Recovering Deleted Files on Your Computer

Accidentally deleting files on your computer is nothing to get upset about. These files can actually be recovered. Most people assume that deleting a file or emptying it from your recycle bin will completely remove it from your computer; this is simply untrue. All deleting it did was erase the location information of your file. You are unable to see the file, but it is still there.

However, the file will not be there indefinitely. When you delete a file, your computer groups that file with other files that have been deleted. Basically, you have now marked the file as available hard drive space. Deleted files are not immediately removed from the computer; instead your computer slowly uses bits of these files to store other active information on your computer.

What does this mean for you? Well, luckily this means that there's a chance of recovery, but as time goes on your chances for file recovery diminish. The more time you wait to restore the file, the more of a possibility your computer has to write over it. You should begin working to restore the files as soon as possible. Doing any action on your computer could damage these files, and this includes browsing the internet.

You'll probably want to find a program online to use to recover your files, and there are plenty of free ones available. I use FreeUndelete to do this.

After you open the program, you'll be able to select a drive and scan it for these hidden files. Most likely, a large list will come up since you have probably deleted many files while using your computer. The program will tell you how corrupt, damaged, or fragmented the files it found were, and then it will give you the option to restore these files. I do not recommend restoring everything you see listed. This could be a very long list of files. It's easier to just sort through the files by hand, and select certain files for restoration. Use date modified and created sublists to select the right files and restore accordingly. Hopefully the files you are looking to restore will be undamaged.