How to Recover Deleted Files on Windows
Deleting a file by mistake feels final, but it usually is not. Windows keeps deleted files in the Recycle Bin first, and File History may hold an earlier copy. The most important step is also the easiest to miss: stop saving new things to the same drive until you have tried to recover.
Follow these steps
- Stop writing to the drive right away. Do not save new files, install programs, or download large files to the same drive. New data can overwrite the space where your deleted file still sits, and once it is overwritten, recovery becomes far harder.
- Check the Recycle Bin first. Open the Recycle Bin from the desktop, find the file, right-click it, and choose Restore. The file returns to the folder it was deleted from. If you deleted it with a permanent delete shortcut, it will not be here, so move to the next step.
- Restore an earlier version from File History. If File History was turned on, open the folder where the file lived, right-click inside it, and choose Restore previous versions, or open File History and browse back to a time before the deletion. Pick the version you need and restore it.
- Check your cloud folder's trash. If the file lived in a cloud folder such as OneDrive, open that service's recycle bin or trash online. Cloud services keep deleted files for a limited time, and restoring from there is often the fastest option.
- Restore to a different drive if you use recovery software. If the file is nowhere above, recovery software is a last resort, and only from a reputable maker. Restore recovered files to a different drive, never the same one, so the recovery itself does not overwrite what is left.
- Check the restored file before you celebrate. Open the recovered file and confirm it is complete and readable. A recovered file with the right name but damaged contents is not a successful recovery, so check it before deleting any other copies.
What NOT to do
- Keep using the computer normally and hope for the best. Every new file written to the drive reduces the chance of recovery.
- Install recovery software onto the same drive you are trying to recover from. The installation itself can overwrite the deleted file.
- Pay for recovery software before trying the free options. The Recycle Bin and File History recover most accidental deletions at no cost.
- Restore recovered files back onto the same drive. Always restore to a different drive until you have confirmed the file is intact.
If the file was in the Recycle Bin or File History, recovery takes minutes. If it was not, act quickly, write as little as possible to the drive, and accept that some deletions cannot be undone, which is why automatic backups matter so much.