How to Recover Deleted PDF Not in Recycle Bin?

How to recover deleted PDF not in Recycle Bin? This post lists three ways for you to recover permanently deleted PDF files and other relevant tips.

By @Penny Last Updated October 31, 2024

How do I recover a permanently deleted PDF?

Plenty of users prefer to transfer documents in PDF file format because this file format can prevent you from changing the layout of the document. So how to recover deleted PDF not in Recycle Bin like the following user?

   
   
 
       

I want to know how to recover permanently deleted PDF files from Recycle Bin, which were deleted two months ago. What’s worse, I forgot the filename. It was a scanned copy of my educational documents, and I had lost the hard copy of the same.

- A user from Microsoft

After deletion, the Windows OS will send all the deleted items to the Recycle Bin before permanent deletion. Without pressing “Shift + Delete” or emptying your Recycle Bin, you can recover the recently deleted files from the Recycle Bin.

Likewise, if you’ve set the time intervals to empty your Recycle Bin, you may also fail to find your needed files.

How to recover deleted PDF files in Windows 10/11?

If you’ve had the above operations, your recently deleted PDF files will transform into permanently deleted PDF files.

Are you wondering how to recover deleted PDF not in Recycle BIn? At the moment, backups or top-rated data recovery software for Windows can give you a hand.

Method 1. Recover permanently deleted PDF files from Backup and Restore

Released in the Win7 OS, Backup and Restore is an ideal method for those users who have made backups for the local disk that includes your needed PDF files.

Besides, you’re allowed to use this feature to recover folders while you organizing files you accidentally deleted.

Step 1. Open Control Panel” by entering it in the search bar and go to System and Security. Then select the “Backup and Restore (Windows 7)” option.

Step 2. Click the “Restore my files” button.

Step 3. Select “Browse for files” to find the PDF files you want to restore.

You can restore your selected PDF files to the original location or to a new saved path.

Method 2. Recover permanently deleted PDF files with File History

In this case, we’d like to introduce how to recover deleted PDF not in Recycle Bin using another free Windows feature, File History.

File History allows Win8 and later users to backup files in Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, Desktop folders, and OneDrive offline files saved on your computers.

With File History on, you can restore the deleted, lost, or damaged files. Moreover, you can save backups on the external hard drive or the cloud drive.  

Notes:✎...
If you haven’t opened System and Security to enable File History, it’s impossible for you to recover overwritten Excel files by restoring previous versions of files.   
But if you’ve enabled the System Restore by activating the System Protection of the local disk that includes your needed PDF files, you can follow this solution.

Step 1. Enter “Control Panel” in the search box and open it. Then click the “System and Security” option.

Step 2. When it comes to File History, select the “Restore your files with File History” option.

Step 3. Click the “Restore personal files” button.

Step 4. Restore” your selected PDF files to the original location.

If you want to specify the saved path, right-click on “Restore” and select the “Restore to” option.  

Method 3. Recover permanently deleted PDF files via data recovery software

Without backups, how to recover deleted PDF files in Windows 10/11? As stated earlier, you can use professional data recovery software to recover permanently deleted PDF files.

MyRecover is such a tool. You can use it to recover the deleted or lost files from HDD, USB drives, SD cards, and other electronic storage devices.

Let’s tap into its functionality below: 

★Tips:
 Recover Word, Excel, PPT, PDF, Photos, Videos, Audio, Compressed files, and other 200+ types of data.
 Get the original path, filename, and format for the deleted PDF files.  
 Search your targeted PDF files by entering their filenames in the search bar or wait to find all the deleted and other lost files on your computers after scanning.
 Be compatible with NTFS, exFAT, FAT32, and ReFS file systems in Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, and Windows Server.  

So why not give this powerful software a shot? Download it now on your PC!

Download SoftwareWin 11/10/8/7/Server
Secure Download

Step 1. After running the tool, hover the mouse over the drive, and click Scan.

Step 2. During the scanning process, you can search or wait to view all the deleted and other missing files of your selected partition/disk.

Step 3. Go to the Deleted files/Other missing files folder, and select your desired PDF files. Then click “Recover x files” and save them in a new location.

Relevant Q&A for PDF files

Are you wondering how to recover deleted PDF not in Recycle Bin? Please refer to the above methods to tackle your issues. Meanwhile, there’re some practical tips for you.