[Updated 2023] How To Restore Replaced/Overwritten Files On Mac

If you are a content creator or any other workable person and you are constantly dealing with multiple project files, and sometimes a project might contain somewhere between 100 and 200 files, a mix between numerous files that translates to inevitable duplicate file names, it feels so frustrating.

It also feels so annoying when if the occasional accidental wrong file replacement as much as you tried to be careful you have more than one instance where I would overwrite a file by accident.

However, overwriting a file on a Mac doesn’t necessarily mean that you have deleted the original one. Hitting the replace button when pasting deletes the file’s name and thumbnail, but the actual data that the file contains is stored on the drive for a while, which means that there is still time and a chance to bring it back.

What You Will Learn

How to recover your overwritten files on Mac

Overwriting a file does not mean it is permanently lost; you can still replace it using these three simple methods.

Method 1: Recover Overwritten files by Time Machine

Mac OS allows you to roll back with a built-in tool called Time Machine.

If you have enabled this tool before overwriting files on Mac then you can successfully recover your lost data.

Steps to recover lost data

To do this, open the folder where the overwritten files were located in the file system.

Open the time machine by clicking on the icon in the upper menu bar.

Now choose “Enter Time Machine”.

Use the up arrow to travel back to a time before the file was replaced and locate the file.

Now click on restore and select which file you want to keep: Keep both or replace.

Now click on restore and select which file you want to keep: Keep both or replace.

That’s it.

With the Time Machine tool, you can easily restore your file within a few seconds.

Method 2: restore files with Tenorshare 4DDig

If you haven’t enabled Time Machine on your Mac before overwriting a file, you can try a third-party data recovery tool called Tenorshare 4DDig. Tenorshare 4DDig can scan any disk and partition to detect damaged or deleted data and recover data and lost files. It is professional data recovery software.

You may rely on the 4DDig mac data recovery program to recover your data even without a backup after an accidentally deleted it, a system crash, disc damage, a virus attack, etc., in addition to recovering overwritten files.

Steps to recover overwritten files through 4DDig

Simple download and install on your mac 4DDig software.
Now lunch this software after installation.

As you can see 4DDig enables you to recover from your local hard drives, external hard drives, trash as well as crashed systems.
Select the location where you overwrote your files and click scan to proceed.

Select the location where you overwrote your files and click scan to proceed

It takes time to scan all lost data from the selected location depending on your data size.
After scanning is complete select the file that you want to recover and click on recover.

select the file that you want to recover

That’s it.

Method 3: Through Disk Drill

There is another simple solution through which you can recover a lost file or overwritten files, which is called disk Drill. Disk Drill can scan all your data to detect damaged or deleted data and recover lost files. The app provides various valuable features like Monitoring, Data protection, and data backup.

Steps to recover overwritten files

Download the tool here is the link.
Once the app is downloaded install the app and launch it.
After lunch, it performs initial mapping and scanning of a system, after which the Disk Drill is ready to use.

After lunch, it performs initial mapping and scanning of a system

Now select the file where the file was overwritten and now click on the scan.

The app will scan and display corrupted and deleted files in a series of dropdown menus that will narrow down the results for you.

The app will scan and display corrupted and deleted files

If you want to do a quick search in the search bar.

If you want to do a quick search in the search bar

Choose a folder in which to save the restored files. To avoid file corruption, do not utilize the original location.

Choose a folder in which to save the restored files.

When you click Recover, the selected files will be restored to the place you choose.

Method 4: Recover overwritten files using iCloud backup

If you do not want to use the above ways to recover your overwritten files then the best option is an iCloud backup. iCloud can store data for up to 30 days you can easily restore your overwritten file through it within 30 days.

Steps to recover your overwritten file through an iCloud backup

Simply go to your iCloud account at iCloud.com.
Now login to your account.
The next step is to click on the setting option.
Click Restore Files under the Advanced tab in the bottom-left corner.
Find the files you wish to recover and choose the checkboxes to the left of their names. You may also select Select All to restore everything from the backup.
Now click on restore files.

Method 5: Recover overwritten files through iBoysoft

iBoysoft is a data security, disk management efficiency,, and productivity improvement software that provides simple yet efficient and effective solutions for individuals and businesses worldwide with advanced technologies the best part about this software is that you don’t need any backup.

Steps for using iboysoft

I will show to how to recover your lost file through this software

Download the software from their official website
Now install the software and run it
Click Scan to begin searching for your lost files in the specific folder listed on the left.
You will get the list of all lost files and now click on recover to recover the files which you lost.
That’s it.

Conclusion

If you’re wondering where the overwritten or replaced files went, the answer is that depending on the macOS you’re using, the size, and the type of the files, the overwritten data might stay in different places after you click the replace file’ button. What macOS is destroying is a pointer to your data rather than the actual substance. As a result, you may easily retrieve your files by using viable methods such as backups and data recovery software.