How to Recover Deleted Partition on Mac?

Time Machine will not normally recreate a deleted partition entry by itself. It can put the files back onto a new healthy volume, which is usually what matters.

1. Connect the Time Machine backup disk without erasing or reformatting the affected device.
2. Create a new volume on a different healthy disk if you need a destination for the restored files.
3. Open the folder where the missing files originally lived, then launch Time Machine through Spotlight.
4. Move through the backup timeline to a date before the partition disappeared.
5. Select the needed folders or files, then click Restore.
6. For a full user-account recovery, open Migration Assistant from Applications > Utilities, then choose the Time Machine option.

A volume can look deleted when its file system is damaged or macOS simply failed to mount it. First Aid may restore access, but it cannot undelete a partition entry that has truly been removed.

1. Open Disk Utility from Applications > Utilities.
2. Choose View > Show All Devices so the physical disk, containers, plus volumes are visible.
3. Look for a dimmed volume beneath the affected device. Select it, then click Mount once.
4. If it will not mount, select the volume, click First Aid, then confirm with Run.
5. Repeat First Aid upward through the storage structure, starting with the volume, then its container, then the physical device.
6. If the volume mounts, copy important files to another disk before doing further repairs.

TestDisk can search a disk for old partition boundaries, then write a recovered entry back to the partition table. A wrong selection can make the layout worse, so recover files first whenever possible.

1. Create a sector-level image of the affected disk if you have enough storage. Work from that image rather than the original when possible.
2. Download TestDisk from the official CGSecurity site, extract it, then open Terminal in its folder.
3. Run sudo ./testdisk , choose Create for the log, then select the affected physical disk.
4. Accept the detected partition-table type unless you know it is incorrect. Choose Analyse, followed by Quick Search.
5. Highlight a found partition, press P to list its files, then verify names plus folder contents. Use Deeper Search if the correct layout is absent.
6. Choose Write only if the start position, size, file listing, plus neighboring partitions match the old layout exactly. Restart the Mac afterward.

DIY scans are a poor gamble when a disk clicks, repeatedly disappears, runs extremely slowly, or contains the only copy of critical work. A recovery lab can image unstable media with equipment unavailable in normal Mac software.

1. Power off the drive or Mac. Do not keep reconnecting it to see whether it works this time.
2. Write down what happened, including any erasure, partition change, fall, liquid exposure, noises, or repair attempts.
3. Contact a lab that offers an evaluation plus a written quote before recovery begins.
4. Ask whether the lab performs the work in-house, whether opening an HDD is done in a controlled clean environment, plus how recovered data is returned.
5. Pack an external drive in an anti-static bag with firm padding. For a MacBook with soldered storage, send the whole computer if the lab requests it.
6. When the recovered files arrive, open a sample from each important folder before approving the result.