Losing files from PC is more common among people who use their PCs more often. This will often occur accidentally or when you try to clear some old files from your PC. However, it should not worry you as you can still recover the deleted files on Windows 10.
Basically, the deleted files will remain in the hard drive of your computer for some time depending on how often you use the computer. You doubt it? Windows is set to do this because when it deletes a file, it marks their previous location as available for reuse.
The files you delete from your Windows 10 computer will therefore remain available in the drive until when they are overwritten by Windows with new data forms. In this article, we give you a full list of methods to recover deleted files on Windows 10.
How To Recover Deleted Files From A Recycle Bin In Windows 10
As you may know, all the files you mark and delete from your Windows 10 goes to the recycle bin from where you can always regain access and even recover them if necessary. Recycle Bins therefore offer temporary storage for recently deleted files, whether on your Windows 10 or any other OS.
However, when the Recycle Bin is full, new files will be permanently deleted and cannot be retrieved from the Recycle Bin. The files stay in the Bin until you manually delete them.
If the files were deleted accidentally, check the recycle bin and use the steps below to restore them.
Step 1: Open the Recycle Bin by right-clicking the icon and selecting “open”
Step 2: Scroll the folder and mark the files to be recovered. If you deleted multiple files and you want to get all the recovery data on PC at once, use Ctrl and Shift Keys to select the items at once.
Step 3: Right-click on the files you have selected and click “Restore.” The files will then be restored to their original location on Windows 10.
Step 4: Go back to the original location of the files and check that the they have been successfully restored. You can also use the research command on windows 10 to check if the files are available. This will also help you understand their new location in case you can’t remember the original location of the files.
Recover Deleted Files Using Data Recovery Software
Recovering lost data from Windows 10 can be more seamless with the right data recovery software. If you want a quick solution to recover your files, use Disk Drill developed by Cleverfiles.
Here are the step to follow.
Step 1: Download and install Disk Drill. Do not use the disk intended for the recovery as that can easily corrupt the files.
Step 2: Launch the application and click “Search for lost data.” When the process ends, you should see a list of files to be recovered.
Step 3: Select the files you intend to recover
Step 4: Click the “Recover” button to initiate the recovery process
Step 5: Click “Recover” to finish the recovery process.
Step 6: When the process ends, navigate to the new location and confirm that the files have been restored and can be used by your applications.
This software can also be used to recover deleted files in Windows 8 among other Windows versions.
Recovery Deleted Files In Windows 10 Without Third Party Software
This method involves the use of specific command prompts. Here’s how to recover files with these commands.
Step 1: Open the start menu on Windows 10
Step 2: Type “cmd” and right-click on the top match.
Step 3: Select “Run as administrator” to run the command prompt with the privilege of an administrator
Step 4: Type “chkdsk X:/f” and tap “Enter” on your keyboard. Ensure you replace “X” with the letter that represents your hard drive on your Windows 10
Step 5: Type “ATTRIB -H -R -S /S /D X:*.*” and tap “Enter.” Again, ensure you replace the letter “X” with the one that represents your hard drive.
Give it time for the data recovery process to complete. If possible, avoid using your computer until the process is completed.
Recover Files From An Older Backup
To recover files from an older backup on your Windows 10, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Open the start menu on your Windows 10
Step 2: Type “backup” and tap “Enter” on your keyboard
Step 3: Choose “Go to backup and Restore” option
Step 4: Click on the “Select another backup to restore files from” option and select your preferred backup
Step5: Click “Next” and follow the prompts to complete the file recovery process.
Restore Previous Versions
Windows 10 has a “Restore previous versions” feature that helps you to restore previous versions of files that have been accidentally deleted from your Windows 10. However, you will be able to use this feature if you had previously activated it on your computer.
Follow the steps below to activate the restore feature.
Step 1: Open the start menu
Step 2: Type “System protection” and tap “Enter” on your keyboard
Step 3: select a hard drive under the “Protection Settings” and tap “Configure”
Step 4: Select “Turn on system protection” and click “OK”
You can now restore previous features on your Windows 10. To use the feature to restore Windows files, right-click on any file, go to the “Previous Versions” tab and choose the version to restore.
