Your computer mostly erases the information that points your computer to that chunk of data, which will remain until it gets written over. The good news? When you delete a file on a drive, all that data doesn’t immediately go away. Any actions, even installing a recovery app, risks overwriting the files you need. If you just want to try to get back a few specific files, or get the device running again, here’s how to handle hard drive recovery.įirst, remove the hard drive from the device if possible, or otherwise stop using it. If you’re dealing with data you absolutely can’t afford to lose, seek professional help like at an Apple Store or professional data recovery service. If your Mac is starting up and you see a file icon with a question mark, or Windows gives you a pop-up that says “Windows detected a hard disk problem,” you’re looking at a potential drive failure.
