How Long It Will Take before a Deleted File Is Unrecoverable? - MiniTool (2024)

FAQs

How long can a deleted file be recovered? ›

As an administrator, you can recover deleted items from Google Drive within 25 days after a user empties their trash. After that period, Google purges the data from its systems.

In Windows Explorer, click on the file to select and press the Shift+Delete key on your keyboard. Now, you'll see a popup asking whether you want to delete the files permanently or not. Select Yes on the popup, and the file will be permanently deleted and won't go to the recycle bin.

Files that are moved to the Recycle Bin (on Microsoft Windows) or Trash (on macOS) stay in those folders until the user empties them. Once they have been deleted from those folders, they are still located in the hard drive and can be retrieved with the right software.

It can take anywhere from ten milliseconds to ten years or longer. It all depends on when that disk space is needed to hold another file. Not long, just add/copy a new file to the drive and it will overwrite the old deleted file.

If permanently deleted 2 years ago, they are gone and can not be recovered. 2 years is too far back in time.

Can files be recovered once deleted? Yes, files can be recovered after being deleted. The level of difficulty depends on how long ago the file was deleted, however, and you may need to use specialized tools if trying to recover data that has been corrupted.

To make a file impossible to recover, it is recommended to use a process called "secure deletion" or "file shredding." Here are a few ways you can securely delete a file: Use a file shredder software: These are special programs that overwrite the data on a file multiple times, making it impossible to recover.

Even if you immediately empty the Recycle Bin or Trash folder, all your deletion does is earmark the space that file takes up on your hard drive as vacant. Until another file or application makes use of that room, the old data will remain. This is why specialized programs can often recover deleted files for you.

The quickest way to recover files that have been permanently deleted from the Recycle Bin is with Windows File Recovery. You can also go into the File History of a file and restore a past version.

Use the right-click menu. Here's how to permanently delete files through the right-click context menu: Select the file or folder you want to permanently delete, right-click it, and choose Delete. Then, right-click the Recycle Bin on your desktop and select Empty Recycle Bin.

Does deleting a file permanently delete it? ›

But just because you delete a file, doesn't mean that the data is gone forever. Traditional spinning hard drives store data on polished magnetic metal platters (or glass or ceramic with a thin metal layer) and the store data by magnetizing sectors.

There are two options for deleting data permanently from your hard disk. The first is the quick formatting, and the other is the full formatting. Quick formatting is safe only if your hard drive has been formatted previously and is not damaged.

Empty the Recycle Bin: After you have deleted all the user's files, make sure to empty the Recycle Bin to permanently delete the files. Run disk cleanup: To free up any additional space that may still be occupied by the deleted user's files, you can run the Disk Cleanup utility.

File erasure or data erasure aims to completely wipe data from every sector of the hard drive by overwriting it so it'd be permanently gone. Several tools are there that can help you erase data permanently. We'd recommend using Stellar File Eraser.

The quickest way to recover files that have been permanently deleted from the Recycle Bin is with Windows File Recovery. You can also go into the File History of a file and restore a past version.

If you've permanently deleted an item in Microsoft Outlook or Outlook on the web (formerly known as Outlook Web App), the item is moved to a folder (Recoverable Items > Deletions) and kept there for 14 days, by default. You can change how long items are kept, up to a maximum of 30 days.