Apple’s Fusion Drive is a hybrid storage system combining a traditional HDD with a fast SSD, designed to optimize performance. However, if the file system becomes corrupt, important files can disappear or become inaccessible, leading to potential data loss.
This case study explores how we successfully recovered university work from a MacBook Pro Fusion Drive, where important files and folders had disappeared due to file system corruption.
As Ireland’s oldest and most experienced data recovery company, we applied APFS and HFS+ file system recovery techniques to restore the missing files.
The Challenge: Disappearing Files & Folders on a MacBook Pro Fusion Drive
A university student contacted us after their MacBook Pro suddenly lost access to important coursework. The symptoms included:
- Documents and project files missing from Finder, despite no manual deletion.
- Storage space still occupied, indicating the data was present but inaccessible.
- MacBook running slowly and freezing, especially when accessing files.
- Disk Utility showing file system errors, preventing normal repairs.
Since the Fusion Drive relies on software-based integration, file system corruption can lead to data being trapped between the SSD and HDD, making standard recovery methods ineffective.
Diagnosis & Evaluation
When the MacBook Pro Fusion Drive arrived at our cleanroom facility, we performed a full hardware and software diagnostic. Our findings:
- APFS/HFS+ corruption – The file system index was damaged, causing files to become “invisible” to macOS.
- Fusion Drive desynchronisation – The SSD and HDD were not properly communicating, leading to fragmented and misplaced files.
- Corrupt directory structure – Essential metadata linking files to their locations was damaged.
Because of macOS’s built-in encryption and Fusion Drive’s hybrid setup, we needed to manually reconstruct the file system to access lost data.
The Recovery Process
1. Separating & Cloning Both Fusion Drive Components
Since the Fusion Drive combines two physical disks, we:
- Separated the SSD and HDD components to work on them individually.
- Created sector-by-sector clones of both drives to prevent further damage.
- Used forensic-level tools to extract raw data from both storage devices.
2. Manually Rebuilding the APFS File System
Since macOS couldn’t recognize the file locations, we:
- Used specialized Mac data recovery software to reconstruct missing file indexes.
- Manually linked fragmented data back to its correct locations.
- Rebuilt the directory structure to make the files accessible again.
3. Extracting & Verifying University Work
Once the data was recovered, we:
- Verified all university coursework, research documents, and assignments.
- Ensured files were intact and not corrupted.
- Transferred the recovered data to a secure external SSD for the student.
The Results: 100% Data Recovery Success
Thanks to our Fusion Drive repair and file system reconstruction techniques, we successfully recovered 100% of the student’s university work, including:
✅ Thesis and research documents
✅ Lecture notes and presentations
✅ Assignments and coursework
The student was relieved to have their academic work restored, avoiding potential delays in their studies.
Why Choose Us?
With 25 years of experience and tens of thousands of successful recoveries, we are the leading Mac data recovery experts in Ireland and the UK. Our expertise includes:
✔ MacBook Pro Fusion Drive recovery
✔ APFS and HFS+ file system repair
✔ SSD and HDD hybrid recovery techniques
✔ Secure & confidential data retrieval for students and professionals
If your MacBook has lost important files, is running slowly, or has a corrupt Fusion Drive, don’t attempt DIY fixes—contact us for expert data recovery.