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16 June 2024  Ashley S. Miller  Specialist of Customer Service Dept.
 

Summary
Accidentally erased hard drive on mac? Recover Mac hard drive data efficiently using Disk Utility. Discover a simple, practical method in this article.



Table of contents

table iconI. What are the functions of Mac Disk Utility?
table iconII. How to recover the erased hard disk data in Mac computer?
table iconIII. Expansion: What should I do if the disk cannot be turned on after erasing the disk with Mac Disk Utility?
accidentally erased hard drive mac

I. What are the functions of Mac Disk Utility?

Disk Utility for macOS and Mac OS X allows users to manage hard drives and storage devices. You can use it to:
● Mount, unmount and eject disks.
● Create or allocate hard disk partitions.
● View and manage physical disks.
● Erase (format) the disk and reformat the file system.
● Verify the integrity of storage devices.
● Repair damaged hard disks.
● Create and convert disk images in various formats.
macintosh hd in mac

II. How to recover the erased hard disk data in Mac computer?

1. Can the data be recovered after Mac Disk Utility erases the hard disk?

If you accidentally erased data on a hard drive using the “Erase” function in Mac Disk Utility, can it be recovered? The “erase” function in Mac is equivalent to the format function in Windows. After selecting the target disk in Disk Utility and clicking Erase, you can see “Security Options” in the pop-up window.
Mac erases the hard drive
There are four security levels. If not manually set, the default is (fastest), similar to (quick format) in Windows disk formatting. Thus, if the hard disk is accidentally erased, the data may still be recoverable.
Description of security options:

  • Security Option 1 (Fastest): Does not securely erase files. A disk recovery application may recover these files.
  • Security Option 2: Writes random data once before zero-filling the entire disk. Erases access information and overwrites data twice.
  • Security Option 3: DOE-compliant 3-pass secure erase. Writes random data twice and overwrites the disk once with known data.
  • Security Option 4 (Most Secure): Complies with DOD 5220-22M standard for secure erasure. Erases access information and overwrites data seven times.
Security Options in Disk Utility
After accidentally erasing a hard drive, immediately stop using the drive to avoid overwriting deleted data. Then, use data recovery software to scan and recover data as soon as possible. A very practical data recovery software is Renee Undeleter, which supports both Mac and Windows systems. Note that data recovery software is a remedial measure and may not recover all data. It is recommended to regularly back up hard disk data using the Time Machine on Mac computers to avoid data loss.

2. Use Renee Undeleter to recover lost/deleted hard drive data

Renee Undeleter is specialized software for restoring various data files. Whether you accidentally delete important files, empty the recycle bin, or format a disk/storage, this tool can retrieve the lost data. It includes four functional modules: Fast Partition Scan, Whole Partition Scan, Whole Disk Scan, and Image Creation, providing comprehensive solutions to data loss problems.
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As a professional data recovery software, Renee Undeleter offers comprehensive functions and a very simple operation process. The specific steps are as follows:
Step 1: Download, install, and run Renee Undeleter on a Mac computer. Select the (Whole Partition Scan) option on the main interface.
Note: To avoid data overwriting, do not install Renee Undeleter on the disk with lost data. If recovering data from an internal hard disk that is the only one in the Mac, download the software to an external USB stick or mobile hard disk. If recovering data from an external hard disk, you can install the software on the Mac’s internal hard disk.
select whole partition scan in renee undeleter on mac
Data Recovery Function:

  • Fast Partition Scan – Quickly retrieve files lost due to accidental deletion or emptying the recycle bin.
  • Whole Partition Scan – Recover files from inaccessible or formatted partitions.
  • Whole Disk Scan – Analyze partition information and fully scan the entire disk.
  • Image Creation – Create an image of a partition to back up its current state.
Step 2: Select the hard drive partition and click (Next).
click to select a target drive in whole partition scan in renee undeleter on mac
Step 3: Wait for the scan, which depends on the hard disk partition size. During scanning, double-click to preview files. If you find the file to recover, check it and click Recover to terminate the scan and start recovery. Alternatively, wait for the scan to finish, select the files from the results, and click Recover to save them to another disk.
double click to select files in whole partition in renee undeleter on mac

III. Expansion: What should I do if the disk cannot be turned on after erasing the disk with Mac Disk Utility?

Some users accidentally erased the macOS system disk and can’t boot. What should they do? Use macOS Recovery to reinstall macOS or restore from a Time Machine backup.

1. Reinstall macOS

Step 1: Turn on your Mac and immediately hold down (Command (⌘)+R). If prompted for a password, enter it, such as an administrator password.
press command and r
Step 2: Select Reinstall macOS from the macOS Utilities window. Click Continue and follow the on-screen instructions. When prompted to select a disk, choose the erased disk. If given the option to install on Macintosh HD or Macintosh HD – Data, select Macintosh HD.
Reinstall macos

2. Restore from time machine backup

If you’ve backed up your Macintosh HD using “Time Machine,” connect the backup hard disk to your Mac and follow these steps to restore your data.
Step 1: Turn on your Mac and immediately hold down (Command (⌘)+R). If prompted for a password, enter it, such as an administrator password.
Step 2: Select “Restore from Time Machine Backup” from the macOS Utilities window, click “Continue,” and confirm that restoring will erase the target disk. Click “Continue” to proceed.
restore from time machine backup mac
Step 3: On the recovery source selection interface, choose the Time Machine backup file and click Continue. Select the desired backup file from the listed macOS backups and click Continue.
Restore From Time Machine
Step 4: Select Macintosh HD as the destination for the backup, click Restore, wait for completion, then restart the Mac.
restore from time machine backup mac