How to Recover Deleted Download Files on Windows 10/11

Can you recover deleted downloads?

Files downloaded by users from the Internet, including pictures, music, videos, e-mails, etc., are stored in the download folder of the hard drive. Nowadays, many users will encounter the situation of missing download files, why they are lost and how to find lost downloaded files are the most concerning issues for users. You can get answers in the next section.

Why are download files deleted or lost?

It is not uncommon for download files to be lost on a Windows PC, and it is usually easy for users to delete downloaded files.

C drive is corrupted or formatted, and the data on it has been deleted.
Malware or viruses infect your PC resulting in data loss.
The antivirus software was deleted by mistake, and the downloaded file was deleted by mistake.
Mistakenly erasing or deleting folders in the hard drive resulted in the loss of all downloaded files.

How to recover deleted download files

Here are several proven ways to get deleted downloads back. No matter how your downloaded files are lost, at least one of these methods can help you recover it smoothly.

Solution 1. Recover deleted download files with file recovery Software

If you can't determine the cause of your data loss, the most effective way to use a third-party file recovery software at the moment is to highly recommend MyRecover. This professional data recovery tool can easily retrieve deleted as well as lost data on computer.

MyRecover helps users save data that is lost in a variety of situations. Thanks to its intuitive graphical user interface, users can recover their data effortlessly in just three steps without any difficulty. Using this tool is the best option among the many free data methods, and it also has many outstanding features and advantages:

Support various data types: Users can recover more than 200 types of data, including images, videos, audios, word documents, archives, compressed files, etc.

All data loss scenarios: Recover files lost due to various situations, such as permanently deleted data recovery, disk formatting, system crash, virus attack, etc.

Combined scanning method: Retrieve data with Quick Scan and Deep Scan without missing anything.

Broad compatibility: It can recover data in Windows 11/10/8/7 and Windows Server internal or external storage devices (HDD, SSD, SD card, USB).

High Speed: Recover lost data at high speed and high success rate.

Download MyRecover now, and learn how to retrieve deleted downloads.

Step 1. Launch the application and hover the mouse over the drive and click Scan to scan.

Step 2. ADR for Windows will automatically retrieve deleted download files and other missing files, you can select data from the list during the process.

Step 3. Locate your missing download file in the Scanned files list and click Recover x files.

ADR for Windows supports users to recover 500MB of files for free, you can upgrade the Pro version to get unlimited data recovery and more features, or see if other methods can help you get back lost downloads.

Solution 2. Retrieve deleted download files from Recycle Bin

If you deleted the downloaded file by selecting Download File and right-clicking Delete or tapping the Delete key on your keyboard, it will not be completely deleted in Windows 10/11. Within 30 days you can get it back from the Recycle Bin.

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

Step 2. Browse the Recycle Bin for deleted downloaded files, or right-click on the blank space and click View > Details, you can quickly find the files.

Step 3. Right-click on the files you want to recover and click Restore.

Your downloaded files and folders will be restored to their original locations. If you are not in the Recycle Bin, you can proceed to recover permanently deleted files by following these methods.

Solution 3. Recover deleted download files with Previous Version feature

The Previous Version feature of Windows PC can effectively recover accidentally deleted files. Users can easily restore copies of files and folders created by Windows Backup, or Windows automatically saves as copies of files and folders in restore points.

This means that the method works if the user has enabled File History or created a restore point on the PC. Continue reading the steps below to learn how to restore downloads folders.

Step 1. Go to Windows File Explorer, select This PC, and then go to the drive where you lost your downloaded files.

Step 2. Right-click the folder of the missing files and select the Properties or Restore previous versions option.

Step 3. Select the previous version you need from the folder versions, you need to make sure that the version contains the files you lost, and then click Restore.

Solution 4. Restore deleted download files from File History backup

File History is a feature in Windows 8 and above computers that back up all kinds of files saved on your computer, such as documents, music, desktop folders, and more. When you lose your download files, you can restore the data that you have backed up. If you have enabled File History to back up your data, you can follow the steps below to gradually complete how to restore deleted downloads folder in Windows 10.

Step 1. Type Control Panel in the Windows search box to enter the interface. Then click the System and Security option.

Step 2. Click Restore files with File History under the File History option.

Step 3. In the next window, click Restore personal files on the taskbar.

Step 4. Select the items that you need to recover and click the Restore button to restore the downloaded files to their original location.

Solution 5. Recover lost download files use Command Prompt

If you don't have Windows Backup and File History enabled, you can try using the command prompt to get back deleted or lost downloads. It can effectively get back the data you may have hidden, please follow the steps below.

Step 1. Press the Win + R keys to quickly launch the Run program, type cmd, and then click OK.

Step 2. In the Administration Command Prompt window, enter: ATTRIB -H -R -S /S /D F:*.*.

Notes:✎...

F can be replaced with the drive letter you need to recover data.

Step 3. Press Enter after entering the command and wait for the data recovery to complete.

In the end

You can get effective solutions on how to recover deleted download files in this article, there are 5 kinds in total. If you want to get back your deleted files quickly and efficiently, we highly recommend you to use the free MyRecover, you can effortlessly recover lost data in any situation.