Find my Files?
October 12, 2020 12:22 PM
I have a Macbook and a ton of files are just...gone. I am despondent. Please help.
I have a Macbook and have transferred files to it from other computers through the years (starting in 2006 with my first laptop). I mean it has so much stuff on it. Or, had. I did back up some stuff on a hard drive but not what I'm looking for. Anyway. I used to have a ton of stuff on my desktop, in Word, etc. All of it is just....gone. Like it is nowhere on my computer when I look for it. My husband is looking too. Is there any any hope at all for recovering it? The Cloud? Something? I appreciate ANY AND ALL ADVICE here. Thank you so much.
I have a Macbook and have transferred files to it from other computers through the years (starting in 2006 with my first laptop). I mean it has so much stuff on it. Or, had. I did back up some stuff on a hard drive but not what I'm looking for. Anyway. I used to have a ton of stuff on my desktop, in Word, etc. All of it is just....gone. Like it is nowhere on my computer when I look for it. My husband is looking too. Is there any any hope at all for recovering it? The Cloud? Something? I appreciate ANY AND ALL ADVICE here. Thank you so much.
This exact thing happened to my dad when he accidentally signed in as a different user. (He didn't even know he had multiple user accounts set up on the laptop.)
If it turns out that's what happened to you, you might want to disable "fast user switching" so that you don't accidentally do it again.
posted by belladonna at 12:58 PM on October 12, 2020
If it turns out that's what happened to you, you might want to disable "fast user switching" so that you don't accidentally do it again.
posted by belladonna at 12:58 PM on October 12, 2020
How much disk space does the Finder tell you is left on your drive?
Unless you suddenly have a lot more free space than you used to, the data is probably still there.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:07 PM on October 12, 2020
Unless you suddenly have a lot more free space than you used to, the data is probably still there.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:07 PM on October 12, 2020
If you open Word or a program that contained a newly missing file, can you see any files in the File>Open Recent Documents menu?
posted by hydra77 at 1:33 PM on October 12, 2020
posted by hydra77 at 1:33 PM on October 12, 2020
Could the files be on an external drive or thumb drive that's not plugged in right now?
posted by wenestvedt at 1:48 PM on October 12, 2020
posted by wenestvedt at 1:48 PM on October 12, 2020
Do you have Dropbox or Google Drive installed? Could the files be there?
I am so sorry you're going through this. I lost 3 years of photos in a catastrophic hardware crash last year because I didn't think to back that folder up before troubleshooting the issue. I cried for a week.
I hope your files turn up.
posted by Kitchen Witch at 3:10 PM on October 12, 2020
I am so sorry you're going through this. I lost 3 years of photos in a catastrophic hardware crash last year because I didn't think to back that folder up before troubleshooting the issue. I cried for a week.
I hope your files turn up.
posted by Kitchen Witch at 3:10 PM on October 12, 2020
If none of the answers here solve it for you, the Genius Bar at the Apple Store will probably be able to help you.
posted by mekily at 3:54 PM on October 12, 2020
posted by mekily at 3:54 PM on October 12, 2020
Have you looked in the Trash? You could have inadvertently moved the files there.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:40 PM on October 12, 2020
posted by Thorzdad at 4:40 PM on October 12, 2020
There’s a feature that supposedly syncs your desktop and documents folder and confusingly moves them to iCloud. I remember this being very confusing to a lot of people when the feature was introduced.
If this is what happened, your files aren’t gone, they just got moved.
This article explains how to get them back.
posted by kpmcguire at 5:43 PM on October 12, 2020
If this is what happened, your files aren’t gone, they just got moved.
This article explains how to get them back.
posted by kpmcguire at 5:43 PM on October 12, 2020
Thorzdad wins! They were hiding in a random folded *in* the trash! Thanks everyone!!
posted by bookworm4125 at 4:01 PM on October 13, 2020
posted by bookworm4125 at 4:01 PM on October 13, 2020
Please buy a cheap big external USB hard drive and start running Time Machine. It would be great to get a subscription to Backblaze as well. If these files are important, it would be awesome to have a copy just in case....
posted by jenkinsEar at 6:21 PM on October 13, 2020
posted by jenkinsEar at 6:21 PM on October 13, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jonathanhughes at 12:36 PM on October 12, 2020