5 Ways to Recover Overwritten Files on Mac [2025]

How to Recover Overwritten Files on Mac: Complete Guide

Ever erased a crucial document by accident, only to need it afterward? If it was overwritten you might wonder, “Where do replaced files go on Mac and whether it’s viable to reclaim them?” Don’t worry, though. All hope is not lost. You can still recover overwritten files on Mac under certain scenarios as this article will explain to you. This guide covers five proven methods to recover overwritten files on your Mac, along with 5 solutions that can help you reclaim them!

Part 1: Where Do Replaced Files Go On Mac?

If you’re ruminating about, “Where do replaced files go on Mac,” then, the answer is they’re temporarily removed. To put it into simpler words, when you overwrite a file with another file, the system simply updates the reference to point towards the new file. The original data remains on the storage device until it’s needed for new files.

This process is faster because updating the reference takes less time than rewriting the actual data. So, you can easily recover overwritten files on Mac for a while because it might last longer. But, on SSDs using TRIM, the data is overwritten quickly. Therefore, it’s not easily recoverable.

Part 2: How to Recover Overwritten/Replaced Files on Mac?

Many users often ask questions like ‘How to recover a replaced word document on Mac​’ on the Apple Support Community. Don’t worry—there’s still hope! If you’ve accidentally replaced a file, here’s how to recover it on Mac in 5 ways:

Way 1: Professional Data Recovery Software

If you don’t possess a backup or haven’t switched on any backup feature, then use a specialized Mac data recovery app designed to retrieve overwritten files. However, a tool is only viable if you’ve recently replaced data. An excellent option would be to pick 4DDiG Mac Data Recovery which can extract files from various data loss situations. It can reclaim files lost due to accidental deletion, formatting, overwriting, corruption, and much more. Here’s a detailed list of its functions:

• It can extract files from HDDs, SSDs, USBs, SD cards, and much more.
• It can reclaim files including audio, images, documents, videos, and so forth.
• You can inspect reclaimed files for free.
• High success rate.
• No technical background required.
• Supports both older and newer versions of macOS.

Here’s how to recover replaced files on Mac using this tool:

Step 1: Launch the overwritten files recovery tool on your computer. Then, select a location (e.g., local drives). Pick file types to scan and hit “Scan.”

Step 2: Wait for the scan to complete. Then, examine specific file types for details.

Step 3: Once you’re satisfied with the results, hit “Recover.” Next, choose a secure place to save the files. Avoid sending them to the same partition where they were replaced. You can also save the recovered files to your computer or Google Drive.

Way 2: Time Machine Backup

Time Machine, Apple’s backup software for macOS, creates incremental backups of your files and lets you retrieve their older versions. But you must’ve enabled it on your system to restore overwritten files. Here’s how to recover replaced files on Mac with Time Machine:

Step 1: Attach the device with Time Machine backup to your Mac. Then, open Finder. Next, use the Dock icon to find the folder with the overwritten file.

Step 2: Click the “Time Machine icon” in the “Menu Bar.” Next, choose “Enter Time Machine.”

Step 3: Use the timeline or arrows to find the previous file version when it wasn’t overwritten. Select the file. Then, hit “Restore.”

Way 3: Cloud Backup

You can also recover replaced file on Mac without Time Machine, if you haven’t switched on this feature but possess a cloud backup. For instance, if you’ve synced your iCloud Drive with everything present on your Mac, your data will be automatically backed up to the drive. From there, you can reclaim your replaced files anytime. Following are instructions to recover overwritten files on Mac with iCloud Drive:

Step 1: Input your credentials. Sign in to iCloud.com.

Step 2: Then, head to “Settings.” Next, tap “Restore Files” beneath the “Advanced tab.”

Step 3: Pick the files to recover or choose “Select All.” Hit “Restore Files.”

Way 4: App-Specific Recovery Feature

Wondering how to recover replaced files on Mac without Time Machine or iCloud backup? Many apps like “Apple Pages” and “Microsoft Word” on Mac have built-in version history features to reclaim overwritten files. So, if you’ve accidentally replaced file, here’s how to recover it on Mac through these two apps:

Apple Pages:

Step 1: Open the overwritten file in Apple Pages. Then, head to “File.”

Step 2: Next, choose “Revert To.” After this, tap “Browse All Versions.”

Step 3: Sort through the file versions to locate and recover the replaced file you need.

Microsoft Word:

Step 1: Open the overwritten file in Microsoft Word. Then, click its name in the title bar.

Step 2: Select “Browse Version History.” Choose the version of the replaced file you want to restore from the “Version History” sidebar.

Now you should no longer need to worry about how to recover a replaced word document on Mac,

Way 5: Data Recovery Services

In case, it has been too long since you’ve erased files and replaced them, you might not be able to recover them. If the aboved-mentioned methods fail to recover overwritten files on Mac, you’ll need to hire data recovery services. Albeit expensive, these services have the experience and tools for extracting overwritten content.

Part 3: How to Prevent File Overwriting in the Future?

Getting back replaced files on your Mac is not enough and you’ll need to take some measures to prevent losing your data to overwriting. Here’s what you can do:

1. Avoid using third-party apps to partition or erase drives as they may leak viruses into your system.
2. Save recovered files to a different storage location than where they were lost or deleted.
3. Make certain you’ve switched on a Time Machine or cloud backup.
4. Pay attention to warning messages when copying or renaming files.

Conclusion

Reclaiming overwritten files might look impossible to you but in truth, it’s not. In this post, we’ve answered all your queries related to “Where do replaced files go on Mac and how to recover replaced files on Mac?” You can recover overwritten files on Mac with the help of a Time Machine or iCloud backup, built-in app features, and Mac data recovery software. If you don’t have a backup use 4DDiG Mac Data Recovery to retrieve files even without prior preparation. It offers a high recovery rate, supports various data loss scenarios, and lets you preview files before saving them.