Can I Recover Files I'm Emptied In Trash?

[macmoron]

I accidentally moved my entire 'Will and Grace' library into the trash can and emptied it. Is there some way to get it back or is it a done deal? There seems to be some program called ISkysoft, but I don't want to use it unless I know it's something legit. Can anyone help? VERY new Mac user, so please talk to me like I'm a child - no technical jargon. Thanks!

 

[leadfoot]

Have a look in App stores there are data recovery. Technically the files are not deleted until you do a full format on the hard drive.

 

[macmoron]

Have a look in App stores there are data recovery. Technically the files are not deleted until you do a full format on the hard drive.

Yikes, a hundred bucks! It would actually be cheaper to replace the series on dvd and just be super careful from now on. But thanks!

 

[pigoo3]

Yikes, a hundred bucks! It would actually be cheaper to replace the series on dvd and just be super careful from now on. But thanks!

Exactly! "Accidentally" deleting things can be expensive. Or at least very disheartening if the items have significant sentimental value (such as personal photos or videos).

Deleting something from the computers hard drive is a three-step process:

Step #1: Move item to the trash.
Step #2: Choose the "Empty Trash" command.
Step #3: Confirm that you want to empty the trash by clicking "Ok".

Considering that this is a 3-step process (requires 3 conscious decisions)…accidentally deleting something should really be a rare thing.

My process is. Whenever I drag something to the trash…I empty the trash right away (then I know exactly what's being deleted). I don't let items accumulate in the trash for weeks & weeks…and then empty the trash. If things are left to accumulate in the trash…and if the trash is not double-checked before emptying…then this is a process where things can be "accidentally" deleted.

- Nick

 

[macmoron]

Exactly! "Accidentally" deleting things can be expensive. Or at least very disheartening if the items have significant sentimental value (such as personal photos or videos).

Deleting something from the computers hard drive is a three-step process:

Step #1: Move item to the trash.
Step #2: Choose the "Empty Trash" command.
Step #3: Confirm that you want to empty the trash by clicking "Ok".

Considering that this is a 3-step process (requires 3 conscious decisions)…accidentally deleting something should really be a rare thing.

My process is. Whenever I drag something to the trash…I empty the trash right away (then I know exactly what's being deleted). I don't let items accumulate in the trash for weeks & weeks…and then empty the trash. If things are left to accumulate in the trash…and if the trash is not double-checked before emptying…then this is a process where things can be "accidentally" deleted.

- Nick

Well, this was more of an oversight. I highlighted a bunch of items on my USB flash drive to delete in an effort to create more space and the Will and Grace folder happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm taking my Mac in for servicing this week, so I'll just ask the Genius if there's any way to get it back for nothing. If they say no, I'll just replace the series. Lesson learned! ;P

 

[Oneironaut]

If the files were ever actually on your Mac and you have Time Machine set up, you can recover them easily.

 

[macmoron]

If the files were ever actually on your Mac and you have Time Machine set up, you can recover them easily.

Now, I'm a total moron with this stuff, so help me out here. I see 'Time Machine' on the top right of my screen and I clicked on it and it is not set to 'On'. Is it pointless to try to use that now or would it have to have been on when I trashed the files for me to get them back using this?

 

[pigoo3]

Well, this was more of an oversight. I highlighted a bunch of items on my USB flash drive to delete in an effort to create more space and the Will and Grace folder happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm taking my Mac in for servicing this week, so I'll just ask the Genius if there's any way to get it back for nothing. If they say no, I'll just replace the series. Lesson learned! ;P

I can see this happening (highlighting too many items at once).

"leadfoot" above said…"Technically the files are not deleted until you do a full format on the hard drive."

This is certainly true…but a more likely/common scenario (making files unrecoverable)…is continuing to use the computer. When the computer is used…files/"things" are being written to the hard drive. If something "new" is written on top of something that is "old" or deleted…then that deleted item will be almost impossible to be recovered.

When files are "regular" deleted…they are not REALLY deleted…they are still there. What happens when something is deleted is…the computer is "told" that the space where the deleted files existed is now available to be written to as needed. The more full the HD is…the greater the chance the deleted items will be overwritten.

So the message is…if you want a good chance at recovering deleted files…STOP using the computer…until the files are recovered.

- Nick

 

[pigoo3]

Now, I'm a total moron with this stuff, so help me out here. I see 'Time Machine' on the top right of my screen and I clicked on it and it is not set to 'On'. Is it pointless to try to use that now or would it have to have been on when I trashed the files for me to get them back using this?

"Time Machine" is a backup utility. You need to do a backup BEFORE things are accidentally deleted…not after. And…when backups are done (using Time Machine or another app)…then backups should be done on a 2nd hard drive (usually an external HD)…just in case the internal HD crashes.

- Nick

 

[RadDave]

Now, I'm a total moron with this stuff, so help me out here. I see 'Time Machine' on the top right of my screen and I clicked on it and it is not set to 'On'. Is it pointless to try to use that now or would it have to have been on when I trashed the files for me to get them back using this?

Time Machine (TM) is Apple's backup program that comes w/ your OS X, BUT it has to be setup (i.e. On) and some type of storage device chosen - for me, I use a 1 TB external Seagate HD - if you have not done these steps then you have no TM backup to recover your files. Dave

 

[macmoron]

"Time Machine" is a backup utility. You need to do a backup BEFORE things are accidentally deleted…not after. And…when backups are done (using Time Machine or another app)…then backups should be done on a 2nd hard drive (usually an external HD)…just in case the internal HD crashes.

- Nick

Bummer. But that's a good thing to know, so I guess I will turn it on in case there's a future problem.

 

[pigoo3]

Bummer. But that's a good thing to know, so I guess I will turn it on in case there's a future problem.

Yes…a very good thing to do!

I'm guessing you will agree. If the "Will & Grace" collection is lost…it certainly is far from a critical loss. Nothing compared to losing a whole:

- personal photo collection
- personal home video collection
- important one of a kind documents for work or school
- etc.

* Nick

 

[pigoo3]

Bummer. But that's a good thing to know, so I guess I will turn it on in case there's a future problem.

I just wanted to emphasize. There are two main problems with hard drives & data:

- losing the data due to accidental deleting
- losing the data due to a hard drive failure or crash

While having a backup on the same HD as the data can work if data is accidentally deleted. If the HD was to crash/fail (as all HD's do eventually)…then having a backup on the same HD as the data being backed up in NOT a very good backup strategy. Basically…you want/need your backups to be on a separate storage device (usually a 2nd external HD).

- Nick

 

[macmoron]

Yes…a very good thing to do!

I'm guessing you will agree. If the "Will & Grace" collection is lost…it certainly is far from a critical loss. Nothing compared to losing a whole:

- personal photo collection
- personal home video collection
- important one of a kind documents for work or school
- etc.

* Nick

Since you mentioned that, I have a question. I'm trying to back everything up before I take my computer in and when I take my Iphoto Library icon from the 'Pictures' folder in the Finder and transfer it to my USB drive, why is it telling me the estimated time remaining to copy the pictures is 17 hours? It's only 6.82 gigs in Iphoto. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[Ron Neely]

Abbyy

The same thing happened to me, and it is embarrassing, but I bought a software called
ABBYY FineReader Express and I am very happy with the results.
You do have to have an external HD, but we should have one anyway!

 

[Rod]

Dear macmoron, my advice to you is to either purchase a USB hard drive big enough for Time Machine. I don't know what size your Mac HD is but 1 Tb is usually enough. It's best to have a dedicated USB HD for time machine. Read this article Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac
You may also need to read the linked article called "Manually preparing a new disc for Time Machine"
A full initial backup using TM will take a while but it will ensure you have everything backed up and give you the options of restoring your Mac HD should anything go drastically wrong, restoring individual files should you ever "accidentally" delete them, starting up your computer from the backup or recreating your files on a new computer in case of loss or irreparable damage. I cannot stress enough the importance of having a full backup but I think I can say 25% of problems on this forum could be simplified if not solved with a Time Machine backup.