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How to recover missing files from APFS external HDD after updating macOS?

On macOS Big Sur I formatted my external HDD and made two partitions(one of them ExFAT, the other one APFS). then I put different data in each partition, after upgrading to Monterey when I plug in my HDD, both partitions appeared, as usual, all the data on the ExFAT partition is ok and fine but the data in the APFS partition is not visible, I checked the utility disk and I can see there are used space it means my data is still in the drive but when I open the folder there is nothing there. Great. One of the drives I recovered correctly is HFS+ and have migrated that data over to a new drive. The second however the data is on an APFS partition, and recovering that from what I see has been impossible so I am hoping someone can help.

Best Answered by

Amanda Wong

Answered on Tuesday, August 27, 2024

To be clear, updating macOS shouldn't delete anything on your Mac. But quite a few Mac users are faced with the same problem when updating macOS to a newer version. Then, you can try to find the files in Finder, use iBoysoft Data Recovery, restore files with Time Machine backup, etc.

It is always recommended to keep your Mac updated to date so that your computer can run at peak performance with the latest software and security protections. However, it troubles some Mac users that Mac updating deletes data even on the latest macOS Ventura.

When such a problem occurs, the reason behind it could be the unsuccessful or interrupted macOS installation, insufficient disk space on the target drive, untrusted download from the third-party website, and so forth. Then, apply the fixes below to recover the missing files on the APFS partition:

Fix 1. Check all folders on Mac through Go To Folder

Fix 2. Run iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac

Fix 3. Recover lost data via Time Machine backup

Fix 4. Restore all files on your Mac with iCloud backup

Fix 5. Log into a different administrator account to restore the missing files

Fix 6. Recover lost data from APFS Snapshot

Fix 7. Recover lost data by asking for a data recovery pro