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Recover files hidden on hard drive after OS X reinstall?

Hi All,

PLEASE HELP!!

I was trying to free up some space on my 250Gb hard drive and accidentally removed "var" folder. Next time I restarted my macbook it got stuck on apple screen.

I did not have a chance to backup my hard drive at that time and had to reinstall OS X Maverics. Now everything works but I lost all my files.

However, when I check my hard drive storage it shows that it is almost full. It actually shows the same space full/available as it was before the wipe.

I hope I can pull the files hidden on my hard drive out and restore them.. PLEASE HELP!!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Oct 26, 2014 2:58 PM

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2 replies

Jan 7, 2015 8:25 PM in response to Eric Root

General File Recovery



If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten by using recovery software such as Data Rescue II,File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive. Two free alternatives are Disk Drill and TestDisk. Look for them and demos at MacUpdate or CNET Downloads. Recovery software usually provide trial versions that enable you to determine if the software would help before actually paying for it. Beyond this or if the drive has completely failed, then you would need to send the drive to a recovery service which is very expensive.


The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.


Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.


Most likely the directory is now corrupted from putting too many files on the drive and not paying attention to free space.

Recover files hidden on hard drive after OS X reinstall?

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