of up to 1 GB of files for free. To restore files of larger size, you can check and use their paid versions.

Here’s how to recover data from a formatted Mac hard drive using this free Mac data recovery software:

Step 1: After downloading and installing the Stellar Free Data Recovery software on your Mac, launch it. From the homepage, select the type of data you need to restore and click Next.

Step 2: Now, choose the formatted drive and click Scan to initiate the scanning process. Wait till the tool completely scans the drive.

Step 3: Once the scanning is completed, preview the recoverable files and click Recover to save them to a secure location on your device.

Method 02: Check for Backups

If you are good at maintaining regular backups of your important files, you can use these backups to restore files when data loss occurs. Mac users often use Time Machine, iCloud, or third-party backup solutions to secure their data. Go through the below steps to recover your lost files using backups:

Time Machine Backup:

• Firstly, connect the Time Machine backup drive to your Mac.
• Open Time Machine from the menu bar or System Preferences.
• Browse through the previous backups and select the files you need, then restore them to your Mac.

iCloud Backup:

• Visit the iCloud website and log in to your iCloud account.
• Go to the “Files” or “Photos” app to access your required data and download them at a safe location.

Method 03: Use macOS Terminal (For Advanced Users)

If you are familiar with command-line tools, macOS Terminal can help you recover files using commands like fsck or third-party scripts. To recover lost files using Terminal, you need to:

• Open Finder and go to Applications > Utilities, then launch Terminal on your Mac.
• Use the command: diskutil to view all connected drives and partitions.
• If any error is found with the drive, repairing it might make the lost files accessible.
• Now, use the command fsck (File System Consistency Check) for deep repairing of corrupted disks.
• Once done, you can use third-party data recovery tools, like TestDisk or PhotoRec, to recover lost files.

Method 04: Seek Professional Data Recovery Services

Instances may occur when the above DIY methods fail to recover files lost or deleted from a formatted Mac hard drive. In such cases, professional data recovery services can help you. These services use advanced tools and techniques to recover data from formatted, damaged, or physically failed drives.

Top providers like DriveSavers, Ontrack, and Seagate Recovery Services specialize in handling various data loss scenarios, including SSDs and hard drives. Simply ship your drive to their secure facility, where trained technicians will analyze and recover your files.

Though professional services charge quite high fees, they offer better success rates and are ideal for recovering critical data. Always ensure the provider is reputable, offers confidentiality, and provides a no-recovery, no-charge policy.

How to Prevent Data Loss on Mac?

You can consider the below-given preventive tips to avoid the sudden deletion of files on Mac:

• Enable Time Machine Backups: Use Mac’s built-in Time Machine backup feature to regularly back up your data, making recovery simple.
• Use Cloud Storage: Also use services like iCloud, Google Drive, and Dropbox to create automatic backups of your files and their easy access anywhere any time.
• Be Cautious When Formatting: Double-check which drive you’re formatting to avoid accidental data loss.
• Partition Drives Wisely: Maintain separate partitions to store system files and personal data to minimize risks during formatting or system errors.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can all files be recovered after formatting?

Recovery depends on whether the data has been overwritten. If your deleted data is not overwritten, you can easily restore it. However, if a new file overwrites the deleted one, use third-party Mac data recovery software.

How long does data recovery take?

The recovery process can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the size of the drive and the recovery method used.

Are free data recovery tools reliable?

Many free Mac data recovery software tools can easily recover your lost data but often have limitations in terms of file size, recovery depth, or features. Paid versions provide more comprehensive solutions.

Conclusion

Recovering data from a formatted Mac hard drive may appear challenging, but the aforementioned methods for data recovery on Mac can help you easily. Start by checking for backups using Time Machine or iCloud. If no backups are available, try third-party free Mac data recovery software like Stellar Data Recovery Free for Mac.

For more complex cases, professional recovery services can help retrieve critical files. To avoid such data loss instances in the future, prioritize regular backups, use cloud storage, and exercise caution when formatting drives.