5 Ways to Recover Permanently Deleted Files from My PC

Can you recover files after permanently deleted?

A: The answer is yes in most cases!

When dealing with multiple tasks on your PC, you may lose vital data like images, videos, documents, etc by pressing Delete or Shift + Delete keys, and think they are deleted permanently. But the truth isn't always as bad as it seems. 

If you use the Delete key instead of Shift + Delete keys, the deleted files will be put in the Recycle Bin. If you use Shift + Delete keys or empty the Recycle Bin, it's deleted permanently.  It means files are permanently deleted which couldn’t be simply recovered from the Recycle Bin. 

Fortunately, the permanently deleted files can still be recovered as long as you don't overwrite the space occupied by deleted data. In addition, the disk type also matters. If your disk is SSD, please be sure the TRIM feature is not enabled. Otherwise, your data will be wiped when you perform a file deletion.

Check the Recycle Bin folder

If you use the Delete key, or are not quite sure, the first place is to check the Recycle Bin folder. In general, all the deleted files on a PC will be moved to this folder. 

Step 1. Double-click the Recycle Bin folder on the desktop. 

Step 2. Search the deleted files, select it, and click the "Restore" option. 

Recover permanently deleted files in Windows 10 using software

If the deleted files are not in the Recycle Bin and there are no previously saved versions, you can recover deleted or permanently deleted files on a PC or laptop using one of the best Windows data recovery software -MyRecover.

MyRecover, designed with advanced algorithm technology, is an easy-to-use tool with a flawless track record in the data recovery field. 

Step 1. Launch MyRecover on your computer. Hover the mouse over the drive and click "Scan" to scan.

Step 2. The program runs the scanning process automatically and finds all the deleted files and other missing files in this partition. During scanning, you could recover any file you want. 

Step 3. Select the file or the folder that you want to recover and click "Recover files". You can also filter and preview deleted files before recovering. For example, to preview PNG images, click Filter > Images and type .png in the search box. Then, double-click them to preview.

If your computer is unbootable, you still can create a bootable USB or CD/DVD to boot it. The Crashed PC Recovery feature in MyRecover will help you a lot. Learn more about how to recover data from hard disk without OS

Recover deleted files in Windows 10 using Windows File Recovery

Windows File Recovery is an official command-line app released by Microsoft to help users recover lost or deleted files in Windows 10 2004 and above. 

There are four modes to use: Regular, Extensive, Segment, and Signature. The mode depends on the scenarios of data loss and the file system of the hard disk. You could input different commands according to the basic command format:

winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]

So please check them one by one in the following:

🔷Check the file system 

To check file system, right-click the drive that saved the deleted files and select “Properties” to check the file system.

🔷Select recovery mode:

🔷Select recovery switches:

You can then install Windows File Recovery and recover permanently deleted files using it:

Step 1. Press the Win + Q keys, input “Microsoft Store” in the search box, and open it. Then type “Windows File Recovery” and click “Get”.

Step 2. After Windows File Recovery installation completes, type Windows File Recovery in the search box and select “Run as administrator”.

Step 3. For example, if you want to recover a zip file but you don’t know the detailed name from C: drive to E: drive, you could input the following command:

winfrC:E:/regular/n\C: \*.zip

Recover permanently deleted files from Windows backup

If you have turned on File History on your computer, you could restore your folders to the previous version to recover permanently deleted files.

When File History is activated (go to “Control Panel” > “System and Security” > “File History”), it could back up files in the Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop folders regularly. Follow the steps below to restore files with File History.

Step 1. Press the Windows + Q keys, and type “restore files” to open “Restore your files with File History”.

Step 2. Find the folder where your deleted files are stored. Click the “Restore” button to recover files to the previous location. Or you could right-click the folder and select “Previous Versions”. You could make this folder back to the date you want.

Unlock hidden attributes of files in Windows 10

You may inadvertently select the hidden attribute for your files or folders instead of permanently being deleted. Your files may also be hidden when they are corrupted.In this case, you couldn’t locate your files on your Windows system. Use the following commands torestore hidden files in Windows 10.

Step 1. Press Windows + Q and type “CMD” in the search box. Select “Run as administrator”.

Step 2. Input chkdsk G: /f in Command Prompt and then hit Enter. Replace G with your hard drive letter.

Step 3. And then input G: , and then type "attrib -h -r -s /s /d*.*". Replace D with your hard drive letter. After commands are executed and you could check whether the hidden files are recovered.

Conclusion

“How do I recover permanently deleted files from my PC?” You could try the methods above to recover permanently deleted files in Windows 10 or11. But your deleted files could not be recovered even using all kinds of ways due to kinds of reasons.

Therefore, backing up important data is the best method to avoid data loss. You could use the Windows built-in tools like Backup and Restore or File History. However, they usually back up files in the C drive. It’s recommended to use the freeware-AOMEI Backupper to make file backup, system backup, disk backup, and partition backup.

Here we summarize the methods and scenarios to help you select a method quickly:

FAQs