It’s a simple fact of life. Everyone makes mistakes. True, some people make them more than others but fact is, no one is perfect. Nor can we expect to be perfect when using a computer. Deleting files you wished you hadn’t is a big part of that mistake process. The scenario I’m sure, is all too familiar to many of you reading this. We think a document or picture is of no use and hit the delete key. A short while later (or maybe not) you then discover that the file is actually more important than you think it was. Or it could be that you accidentally deleted a folder which contains a subfolder of your precious photos and whatnot. But it’s already too late as that file was deleted a while ago and you have since emptied your recycle bin. So, is all hope lost? Will you ever be able to recover back that precious photo or document? The answer is yes, the file can be recoverable, although the chances of doing so varies.
You can skip the introduction and jump directly to a specific recovery tool by clicking on a link:
PhotoRec
DiskDigger
Recuva
FreeUndelete
Pandora File Recovery
Tokiwa Data Recovery
ADRC Recovery Software
Recovering deleted files isn't magic and success isn't guaranteed. Basically, it boils down to luck. Actually, there is another major deciding factor on whether you’ll be successful or not in the file recovery process. That factor is the time from when you deleted the file to the time you actually realized you actually need it back. This is a major deciding factor due to how hard drives stores user data. I've written a little more about this topic in an article discussing how to securely delete your data. In a nutshell, when you delete a file (emptying it from the Recycle Bin), the actual file still resides in your hard drive. The hard drive just marks that area the file is occupying as available. When you download and create new files, the hard drive can save them in those available spaces which will then overwrite the original files. Therefore as you can see, the more you use your hard drive after deleting a precious file, the less chance you have of recovering that file due to the increase chance of their space being overwritten. This also means that the longer you use your computer from the time you deleted the file, the more likely you'll have downloaded and created new files. So the general recommendation is that as soon as you realize you need to recover a file, stop using the computer immediately!
With all that being said, I understand that sometimes it’s not possible to quickly discover the need to recover a deleted file until a later time. That is why doing a file recovery procedure on your home computer should only be a one time event! I'm getting pretty tired of always mentioning about the importance of creating a simple backup plan. We got cheap hard drives, free online storage, and free online syncing services so please utilize them! You may be lucky if you successfully recover your file this time but the same can't be said the next time around so I wouldn't really push it if I were you. Learn to create a simple backup strategy so you'll have a ease of mind when something goes wrong later on. Think of it like this. Purchasing a small thumb drive to backup your most important documents will cost you anywhere between $15-$20. However, you can’t really put a price on those precious family photos or that research paper you spent all weekend on. If you really can’t recover the deleted files even after using more than one file recovery tools, than you’re just going to suck it up and take it as a very expensive lesson on why you should always have a backup on hand!
As stated previously, there is no 100% guarantee that your file will be successfully recovered. Sometimes the recovery software can only recover a partial of the file. Also, depending on the software used, not all file types can be recovered. Photos, music files, and documents are some of the more common accepted file types.
If you want a slightly higher chance of success, I’d suggest you physically yank out the hard drive and connect it to another working system as a slave. Install and run the recovery software from the main hard drive but direct it to scan the slave hard drive. This is obviously more hassle but remember, the more files saved on the hard drive (which includes installing any utilities as well), the less chance you have of actually recovering your file. If you can't accomplish that, then use a simple USB thumb drive to install and run the recovery software from. Also, when saving recovered files, do not save it on the disk you are trying to recover from! Once again, save it to another destination!
If at the end you still can't find your deleted files and they are really, really dear to you, then you'll have no choice but to consult a professional data recovery company to help you. Doing so obviously will cost a lot of money but you really can't blame anyone other than yourself! If you do go with this route, please make sure to ask the professionals to detail their recovery process in details if possible.
PhotoRec
This little software packs a lot of power. I have recommended this file recovery utility to many people and many a times, it was successful in recovering their data. Maybe it didn't recover everything but it was sure better than nothing. Don't be misled by the name however. Besides recovering photos, PhotoRec can recover many more file types. In fact, they claim to be able to recover more than 320 file type extensions! Being able to filter what you want PhotoRec to scan for is another excellent feature. For example, if you want to recover are photos, than it's safe to say that you wouldn't care about any other file types.
1. You can download PhotoRec from here. Remember to download the correct version for your operating system! You'll also want to read and look over the step-by-step instructions here for more details.
2. Start up PhotoRec. Be sure to give the program administrator privileges. In the main menu screen, highlight which disk you want PhotoRec to scan.
3. Next up you’ll select the partition type. Usually, PhotoRec will automatically detect this for you so trust in its decision.
4. Now we get to select which partition to scan.
5. Before proceeding with the scan, you can optionally select specifically which file types you want to recover. By default, PhotoRec will recover any file it recognizes. If you want to shorten that list, than use your right arrow key to select the File Opt option on the bottom. You'll see a list of all the file extensions PhotoRec supports. To disable all of them, press S. Scroll to the file extension you do want PhotoRec to scan for and press the right arrow key. When you are done making your selection, press B to save the changes. In my case, I will only be recovering JPGs and GIFs.
6. In the next part, select the correct file system used by the partition you selected in the previous step.
7. The next section allows you to tell PhotoRec on how it should scan your hard drive. The Free option will only scan your unallocated hard drive space (free/empty space). Therefore, this is helpful if you want to recover a deleted file. The Whole option will scan the entire hard drive. This is helpful if you hard drive is badly corrupted. This scan will also take a lot longer.
8. Next, you'll specify a location to save the recovered files. Like it says on the screen, you should NOT save the files in the same partition you are trying to recover files from! If possible, save it to a external drive or to another partition. Use your left and right arrow keys to navigate between drives and directories. Press Y to proceed with the scan.
9. Once the scan has completed, head over to the folder destination. A folder labeled recup_dir.1 should be there. In it will be all of the recovered files from PhotoRec. Scroll through them and cross your fingers that the file you deleted previously had been recovered.
DiskDigger
This utility is simple to use and very fast.
1. You can download DiskDigger from here. Simply extract the executable to begin using the tool. Run the tool with admin privileges.
2. On the main menu screen, simply select the partition/disk that you want to scan.
3. Next up you'll get to select the scan type. The explanation for each type is pretty easy to understand. Basically select the first option for a basic recovery and select the other for a much more deeper scan. Read over the pros and cons of each scan type.
The scan will then proceed if you have selected the first option. If you opt for the second, you'll be presented with a choice selection on which file types you want DiskDigger to scan for. The list is no where near as extensive as PhotoRec but it does cover many of the more important ones. Uncheck those file types that you do not wish to recover. The scan will then proceed.
4. Simply highlight the file to see a preview of it, if available. The different file types are assorted in their own tabs so everything is neatly categorized. To recover a file, highlight it and push the Save button.
Recuva
This software is from the guys who also brought you the awesome CCleaner utility.
1. You can download Recuva from here.
2. In the File Type dialog box, you can select what types of files you want to recover. You can't select more than one file type. You either can scan for one specific file type or scan for everything.
3. Next, you can select the location to direct the Recuva recovery scan. If you've emptied the Recycle Bin, then that location should be your first place to starting digging.
4. Recuva will then let you know that it can now proceed with the scan. You can enable the Deep Scan option if you want to perform a deeper scan, which obviously will take longer. Once the scan has completed, select the files you want to recover and hit the Recover button.
FreeUndelete
1. You can download FreeUndelete from here.
2. There isn't much to configure with FreeUndelete. Simply fire it up, select the hard drive to scan, hit the Scan button and let the utility to its thing.
3. In my scenario, FreeUndelete didn't really find any files like how the other tools did. Your results may vary.
Pandora File Recovery
1. You can download Pandora File Recovery here.
2. When you open the program, the wizard will automatically start. It is suggested you follow this wizard. First up it will tell you to check the Recycle Bin first to see if the file is still in there. If not, then continue on with the wizard.
Next, select the disk drive you would like to scan.
Now you will select a recovery method (scan type).
3. You'll then be taken to the respective scan area. Since I opted to do a deep scan, I can also choose what types of files I want to recover as seen below. Once you got everything you want selected, begin the scan by hitting the Start button.
Once the scan has completed, as usual, select the files you want to recover and save it to another location!
Tokiwa Data Recovery
1. You can download Tokiwa Data Recovery from here.
2. Run the tool with admin privileges. Tokiwa Data Recovery is really easy to use. Simply select the drive to scan, hit the Scan button and let it go to work.
3. Once the scan has completed, you'll see a popup box asking if you want to try a Full Scan. Go over the file list first before hitting OK. Recover the files by selecting them and hitting the Recover button. Some files may not be recoverable (even though at first it seems as if it is recoverable) and so when you check back the folder destination, they will not appear.
ADRC Recovery Software
1. You can download ADRC Recovery from here. You need to run the tool with admin privileges. Also, upon starting the utility, it will open your browser to open ADRC's homepage. Simply ignore it.
2. All you need to do is select the drive to scan from the drop down box and hit the Search button to begin. To recover files, simply select them and select the Undelete button in the lower right corner.
In The End...
Although it may seem that we have a lot of different options for recovering our deleted files, it's not really something that you should look forward to doing! Like I said in the beginning, performing a file recovery should only be a one time event, at most. As you probably may already realize by now, not all files are recoverable. The larger the file, the less chance of it being totally recovered. However, even small files like pictures and whatnot suffer the same consequences. Therefore, you're much better off if you had a backup of those files.
