# APFS Metadata Loss After Disk Reached 0 Bytes Free – Apple Silicon with FileVault – User Data Suddenly Missing

Hello everyone,

I am seeking technical insight regarding what appears to be a severe APFS metadata issue on a Mac with Apple Silicon.

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## System Configuration

- **Device:** Mac with Apple Silicon (M-series)

- **File System:** APFS

- **Encryption:** FileVault enabled

- **Storage:** Internal non-removable SSD

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## Description of the Issue

My internal disk reached **0 bytes of free space**. After restarting the Mac, macOS behaved as if it were a brand-new installation:

- My user folder appeared empty

- Desktop and Documents folders were missing

- No duplicate user accounts were created

- No `.PreviousSystemInformation` folder containing usable data

- No APFS snapshots available

- No Time Machine backup exists

Most surprisingly, the system suddenly reported approximately **300 GB of free space**, whereas previously I had about **180 GB of user data** stored.

This leads me to believe that the data blocks were deallocated or that APFS metadata became corrupted after the disk filled completely, rather than this being a hardware failure or authentication issue. I still have full access to the Mac and my FileVault password.

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## Activity After the Incident

Unfortunately, I used the Mac for approximately three hours before realizing the severity of the issue. During that time:

- I installed Disk Drill

- I performed a disk scan

- New system and application data were written

As a result, TRIM may have been triggered on blocks that were marked as free.

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## Data I Am Trying to Recover

- C source files and programming projects

- KiCad PCB design projects

- Markdown files (`.md`)

- PDF documents

- Word documents (`.docx`)

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## Questions

1. In a scenario like this (Apple Silicon + FileVault + APFS + some disk activity after the incident), is there any realistic possibility that the data still exists at the block level?

2. On Apple Silicon, once APFS deallocates blocks and TRIM potentially runs, is logical recovery still feasible?

3. Has anyone experienced similar behavior after a disk reached 0 bytes of free space?

I understand that Apple Silicon integrates the SSD controller and Secure Enclave, which prevents traditional NAND extraction methods. I am trying to determine whether this type of incident is considered technically recoverable, even partially, or generally irreversible.

Any technical insight or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.