How to recover a deleted file on Mac OS X?

Question

We have tried Boomerang but it does not find the deleted file. The file was deleted 3 days ago. I would think it is recoverable, but Boomerang does not show it.

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

PhotoRec is the best tool I've found for recovering files. It does have some baffling limitations however, like the fact that it can't recover .dmg files. It's a command line program but still very easy to use. And it's free :)

This step-by-step guide on their wiki makes it even easier.

Answer 2

I use Data Rescue software for when there isn't a backup. It's not scammy, it does the job (very well IMO), and doesn't damage drives like some other tools will do.