How to Retrieve Mac Files Deleted after Factory Reset?

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Resetting your Mac to its factory settings will make it run just like new. But you’ll lose all your data during the factory reset operation if performed incorrectly. Don’t worry, there are methods to retrieve files deleted after a factory reset.

But before learning the data retrieval methods, you should know the reasons why you need to reset your Mac to factory settings, what happens during factory reset, and how to factory reset your Mac properly to avoid losing your valuable files permanently.

Why Reset Mac to Factory Settings?

You may need to reset your Mac to factory settings due to numerous reasons. Some of the common reasons are as follows:

• Mac is running extremely slow
• Mac fails to boot
• You wish to clean install macOS
• You want to donate, sell, or repurpose your Mac

What Happens During a Factory Reset?

When you reset your Mac to its factory settings, two major things occur. First, your Mac erases your hard drive with a new file system format (say APFS or HFS+). And second, your Mac installs the macOS that came with your system during the purchase.

Due to erasure or formatting, data stored on your Mac hard drive turns inaccessible. But the data remains on the drive and will be overwritten with new data when the Mac is used.

How to Factory Reset Your Mac Properly?

First, back up all your important files to an external backup drive by using Time Machine (or manually for non-startup volume) to avoid data loss during factory reset that formats your Mac hard drive and makes all your files inaccessible.

Second, log out or de-authorize all applications that provide limited authorization. This is because some applications (say iTunes or iCloud account) uses an authorization system that limits the maximum number of devices to be connected and create future login problems.

Third, make sure that your Mac has access to an active Internet connection. This is because in case the macOS Recovery drive isn’t accessible from the Mac hard drive, your Mac can boot into macOS Recovery mode from the Apple server and use the macOS installation files from there. In the absence of an active Internet connection, your Mac may not be able to complete the factory reset properly and could temporarily enter an unusable state.

Steps to reset your Mac to its factory settings

• Start or restart your Mac then promptly press and hold the Command + R keys.
• Release the keys when the Apple logo or spinning globe appears.
• Wait till your Mac boots into macOS Recovery mode.
• In the macOS Recovery mode, go to the macOS Utilities window and click Disk Utility.
• Click Continue. In the Disk Utility window, select the Mac storage drive and click Erase.
• Provide the erasure details, and click Erase. Once the erasure is complete, quit Disk Utility.
• In the macOS Utilities window, click Reinstall macOS.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the macOS reinstallation task.
• Once the installation process is over, your Mac boots with factory settings.
• Reinstall the required applications and synchronize the required accounts.

Time Machine to Restore Files Deleted after Factory Reset

When you have reset your macOS by using the proper factory-resetting methods and have a Time Machine backup, you can retrieve files deleted after factory reset by using the backup drive.

Step to restore files by using Time Machine backup drive:

• Make sure your Time Machine backup drive is connected to your Mac.
• Boot your Mac into macOS Recovery mode.
• In the macOS Utilities window, click Restore from Time Machine. Click Continue.
• Perform the on-screen instructions to restore your files from the backup drive.

Data Recovery Tool to Retrieve Files Deleted after Factory Reset

When you haven’t backed up your Mac before factory reset, you should immediately stop using your system till you retrieve all your inaccessible files from the hard drive.

Steps to retrieve files by using a Mac file recovery software:

• Download and install the *trial version Stellar Data Recovery Professional on your Mac.
• In the ‘Select What To Recover’ screen, go with Recover Everything, then click Next.
• In the ‘Select Location’ screen, select Macintosh HD, toggle on Deep Scan and click Scan.
• After the scan, preview the files to check their integrity and select the required ones.
• Click Recover. Specify an external hard drive to save the recoverable files, then click Save.

Note- To scan startup disk in macOS Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, or High Sierra, allow macOS to load Stellar Data Recovery extension. Learn more.

• If you are using the Mac, restore all the recovered files from the external drive to the Mac.
• If you are selling or donating the Mac, keep the external hard drive for future purposes.

*The trial version of Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac allows free scan and preview. But to save recoverable files, you need to activate the software. Why wait when the software has a 30-day money-back guarantee, so activate it with complete confidence.

Conclusion

When your Mac is running extremely slow or you want to sell your Mac to another person, you need to factory reset your Mac to make it just like new. But resetting your Mac to its factory settings will erase all your files. So before you factory reset your Mac, you must back up all your files to an external hard drive to avoid losing your data.

In case you forget to back up your Mac before factory reset and lose all your data, then the best possible solution is to use Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac software to retrieve the lost files during the factory reset procedure.