Quick Answers
If you accidentally deleted music files from your computer or external hard drive, don’t panic! There are several ways you may be able to recover your music:
- Use data recovery software to scan your hard drive and find deleted files
- Check your computer’s Recycle Bin or Trash folder
- Restore your music library from a backup or sync service like iCloud or Google Play Music
- Re-download purchased music files from online stores
- Ask friends or family if they have copies of your deleted music
What Causes Music Files to Be Deleted?
There are a few common ways you may have accidentally deleted music files from your computer or device:
- Manually deleting files – You may have intentionally deleted certain songs or albums, but later realized you still wanted them.
- Emptying the Recycle Bin/Trash – Music files you deleted end up in your computer’s Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac). If you emptied it, the files are permanently deleted.
- Formatting a drive – Formatting a hard drive or external device erases all files, including music.
- OS reinstallation – If you reinstalled your operating system or restored your computer to factory settings, music not backed up elsewhere could be wiped out.
- Drive failure – Physical hard drive failures can lead to file corruption or loss.
- Sync errors – Music files deleted from syncing services like iCloud or iTunes may be removed from your local device.
Check Your Recycle Bin or Trash Folder
When you delete files on your computer, they get sent to a temporary Recycle Bin or Trash folder. Here’s how to check if your deleted music is still recoverable from one of these folders:
Windows Recycle Bin
- Open the Recycle Bin – Double-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop or open it from the start menu.
- Look for music files – Scan the contents of the Recycle Bin to see if any deleted music files are visible.
- Restore files – Right click on files and select “Restore” to move them back to their original location.
Mac Trash Folder
- Open Finder and click Trash in the sidebar.
- Look for music files – Scan the contents of the Trash folder.
- Restore files – Right click on files and select “Put Back” to restore them.
If your music is still in the Recycle Bin or Trash, recovering it is simple. But it’s only a temporary holding place for recently deleted files. If too much time has passed, your files may be gone for good.
Use Data Recovery Software
If your music is no longer in the Recycle Bin or Trash, your next step is to use data recovery software. Data recovery scans your hard drive or device to find files marked for deletion, but not yet overwritten. Here are some options:
Recuva (Windows)
Recuva is free recovery software from Piriform that searches your hard drive thoroughly to find music and other deleted files. It can recover files from hard drives, external devices, memory cards, and more.
- Download and install Recuva.
- Scan your device – choose “Music” file types to look for.
- Preview found files to identify your music.
- Recover the music files to a safe location.
TestDisk (Windows/Mac/Linux)
TestDisk is an open source recovery utility that retrieves lost files and partitions. It’s more complex than Recuva but can dig deeper to find deleted music files.
- Download, install and launch TestDisk.
- Select your drive and choose “Undelete” to recover deleted files.
- Select the music file types you want to scan for.
- Recover your located music files.
Disk Drill (Mac)
Disk Drill is a free Mac data recovery app. It makes it easy to locate and restore your missing music files with an intuitive interface.
- Download and install Disk Drill.
- Click “Recover” and select your drive.
- Choose music file types like MP3, WAV, AIFF to scan for.
- Filter through results and click Recover to restore your music.
The quicker you run data recovery after deleting files, the better chance you have of getting your music back. But if too much time has passed, the data may be overwritten.
Restore from a Backup or Sync Service
If you regularly back up your computer or sync music to the cloud, you may be able to restore your music library from one of these sources:
iCloud Music Library
If you use Apple Music or subscribe to iCloud storage, check your iCloud Music Library. It keeps a copy of your songs and downloads for recovery.
- On your Mac open Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud.
- On Windows open iCloud settings.
- Turn on “iCloud Music Library”.
- Allow your music library to sync and download.
Google Play Music
If you sync your music through Google Play Music, you may be able to restore it by re-uploading.
- Open the Google Play Music app or visit music.google.com.
- Go to Settings > Upload music.
- Select “Upload songs already in your library”
- Click on each folder to re-upload missing music.
Time Machine or File History
Macs with Time Machine and Windows PCs with File History can restore music from old backups if files were deleted recently.
- Enter Time Machine or File History and browse for your music folder.
- Select a backup from before files were deleted.
- Restore your music folder or files.
External Drive or Cloud Backup
If you back up your music to an external hard drive or cloud storage like Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Drive, reconnect to that backup source and restore your music files.
Re-download Purchased Music
If you purchased music through iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music, or another service, you can generally re-download any songs you’ve bought:
iTunes
- Open iTunes and go to Account > Purchased.
- Find the album, song, or playlist you need and download it again.
Google Play Music
- Visit the Google Play Music store.
- Go to My Library > Purchased.
- Find your music and use the download button.
Amazon Music
- Go to Your Music Library.
- Navigate to the Purchased tab.
- Find and download your purchased songs or albums.
As long as your music was purchased from a digital store, you can typically download it again even if local files were deleted.
Ask Friends or Family
If all else fails, think back to who you may have shared music with in the past. If you gave files to any friends or family members, they may still have copies you can recover:
- Ask if anyone has your music on burned CDs.
- See if friends have your songs on iPods or MP3 players.
- Check if anyone has your music saved locally from a shared folder.
- Ask for copies of song or album files they may still have.
While inconvenient, this could allow you to recover at least some of your missing music if no other option worked. Just make sure to back it up properly this time!
Prevent Future Music Loss
Once you’ve recovered your music, be sure to implement some practices to avoid deleting important files again down the road:
- Backup regularly – Use an external drive, cloud backup service, or music sync tool to create duplicates of your library.
- Delete cautiously – Double check what you are deleting before emptying the Recycle Bin or Trash.
- Store safely – Keep music on your main hard drive instead of external devices that can fail or get lost.
- Consolidate – Have one central music folder to easily access and back up your songs.
- Add redundancy – Sync your music in multiple places like iTunes, Google Play, and an external drive.
Setting up a good backup system is the best way to avoid losing your music library ever again. Be vigilant to protect against deletion or hardware failures down the road.
Conclusion
Here are some final tips to summarize how to recover deleted music files:
- First look in your computer’s Recycle Bin or Trash folder to easily restore recently deleted files.
- Use free data recovery software like Recuva, TestDisk, or Disk Drill to scan for music marked as deleted.
- Restore from backups like iCloud Music Library, Google Play Music, or external drive backups.
- Re-download purchased songs and albums through iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play, or other stores.
- Ask friends and family if they have any copies of your missing music.
Act quickly if files were just deleted to improve your chances of recovery. Set up a redundant backup system going forward to prevent ever losing your music library again.