I'm attempting to tidy my wife's Mac, all her documents are cluttering the desktop, when I create a new folder and copy and paste items to it all is well, however, when the original is then deleted, the copy in the folder disappears as well!, any suggestions, it doesn't happen on my Mac, am I missing something on the settings?
MacBook Pro (2017 – 2020)
Are you sure you're copying and not creating aliases? An alias points to a file, so if you delete the file then the alias is no longer valid.
Instead of copying and pasting why don't you just drag them to the new folder?
Are you sure you're copying and not creating aliases? An alias points to a file, so if you delete the file then the alias is no longer valid.
Instead of copying and pasting why don't you just drag them to the new folder?
If you have used or are using Time Machine Backup Utility you maybe able to Restore the Deleted Files
There are files and then there are aliases that point to the Original Location where the files is located
The deleted files should be in the waste bin unless you emptied it. If you emptied the bin and you've not been doing Time Machine backups then they are most likely lost.
If you have lost them then there are apps you can download that can recover deleted files. Success isn't guaranteed depending on how much disc activity has happened since delete. Most of these recovery apps aren't free although many have a trial which limits recovery to a certain number of files or bytes but will at least show what might be recovered. I used one called DiskDrill a long time ago which I had success with but I can't speak for it today and the Mac disc format has changed since then which might make things more difficult. If you do use this route be circumspect and do a bit of searching for reviews and experience online. I remember DiskDrill being a pain in the neck to uninstall from my Mac once I'd finished with it. I'm sure other Community memebers will chime in later with recommendations.
To keep out of the " d$% house " moving forwards
For future purposes
To truly protect your non replaceable Data
Have a 3-2-1 Rescue Plan in place and always current
3 Backups using 2 methods and 1 off site incase of natural disaster or un-natural disaster.
Each of the above should be done to a Dedicated Single Purposed External Drive
Below link is intended to augment what TM Backup does
Good idea.
It appears the damage has already been done, no ?
Copies of documents disappear when original is deleted
