You may ask how do I undelete a file in Windows 10? On this page, you will get 6 practical ways to help you recover permanently deleted files in Windows 10 quickly and easily.
In most cases, yes. However, several factors can affect your chances of success, such as the type of deleted file and when it was deleted. If you have recently deleted important files using Shift + Delete or emptied data from your computer's Recycle Bin, not all hope is lost.
This is because simply clicking the Delete does not immediately free up any storage space. Only when you press Shift + Delete or deleted files not in Recycle Bin, Windows mark the disk space occupied by deleted files as empty but loses the possibility to recover files from the Recycle Bin.
However, the inability to recover permanently deleted files from Recycle Bin does not mean that they are completely unrecoverable. Keep in mind that you need to recover permanently deleted files as soon as possible before they are overwritten.
There are many ways to recover permanently deleted files on Windows 10, we will cover them all. On this page, you will gain 6 effective ways to solve how do I undelete a file in Windows 10.
Whether your important files are permanently deleted or not, the following 6 practical ways to undelete a file in Windows 10 will help you.
“How do I undo a delete on my PC?” If you've accidentally deleted files in File Explorer and want to undo it in Windows 10, you can press Ctrl+Z, a shortcut in Windows to undo the last changes.
▶ Go to the folder where the deletion happened > right-click within the folder > choose the Undo Delete option.
As you may know, usually when you select a file in Windows 10 and click Delete, the file moves to the Recycle Bin. The files remain in the Recycle Bin until you manually empty it, so you easily salvage deleted files.
▶ Double-click the Recycle Bin icon to open it > find your deleted or lost files > right-click the selected files and choose Restore to recover them to their original location in Windows 10.
Microsoft released its data recovery tool, Windows File Recovery. You can recover deleted files from Recycle Bin after empty. It is designed for Windows 10 and higher and requires the use of a command prompt, which may be challenging for users.
Windows File Recovery supports the recovery of photos, videos, and documents using commands, which can be difficult for users. You can learn how to use Windows File Recovery.
Data recovery with Windows File Recovery may not be effective. If you are unable to recover data, you can try other methods below.
Before using it, please right mode according to the file system of your drive and right switches based on data loss circumstances.
Step 1. Go to This PC to right-click on your drive and click Properties.
Step 2. Select a recommended mode according to the file system of your drive and data loss circumstances.
|
File system |
Circumstances |
Recommended mode |
|
NTFS |
Deleted recently |
Regular |
|
NTFS |
Deleted a while ago |
Extensive |
|
NTFS |
After formatting a disk |
Extensive |
|
NTFS |
A corrupted disk |
Extensive |
|
FAT and exFAT |
Any |
Extensive |
Step 3. Choose your needed switches.
|
Switches |
Definition |
Supported mode(s) |
|
/n |
Filter the scan range: scans for a specific file with its file name/path/type, etc. |
All |
|
/y: |
Recover specific extension groups. |
Signature |
|
/k |
Recover system files. |
NTFS Segment |
|
/u |
Recovers undeleted files, for example, from the Recycle Bin. |
NTFS Segment |
Then, follow the steps below to recover deleted files using Windows File Recovery.
Step 1. Go to Microsoft Store, search and click Windows File Recovery tool, and choose Get to download it. Then, install and open it on your PC.
Step 2. Type the command line based on the general command line syntax:winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches].
For example, if you need to recover zip files under C: drive to E drive, you need to type commands like winfr D: E: /extensive /n *paper*
Windows File Recovery claims to recover different files, but it's not user-friendly and not very effective recovery, especially for beginners. It only works on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
For a better option, go for MyRecover. It's easy to use, has a high success rate, and works on almost all Windows operate systems, including Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, and Windows Server. It supports various storage devices, such as internal and external hard drives, USB drives, SD Cards, etc.
"How do I undelete a file in Windows 10?" Please refer to the following steps to restore permanently deleted files in Windows 10 easily.
Step 1. Download and run MyRecover
Download and install MyRecover on your computer, select the drive that saves the files you would like to recover, and click Start Scan.
Step 2. Start scanning process
Then the scanning process will start Quick Scan & Deep Scan automatically. You can use the Search Box or the Filter feature to quickly locate the permanently deleted files.
Step 3. Select files to recover
You will see a list of data and choose the files you want to recover. Then, click Recover x files. MyRecover will display the number of files to be recovered and their entire size.
Step 4. Choose a new location
Please select a new location instead of the original location to save the files and click Select Folder to confirm it, avoiding files overwriting on your storage device.
File History is a built-in feature in the Windows OS designed for users to back up and restore their files. If the File History is turned off, you can restore previous versions of files/folders.
If you have a File History backup, the process of recovering files becomes simple on Windows 10/11/8.
Step 1. Type Control Panel in the search bar to open it > click System and Security > File History > Restore your files with File History.
Step 2. Click Restore personal files.
Step 4. Go to the path that saved the deleted files. Then, select and click the Recover to recover them.
You can also use the useful backup feature Previous Version of Windows 10/11/8. This feature allows you to access earlier versions or backup copies of files stored on your computer.
Step 1.Press Win + E to open File Explorer. Find the folder that is used to save your deleted file.
Step 2. Right-click the file and choose Properties > Previous Version. Select a version before the date you deleted the file, and click Restore.
How do I undelete a file in Windows 10? As you can see, you get 6 effective ways to solve this question. Even if you use Shift + Delete, you can recover permanently deleted files in Windows 10. Among the 6 recovery ways, the quickest and easiest way is to use MyRecover.
To keep your data safe and avoid file loss, we recommend you to create regular a file backup of all valuable data with this free professional backup software for Windows AOMEI Backupper Standard. It support a backup system, file or folder, partition, and the entire disk to other storage devices.