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I emptied my Trash on my Mac Mini Pro2. I need one of the .mov files back to use in Final Cut Pro.

H

Hilton P

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 19, 2011
4
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Hi All,
I deleted a .mov file and emptied the trash can, as I had used the file in Final Cut Pro (FCP).

Being new to FCP I thought FCP would keep a copy of the edited .mov

So I deleted the original file.

Then going back in FCP, the project is showing that the file is not available.

Would anyone be able to provide me with some information on how I can recover this file.

I do not use Time Machine, but will do so in future.

Many thanks

Hilton
 
Once the Trash is emptied, the space used by a particular file is available for overwriting. The longer you use your machine, the greater the chance of having that file overwritten. So try recovering as soon as you can. Don't use your machine for anything else until you've tried recovering. There are plenty of apps that claim to recover files deleted from trash etc. Search the App Store for something like "recover lost files", "undelete" or something similar.
Also do a web search for "macOS file recovery" or something similar. You'll find a number of file recovery tools there as well.
While you're doing that buy an external drive, better to get two. I like the Western Digital Elements external hard drives for TimeMachine. Get either the 4TB or 6TB drives. If you get two, you can set up TM to automatically alternate between each of them for a bit more security. Install the drives and startup TM as soon as you can after trying to recover your lost file.
 
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This is why you make sure to have backups.

If you sync your documents, desktop, etc. to iCloud and the document had time to synchronise, it may be retrievable from the "Recently Deleted" folder in iCloud files for maybe 30 days?

If you use neither Time Machine or iCloud or some other sync service... well, the computer did what you told it to do and got rid of your files...

e.g.

Screenshot 2024-12-08 at 4.36.43 pm.png
 
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Considering that...
- all modern Macs have SSDs
and
- there's a basic level of encryption that I believe is native to Mac SSDs

... my GUESS is that you're NOT "getting that file back" without a backup. It's gone.

I don't use iCloud, so can't answer as to thro's comments in reply 3 above.

Might be time to learn about "backing up to an external drive".
It's NOT difficult.
 
I know a lot of people are resistant to iCloud (as was I), but if you work with multiple devices and also want to have care-free backups of some form... it is very much worth it.

It has saved my butt with unexpected password failure-wipe of my iPad (was back up and running in 30 minutes), it enables me to just move to a different device if one is flat or unavailable, etc.
 
Hilton P said:
Hi All,
I deleted a .mov file and emptied the trash can, as I had used the file in Final Cut Pro (FCP).

Being new to FCP I thought FCP would keep a copy of the edited .mov

So I deleted the original file.

Then going back in FCP, the project is showing that the file is not available.

Would anyone be able to provide me with some information on how I can recover this file.

I do not use Time Machine, but will do so in future.

Many thanks

Hilton
Click to expand...
What version macOS are you using? If you have FileVault turned on, you'll just need to grant "Full Disk Access" to the recovery software -- encryption won't be a problem from inside macOS. So ignore the comment above about that. Don't shut down or restart if you haven't already.

Wondershare Recoverit might be a good option, but I don't speak from experience. It's an Apple-friendly Chinese company that's been around for a long time. I see it already supports Sequoia, which is a good sign. There's a free version you can start with.
 
throAU said:
I know a lot of people are resistant to iCloud (as was I), but if you work with multiple devices and also want to have care-free backups of some form... it is very much worth it.

It has saved my butt with unexpected password failure-wipe of my iPad (was back up and running in 30 minutes), it enables me to just move to a different device if one is flat or unavailable, etc.
Click to expand...

The alternative is own your own cloud by owning one of the NAS boxes like Synology and opting to use that shared cloud space instead of the rental space offered by Apple. All rent vs. own concepts apply.

I keep my iCloud use to the free 5GB but I have all the cloud space I could ever want in a Synology with a monthly rent to use it at $0. And if I opt to cease using the cloud for anything for ANY amont of time, my files stored there now are not deleted. They just live on there until I decide what I want to do with them as an owner (vs. a renter) should be able to do.

IMO: OP needs/needed the 3-2-1 strategy of backups and the free Time Machine could have saved this day. If there are no backups available, perhaps some recovery service could recover the trashed file if it has not been overwritten already. Else, if OP still has the original RAW video shot, this may be a re-edit project to get it back to how it was and what OP wants to recover.

I backup my RAW video captures more than once as well as my edited/finalized videos more than once... with multiple backups both onsite and off to minimize risk of loss in fire/flood/theft scenarios that can take out all copies stored in one location. Video is often precious to us and deserves great care to not be permanently lost in very real scenarios that can cause unfortunate losses to occur.
 
adrianlondon said:
I'm not 100% sure if time machine does anything if it hasn't been activated, but maybe it still keeps local copies?

Most likely not, but worth a quick check:

About Time Machine local snapshots – Apple Support (UK)

Time Machine lets you restore files from local snapshots of the files on your Mac, even when your Time Machine backup disc isn't available.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
Click to expand...

I think you have to have configured Time Machine before you get Time Machine local backups - they're local backups that are pushed to your Time Machine drive when it is available.

I don't think they get created if you've never enabled Time Machine.
 
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HDFan said:
Note that iCloud is not a backup service and doesn't count in the recommended 3-2-1 backup plan.
Click to expand...
sure. but it is better than zero backups, requires zero additional hardware and mostly “just works”.

i’d suggest both file sync (either icloud, roll your own or both) plus something like time machine, carbon copy cloner or backblaze (or combination) but something is definitely better than nothing.

people are generally lazy with backups and icloud sync also enables you to carry on with another device if one device breaks or gets lost. e.g. in a pinch i can connect the keyboard case to my ipad and so most of the stuff i can do on my mac if it is updating, broken or elsewhere.


myself? i run icloud, time machine (encrypted disk left at work in case home burns down) and a nas.
 
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