Recover Overwritten Files on Mac

Overwriting a file is easy, unfortunately. It happens to us all. But if you’ve overwritten (or replaced) a file and regret it, don’t worry! You can often get back replaced files on Mac.

If you’ve accidentally deleted a file, you’ll be glad to know that you can also recover deleted files on Macs.

In this article, I’ll explain what an overwritten file is, and a few ways you can retrieve overwritten files on your Mac.

Before we start:

Sometimes, we all need extra help with our Macs. But if you don’t know an Apple expert, it’s hard to know where to turn. That’s why MacKeeper’s Premium Services are here. Whether you’re trying to recover an overwritten file, needing to repair a software issue, or struggling to connect your MacBook to your printer, the team at MacKeeper can support you with any tech problem, whether it’s day or night.

How to access MacKeeper’s Premium Services:

1. Download MacKeeper and follow the on-screen instructions to install and activate it.
2. Open MacKeeper.
3. Choose Premium Services from the sidebar.
4. Click Chat Now to connect with a tech expert.

What is overwritten file on Mac

Every file on your Mac needs to have a unique name. A file’s full name includes the file path, which is the combination of folders where a file is stored. So, basically, you can’t have more than one file with the same name in one folder.

If you try to give a file a name that’s already in use, you’ll see a message asking you to rename the current file or overwrite the existing file. If you choose to overwrite the existing file, the previous file will be replaced with your current file. This is an overwritten file on your Mac.

However, overwriting a file doesn’t mean that the previous file is lost forever.

How to recover replaced files on Mac

There are a few different ways that you can restore replaced files on your Mac. Depending on your circumstances, you might find that some methods don’t work for you. But, with several different solutions to try, there should be something to help most Mac users.

If you’ve accidentally deleted your files and need to retrieve them, find out how to recover emptied trash on Mac.

You can recover overwritten files on Mac in a few different ways:

1. Restore overwritten files with Time Machine
2. Recover overwritten files on Mac from a cloud backup
3. Get back overwritten files on Mac with a built-in backup feature–if the app in question includes this
4. Try to use third-party software to restore your files

If these ideas all sound a bit daunting, you don’t have to go through them alone.

Important: 

When I have a tech issue, I like to know that there’s someone who can help me solve the problem. If you’re anything like me, you can contact a team of Apple experts through using MacKeeper’s Premium Services. Whether you want to retrieve overwritten files, need to fix corrupted files on Mac, or have any other issue, MacKeeper’s team can support you.

To access help using MacKeeper’s Premium Services:

1. Open MacKeeper and choose Premium Services from the sidebar.
2. Click Chat Now to start a conversation with a Mac expert.

1. Restore overwritten files with Time Machine

Time Machine is Apple’s in-built backup feature. If you have it set up on your Mac, it creates regular backups and allows you to retrieve overwritten files on your Mac simply by choosing a date before you replace the file.

To restore replaced files on Mac with Time Machine:

1. In Finder, open the folder where your file was.
2. In the menu bar, click the Time Machine icon and choose Browse Time Machine Backups.
3. Scroll through the available backups, find an appropriate one, then click Restore.

2. Recover overwritten files on Mac from cloud backup

If you use a cloud backup, such as iCloud or Dropbox, you might be able to access your file there.

If you uploaded the original file to your cloud storage and didn’t overwrite it there, simply download it.

However, if it’s also replaced on your cloud backup, you may still be able to retrieve it. Some cloud backups keep their own version history.

Log in to your account and navigate to your file. Check if there’s a version history–if so, choose a version from before it was replaced.

If you’ve edited the document on iCloud, you can access a version history easily.

How to recover an overwritten file on Mac from iCloud:

1. Open the file in iCloud, and click menu (three dots) > Browse All Versions.
2. Select the version you want to restore and choose Restore.

Our expert’s tip:

iCloud doesn’t include a version history for all file types, only those you edit in iCloud. This means you might only be able to access your original file if you uploaded it manually. If you have Desktop and Documents automatically set to sync with iCloud, your file will have been replaced there, too.

3. Get back overwritten files on Mac with a built-in backup feature (if your app includes it)

Some apps let you restore replaced files on Mac. For example, Pages, Apple’s built-in word processor, offers a version history–simply choose an older version of your document, and you can retrieve your original file. However, this only works if you’ve made and edited your file in Pages.

To get back overwritten files on Mac using Pages:

1. With the file open in Pages, go to File > Revert To > Browse All Versions.
2. Scroll through the versions available, and choose Restore.

You may be able to use a similar option in other apps to get back replaced files on your Mac.

4. Try to use third-party software

You might not be able to use the previous methods to get replaced files back on your Mac.

However, you might be able to find third-party data recovery software that helps you get back replaced files on your Mac.

Even though it appears as though your original file has been removed and replaced with the new one, it actually hasn’t. When you overwrite a file, macOS knows it can use that storage space for something else in the future–but until it does, the data from your original file is still there. It’s just hard to access.

That’s why some third-party data recovery apps are able to bring back the original file–they search for all recoverable files.

How to recover overwritten files on Mac external hard drive

The steps I’ve explained above are helpful if you’re trying to restore replaced files on your Mac itself. But what if you’ve overwritten files on an external hard drive?

You may be able to get back replaced files on your Mac external hard drive by using an app’s built-in backup system or third-party recovery software. However, it’s not always possible to recover overwritten files on an external drive. If the space where they were stored has been used for new data, your original files may be unrecoverable.

Ways to retrieve overwritten files on Mac external hard drives:

• Use third-party software
• Use an app’s built-in backup system
• If your external drive is included in your Time Machine backups, access the file from there
• If the original file is available on your Mac or elsewhere, access it from there

Conclusion

If you’ve accidentally overwritten a file or folder on your Mac, you might be panicking. But don’t worry–there are solutions.

If you regularly back up your files using cloud storage or Time Machine, the solution is easy. But even if you don’t, you can see if the app you used to create your files has an in-built backup system or download a third-party app to restore the files. And, of course, if you don’t regularly back up your files, consider this event a prompt to start!

But if you’re struggling to fix the problem, don’t worry. The team at MacKeeper can help you. MacKeeper’s Premium Services can offer support with any tech issue, big or small.