The Recycle Bin is a convenient place to store deleted files on your Windows computer. When you delete a file, it gets moved to the Recycle Bin instead of being permanently erased. This gives you a chance to restore deleted files if you need them again. However, sometimes files get emptied from the Recycle Bin, either manually or due to the Recycle Bin exceeding its storage quota. In those cases, you may still be able to recover the deleted files. Here are some ways to find and restore files that have been deleted from the Recycle Bin.
Check the Recycle Bin for restored files
The first place to check is the Recycle Bin itself. Even after it has been emptied, the Recycle Bin may contain folders marked as “restored” which hold recovered files. Here’s how to check:
- Open the Recycle Bin – double click the icon on your desktop or open it from the start menu.
- Look for a folder called something like “Recovered files” or “Restored”. Open this folder.
- You should see your deleted files inside this folder if any have been restored. You can highlight them and restore them by right clicking and selecting “Restore”.
Windows will sometimes automatically restore files that it can recover after they are deleted from the Recycle Bin. So it’s always worth glancing in the Recycle Bin itself for any restored files.
Use file recovery software
If you can’t find your files in the Recycle Bin, the next step is to use file recovery software. These programs scan your hard drive and aim to recover deleted files even if they are no longer in the Recycle Bin. Some good free options include:
- Recuva – Scans your hard drives for deleted files and lets you easily restore them. Supports many file types.
- Disk Drill – Recovers lost files from both internal and external drives. Has free and paid versions.
- PhotoRec – Specialized in recovering lost photos, videos, documents and archives.
The recovery process typically goes like this:
- Download and install the file recovery program.
- Scan your hard drive for deleted files. This may take a while depending on the size of your drive.
- Preview and select the files you want to recover.
- Restore the deleted files to a folder of your choice.
The key when using recovery software is to avoid writing new data to your drive before scanning it. This minimizes the chance of overwriting deleted file data that could otherwise be recovered. So don’t save or download anything until after you’ve run the file recovery tool.
Restore from a backup
Another option is to retrieve deleted files from a backup. If you regularly back up your computer, you should be able to restore previous versions of files even if they are no longer in the Recycle Bin.
Some places you may find file backups include:
- External hard drives used for backup purposes.
- Cloud backup services like Apple iCloud, Google Backup and Sync, Dropbox, etc.
- System restore points or snapshots created by your operating system.
- Disc images made using third party backup tools.
The specific steps to restore from a backup will vary depending on where the backup is stored. But typically you just need to navigate to the backup source, browse for the file you want, and click restore.
One advantage of using backups is you can often restore older versions of files, not just recently deleted ones. The drawback is that you need to have set up and maintained backups previously.
Recover files from your hard drive manually
If you can’t find deleted files in the Recycle Bin, through data recovery software, or on a backup, there is one last DIY option. You may be able to recover deleted files manually by scanning your hard drive and finding file data that is still stored there.
This method involves using a disk editor tool that lets you directly search, read and copy data from your hard drive. A free tool like HxD can work for this. The basic process goes as follows:
- Download and install the disk editor.
- Scan your hard drive at the sector/block level for file signatures that match your deleted files.
- When you find the matching data, highlight and copy it to extract the file contents.
- Paste the data into a new file and save it to recover that deleted file.
While conceptually simple, recovering files this way does require some tech skills to understand drive formatting and file signatures. If you know what you’re doing though, it provides a final option to resurrect lost files.
The downside is it’s time consuming and may not work if too much of the file data has been overwritten. But it’s worth a shot for unique or critical files you can’t recover any other way.
Use professional data recovery services
If all else fails and you absolutely must get an important deleted file back, you can turn to professional data recovery companies. They have specialized tools and methods for recovering even seriously corrupted or overwritten files.
However, professional data recovery can get very expensive. Costs often start around $300 USD and can easily go up to $1000+ for extensive recovery efforts. It’s usually only justified for businesses recovering critical data or individuals recovering extremely important personal files.
If you do need to go the professional route, research companies carefully and look for ones experienced in recovering deleted files from consumers’ personal devices. Avoid companies that seem shady or overpromise on results.
Enhance your deleted file recovery chances
To improve your chances of being able to recover deleted files from the Recycle Bin or your hard drive in the future, here are some tips:
- Empty the Recycle Bin less frequently so deleted files remain in there longer.
- Install high quality file recovery software and learn how to use it – before you need it.
- Set up automatic backups, like cloud backup or system images, in case you need to restore files.
- Handle drives carefully and maintain your computer to reduce the chance of serious data corruption or hardware issues.
- If a drive has critical irreplaceable data, consider disabling Recycle Bin deletion to require manual file removal.
Following best practices like these will give you confidence that even if a file gets deleted accidentally, you’ll have the best chance to recover it intact.
Can you recover files deleted from the Command Prompt?
If you have deleted files using the Command Prompt or Command Line, the above recovery methods may still work – with a couple caveats:
- The files will not be in the Recycle Bin because the Command Line bypasses it when deleting files.
- Recovery may be less likely because the Command Line does a “hard delete”, removing file pointers instantly.
But file recovery software should still be able to scan the drive and find file data that remains. Just don’t save anything new before running it.
Restoring from backups may also still be possible. So while Command Line file deletion makes things trickier, recovery can often succeed if attempted quickly.
Can you recover permanently deleted files?
It depends on what you mean by “permanently” deleted. If a file has been:
- Removed using Command Line or bypassing the Recycle Bin – Recovery may be possible.
- Emptied from the Recycle Bin – Recovery still possible in many cases.
- Overwritten by new files – Recovery unlikely with normal software.
- Lost due to drive hardware failure – Recovery may require expensive professional help.
- Securely wiped using data erasure software – Completely unrecoverable.
So there is a wide range of situations. With quick action, even files deleted outside the Recycle Bin can often be recovered using the techniques covered here. But if deletion has rendered files irrecoverable, the only resort may be professional data recovery.
Conclusion
While accidentally losing files is always unpleasant, there are many ways you can potentially get them back – even if they have been emptied from the Recycle Bin. Always first check the Recycle Bin itself for any restored files. If they aren’t there, file recovery software offers an automated way to scan and restore deleted files easily. Other options like backups and manual data recovery provide additional approaches.
Following best practices for managing your Recycle Bin, creating file backups, and handling your drives carefully will help maximize your ability to recover deleted files. But ultimately accidents happen, so it’s good to be familiar with the range of file recovery options at your disposal. With persistence and the right tools, you can often get back files you thought were lost for good.