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My Files Disappeared from External Hard Drive on Mac
Quote from aliens on March 31, 2026, 9:07 pmFinal update: recovered about 178GB out of roughly 180GB. The few files that didn’t come back were some duplicates I’d copied over multiple times anyway, nothing irreplaceable.
Bought a license for Disk Drill after the scan, felt wrong not to after it basically saved five years of photos. Copied everything to my MacBook and also to a new backup drive I picked up this morning. Two copies now. Lesson very much learned.
Thank you all. This was genuinely stressful, and you helped more than you know.
Final update: recovered about 178GB out of roughly 180GB. The few files that didn’t come back were some duplicates I’d copied over multiple times anyway, nothing irreplaceable.
Bought a license for Disk Drill after the scan, felt wrong not to after it basically saved five years of photos. Copied everything to my MacBook and also to a new backup drive I picked up this morning. Two copies now. Lesson very much learned.
Thank you all. This was genuinely stressful, and you helped more than you know.
Quote from nikaredko on March 31, 2026, 9:11 pmReally glad it worked out! Quick tip for anyone who finds this thread later: if your external drive shows empty folders but space is still used – stop, don’t repair anything, run a read-only scan first. That one step is usually the difference between a stressful afternoon and a disaster.
For a full walkthrough of this process, check this guide.
Really glad it worked out! Quick tip for anyone who finds this thread later: if your external drive shows empty folders but space is still used – stop, don’t repair anything, run a read-only scan first. That one step is usually the difference between a stressful afternoon and a disaster.
For a full walkthrough of this process, check this guide.
Quote from bryan on March 31, 2026, 9:13 pmAlso backup your stuff, people. I say this as someone who also does not back up their stuff.
Also backup your stuff, people. I say this as someone who also does not back up their stuff.