Official Ways to Recover Deleted Home Folder on a Mac [Step-by-Step Tutorial]

If you deleted the home folder on your Mac by mistake, don't worry! This post will introduce a full guide on recovering deleted home folder on a Mac.

What Happens if I Deleted the Home Folder

What is the home folder on a Mac? The home folder's name is your Mac's user name, and it stores your desktop files, downloads, pictures, documents, movies, music, and any public files. The icon for your Mac home folder looks like a house when you log in to your user account. If several users are set up on a Mac, each user will create a home folder on the Mac.

Select "Delete the home folder > Delete User". The user information is deleted to free up your Mac storage space. Therefore, deleting your home folder will cause the user folder files to be lost, including your desktop files, downloads, documents, etc. Can the deleted home folder be recovered? The answer is YES; you can recover deleted folders on a Mac! Read on to learn how to recover the deleted home folder on a Mac in effective ways.

How to Recover Deleted Home Folder on Mac Using Software

The fastest and most direct way is to turn to Mac data recovery software when you face the risk of data loss. If you have backups, of course, you can certainly restore Mac from Time Machine or other backups, but if you're not sure if your backup solution will work, don't try it again and again, or even store the data on the hard disk where it was lost - this can cause permanent data loss!

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is one of the most popular Mac file recovery tools that helps users recover permanently deleted files quickly and safely. Without any technical background, you can easily recover your accidentally deleted files based on the instructions here:

Step 1. Search for lost files

Select the disk location to search for lost files (it can be an internal HDD/SSD or a removable storage device) on macOS Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, and the latest Sonoma. Click the "Search for lost files" button.

Step 2. Go through the scanning results

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will immediately scan your selected disk volume and display the scanning results.

Step 3. Select the file(s) and recover

In the scan results, select the file(s) to preview and click the "Recover" button to have them back.

This is definitely the easiest and most direct way to recover deleted files on a Mac. If this post is informative, share it on your SNS to help others learn how to recover a deleted home folder on a Mac.

How to Restore the Deleted Mac Home Folder from a Disk Image

source from: Support.Apple.com

Backup data frequently can be a great habit and helps avoid most data loss scenarios in your daily life. Restoring the deleted home folder on a Mac from a disk image works only if you saved the home folder as a disk image before. Here are the detailed steps you can refer to:

Step 1. Choose "Go > Go to Folder" in the Finder menu.

Step 2. Enter /Users/Deleted Users, then click "Go".

Step 3. Open the disk image file for the deleted home folder. The contents of the home folder appear in a new window, and the disk image appears on the Desktop.

Step 4. Choose "File > New Finder Window" and open the Users folder.

Step 5. Press and hold the "Option" key while dragging the disk image icon for the deleted user from the Mac Desktop into the Users folder.

The Users folder opens in the Finder and shows user accounts. On the right is a disk image of a deleted user account, and an arrow shows that you can drag the disk image into the Users folder to restore a deleted user account. Enter an administrator name and password to proceed, and the deleted user's home folder will be copied to the Users folder. Then, follow the steps below:

Step 1. Choose Apple menu > "System Settings", then click "Users & Groups" in the sidebar.

Step 2. Click the "Add User" button below the list of users on the right.

Step 3. Click the "New User" pop-up menu, then choose a type of user.

Step 4. Verify all user information, and click "Create User".

Conclusion

This post introduces what a home folder is, what happens when a user deletes the home folder, and how to recover a deleted home folder on a Mac using a Mac data recovery tool or a disk image. Restoring the deleted home folder on a Mac from a disk image works only if you saved the home folder as a disk image before. Download reliable EaseUS data recovery software, and data loss will be a thing of the past!

Recover Deleted Home Folder on Mac FAQs

Here are questions people frequently ask when they search for how to restore deleted home folders on a Mac; take a look if needed!

How do I Restore the home folder on my Mac?

You can recover the deleted home folder on a Mac from a disk image:

1. Choose "Go > Go to Folder" in the Finder menu, and enter /Users/Deleted Users, then click "Go".
2. Open the disk image file for the deleted home folder. The contents of the home folder appear in a new window, and the disk image appears on the Desktop.
3. Choose "File > New Finder Window" and open the Users folder.
4. Press and hold the "Option" key while dragging the disk image icon for the deleted user from the Mac Desktop into the Users folder.

What happens if I delete the home folder on Mac?

Select "Delete the home folder > Delete User". The user information is deleted to free up your Mac storage space. Therefore, deleting your home folder will cause the user folder files to be lost, including your desktop files, downloads, documents, etc.

How do I recover a folder I accidentally deleted on Mac?

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac helps recover a folder accidentally deleted on a Mac. Here are the steps:

1. Select the hard drive location where your deleted folder was stored before, and click the "Search for lost files" button.
2. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will immediately scan your selected disk volume and display the scanning results.
3. In the scan results, select the file(s) to preview and click the "Recover" button to have them back.