Recover Disappeared or Missing Desktop Files from Mac

Usually, files are saved on the desktop so that they can be quickly accessed. Sometimes these files can disappear from the desktop without the knowledge of the user. This article sheds light on the various ways to recover the disappeared files from Mac.

Why do Files Disappear from the Desktop on Mac?

• The files on the desktop could be hidden from the user
• The files might have been moved to the iCloud drive. Especially if the user has enabled desktop folders to be saved on iCloud
• Accidentally deleting the files from the desktop or misplacing them
• Virus infections to the computer could have deleted files on the desktop

How to get back the Missing Files from Desktop

Normally when files exist on the desktop we try to save them temporarily in a different location and forget about them. Sometimes you might have enabled the Stack option that might have categorized your files. Click here to find out if your desktop files are stacked and categorized.

If you have verified all the probable storage locations and confirmed that the files on the Mac desktop have disappeared, here are the troubleshooting steps that you can try to find and recover the missing file from Mac.

Recover Missing Files from Trash

There are times when you have unknowingly deleted a certain file from the desktop. These deleted files are generally moved to the Trash folder by default. Hence the first thing you could when files go missing is to check for the files in Trash. Follow the below steps to recover the files from trash on Mac

• Open the Trash folder, look out for the file that you have lost
• In case you find a large number of files on the drive, type the name of the file in the search box for easy access
• Once you find the file, right-click on the file Put Back from the pop-up

Retrieve Files by Disabling iCloud

An iCloud Drive is a wonderful option on macOS that allows the user to save data on the drive and access them from any Apple device. If you have synced the files on the desktop to iCloud, the respective files will be copied to the cloud storage and the desktop files or copy is removed.

If the files and folders on your desktop are missing, chances are that these files could be moved to iCloud. You can log in to your iCloud account and access the files. Also, you can disable the feature of automatic removal

1. Click on the Apple menu and select System Preferences
2. Now, select iCloud and press the Options button
3. Next, uncheck Desktop & Documents Folders and click Done.

Unhide Missing Files using Finder

When the desktop files disappear from the computer you can always check to see if the files are hidden. By unhiding the files on your Mac you can access and use the disappeared desktop files. Here is how you can unhide files on macOS

1. Open Finder and select Macintosh HD folder
2. Now, press Command+Shift+Dot
3. Once done, your hidden files will be visible

Access the Missing Files through Stack

The Stack feature is available on Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, and other versions of macOS. It allows you to organize the files according to their file type. If the Stack feature is enabled on macOS, chances are that these files are organized with respect to the category.

Once you expand the category you will be able to view the file within them. However, you can disable the Stack feature by following the below steps.

1. Select View on the top of your Desktop and check Use Stacks
2. Now, click Group Stacks By and see in what way your files were grouped
3. After finding your missing files, you can move them to your desired location

Restore Files through Time Machine Backup

Time Machine backup contains all the files and folders that the user has backed up.
Despite trying the above-mentioned steps if you are unable to find the missing or disappeared files, you can recover them from the Time Machine backup.

1. Firstly, make sure your Time Machine backup drive is connected to Mac.
2. From the top Menu bar, click on Time Machine and then select Enter Time Machine
3. Locate the disappeared Mac files from the Time Machine
4. Finally, select the required files and click on Restore.

Now, you can go back to the original location to find the recovered desktop files from the Time Machine backup.

In most cases, you can get back your missing or disappeared files after trying the above solutions. If you are unable to find the disappeared files, it might be deleted permanently from your Mac

How do I Recover Permanently Disappeared Files from Mac?

When any files are deleted permanently from the computer, the system only erases information such as date modified, size, and the file type from its registry. But the actual data on the file still remains on the disk. However, there is a way to recover this data from the drive. You can do so by using trusted data recovery software.

Files disappeared from the desktop can be difficult to find and access. These missing files cannot be directly accessed from the computer’s interface. However, an effective data recovery tool such as Remo Recover and surpass the restrictions of the computer and access the hidden data. The advanced scan engine of the tool scans the drive sector by sector to recover the disappeared files. Download and install the software for free now.

Steps to Recover Disappeared Files from Mac

Download and install the Remo Mac Data Recovery software on your computer and follow the below mentioned steps.

1. Launch the application and from the main window, select the Recover Files option
2. Next, select the Recover Lost Files option
3. Select the drive from which the lost folder has to be recovered and click on the Next tab
4. After the scanning process is completed, the list of retrieved files will be displayed
5. You can Preview the files and click on the Save button to save the recovered data

Additional information:

• Click on the link if you want to know how to recover missing files on Mac after the Catalina update
• Click on this link if you want to know how to get back iWork files