Many of Mac users would like to upgrade to the new OS X version. But recently many Mac users turn to us for help. They want to recover lost files after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan. They lost their photos, videos, documents and music etc due to OS X upgrade or other reasons like deletion, format, virus infection, etc. You can lose a Mac partition in an instant by pressing the wrong button by mistake or being hit with a power outage. Fortunately, the damage can be undone with the use of Disk Drill. It is an effective data recovery solution that can help you recover from lost or deleted partitions and many other data loss scenarios. MacOS Big Sur Ready! This guide to finding lost files in Mac OS X is essential reading for anybody who works on a Mac. Learn how to quickly find any missing file on your Mac and you'll get things done much faster.
Start up from macOS Recovery
Determine whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, then follow the appropriate steps:
Apple silicon
![Mac Mac](https://www.easeus.com/mac/images/feature-screen/ei-capitan-update.jpg)
Turn on your Mac and continue to press and hold the power button until you see the startup options window. Click the gear icon labeled Options, then click Continue.
Intel processor
Make sure that your Mac has a connection to the internet. Then turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold Command (⌘)-R until you see an Apple logo or other image.
If you're asked to select a user you know the password for, select the user, click Next, then enter their administrator password.
Reinstall macOS
Lost Ones Mac Os X
Select Reinstall macOS from the utilities window in macOS Recovery, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.
Follow these guidelines during installation:
- If the installer asks to unlock your disk, enter the password you use to log in to your Mac.
- If the installer doesn't see your disk, or it says that it can't install on your computer or volume, you might need to erase your disk first.
- If the installer offers you the choice between installing on Macintosh HD or Macintosh HD - Data, choose Macintosh HD.
- Allow installation to complete without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. Your Mac might restart and show a progress bar several times, and the screen might be empty for minutes at a time.
After installation is complete, your Mac might restart to a setup assistant. If you're selling, trading in, or giving away your Mac, press Command-Q to quit the assistant without completing setup. Then click Shut Down. When the new owner starts up the Mac, they can use their own information to complete setup.
Other macOS installation options
When you install macOS from Recovery, you get the current version of the most recently installed macOS, with some exceptions:
- On an Intel-based Mac: If you use Shift-Option-Command-R during startup, you're offered the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available. If you use Option-Command-R during startup, in most cases you're offered the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac. Otherwise you're offered the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.
- If the Mac logic board was just replaced, you may be offered only the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac. If you just erased your entire startup disk, you may be offered only the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.
You can also use these methods to install macOS, if the macOS is compatible with your Mac:
- Use the App Store to download and install the latest macOS.
- Use the App Store or a web browser to download and install an earlier macOS.
- Use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume to create a bootable installer.
Summary: Files/folders diappeared from external hard drves or USB drives? This article will show you how to recover lost/missing/disappeared Documents Folder on macOS Mojave/Catalina with professional Mac data recovery software - iBoysoft Data Recovery Software for Mac.
As it is claimed in Apple's official website, using a Mac has always inspired great work and macOS brings advanced and powerful features for everyone. However, troubles like missing Documents folder on Mac are quite often discussed over the internet.
Usually, you will be able to access your Documents folder in the sidebar of Finder. But for some reasons, the Documents folder gets missing or disappeared for those who're runing macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra or earlier. Especially, this 'Mac Documents folder missing' topic becomes hot every year after the release of new macOS.
Since updated my MacBook Pro to macOS 11 Big Sur, the Documents folder has gone missing from my Finder and Desktop. It just disappeared. How can I get the missing or disappeared Documents folder back where they were? Most importantly, I don't want to lose any files in the Documents folder.
That is, many people looking for solutions to recover lost files after macOS update.
Has my Documents folder gone missing forever? Not really. In this article, we will show you how to get lost/missing/disappeared files and Documents folder back on Mac in 4 ways.
- 1. Turn off iCloud Drive to recover disappeared Documents folder
- 2. Recover disappeared or missing Documents folder to Finder
- 3. Disable Desk Stacks to recover disappeared files on desktop
- 4. Recover files from lost/missing/disappeared Documents folder
Recover missing/disappeared Documents folder on macOS Mojave
Well, it's really hard to specify why your Documents folder disappeared on Mac. However, you can simply follow the methods as below and get your files back.
Method 1: Turn off iCloud Drive to recover disappeared Documents folder
macOS allows you to put Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud Drive. Documents that you store in iCloud Drive stay up to date across all of your devices, and you can access them from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC, and on iCloud.com.
Therefore, if you have stored Desktop and Documents folder with iCloud Drive, the Desktop and Documents folders will be moved to the iCloud section of your Finder sidebar. In this case, you can turn off iCloud drive to recover the missing Documents folder.
- 1. Go to Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud.
- 2. Click Options.
- 3. Uncheck Desktop & Documents Folders.
- The system will warn you that 'If you continue, items will be removed from the Desktop and the Documents folder on this Mac and will remain available in iCloud Drive', this is ok. You can safely continue and open each of the Desktop and Documents folders that are shown in iCloud Drive.
- 4. Click Done.
To get your Document folder showing up and recover files in it, you can go back to turn your iCloud back on.
If you only have a few files, drag them to the now empty Desktop and Documents folders in your Home folder is also okay. It will warn you that the files will no longer be available on iCloud Drive--again, that's ok.
Method 2: Recover disappeared or missing Documents folder to Finder
Mac Os Mojave
You might have been used to looking for Documents, iCloud Drive, and other storage devices through Finder in macOS. It's called the Finder because it helps you find and organize your files. However, the Documents folder may not appear as you expected sometimes.
In this case, if you didn't turn on Desktop and Documents in iCloud Drive, it is likely that missing/disappeared Documents folder is hidden by Finder Preference. You can go to Finder Preference and make it checked.
- 1. Open the Finder in macOS and click 'Finder' from the menu bar.
- 2. Click Preference.
- 3. Choose Sidebar tab and tick 'Documents'.
Method 3: Disable Desk Stacks to show disappeared files
Stacks is another new feature in macOS Mojave and later. It will automatically organize your files on the Desktop so that your desktop is free of clutter.
Whereas, it could be a troublemaker for those who have updated to macOS Mojave/Catalina, in that files seem to be 'lost' for you but actually were grouped by macOS. You can go and check which folder your missing files were grouped into and recover them.
- 1. Select View on the top of your desktop and check Use Stacks.
- 2. Click Group Stacks By and see in what way your files were grouped.
- 3. Find your lost/missing files and move them to the place you want.
Method 4: Recover files from lost/missing/disappeared Documents folder
If unfortunately, the Documents folder disappeared or lost for unknown reasons and you failed to recover it with solutions above, there's a final chance to recover files from the missing Documents folder with the assistance of data recovery software.
iBoysoft Data Recovery Software for Mac is professional and trustworthy data recovery software for macOS Catalina/Mojave/High Sierra/Sierra and OS X. It's able to recover deleted files even emptied from macOS Mojave Trash, recover lost data after macOS update, recover lost files from external hard drives, USB drives, SD cards, CF cards, etc.
How to recover files from lost/missing/disappeared Documents folder?
Since macOS High Sierra, Apple has added a security mechanism named 'System Integrity Protection' (SIP), which prevents any third-party applications from reading startup disk. In order to recover files from lost/missing/disappeared Documents folder on macOS High Sierra and later, you need to temporarily disable SIP before running iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.
Step 1: Disable System Integrity Protection (SIP)
- 1. Boot to Recovery OS by restarting Mac and pressing & holding down Command + R keys at startup.
- 2. Click on Utilities at the top menu and choose Terminal.
- 3. Enter the command: csrutil disable and press Return.
Lost Ones Mac Os 11
Step 2: Recover lost/missing/disappeared Documents folder with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac
- 1. Download and install iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac, and then restart your Mac.
- 2. Launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac and choose the hard drive that loads the macOS.
- 3. Click 'Scan' to scan for lost files from the disappeared/missing/lost Documents folder.
- 4. Preview the results and choose files you want to recover, then click 'Recover' button.
Step 3: Enable System Integrity Protection
- 1. Boot to Recovery OS by restarting Mac and pressing & holding down Command + R keys at startup.
- 2. Launch Terminal from Utilities.
- 3. Enter the command: csrutil enable.
Lost Ones Mac Os X
Bonus Time: Prevent losing files in missing Document folder on macOS Mojave
There are many reasons for your lost Documents folder, such as faulty configuration, disk corruption, virus attack, etc. If you are lucky enough to find the lost data through manually setting something on your Mac computer, then it would not be a hassle for you.
But what if you are unable to locate where are the files in the disappeared Documents folder? Backing things up is always a risk-free choice. Remember to save important data additionally to another flash drive and lessen the possibility to lose data when Documents folder is missing or disappeared in your Mac.
Lost Ones Mac Os Catalina
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