6 Proven Ways to Recover Permanently Deleted Files on Windows 11/10 - 99% Successful

Key Takeaways

  • Stop using the drive immediately: Continuing to save files or download software can overwrite the deleted data, making recovery impossible.
  • Check the basics first: Always look in the Recycle Bin or press Ctrl + Z to undo a recent action before trying advanced methods.
  • Utilize native tools: Windows offers free built-in backup tools like File History and Previous Versions.
  • Best for permanent deletion: If you have Shift-deleted files or emptied the Recycle Bin, third-party software like Aiseesoft Data Recovery is your most reliable option.

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To free up space on the computer, we may need to delete unwanted files. But sometimes, we may delete the file by mistake. In the past, you could not recover deleted files on Windows after you clicked on the Delete button. Fortunately, Microsoft realized this demand and introduced the Recycle Bin feature to Windows in 1995. From then on, deleting a file by accident has not been a problem anymore.

However, this handy feature only works if the bin folder has not been emptied manually or automatically. Plus, some files won't go to the Recycle Bin after the deletion. In that case, is there any way to restore deleted files?

In this tutorial, we are going to tell you all the knowledge you should know about how to recover deleted files in Windows. No matter if it’s an image, document, audio file, etc. you can easily retrieve them all.

Recover Deleted Files in Windows
Recovery Method Success Rate Time Required Best For...
Recycle Bin 100% 1 Minute Files deleted normally via the "Delete" key.
File History High (if enabled) 3 Minutes Recovering older versions of overwritten documents.
Previous Versions Medium 2 Minutes Restoring entire folders to an earlier state.
Cloud Drive 100% (if enabled) 5 Minutes Overwrite all data to the previous version.
Aiseesoft Recovery 99% 5 Minutes Shift-deleted files, emptied Recycle Bins, and corrupted drives.

Part 1. Find Deleted Files from the Recycle Bin on Windows 11/10

First of all, the answer of how to recover deleted files from PC is various depending on your situations. As mentioned, if you just select a file and press the Delete button, it will be very simple to get back your file.

Go to the Recycle Bin folder from your desktop, right-click on the deleted file and hit Restore. Congratulations! The deleted file is back to the original directory.

Recover Deleted Files Recycle Bin

Part 2. Undeleted Files with Free Built-in Windows Solutions

If you don’t want any installation on your computer, Windows also offers you built-in tools to solve this problem by using free backup and restore. It’s great for text file recovery. This part is about the previous version's feature. Check the following steps according to your Windows OS.

How to see recently deleted files on Windows 7 previous version

Step 1.
Go to Start > Computer to navigate to the folder that you need to recover.
Step 2.
Right-click this folder and select Restore previous versions from its menu.
Restore Previous Versions Option
Step 3.
There will be a new pop-up window to show a list of your previous file versions with dates and times. Select the one you want to recover and click Restore.
Restore Previous Version Win7

How to recover deleted files in Windows 10/8.1/8 previous feature

Step 1.
Open your Windows control panel.
Step 2.
Go to File History > Restore personal files.
Step 3.
Hit the green button at the bottom middle of Restore to original location.
How To Restore Files From File History Win10

Note: This recovery feature often has drawbacks in data integrity, limited storage space, and even data corruption.

Retrieve Deleted Files from File History Backup

The other one is Windows free backup, here is the step-by-step guide.

Step 1.
Go to Start > Control Panel to select Backup and Restore (Windows 7)
Click Backup Restore
Step 2.
Choose the option of Select another backup to restore files from and your backup.
Step 3.
Continue by clicking Next and follow the instructions to finish the recovery.
Recover Deleted Files From Backup Feature

Note: This fix is useful for only specific folder backups and may slow down the PC with heavy workloads.

Part 3. Recover Deleted Data from Google Drive

Google Drive is a convenient medium for Windows users to back up and store files regularly. If you are a G suite user, you can retrieve your files after the 30-day trash limit. Here is the guide.

Step 1.
Log in to the Google Admin Console.
Step 2.
Select Users section from the main panel.
Recover Deleted Google Files From G Suite
Step 3.
Select the user account for which you want to recover its data. Then, click on the three dots on the right side.
Step 4.
In a new interface, find your lost file and right-click it. Choose RESTORE DATA.
Find Deleted Google Files From G Suite
Step 5.
Click Drive as your application then hit on the RESTORE button.

Note: This feature is only applicable with G suit users. And in some cases, only parts of a file can be recovered.

Part 4. The Ultimate Solution for Permanently Deleted Files & Crashed PC

How to Recover Permanently Deleted Files/Folders in Windows🔥

As for Windows finding deleted files, the best method is to get yourself a powerful data recovery tool with various recovery scenarios and a high success rate.

Aiseesoft Data Recovery is one of the best professional file recovery software for Windows. Its key features include:

1. Recover deleted emails, photos, videos, music, documents, and other files in Windows.

2. Work for digital camera, flash drive, memory card, and other removable drives, in addition to local hard drives.

3. Undelete files that removed by accident, formatting, Recycle Bin emptying, system crashing or other problems.

4. Perform deep scan if you cannot find the desired files in quick-scan result.

5. Preview the thumbnails of the deleted files and decide to recover all of them or certain files.

6. Scan specified data types and disk faster utilizing the hardware acceleration technology.

7. Available to Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP.

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Step 1 Install the best undelete software on your computer

Access the official website, download the latest version of Data Recovery, double-click on the installer file and follow the onscreen instructions to get it installed on your PC. Then launch it from your desktop and you will be presented the concise home interface.

Data Recovery Interface

Step 2 Scan your disk to find the delete files

Select where you store the deleted files. If you need to recover files from flash drive, plug it into your computer and the software will recognize it. Hit the Start Scan button to perform scan.

Select Disk

Step 3 Restore data in a single click

When you are taken to the result window, click the desired data type on the left side column, and then you can look at the deleted files on the right detail panel organizing by formats.

Now, your data has successfully recovered.

Completed

Try it now to restore your photos, audio, documents, and more in Windows!

Recover/Backup Files from Crashed PC🔥

Sometimes you don’t delete these files actually, but your PC crashes and you can’t find them all. This may be one of the most complicated recovery scenarios. But don’t worry, there also are feasible tools for you to retrieve files from crashed PCs or PCs stuck with some bootable problems. Let’s keep on using Aiseesoft Data Recovery as an example, it can help you find various file types including images, audio files, documents, emails, etc. with its special Crashed PC Recovery mode. Here are some simple steps to conduct this.

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Step 1.
Download and launch this program and choose Crashed PC Recovery mode from the bar on the left. Then, click Start Recovery.
Start Recovery
Step 2.
Connect a USB flash drive (better larger than 4GB) to your computer and click Create to generate a bootable USB. Please note that this process will format your USB drive.
Create A Boot Disk
Step 3.
When the bootable USB is created, insert it into your crashed PC. Then, start this computer into BIOS/UEFI settings by repeatedly pressing the BIOS/UEFI hotkey. Usually, they’re F12 or ESC on your keyboard.
Step 4.
In the BIOS/UEFI interface, choose your bootable USB under Boot Priority to restart this computer.
Enter Bios Settings
Step 5.
Here you can choose to deep scan all your files on this PC and copy them to a removable hard drive quickly.

Note: This method can only work on Windows computers.

Part 5. Bonus: Tips to Prevent Files Being Deleted

1. Create Regular Backup

No matter which recovery software you use for Windows 11/10/8/7, there are some tips that can maximize the chances to effectively recover deleted files.

2. Stop Using this PC

All the activities on your computer will produce some new data and store it on the hard drive, such as opening a document and writing down some words, or viewing a video with your media player. If it overwrites the physical space that saved the deleted files, they will become more difficult to get back.

3. Set Recycle Bin Properties

Windows will empty it automatically when the Recycle Bin is full. But you can change the Properties to stop the Recycle Bin from emptying. Right-click on your Recycle Bin, choose Properties to open the popup dialog, select Custom size, and input 1,000 in the box beneath. Hit the OK button to confirm it.

set-recycle-bin

4. Choose Suitable Recovery Tool

Select the proper tool to recover deleted files on Windows 8 and other versions. We have shared the reviews of the top three file recovery programs. You can pick the most appropriate one based on your situation.

A stop-working computer or dead hard drive exhibits extra trouble when restoring the recycle bin on Windows 11/10/8//8.1/7 or recovering deleted files. But if you use a powerful tool, such as Aiseesoft Data Recovery, it is still possible to get back what you want.

Part 6. FAQs of How to Restore Permanently Deleted Files in PC

Where do permanently deleted files go Windows?

Usually, the deleted items are put into Recycle Bin, you can directly access to it on your desktop. Any storage device connected to your Windows computer will give a certain percentage of its storage space to the Recycle Bin.

Does Windows permanently delete files?

On Windows 11/10 devices, you can press Shift + Delete to entirely delete target files. This method can bypass the Recycle Bin to delete files permanently. By the way, Aiseesoft Data Recovery can also retrieve permanently deleted files in Windows if you press Shift + Delete mistakenly.

How to restore file history?

First, you need to plug in your external hard drive to your PC. Then, type File History in the Start menu and choose File History Settings. At last, click Restore personal files in the left panel.

Conclusion

In this post, we have discussed how to recover deleted files in Windows. Apparently, the first place to find the deleted files on a Windows computer is the Recycle Bin. There are some cases where your files may be erased permanently, such as when the Recycle Bin has been empty. But don't panic and this is not the end of the world. We have identified five solutions and multiple tips for you to wipe out these worries.

If the deleted files are very important, we suggest you try Aiseesoft Data Recovery. It is not only easy to use, but also able to restore almost all deleted files from your device efficiently. We hope that our sharing is helpful to you.

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Aiseesoft Data Recovery is the best data recovery software to recover deleted/lost photos, documents, emails, audio, videos, etc. from your PC/Mac.

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