Oh man, I’ve been there. Losing important work notes can feel like a disaster. Don’t worry, there are several ways you can try to recover them. Here’s a step-by-step rundown.
First, check the “Recently Deleted” folder in the Notes app itself. This is the easiest and quickest way. Apple keeps deleted notes there for up to 30 days before erasing them permanently. Here’s how you do it:
- Open the Notes app on your Mac.
- Look for a folder named “Recently Deleted” in the sidebar.
- If you find your notes there, you can move them back to a regular folder by selecting the note and clicking “Move to…” or just drag them to another folder.
If the “Recently Deleted” folder doesn’t have your notes or it’s been more than 30 days, don’t fret just yet. There are other methods.
Method 2: Time Machine Backup
If you use Time Machine to back up your Mac, you could restore your deleted notes from there. Here’s the process:
- Connect your Time Machine backup drive to your Mac.
- Open the folder where your notes were stored.
- Launch Time Machine by clicking on the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and selecting “Enter Time Machine”.
- Navigate back to a date before you deleted the notes.
- Find your notes and click “Restore”.
Method 3: iCloud.com
Sometimes, your notes might be synced with iCloud, which can be another recovery option:
- Go to iCloud.com and log in with your Apple ID.
- Click on the Notes app.
- Check the “Recently Deleted” folder there as well.
- If you find your notes, you can move them back to a different folder.
Method 4: Third-party Recovery Software
Ok, if all the above options fail, it’s time to bring in the big guns. Disk Drill
is data recovery software that can help you recover deleted files, including notes. I’ve used it a couple of times, and it’s pretty straightforward.
- Download Disk Drill from this URL: Disk Drill Data Recovery Software.
- Install and open the app on your Mac.
- Select the drive where your notes were stored.
- Run a scan for deleted files.
- Review the scan results, find your notes, and recover them.
Disk Drill is quite powerful and can dig deep to find files that other methods might miss. Just a heads-up, make sure you don’t install the recovery software on the same drive where your notes were stored to avoid overwriting them.
Method 5: Check Email Attachments
If you’ve ever emailed those notes to yourself or someone else, look through your email sent and received folders for potential attachments.
Final Thoughts
Act quickly. The longer you wait, the higher the risk that your deleted notes might get overwritten by new data being written to your drive. If nothing works, Disk Drill is likely your best bet as it’s specifically designed to retrieve lost files effectively.
Hope you get your notes back and can finish your project. Good luck!