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Recover - Support

Help and troubleshooting for macOS and Linux. Windows support is in development.

Choose your operating system

Select your OS to jump to the right support section.

macOS Windows Linux

macOS Support

macOS Quick Start

Follow these steps to make sure Recover can scan your drive properly.

  1. Copy Recover.app into the Applications folder.
  2. Open Recover, authenticate when prompted, and click Scan disks.
  3. Go to System Settings -> Privacy & Security.
  4. Select Full Disk Access and turn on the slider next to Recover.
  5. If you see Removable Volumes, turn that on as well.
  6. Quit Recover completely and relaunch it.

Important: macOS does not apply new disk permissions to apps that are already running, so a full relaunch is required.

Disk Access & Scanning Issues

  • System disks cannot be scanned for safety and stability reasons.
  • Removable media may not appear right away. Reconnect the device if needed.
  • Admin privileges are required for disk access.
  • If scanning ends immediately or shows "Access Denied", permissions are not applied.

If Recover reports disk access errors, quit the app, verify permissions, and relaunch.

File Export & iCloud Gotchas

On macOS, Desktop and Documents are often managed by iCloud. Exporting recovered files into iCloud folders can cause:

  • Cloud warning icons
  • "Locked" labels in Finder or Preview
  • iCloud sync errors

Strong recommendation: Export to a local folder such as ~/Recovered Files/, an external drive, or any non-iCloud location.

The files are not encrypted or damaged. This is macOS and iCloud metadata behavior.

Optional tip: If a file shows as "Locked", open Finder, right-click the file, choose Get Info, and uncheck the Locked box.

Payment & Unlocking

Recover uses a one-time $10 payment. There are no subscriptions. Your unlock is tied to your Device ID and is permanent for that device.

After payment, the app checks status automatically. Unlock can take up to about 30 seconds.

Manual Unlock Support

If you paid but the app did not unlock:

  • Copy the Device ID shown in the app
  • Email support@thedatarecoverytool.com
  • Include your Device ID
  • Include the email used for payment
  • Include the approximate payment time

Manual unlocks are supported for verified payments.

Windows Support

The Windows version is in development. If you need help now, email support@thedatarecoverytool.com.

Linux Support

The Linux version is live and uses a simple command-line workflow. No installation or background services required.

Quick Start

  1. Download the Linux archive after purchase.
  2. Extract it: tar -xzf recover-linux-x86_64-1.0.0.tar.gz
  3. Make it executable:
chmod +x recover/recover
chmod +x recover/installer.sh

Get help and see all options

./recover/recover --help
./recover/installer.sh --help

Find your device

List connected block devices:

./recover/recover --list

Example: /dev/sdb

Scan and export

Scan the device (read-only):

sudo ./recover/recover scan /dev/sdb

Export recovered files:

sudo ./recover/recover export /dev/sdb -o /home/user/recovered

Common questions

  • Do I need sudo? Usually yes. Raw device access requires admin privileges.
  • Is it safe? Recover scans read-only and does not write to the device.
  • Do I need to rescan? No. Scan results are cached in ~/.cache/recover/<device>/.

Contact Information

Support Email: support@thedatarecoverytool.com

Please reach out if you are stuck, if you made a payment and need help, or if you have macOS permission issues.