how can i recover deleted files from external/internal drive

hello
i have transferred successfully some music folders onto my external drive from mac and as i thought it was all well done apparently i have deleted them off external and also emptied the trash, never happened before, as i am always careful with folders i collect and transfer
tried using Disk Drill but it only brings back half of the folders (2GB of 3, so the remaining 1 is floating somewhere in the unknown space)
never backed up my mac with time machine, tried using it just now but it doesnt take me anywhere as far as today`s
i know it sounds crazy but please suggest anything that might be useful

If Disk Drill only found 2 GB of the 3 GB that you deleted, it's doubtful any other software will be able to recover the other 1 GB. You can give Data Rescue 3 a try. Download their free trial first.

chscag said:

If Disk Drill only found 2 GB of the 3 GB that you deleted, it's doubtful any other software will be able to recover the other 1 GB. You can give Data Rescue 3 a try. Download their free trial first.

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thanks I`ll try
so no hope investing in time machine

Time Machine is backup software and as such can not recover files or folders that have already been deleted. If you had been using Time Machine before you deleted those files, then yes, it would be possible to restore them.

chscag said:

Time Machine is backup software and as such can not recover files or folders that have already been deleted. If you had been using Time Machine before you deleted those files, then yes, it would be possible to restore them.

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sadly no, thats the point im a noob
should have used it earler

That's OK, don't feel bad, we all go through a learning process. Just make sure you use Time Machine from now on.

chscag said:

That's OK, don't feel bad, we all go through a learning process. Just make sure you use Time Machine from now on.

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thanks, thats so sweet of you to say that
<3