I deleted all my Recent Files and then deleted my trash. is there a way to recover these files?

i deleted several thousand files from RECENT and then deleted them from my trash. i didnt realize that i was deleting the original files off my computer. (i did this perhaps 20 or so days ago) i just discovered the files are gone. Is there a way to retrieve them from the cloud or anywhere else? (i logged into icloud and went to "recently deleted" and none of the files are appearing there)

iMac 21.5″

Posted on Jan 13, 2024 7:21 AM

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Posted on Jan 13, 2024 7:50 AM

Download & install Prosoft Data Rescue (free download, trusted app & vendor) and run it. It will search your drive and tell you all the folders/files that *MAY* be recoverable. If if finds what you are looking for, then buy the app (currently $79) and use it to recover the files. I have used it myself and it works well.


Be aware that the longer you have used the computer after deleting files, the less & less likely you will be able to recover things because, when you delete a file, its space is freed up for the computer to use for other things. Also, if it's an SSD the likelihood of recovery is very low.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 13, 2024 7:50 AM in response to dg_1989

Download & install Prosoft Data Rescue (free download, trusted app & vendor) and run it. It will search your drive and tell you all the folders/files that *MAY* be recoverable. If if finds what you are looking for, then buy the app (currently $79) and use it to recover the files. I have used it myself and it works well.


Be aware that the longer you have used the computer after deleting files, the less & less likely you will be able to recover things because, when you delete a file, its space is freed up for the computer to use for other things. Also, if it's an SSD the likelihood of recovery is very low.

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I deleted all my Recent Files and then deleted my trash. is there a way to recover these files?

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