It is highly unlikely that you’ll lose your file by accidentally pressing “Command + Control + Shift + Delete” hotkey. But if you’ve intentionally deleted your file using this key combination, the file is removed from your Mac bypassing the Trash. Later, when you realize that you need the file, it is too late. In this post, we have shared some data recovery techniques to rescue a lost file on your Mac running on macOS Catalina or earlier.
Restore the Eternally Deleted File by Using Time Machine
When you keep an up-to-date back-up of your Macintosh HD through Time Machine, you can restore the permanently deleted file using the back-up drive. For that, make sure your Time Machine back-up drive is connected to your Mac. Now, open the Time Machine app. For that, go to the top menu bar and click the Time Machine icon, then select Enter Time Machine. When you are in Time Machine, use the up & down arrows to navigate to an earlier date when the file wasn’t deleted. Once you locate the file, select it, and press Space Bar to preview. Finally, restore the file to your Mac.
Time Machine is a boon when you use it religiously to back up your Mac start-up disk. But things are different when you don’t set up the Time Machine back-up drive, or the app doesn’t take incremental back-up before you created and subsequently deleted the file. In the worst-case scenario, your Time Machine back-up drive itself is corrupt or not mounting on your Mac.
Recover the Lost File by Using a Free Mac Data Recovery Software
In adverse logical data loss scenarios, a free data recovery software for Mac can be your rescuer. But you must immediately stop using your Mac to avoid any data overwriting. To recover data, download and install a free edition of Mac data recovery software from a trusted brand like Stellar Data Recovery. Next, launch the software and perform the recovery steps as directed by the software’s interface.
Here you need to select the type of data you wish to recover from the drive to expedite the scanning process. Select the volume or drive location from where the data got deleted. And, select the Deep Scan option to perform a comprehensive scan. Let the software scan the drive for recoverable data.
You can even preview your scanned file to check its quality & authenticity. Once you are satisfied with the scan result, you can recover up to 1 GB of your lost files for free. To recover more, upgrade the free software to Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac.
Conclusion
Losing data using the hotkey Command + Control + Shift + Delete is no longer a concern when you have the Time Machine back-up. Also, keeping a free data recovery software preinstalled on your Mac ensures that you get your file back even if you fail to create a Time Machine back-up on time.
