Ctrl + Z Deleted My Files, How to Recover [4 Ways]

Ctrl + Z deleted my files by accident? Scroll down to the causes and know how to recover undo files in 4 effective ways.

Kelsey

By Kelsey / Updated on April 2, 2024

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Files disappeared after Ctrl + Z

 

I accidentally pressed Ctrl+Z and found a file in the folder was deleted. Why Ctrl + Z deleted my files? How can I recover the deleted files?

There are many Windows keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V, Ctrl + Z, etc. Although they can be very useful when creating new files and transferring data, there are times when improper use may cause important data and files to be lost.

Have you ever encountered when creating a new document or editing a document, accidentally pressing Ctrl+Z, causing the document or file content to disappear? In this case, the following methods can help you successfully recover mistakenly deleted files.

Why did Ctrl + Z delete files?

Why does pressing Ctrl + Z delete files/folders? Ctrl+Z is a shortcut in most apps that can help you undo your last action. It's handy when you accidentally delete a file or type something wrong and want a quick fix. However, if you press Ctrl + Z twice or more times, or accidentally press this shortcut, your files may also be removed.

Can Ctrl + Z restore deleted files? Of course, Ctrl + Z can delete files as well as undo delete files. If you want to undelete a file that has been removed by accident, the Ctrl + Z shortcut can also help you too.

4 Ways to Recover Ctrl + Z deleted my files

In the following, we outline four methods by which Ctrl + Z deleted folders and files can be recovered smoothly. But it should be noted that once you find that the files are deleted, you should perform recovery solutions as soon as possible.

Solution 1. Use Ctrl + Y to recover lost files

The corresponding shortcut to Ctrl + Z is Ctrl + Y, to reverse your last undo. But this method only works if you have not done anything since you deleted the file, including opening files, opening other paths repeatedly, etc.

If you press Ctrl + Z multiple times, you can press Ctrl + Y multiple times accordingly to recover files deleted by Ctrl + Z.

Solution 2. Undo Ctrl+Z Delete

In addition to using shortcut keys, you can also use Undo delete to get back accidentally deleted files. This method is similar to the first method and only works if you have no other operations.

How to recover files deleted with Ctrl + Z? Right-click the location where your files are deleted, and then choose the Undo Delete option to get back Ctrl + Z deleted my files.

Undo Delete File Windows

Solution 3. Restore Ctrl + Z deleted files from Recycle Bin

In most cases, deleted files on the computer will go to the Recycle Bin. You can restore deleted files from Recycle Bin directly. But if there are no files you need in the Recycle Bin or you have used Ctrl + Delete to delete the file, you can turn to the fourth method to retrieve permanently deleted files.

Step 1. Double-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop to open the Recycle Bin folder.

Step 2. Find your accidentally deleted files or folders, and right-click them to select Restore to perform Ctrl + Z deleted folder recovery easily.

Recycle Bin Restore

Solution 4. Recover Ctrl + Z deleted files with file recovery software

If you have run other operations after pressing Ctrl + Z, or the file has been deleted for a long time and has not been stored in the Recycle Bin, the only way you can recover Ctrl + Z deleted files and folders is with the help of a professional file recovery tool.

MyRecover is the most useful deleted file recovery software. It can easily help you undelete accidentally deleted files and also recover permanently deleted files from computer or restore files from emptied Recycle Bin. Except for recovering data from computers, it can also recover data from USB flash drives, SD cards, Memory cards, SSDs, and more external storage devices.

Step-by-step guide on how do I recover lost files from Ctrl + Z using MyRecover

Step 1. Download and launch MyRecover, hover the mouse over the hard drive/partition containing your deleted files, and click Scan.

Download Software Windows 11/10/8/7/Server
Secure Download

Select Location To Scan

Step 2. There would be three folders on the left - Deleted files, Recycle Bin, and Other Missing Files. Tick the three folders, and open directories one by one to find your needed files. You can also utilize File Search or File Filter to locate your deleted items quickly.

Scanning Drive

Note:✎...
MyRecover supports you to recover hundreds of kinds of files. You could recover documents (Word files, Excel files, PDF files, PPT files, etc.), pictures, videos, audio, and ARCHIVE files, with ease.

Step 3. Pick the files and folders you wish to recover, and click the Recover files position. Then, specify a path to save the recovered Ctrl + Z deleted my files effortlessly.

Select Deleted Photos To Restore

In the end

If you have not performed other operations after file deletion by pressing Ctrl + Z, the easiest way to recover deleted files is to use Ctrl + Y or directly get it with Undo delete. Otherwise, we strongly recommend that you use MyRecover to retrieve deleted files as soon as possible.

Restoring files quickly after data deletion can increase the chances of successful data recovery. The longer the interval, the higher the probability that deleted files will be overwritten by new files, and the lower the possibility of successful recovery. Moreover, you can use this recovery software to recover files from formatted hard drives, recover files from system crashes, etc.

Kelsey
Kelsey · Editor
Kelsey is an English editor of AOMEI Technology. She is passionate about helping people find effective ways to deal with all problems in computer. She has great insights into data backup and recovery, disk partition and clone, and other data protection measures. She likes learn computer skills to improve herself and enjoy quality time with family and friends.