How to Recover Permanently Deleted Files in Windows 10

Frantically searching the internet for a way to recover permanently deleted files is an unfortunate situation many have found themselves in at some point. You may be surprised to learn that permanently deleted data isn’t always deleted right away, and in many cases, you can recover it in Windows 10 with ease.

However, due to how permanently deleted data is treated by your drive, you’re in a race against the clock to get your data back. Each action taken on the drive puts the data at risk of being lost forever. Let’s take a look at why it’s possible to recover permanently data and a few ways to do so.

Your first action when a data loss is discovered should be to stop using the affected storage device as soon as possible. This will minimize the chance that Windows will overwrite the files before recovery can be performed.

Is it Possible to Recover Permanently Deleted Files

Yes, even if a file has been permanently deleted, there is a chance of recovery. Though, it really depends on a few factors.

Logically deleted files can remain resident on their hard drive for an extended period of time, based on your computer usage. This is the process that your computer goes through when a file is permanently deleted:

1. The file is deleted and skips the Recycle Bin. Windows removes the index entry of the file from the file system.
2. Windows marks the same physical space on the drive as available, allowing new data to be written there when the time comes.
3. Eventually, Windows will write new data to that same physical location, overwriting the old data and rendering it unrecoverable.

The file is still physically available until the time that Windows actually overwrites it with new data, even though you can no longer access it through Windows Explorer. This makes it possible to recover permanently deleted files on Windows 10 computers with the use of specialized software.

Make Sure the Files Are Permanently Deleted

Before we jump into recovery methods, it’s good practice to do a thorough search for the files first, as they may not be permanently deleted. Do so using one of the following methods:

Method 1: Use the Built-in Search Function

Windows has a very useful search function. You can use this to search your entire drive to find the file by name (or file extension if you don’t remember the name).

To ensure you’re not missing data that has become hidden, make sure all of the files on the drive are visible. You can do this by ticking Hidden Items in File Explorer or running the command attrib –h –r –s /s /d D: *.*, replacing D: with your own drive letter.

Here’s how you can use the search function in File Explorer to find your lost files:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Navigate to the top level of your C: drive (or whichever drive the file was stored). This ensures Windows will search every subfolder on the partition or drive.
3. Enter the file name in the search box. If you don’t know the file name, enter the file extension instead. For example, *.jpg will pull all JPG files.
4. Copy the file to a new location.

Method 2:Check the Recycle Bin

Checking the Recycle Bin is one of the fastest ways you can recover deleted files on Windows 10 computers. Although the topic of this article focuses on permanently deleted files, it’s always good to double-check the Recycle Bin to see if the files made their way there instead.

To restore deleted files follow these steps:

1. Double-click on the Recycle Bin to open it.
2. Find and see the files to be recovered. You can use the Ctrl and Shift keys to choose multiple items at once.
3. Right-click on the selection and choose Restore. This will restore the file to its original location. You can also drag the file out of the Recycle Bin and drop it on a new location where it will be stored.
4. Verify the files have indeed been restored to their original or new location.

Files that exceed the capacity of the Bin will be permanently deleted instead of stored for potential recovery. You will not find these files in the Recycle Bin. You can adjust the size of the Recycle Bin and how long it retains files by modifying its settings. If your lost files are not in the Recycle Bin, you will need to use another method for recovery. Read on to see what other options you have to recover lost or deleted files.

6 Ways to Recover Permanently Deleted Files

Failing to locate the files on your computer means your next focus is data recovery. Given that everyone’s situation is unique, we’ve included a range of options to help you get the data back. Some solutions are native to Windows, while others may require the use of third-party software. Let’s get started.

Method 1:Use Data Recovery Software

Using data recovery software, you can scan and recover permanently deleted files from your drive. We’ve put this at the top of the list because we realize that not everyone has a backed-up copy of their data. Given that the majority of the subsequently mentioned solutions primarily focus on the use of backups, we felt it’s best to put this option first.

There are a lot of recovery tools out there. We’ve already created a list of the best data recovery software for Windows, but our preferred tool is Disk Drill for Windows. Due to its comprehensive scanning methods and ease of use, it’s a favorite tool for many because it makes data recovery possible for basically anyone. The preview function allows you to inspect your files to ensure they’re intact, and the built-in recovery chance indicator will tell you which files have a good chance of being recovered.

Disk Drill can be downloaded for free and can be used to recover up to 500MB of data and view all files that are available for recovery without any financial investment. Larger restores will necessitate the purchase of the Pro version of the tool.

Here are the steps to recover lost data with Disk Drill.

1. Download and install Disk Drill. It is strongly recommended that you do not use the disk that will be used for the recovery. Installing on that disk can lead to corruption or overwritten files before you get the chance to recover them.
2. Launch the application. Select the disk or partition where the files were located from the list presented in the application’s window.
3. Click the Search for lost data button to initiate Disk Drill’s scanning algorithms. As it processes, you will be presented with a list of the files that can be recovered.
4. Select the files you wish to restore and a new location where you will store them. Don’t use files original location as this can lead to file corruption during the restore. Click Next to perform the data recovery.
5. Navigate to the new location and verify that the files are fully recovered and usable by your applications.

Method 2:Restore From a File History Backup

One of the most important tasks for all computer users is the protection of the data that resides on the machine. The best way to accomplish this is to perform a regular system backup using the backup tool of your choice. Windows 10 offers a built-in backup and recovery tool called File History that can be instrumental in allowing you to restore deleted items. Windows users should take the time to set it up to protect the data on their laptop or PC.

Here are the steps to recover deleted files from a File History Backup.

1. Click on the File Explorer icon and open the folder that contained the items that you want to recover.
2. Click the Home tab and then the History button.
3. Select the files or folder that you wish to restore.
4. Navigate through time with the arrows to search for the version you want to recover.
5. Click the Restore button to restore the file to its original location.
6. Address any naming conflicts by replacing the original file with the restored version, skipping the file, or keeping both for your review.

Method 3:Restore Previous Versions of Files on Windows 10

The Restore Previous Versions feature of the operating system can be very helpful if you accidentally delete a file with which you have been working. Using this feature enables you to revert to a previously saved version quickly and easily. These versions are saved when Windows creates restore points. You can access this feature by using the following steps.

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder that contained the lost files before they were sent to the Recycle Bin.
2. Right-click on the item you would like to recover and select Restore previous versions.
3. Choose the version of the file you would like to recover and click the Restore button.

Method 4:Recover Lost Files with the Windows File Recovery App

Windows File Recovery is Microsoft’s own data recovery tool. It operates through a command-line interface (CLI), allowing you to control the recovery process through a selection of parameters.

The command we’ll be using to recover the files is:

winfr D: F:RECOVERED_FILES /extensive

This will instruct Windows File Recovery to do an extensive scan of the D: drive and copy any recoverable contents to the RECOVERED_FILES folder, located on the F: drive. You can type /! for additional syntax and switches.

Here’s how you can run the command using Windows File Recovery:

1. Download Windows File Recovery.
2. Type the command out like so: winfr D: F:\RECOVERED_FILES /extensive. Replace D: with the drive letter you want to recover data from, and F:\RECOVERED_FILES with the desired output location. Press Enter.
3. Press Y to confirm the recovery.

Method 5:Restore Using Backup and Restore

Backup and Restore is a backup feature that was introduced with Windows Vista and Windows 7. It has survived through multiple releases of Windows for its reliability, as many still rely on it as a primary backup solution to restore permanently deleted files in Windows 10. In addition to the ability to retrieve permanently deleted files, you can create system image backups in the event that your operating system doesn’t boot.

The only condition is that you need to have set it up before your files were lost. If it wasn’t, there will be no record of the files to restore from. If you configured Backup and Restore prior to your data becoming lost, you can restore it directly from a backup by following these steps:

1. Press Windows Key + S and search Backup settings. Select the first option.
2. Click Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7).
3. Click Restore my files.
4. Click Browse for files. Find your files and mark them for restoration.
5. Click Next.
6. Choose whether you want to restore the files to their original location or a new one. When ready, click Restore.
7. Click Finish.

Once you click Restore, the files will either be returned to their original location or a new one, depending on which option you chose.

Method 6:Check Cloud Backup

Cloud-based storage applications like OneDrive and Google Drive include bin systems similar to the Recycle Bin found in Windows. When a file is deleted, there’s a chance the file is sent to the bin instead of being deleted for good. This acts as a safeguard against accidental deletion.

Something to consider is Google Drive will automatically delete files in the Trash after 30 days. Other cloud-based solutions have similar policies. Of course, this will depend on the type of plan you have. Until the data is deleted from the bin, it acts as a reliable method to recover permanently deleted files from a PC easily and safely.

In this method, I’ll demonstrate what recovering a file from the Trash in Google Drive is like:

1. Go to your Google Drive storage and log in using your credentials.
2. In the left panel, click Trash.
3. Right-click the file you want to restore and click Restore.

When you restore the files, they will be restored to their original location in your cloud storage. This may be different if you’re using a different cloud solution. Once restored, consider keeping a local backup of the files if they’re important to circumvent the 30 day limitation of the Trash folder.

How to Prevent Accidentally Deleting Data on Windows 10

Preventing the accidental deletion of data from your computer is certainly preferred over spending time recovering from data loss events. Here are some tips that may help you protect your valuable information and enable you to access it at any time.

It is impossible to totally guard against data loss. Most experienced Windows users have had to recover lost files and folders at one time or another. Using the methods outlined above will give you a great chance of recovering all of your lost data. Remember to get those backups set up, and good luck with your recovery efforts.

Conclusion

Despite being referred to as “permanently deleted”, such files are often recoverable with ease, permitted there hasn’t been much activity on the drive since they were deleted. However, before you pursue recovery, it’s a good idea to first do a thorough check and make sure your files aren’t just sitting in another directory or the Recycle Bin.

In the event that your files actually have been permanently deleted, you can recover them with a data recovery tool. If you’re fortunate enough to have backed the files up at some point using a native tool like File History or a cloud service like OneDrive, you can restore a copy of the file from there instead. Once your files are recovered, setting up a backup schedule is a great way to protect your data from loss in the future.