If your Mac cannot boot, the best choice to recover files from your Mac that won't boot is by applying EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac. You also can recover files with other solutions, including Time Machine backup and macOS Target Disk Mode.
If your Mac won't boot after update or encounters startup errors and keep your Mac from booting, you may need to rescue data from your unbootable Mac. Some users may think retrieving data from a dead/unbootable Mac is impossible. Actually, even new Mac users can recover data from a Mac that won't.
In the following parts, we will introduce six ways to recover files from Mac that won't boot. If you are looking for the easiest and fastest way, you can get what you want in the next part.
When encountering Mac issues, seeking a professional tool will never be the wrong choice. Are there any programs that can help you recover files from Mac that won't boot? Yes! When your Mac fails to boot, you cannot download recovery software and recover deleted files Mac normally. You need a portable data recovery tool - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.
What can you do with this functional recovery tool?
Let's check how to run Mac data recovery in Recovery Mode and restore the data using EaseUS Data Recovery for Mac.
First, you need to enter the Recovery Mode on Mac:
For Apple Silicon Macs:
|
For Intel-based Macs:
|
Step 1. Launch EaseUS Software in Recovery Mode
Select "Utilities > Terminal" from the top menu, and enter the command sh <(curl https://d3.easeus.com/mac/boot.sh). Hit "Return". Wait for the application to open, and it will take several minutes.
Note: If the Terminal displays either "No such file or directory" or "Could not resolve host," you should verify that the command line you entered is correctly spelled, ensure your Mac has a stable internet connection, and confirm that your macOS version is not lower than macOS 10.15.
Step 2. Select the Volume on Your Mac Hard Drive
Select the volume where your lost data is stored, and click "Search for lost files". The EaseUS software will quickly locate all the recoverable data on the selected volume.
Step 3. Choose the Lost Data You Want
EaseUS software categorizes the scanned recoverable data by file type and storage path. Find the data you want by clicking "Type" or "Path" in the left panel. Then, check the boxes in front of the data you want to recover.
Step 4. Recover and Save Data on an External Disk
Click the "Recover" button, and a pop-up window will show up saying, "Please select a target location to save". Choose the external disk as the new storage location of your recovered data.
Share this article on social media to help others learn how to recover files from a Mac that won't boot up.
There is a reliable option on macOS called Restore from Time Machine. You can restore files with a previous Mac Time Machine backup. Before the tutorial, you should connect the external hard drive which stores your Mac backups.
How to restore from Time Machine?
Step 1. You need to boot Mac into the macOS Recovery Mode. (Fix Mac won't boot into Recovery Mode by clicking this link.)
Step 2. Click "Restore from Time Machine" and continue.
Step 3. Select a previous Mac backup to restore.
Step 4. Choose the destination to restore your data and files.
Step 5. You will need to erase the disk and click "Restore".
To recover files from Mac that won't boot by creating a disk image on Mac, you will need a well-performed external hard drive with a large capacity. By the way, you should make sure your Mac disk is not damaged. Then you can try this method:
Step 1. Connect the external hard drive and boot Mac into Disk Utility.
Step 2. Select the startup disk.
Step 3. Click "File" and move your pointer to "New Image". Click "Blank Image".
Step 4. Choose a destination to save the image. Remember to select "read/write disk image" in image format.
Step 5. Then click "Save" to create a Mac disk image.
You should have another working Mac to transfer data from the Mac that won't boot, and you need to turn off the File Vault on the working Mac. This method is complex, and you can follow this tutorial to have a try.
Step 1. Connect both of your Macs with Thunderbolt.
Step 2. Turn on your Mac that won't boot with the power button and T button to use the Mac Target Disk Mode.
Step 3. Check the screen of your healthy Mac, and you will see the storage drive.
Step 4. You can recover files from this drive to your healthy Mac.
If you don't have a backup with Time Machine and using macOS after High Sierra, you can try to recover files from Mac that won't boot with APFS snapshots. We will show you how to recover files from Mac that won't boot with this method. By the way, this method cannot recover all the files on your Mac.
Step 1. Boot your Mac into Recovery Mode, and select "Restore from Time Machine".
Step 2. Select the latest APFS snapshot.
Step 3. Then you can follow the prompts to restore with a previous APFS snapshot.
If you cannot successfully recover files from your Mac that won't boot, or your Mac hard disk needs a replacement. You need to contact Apple Support to get professional help. Bring or send your Mac that won't boot to Apple Support to recover files manually.
We have some frequently asked questions and answers about recovering files from Mac that won't boot, and we hope you can learn more from the following answers.
Can I recover data from a dead Mac?
You can recover data from dead MacBook Pro or Mac by applying EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.
How do I recover files from my Mac that won't boot without the software?
There are five ways can help you recover files from Mac that won't boot without software:
How to get files off an unbootable Mac?
If your Mac cannot boot, you'd better create a bootable media with EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac and recover files.
How can I boot Mac from a USB flash drive?
You can follow the steps to boot Mac from a USB flash drive:
Related Articles
Accidentally Clicked Don't Save Excel Mac, How to Recover Unsaved Excel Files
Maxtor External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Mac [with 5 Proven Methods to Fix It]
Mac Fusion Drive Not Showing Up | Top 5 Ways
3 Ways to Fix Invalid B-tree Node Size Error and Recover Data