Quote from gareth_w on April 23, 2026, 10:12 am

Sorry, @elix, if it’s a USB and you don’t have any backup elsewhere, data recovery software is pretty much your only option. There are a ton of different options for Mac, you may as well consider some suggestions from Reddit. I don’t use macOS myself, so I can’t suggest a specific tool, but hopefully someone with more hands-on experience will point you in the right direction.

Quote from DataRecoverExpert on April 23, 2026, 10:50 am

Hi, @elix. Welcome to our forum! @gareth_w is right. On macOS, files deleted from external drives like an exFAT USB usually don’t go to the main Trash and may be removed immediately instead. Which means that without a backup, software-based recovery is really the only realistic path to restore lost files from USB Mac.

Your situation actually looks pretty favorable. The drive mounts, no errors show up. And you didn’t use the drive, that’s good.  

When files are deleted, they aren’t actually removed right away, the system just marks that space as available. Any new action on the drive, even something small like copying a file or saving a document, can overwrite those areas and permanently destroy the deleted data. Once that happens, no software can bring those files back.

We have a detailed step-by-step guide on our site that walks through recovery on macOS: https://help.7datarecovery.com/recover-data-from-flash-drive-mac/ 

We’ve also published a separate article with a curated list of data recovery tools for Mac, including their pros, limitations, and typical use cases: https://ratings.7datarecovery.com/best-recovery-apps-mac/ 

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to tag me and ask. I’m happy to help.

Quote from nikaredko on April 23, 2026, 11:18 am

Hi, @elix. I agree with the answers above. But there is one more thing, when you delete files from an external drive, the system often creates a hidden folder called .Trashes on that USB. That’s where deleted files may go instead of the main Trash. The reason you “can’t see it” is simple: it’s a hidden system folder.

Well, here is how to check it:

1. Connect your USB drive to your Mac.
2. Open the drive in Finder.
3. Press Command + Shift + . (dot) to show hidden files.
4. Look for a folder named .Trashes.
5. Open it and check for a subfolder (for example, 501).

If it’s there, you may find your deleted files inside that folder. You can also follow a video guide: https://youtu.be/SB45cqQV0XU?t=168 

I hope this helps!

Quote from shieran on April 23, 2026, 12:04 pm

@elix Hey, I had a somewhat similar situation with a 64 GB SanDisk USB formatted as exFAT. Mine was mostly photos (JPG and a few RAW files), and I accidentally formatted the drive.I started searching for a fix right away and came across this guide, which helped me understand what to do next and what to avoid - https://www.insanelymac.com/blog/recover-files-from-usb-drive-on-mac/

It clearly explained different scenarios like deletion vs formatting and what chances you actually have. It also showed what results to expect, especially that photos usually recover better than other files. I didn’t follow everything step by step, but it gave me a good idea of what to do first and what not to mess with.

After reading it, I ended up using Disk Dril and it worked pretty well, I got most of my photos back, so definitely worth trying in your case 

Quote from Justin_bob on April 23, 2026, 12:43 pm

I was looking for Mac data recovery software the other day, got some decent recommendations here - https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/th4fz2/best_data_recovery_software/ 

Quote from Elix on April 23, 2026, 1:46 pm

@gareth_w thanks for the reply. Yeah… I was afraid that might be the case. I don’t have any backup unfortunately, so I’ll start looking into recovery software. Just wasn’t sure which ones are actually worth trying and not just random suggestions.

Quote from Elix on April 23, 2026, 2:03 pm

@datarecoverexpert thank you for such a detailed explanation, that actually helps a lot. Good to know that my situation isn’t the worst case. I’ll check out both the guide and the list you shared and try to follow the steps carefully. If I run into anything during the scan, I’ll tag you. Appreciate the help!

Quote from DataNerd on April 23, 2026, 3:00 pm

Before you go all-in on recovery software, it’s worth double-checking a few other places just in case something got moved instead of deleted. Check common folders like Downloads, Desktop, or any folders you recently worked in. If you ever opened or edited those files on your Mac, there’s a chance a copy exists outside the USB. It’s a long shot, but it takes a couple of minutes and can save you a lot of time if something turns up.

Quote from Elix on April 23, 2026, 4:13 pm

Quote from nikaredko on April 23, 2026, 11:18 am

Hi, @elix. I agree with the answers above. But there is one more thing, when you delete files from an external drive, the system often creates a hidden folder called .Trashes on that USB. That’s where deleted files may go instead of the main Trash. The reason you “can’t see it” is simple: it’s a hidden system folder.

Well, here is how to check it:

1. Connect your USB drive to your Mac.
2. Open the drive in Finder.
3. Press Command + Shift + . (dot) to show hidden files.
4. Look for a folder named .Trashes.
5. Open it and check for a subfolder (for example, 501).

If it’s there, you may find your deleted files inside that folder. You can also follow a video guide: https://youtu.be/SB45cqQV0XU?t=168 

I hope this helps!

 oh wow, I had no idea about the Trashes folder. That might explain why the files just disappeared instead of going to Trash. I followed your steps on my macOS setup and actually found it on the USB, but unfortunately it’s empty. Still, really useful to know this exists, thanks for pointing that out!

Quote from Elix on April 23, 2026, 4:40 pm

@datanerd Thanks for the suggestion. I checked my Mac just in case, but no luck.

I didn’t really copy or work with those files on the computer, the USB was more like a personal archive where I kept everything stored directly on the drive. So unfortunately there aren’t any local copies on my Mac.

Looks like I’ll have to go the recovery software route.

Quote from OhioTom on April 23, 2026, 4:42 pm

Stick to something that lets you preview files before recovery. That’s the easiest way to tell if it actually works in your case. I used Disk Drill on a similar exFAT USB, and the preview was pretty accurate for both photos and videos.

Quote from em_danielh on April 23, 2026, 6:55 pm

I recommend PhotoRec. It’s free and actually pretty powerful, especially for photos and videos. The downside is that it doesn’t keep original filenames or folder structure, so everything comes back as generic files. If you have a lot of data, sorting through it can be a pain. Still worth trying if you don’t want to pay right away.

Quote from Elix on April 24, 2026, 5:42 am

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and explanations, after reading through everything and checking the links, I decided to go with Disk Drill. Mainly because it seems more easy to use compared to something like PhotoRec, and the preview feature sounds really useful to confirm if the files are actually recoverable before doing anything else. Also saw a few people mention it works well with exFAT and photos/videos, which is exactly what I need.

I’ll try running a full scan later today and see what it finds.

@datarecoverexpert quick question before I start, would you recommend scanning the USB directly, or should I create some kind of backup/image of it first? I saw that mentioned somewhere and not sure if it applies in my case.

Quote from DataRecoverExpert on April 24, 2026, 7:15 am

Quote from Elix on April 24, 2026, 5:42 am

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and explanations, after reading through everything and checking the links, I decided to go with Disk Drill. Mainly because it seems more easy to use compared to something like PhotoRec, and the preview feature sounds really useful to confirm if the files are actually recoverable before doing anything else. Also saw a few people mention it works well with exFAT and photos/videos, which is exactly what I need.

I’ll try running a full scan later today and see what it finds.

@datarecoverexpert quick question before I start, would you recommend scanning the USB directly, or should I create some kind of backup/image of it first? I saw that mentioned somewhere and not sure if it applies in my case.

Good question. In your case, you can scan the USB directly since it mounts fine and shows no issues. Creating an image is mainly useful when a drive behaves нестабільно or shows errors. If you want the safest approach, you can make a backup first, but most people with a situation like yours just scan the USB and get good results.

Quote from Elix on April 24, 2026, 8:14 am

UPDATE: I went ahead and scanned the USB directly with Disk Drill, and it worked better than I expected. The scan took around 40 minutes, found most of my data.

Photos were the best result. I had mostly JPGs and some RAW files (a few CR2), and I’d say around 90–95% came back. Most kept their original names and folder structure, and previews worked before recovery, which was a good sign. After recovery, they opened without issues.

Videos were also good overall. Most of my files were MP4 and a few MOV. The majority recovered with no problems and play normally. A handful either didn’t open or had issues like not playing all the way through, probably because they were fragmented, but it was only a small part of the total.

One thing I noticed during the scan: a lot of files also showed up without original names in “reconstructed” folders, but the preview feature helped figure out what was what. I recovered everything to my internal drive first, not back to the USB.

Big thanks to everyone who replied, especially @datarecoverexpert for the explanations. 

Quote from nikaredko on April 24, 2026, 8:54 am

@elix A couple of things about videos. Videos (especially MP4/MOV) are often split into fragments across the drive. When recovery software scans the USB, it can find all the pieces, but sometimes it doesn’t reconstruct them in the exact original order. That’s why some files open fine, while others don’t play fully or won’t open at all.

Another common issue is the file header (metadata at the beginning of the video). If that part gets overwritten or missed, the video might still contain data, but players can’t read it properly.

If those broken videos are important, you still have a couple of options. You can try a video repair tools or online services: https://www.handyrecovery.com/best-video-repair-software/  

Also worth trying something simple first like VLC Media Player. Sometimes it can play partially corrupted files or convert them into a usable format.

So yeah, not unusual at all. The fact that most of your videos came back fine means recovery worked pretty well 👍