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Retrieve Data for Mac after Factory Resetting – Here is the Ultimate Guide

Last Updated on January 17, 2023 by Yulia Ilina

If your MacBook is not booting successfully, you have to do a factory reset to use the device. How to recover Mac data after factory settings? Is there a method to reset it without losing data? Factory reset is not the initial choice to fix the problems of your MacBook. But when you need to use the method to fix some critical problems, it will fix them and erase all the content. Just learn more about the best methods to retrieve data for Mac after factory resetting your MacBook from the article

Retrieve Data for Mac after Factory Reset

Part 1: Is It Possible to Retrieve Mac Data after Factory Resetting

Whether you factory reset your Mac or simply delete a file, the macOS will mark the released space as available. If no other file takes up the space, you still have a chance to retrieve the data. You should stop using your device or use some data recovery at a high success rate to retrieve Mac data after factory resetting.

What does the factory resetting do on your Mac? Just like the name, it will restore the Mac to its original status when you bought the device. Moreover, it will also erase your hard drive with HFS+ or APFS file format system. But the data is remaining on your Mac, but the files are unreachable.

Part 2: How to Recover Lost Data after Factory Reset macOS

How to retrieve unreachable data after macOS factory reset easily? Data Recovery is the one-stop data recovery that enables you to recover files from different resources. It supports most file formats, including photos, videos, emails, documents, audio files, and more. Moreover, the program provides a higher success rate than other macOS data recovery.

1. Provide both deep scan and standard scan modes to retrieve macOS data.

2. Search for the desired deleted or lost files on Mac via path or name easily.

3. Select the scanned files you want to retrieve compared to Time Machine.

4. Preview and identify the scanned files before data recovery after resetting.

Win Download Mac Download

Step 1: Download and install Mac Data Recovery on your MacBook. Launch the program and choose the Mac Data Recovery option to recover the lost, deleted, or missing files after factory resetting. After that, you can click the Start button to choose the desired files.

Mac Data Recovery

Step 2: Disable the System Integrity Protection option for scanning the lost or deleted files due to factory resetting. You can click the Utilities option from the Application folder. Open the System Information option and scroll down to disable the System Integrity Protection option

System Integrity Protection Disabled

Step 3: Choose the desired file format or tick the Check all file type option to retrieve all lost files. After that, you can select the desired hard disk drives to retrieve the lost files before clicking the Scan button. It enables you to retrieve Mac data after factory resetting from different resources.

Scan Mac

Step 4: To get back all the files you want to retrieve, you can click the Deep Scan button in the upper right corner to scan thoroughly and completely. It takes more time to get back all the files. After that, you can find the retrieved files in a list with different categories.

Deep Scan Mac

Step 5: Search the lost or deleted files via name or path if you have a large number of retrieved files. Just double-click the files to preview the thumbnail or video clip. If you are satisfied with the files, you can click the Recover button to recover Mac data after factory resetting.

Recover Data on Mac Win Download Mac Download

Part 3: How to Properly Factory Reset macOS without Losing Data

Is there a method to factory-reset macOS without losing data? If you can still use your MacBook, you can back up your important files with Time Machine. When you need to restore your MacBook to factory settings without any preparation, here is the detailed process you just need to follow to fix the problems while preserving the original data.

Step 1: Press and hold the Command + R keys on the MacBook keyboard. When you find the Apple Logo appears you can release both keys to boot into the Recovery Mode.

Step 2: Choose the Disk Utility option and then click the Continue button. After that, you can select the startup disk labeled as Macintosh HD. Click the Erase button at the top toolbar section.

Step 3: Choose the format as MAC OS EXTENDED and then click the Erase option. Wait for the MacBook to get its reset process done then go back to the Disk Utility menu.

Step 4: Choose the Reinstall macOS option in the macOS Utilities window before clicking the Continue button. You should follow the instructions to complete the reinstallation

Disk Utility Restore

Part 4: FAQs How to Recover Mac Data after Factory Resetting

1What should you do before the Mac factory setting?
Before doing a factory reset on your MacBook, here are some preparations you can do, such as backup the crucial data, de-authorize iTunes and iCloud, sign out of iMessage, turn off FireVault, erase Touch bar data, and connect to the Internet.
2When should you perform a factory setting on your Mac?
Just as mentioned above, you need to have a factory resetting on your Mac due to the malfunctioning Mac, such as running extremely slow, failing to boot, and cleaning macOS installation. Of course, when you need to sell your Mac or giveaway the Mac, it is necessary to have a factory resetting.
3Does iCloud backup save everything on your Mac?
No. iCloud backup only saves App data, Apple Watch backups, SMS, Device settings, photos, videos, purchase history from Apple services, Home screen and app organization, ringtones, visual voicemail password, and other limited files of your Apple devices.

Conclusion

You can now easily recover the lost Mac data after factory settings through the methods shared in this article. Just use the Disk Utility to restore the Mac data after factory settings without losing data. But if you need to do a deeper scanning of lost files due to a factory reset on your Mac, then you’d better let Data Recovery do its job.

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