Recover Deleted Files in Windows 10 With/Without Software [2023] (2024)

We’ve all done it, and most of us will do it again at some point in the future. We’re talking, of course, about accidentally deleting important files using the Shift + Delete shortcut in Windows 10, which removes the possibility to simply recover them from the Recycle Bin.

The good news is that not all hope is lost when you select wrong files and accidentally delete them because there are manyways how to recover permanently deleted files on Windows 10 users should know about, and we describe them all in this article.

How to Recover Deleted Files from a Recycle Bin in Windows 10

As you may know, when you normally select a file inWindows 10 and hit Delete on your keyboard, the file moves to the Recycle Bin, where it sits until you manually empty the Recycle Bin, giving you time to change your mind and easily rescue the deleted file.

To recover deleted files from the Recycle Bin on Windows 10:

• Open the Recycle Bin by right-clicking its icon.
• Select Open from the menu to view deleted files.
• Check the box to the left of the filename you want to restore.
• Right-click on a selected file and choose ‘Restore’ to recover the file to its original location on Windows 10.

The problem with this way of deleting files is that it doesn’t immediately free up any storage space, which is why most people delete files in the first place. Only when you manually empty the Recycle Bin does Windows mark the disk space occupied by the deleted files as empty.

If you want to delete a file that you’re 100% positive won’t be needed in the future, you can skip theRecycle Bin and use the Shift + Delete shortcut to delete it permanently right away. When you delete a file using the Shift + Delete shortcut, you immediately free up storage space, but you deprive yourself of the possibility to simply recover it from the Recycle Bin.

However, just because you can’t recover permanently deleted files from Recycle Bin doesn’t mean you can’t recover them at all. Just keep in mind that you need to act quickly and recover your permanently deleted files before they get overwritten.

Recover Deleted Files in Windows 10 without Third-Party Software

We start with the least user-friendly method, which involves the Command Prompt and a series of very specific commands. If you can successfully use this method, we’re convinced that you won’t have a problem with any other method described in this article.

The recovery process may take a while to finish, so be patient and don’t interrupt it. If possible, don’t do anything at all on your computer while the recovery process is running because you could overwrite the deleted files and make recovery impossible.

Recover Permanently Deleted Files from an Older Backup

Windows Vista introduced a new data recovery component called Backup and Restore, which allowed users to create backups and restore from backups created earlier.

Even though Backup and Restore was completely removed from the Windows operating system in Windows 8.1 in favor of File History (more about File History in the next chapter of this article), it’s still possible to recover data on Windows 10 computers from backups created using the Backup and Restore tool.

Recover Deleted Files Using Data Recovery Software ✅

Disk Drill allows you to recover up to 500MB of data without paying, and it comes with a tool to protect your files against data loss.

Use the Windows File Recovery Tool

Microsoft has released its own data recovery tool, called Windows File Recovery, and you can use it to recover some deleted files even if they are no longer present in the Recycle Bin.

Unfortunately, Windows File Recovery is a command-line tool, so it’s not nearly as intuitive as Disk Drill and other graphical data recovery tools. At least you can download it for free directly from the Microsoft Store—at least if you have Windows 10 build 19041 or later.

Use the following syntax to recover lost data with the Windows File Recovery tool:

• Winter 2020 release: winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]
• Summer 2020 release: winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/switches]

You can find more information about the available recovery modes and switches on the official support page. Here’s an example of how the latest version of the Windows File Recovery tool can be used to recover PDF files from C: drive to E: drive:

The tool will automatically create a recovery folder on the destination drive and copy all recoverable files there.

Restore Permanently Deleted Files in Windows 10 for Free from a File History Backup

File History is a replacement for the Backup and Restore feature that was present in older version of the Windows operating system, allowing for simply Recycle Bin recovery Windows 10 as well as for the recovery of permanently deleted files.

To Recover Deleted Files on Windows 10 for free:

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Type “restore files” and hit Enter on your keyboard.
3. Look for the folder where you deleted files were stored.
4. Select the “Restore” button in the middle to undelete Windows 10 files to their original location.

If you cannot see any folders, that’s probably because File History is turned off. In that case, you should see an option to turn it on.

Use the Restore Previous Versions Feature

Windows 10 comes with an extremely useful data recovery feature, called “Restore previous versions”, which allows you to restore previous versions of all files and folders on your computer — provided you’ve activated it. To do that:

How to Recover Permanently Deleted Files from Google Drive

If you use Google’s cloud file storage and synchronization service, Google Drive, to store files on their servers and synchronize them across devices, you can use the 5 above-described methods to recover permanently deleted files from Google Drive.

How? Simply perform data recovery on the drive where you store the Google Drive folder to recover files that are no longer recoverable using the "Restore from Trash" option in Google Drive.

Conclusion

As you can see, even files deleted with the Shift + Delete keyboard shortcut inWindows 10 aren’t actually permanently deleted as long as you know what to do and act quickly enough. The next time someone asks you, “How do I recover permanently deleted files from my PC?” you can just point the person to this article or, better yet, recommend Disk Drill, the only data recovery solution you need.

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This article has been approved by Brett Johnson, Data Recovery Engineer at ACE Data Recovery. Brett has a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Systems and Network, 12 years of experience.