Found files deleted from external hard drive not in Recycle Bin? Get help in this article and learn how to recover deleted files from external hard drive.
Using external storage devices to save important files or use them as a backup device is a common and good choice for users. It facilitates people to manage and organize their data.
When organizing the data stored on the external hard drive, users may delete some old unwanted files to free up some space or make space for new items to add in.
Then, some of them might discover that the files deleted from external hard drive not in Recycle Bin.
Recycle bin not showing deleted files for an external hard drive
As I connect the HDD to the laptop and I delete any files from the HDD the files do not appear under the recycle bin of the laptop. I wish for your helpful suggestions.
- Question from Microsoft Community
There are a number of reasons why deleted files not in Recycle Bin on the desktop: you might have accidentally emptied Recycle Bin, or very likely, the files were deleted from a portable storage device.
It is highly risky since it gives consumers no opportunity to undo deletions. The files were permanently erased and lost.
Some users will ask is there also a Recycle Bin on an external hard drive?
Yes. There indeed is a Recycle Bin for the external hard drive. How you can access and view Recycle Bin files might be various according to different devices.
For some brands, like Samsung, when deleting files from the external hard disk, no prompt like “Are you sure you want to delete/move this file to the Recycle Bin?” will be asked.
Deleted items would be directly moved to the Recycle Bin on your desktop. But, please note that the deleted files are in the external hard drive’s Recycle Bin. When the external storage device disconnects, the deleted data would disappear from the Recycle Bin on your desktop.
It implies that each external hard disk has its own trash can.
However, with certain brands, when you delete anything, a question such as "Are you sure you want to permanently delete this file?" may pop up. If you choose "Yes," the data will be permanently deleted.
As a result, some users may discover files deleted from external hard drives not in Recycle Bin.
For those who want to recover deleted files from external hard drive, 2 feasible methods are prepared.
Windows File Recovery is suitable for those who are familiar with the commands and the data recovery process. However, most of the users are not ready to face the complex commands and the unfriendly user interface.
If you are worried about the commands as well, turning to an easy and efficient Windows data recovery tool is a better choice. Among all the qualified utilities, MyRecover is the best option.
Step 1. Install and run the app > connect the external storage device to the Windows PC >Hover the mouse over the drive and click Scan to scan.
Step 2. Scanned files could be sorted and searched using filters: Type, Size, Date modified, Path, etc.
You can try different filters in MyRecover:
Step 3. Go to Deleted files > choose your wanted files. Or go to Other missing files and select the type you need, e.g., Images > click Recover x files.
Using this powerful tool, you could also recover deleted files in Windows Server 2016.
On a local hard drive, you could turn to Windows inbuilt features like File History and Previous Versions to restore previous versions of files/folders. However, these features don’t apply to external hard drives.
Instead, we could use Windows data recovery tools. One of the eligible apps is Windows File Recovery.
It uses recovery modes and switches to restore deleted and lost files from healthy/formatted/corrupted hard drives, including external hard drives.
More detailed info and explanations can help you in the Windows File Recovery use guide.
Step 1. Connect the external hard drive to your PC > go to This PC > right-click on the external hard drive > Properties > check the file system.
Step 2. Choose a recovery mode according to the File System and how you have lost your files.
| File system | Scenarios | mode |
| NTFS | Deleted recently | Regular |
| NTFS | Deleted for a while | Extensive |
| NTFS | Formatted disk | Extensive |
| NTFS | corrupted disk | Extensive |
| FAT and exFAT | Any | Extensive |
Step 3. Select switches to narrow the scanning range and shorten the time.
| Switches | Meaning | Supported mode(s) |
| /n | Filter the scan range: scans for a specific file with its file name/path/type, etc. | All |
| /y: | Recovers specific extension groups. | Signature |
| /k | Recovers system files. | NTFS Segment |
| /segment | Segment mode; recovers files under NTFS drives using file record segments. | Segment |
| /signature | Signature mode; recovers files under all file system types using file headers. | Signature |
| /u | Recovers undeleted files, for example, from the Recycle Bin. | NTFS Segment |
Step 4. Go to Microsoft Store > click Get to install Windows File Recovery > run the software.
Step 5. Input the command:
winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]
Source drive: the original location of the deleted files. Here it refers to the external hard drive.
Target drive: the destination to store the recovered data. Must be different from the source drive.
E.g., input:
winfr F: D: /extensive /n *.jpg
This command could recover all jpg files from the F: drive to the D: drive. If it prompts you that “there was an error parsing your command”, correct the command syntax or just turn to an easier Windows data rescue tool in the next part.
The practicable solutions to recover files deleted from external hard drive not in Recycle Bin could help solve your problem.
Except for the fixes to the deleted files not in Recycle Bin issue, related info is ready as well.
If you have accidentally formatted Seagate external hard drive, you could firstly restore it from the Seagate Toolkit backups. If you haven't made any backups, Windows File Recovery and a professional data recovery tool would be helpful.
After deletion, an unallocated space will appear. At this time, stop using the storage device to prompt the success rate of partition recovery, then, to recover deleted volume on external hard drive, use professional partition recovery software – AOMEI Partition Assistant to scan your hard drive.
Generally, a duplicated copy of important files will be double insurance to fight against data loss risk. So many users will seek help to clone an external hard drive to another external hard drive. For the sake of safety, a disk backup and clone tool will be necessary. Check the tutorial for detailed info.
