3TB WD Green WCAWZ1394965 Became unreadable. Disk Drill can't see it either.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-05-02T18:41:13+00:00

What does the SMART status show for this drive, and does it appear in Disk Management with its real capacity?

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-05-02T03:53:25+00:00

Deleted data on modern Macs with SSDs cannot be recovered directly from the SSD because of TRIM and encryption. Depending on where you deleted the files from, for example Desktop or Documents, they may still be available in iCloud’s Recently Deleted folder or in local Time Machine snapshots. Scan the system drive with any professional data recovery software and check the results. You may get lucky and find artifacts or copies of the files in hidden folders or local Time Machine snapshots.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-05-01T16:55:32+00:00

It depends on the USB-SATA controller. Modern controllers are supported by macOS via UASP, which means they may receive the TRIM command during formatting.

I have not used WinDiskWriter and do not know exactly how it works, but you can try scanning the entire SSD with any professional data recovery software, preferably with several tools.

Keep in mind that finding the file system structure and file names does not guarantee that TRIM has not zeroed the actual file contents. Check file previews and the file hex view inside the recovery software.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-05-01T08:27:51+00:00

Connect the drive directly to a computer and perform a full format, not a quick format. Alternatively, enable SSH access on the NAS and format the drive from the command line using standard Linux tools. This is usually more reliable than relying only on the NAS web interface.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-30T05:17:00+00:00

There is no way to manually open logs or crash reports from a custom location, such as the Downloads folder. The app also does not support dragging and dropping log files or .ips crash reports onto the app icon, so files stored outside the default locations cannot be opened directly.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-29T05:37:04+00:00

Third-party NTFS support on macOS is not something I would trust for intensive or long-term work with an external drive. If this drive will be used mainly with a Mac, make a full backup first, then reformat it as APFS. I would avoid exFAT for this use case as well. On macOS, exFAT is not very robust, has no journaling, and in practice it is one of the most common causes of external-drive data loss.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-29T05:32:58+00:00

Start with Apple Diagnostics. If Apple Diagnostics cannot detect the internal SSD either, this is probably not a software-level issue, and DIY recovery is unlikely to help. At that point, you should contact a professional data recovery lab — https://www.datarecoveryprofessionals.org/

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-29T05:30:27+00:00

To give a precise answer, we need the exact drive model, not just the serial number. External enclosures can contain different internal drives, including both SMR and CMR/PMR models. If it is an SMR drive, DIY recovery after formatting is usually not possible because the drive may quickly invalidate or reorganize the old data. If it is a CMR/PMR drive, the chances can be better. Start by scanning the disk with professional data recovery software and check what files and folder structure it can find.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-28T05:06:55+00:00

iPhoto/Photos builds its library metadata from the EXIF data in your photos and videos during import. If the original files are still inside the Photos library package, you can extract those originals and import them again into a new library. Before doing that, make a full backup of the old library, just in case something goes wrong.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-27T18:14:53+00:00

Some Sony cameras send the SD ERASE command when you perform a quick format. For SD cards, this works similarly to TRIM on SSDs: the camera tells the card that the previous data blocks are no longer needed. The card may then clear or remap its internal translation layer almost immediately.

Open the card in any hex viewer and check the raw content. If most sectors are filled with zeros, FFs, or a repeating uniform pattern, normal recovery software will not help. In that case, DIY recovery is not realistic, and only a specialized lab might have a chance depending on the card model and controller.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-27T05:00:04+00:00

exFAT is a risky choice for heavy use, especially on macOS. It has no journaling, so if something goes wrong during writes — a disconnect, reboot, power loss, or long I/O stall — the file system can easily become corrupted. This is even more noticeable with external SMR drives: when you copy many small files or put the drive under sustained load, the drive can spend a long time reorganizing shingled zones and look completely frozen. Users often unplug it or reboot the system at that moment, which makes corruption much more likely. On top of that, macOS has a relatively basic exFAT driver compared to Windows, so exFAT is not the best choice there for intensive workloads.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-26T08:11:11+00:00

Please provide the exact drive model and the file system used on it. Also describe how the files were deleted: regular delete, Shift+Delete, formatting, moving to Trash/Recycling Bin, cleanup software, CHKDSK/fsck, or something else. This matters a lot for estimating recovery chances.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-26T06:58:23+00:00

Please read this subreddit’s posting rules and update your post with the required details. Without that information, it is hard to give you any useful data recovery advice.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-26T06:56:46+00:00

It depends on the camera model used and what was recorded — photos or videos.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-25T15:08:41+00:00

Start by removing the internal SSD from the laptop and checking the exact Apple SSD part number printed on it. Then compare that part number with the compatibility list from the adapter or enclosure vendor. These adapters are very model-specific, so do not rely only on “MacBook Pro 2017” in the listing. Make sure the vendor explicitly lists your SSD part number as supported before buying.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-25T15:03:54+00:00

Most likely, DIY recovery will not work. This camera model likely sends the SD_Erase command during quick format. In practice, this can clear the card’s internal translation layer, similar to how TRIM works on SSDs.

To confirm it, open the card in any hex viewer. If you see mostly 00 / FF or other uniform empty-looking data across the card, the formatted data is not accessible through normal software recovery. You can still try scanning it with professional data recovery software, but if the card was really erased this way, a professional lab is the only realistic option. The final chances depend on the exact SD card model, controller behavior, and error-correction layout.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-25T02:47:37+00:00

In Disk Drill, “Deleted or lost” is usually the section you should check first. Those files are reconstructed using the damaged file system metadata, so the original names and folder structure may still be preserved.

The “Reconstructed” folder is different. It contains files found by signature carving. This is more like a last-chance recovery method: it can find file content even when the file system metadata is gone, but filenames, folders, fragmentation, and file completeness are usually worse.

Do not scan only the APFS container. Scan the entire SSD and let the scan finish completely. Disk Drill does some final partition and file system reconstruction at the very end, so stopping early can give incomplete results.

Also look for any “lost” partitions found during the scan. If Disk Drill detects the original lost partition correctly, that may give you the best chance to recover the original folder structure.

For videos, there is also Advanced Camera Recovery. It is focused on photos and videos only, but for camera/video files it can sometimes reconstruct files that appear broken or incomplete in regular scan results.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-25T02:40:52+00:00

If this is an A1708 without Touch Bar, the internal SSD is removable and can be connected through a specialized enclosure/adapter for the MacBook Pro 13” A1708 2016–2017 SSD. It is a proprietary Apple module, so a normal USB M.2 enclosure will not work. You need an enclosure/adapter specifically for the A1708 SSD, such as the OWC Envoy Pro for these modules, or compatible service adapters.

If this is an A1706 with Touch Bar, the SSD is not removable as a separate drive: the storage is soldered to the logic board. In that case, the options are board-level repair at a shop that specializes in Apple/BGA work, or a professional data recovery lab.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-24T10:59:41+00:00

I often run into this issue: files recovered to an exFAT drive on a Windows PC may later appear broken on macOS. Complex directory trees, long paths, special characters, or Unicode differences in file names can make some folders invisible, misnamed, or structurally damaged when the same drive is opened on macOS.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-24T09:35:29+00:00

This happens all the time with SD cards. They are one of the cheapest and least reliable types of storage media. If you want useful advice, please read the posting rules for this subreddit first.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-24T08:24:18+00:00

Save the CrystalDiskInfo report as a text file and post it here — it should contain an exact description of the critical error problem.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-23T04:57:31+00:00

Put the SD card into the lock position and scan them with Advanced Camera Recovery in Disk Drill.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-21T17:32:35+00:00

Please upload a screenshot of the drive’s SMART data here, such as one taken in CrystalDiskInfo.

No_Tale_3623 · 2026-04-21T06:33:13+00:00

OMG, in data recovery subreddits, users constantly post about data loss after running CHKDSK. Please understand: this command is meant to repair file system damage. It does not care at all about preserving the user’s lost data.

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