Returning one or more files and folders from the grave is as easy as making a selection and clicking the green Recover button in the upper right corner. Once a scan has completed, users preview a file’s contents using the Quick Look or view in hexadecimal format to assure it’s complete prior to recovery.
I tested the latter option on my 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display’s 500GB internal SSD which clocked in around eight minutes, and did indeed turn up a respectable number of additional photos, documents, and other files that Quick Scan could not. In addition to the Quick Scan that skims through deleted files within seconds on even the largest volumes, Disk Drill Pro also offers Deep Scan, a process that takes significantly longer but has far better odds of rooting out lost media.
A single-user license works on up to three Macs, with lifetime upgrades available for an additional $29.Īt first launch, Disk Drill walks users through an extensive tutorial, along with setting up a few options to help future data recovery. I'd like it if you chose to follow me.While the Basic edition provides continuous protection with core features such as Recovery Vault and Guaranteed Recovery along with the ability to back up failing volumes to a disk image backup (DMG) stored on an external drive, the Pro version adds a few more robust options.
Got a story? Drop me a line via Twitter or in comments below and let me know. Google+? If you use social media and happen to be a Google+ user, why not join AppleHolic's Kool Aid Corner community and join the conversation as we pursue the spirit of the New Model Apple? I’ve had to tell too many of my friends that all their precious images have been destroyed, or that only a limited number can be recovered using DiskWarrior, Data Rescue or Disk Drill. Please tell me you backup your Mac regularly. Now your Mac will launch and you can try to fix your Mac.
Restart the Mac and hold Option once the chime sings now attach your bootable installer drive to the Mac and select it from the list (if you see a list) that appears. Once you have your bootable drive follow these steps:
See it as an insurance policy as you can use this installer to startup and repair (or at least rescue data) from a sick Mac. Making it is a complex process – take it slowly and follow these clear instructions – however, it doing so is well worth the effort. And put the drive in a draw while hoping they don’t need to see it again until they need to add another OS X installer version to that drive. On that drive they should create a bootable OS X installer drive for OS X. A bootable driveĮvery Mac user should invest in a high-capacity USB 3.0 flash drive. Don’t stay there for hours, if this doesn’t happen within a few minutes it’s reasonable to assume it won’t work. Keep those keys depressed until you see a globe symbol and progress bar appear. Restart your Mac and hold Option-Command-R when the start up chime chimes.
The sequence is similar to the way you usually access Recovery, with the addition of the Option key.
If you can get your Mac online you can try Internet Recovery, though this requires you to download a hefty chunk of data and takes time. (For an idea of what these applications can do, read this excellent article which remains relevant to OS X El Capitan). Among other things they can create a complete copy (Disk Image) of your Mac, restore that image once you’ve repaired your Mac, and let you startup from the external drive the backups are stored on.
This is how to use your Time Machine backup to access Recovery Mode: This may sometimes be the only way to get to fix (or at least rescue data) from your Mac, particularly when you can’t get it online or its drive has become damaged. If you do have a connected external drive with a Time Machine backup then you can use Recovery Mode from the backup. You keep backups don’t you? You really should.