Deleted files and folders can be recovered. Data recovery mechanism using programs

Surely, everyone has at least once encountered a situation where important files on the computer were accidentally deleted. It's good if they take up little space and are on your hard drive. In this case, nothing bad happened: you can return the data by restoring it from the Recycle Bin. It's worse when the storage medium is a flash drive. In this case, there is no intermediate step, and the information is deleted immediately.

Despite the seemingly irreversible situation, things can be improved. If the user accidentallydeleted files from flash drive, how to restore them– our material will tell.

A little theory

Information on digital media, be it a flash drive or hard drive, is organized into a file system. This is a kind of journal in which data is entered about where each file is physically located (in solid-state memory cells or sectors of a magnetic disk), how much it occupies, and other information. During normal deletion through Explorer, often only this service information is erased. To improve performance and extend the life of the drive, data is not physically erased. Thus, despite the absence of mentions of files in the FS, the cells themselves are still occupied by the treasured bytes belonging to the previously erased file. They are cleared only when an attempt is made to write new data to the same location.

That is, after deleting files from the file system, they continue to be physically present on the disk. The principle of information recovery is based on this. To regain access to them, you need to analyze the contents of cells marked as free and find areas filled with data there.

Each type of file, be it images, music, video or document, has a specific structure. If a data recovery program finds an area corresponding to a certain type of data, it reports that it has identified a deleted file and tries to return it.

Is it possible to recover deleted files yourself?

Offered by numerous organizations. Among them are service centers specializing in all types of PC maintenance, as well as laboratories engaged only in this area. They will even return information from a broken drive, but the cost of services can amount to tens of thousands of rubles.

If for an organization that has lost its accounting program log, client base, and other unreserved documents due to a system failure and storage failure, the prices can be called acceptable (otherwise the losses reach millions), then for ordinary users they will seem huge. Despite the fact that in market terms a personal photo archive or video from family celebrations may not cost a penny, for a person they are precious as a memory. Lost work-from-home results don't cost millions either, but they can cost you a few lost days.

It is quite natural that the question “how to recover files deleted from the recycle bin, independently”, interests everyone. It is quite possible to do this, but a successful result is not always achieved and depends on a number of factors. To increase the likelihood of a successful recovery, several rules should be followed:

The less time has passed since deletion, the better.. Don't waste precious minutes by postponing recovery until later. What could be corrected immediately may not be possible later.
It is not recommended to use the drive after deleting files. It’s easier in this regard with a flash drive: you can simply remove it and put it aside for a while. It is more difficult with a hard drive, especially if it is the only one in the PC, and the deleted information was stored on the system partition. In this case, you should close all programs and proceed to download the file recovery program.
When downloading recovery programs, you cannot use a disk from which files have been deleted. It is better to download (and install) the software onto a third-party medium (preferably a USB flash drive). Otherwise, the risk increases that new files will be written to the place where the data of interest used to be, and it will no longer be possible to save them.

Recovery programs

To recover deleted files on computer, you need the appropriate software. There are quite a lot of similar programs. Many of them are paid (and relatively expensive, like all professional software). But it is worth noting the free applications: Recuva, R.saver (free for home use in the territory of the former USSR) and Wise Data Recovery. They have approximately the same functionality; as an example, we will give the last one as the simplest but most effective.

How to recover deleted files from a hard drive or flash drive using Wise Data Recovery

To recover deleted files from a flash drive or hard drive, you need to download and install the application (it is not recommended to install it on the target drive). The developers' website is in English, but it is possible to translate the interface into Russian using Google Translator.

After launching the program, a window opens with a minimalistic but clear interface. To start scanning, you need to select in the upper left corner the partition on which there were files that require recovery.

After starting the scanning procedure, the program checks the drive for deleted files, which are displayed on the panel. Search time ranges from several seconds to several minutes. It depends on the disk space, the overall performance of the PC and the number of files that have fallen under the knife.

After completing the search procedure, the program displays a list of detected deleted data on the panel. The color of the icon next to the file name indicates its level of preservation. Green indicates that the document can be saved, yellow warns of the possibility of failure, and red indicates that the data area has already been damaged. In this case, even if it is possible to save the file, there is a high risk that it will not be completely restored. And if, in the case of a photo, this results in empty fragments of the image (like missing puzzles), then it will most likely not be possible to unpack an archive in poor condition.

It should be noted that you should not be afraid of the yellow color. In the image below, the “Windows 10 PE” file is marked as “risky”. But this is a disk image specially deleted to demonstrate the program’s capabilities, which is successfully restored completely.

When the files of interest are found, all that’s left is to save them by moving them to a new location. You need to check the boxes of the documents you are interested in, click the “Recover” button at the bottom and select a location to save.You cannot specify the same partition on which the source files were stored.This may entail, in the course of rescuing one document, writing it over another. And then the second file will no longer be recoverable.

If you are not satisfied with the result, you can try another software.

How to recover deleted files using Recuva

Recuva comes in free and paid versions. You can download it from the developers' website. Once downloaded, installed and launched, the application will launch the “Recuva Wizard”, allowing you to follow the recovery procedure step by step. First of all, you should specify the type of data you are interested in. This allows you to make your search faster and more efficient.

Next, Recuva proceeds to selecting the location of the deleted data. You need to specify a section or folder to search for information.

After this, the program is ready for scanning. Checking “Enable in-depth analysis” will significantly increase the likelihood of success, but the search time increases, sometimes reaching an hour or more.

After the search, a list of detected files will also be displayed in the program window. Similarly, using a color indicator, the status of the detected file and the chance of saving it are indicated.

To make your search easier, you can sort the results by name, size, date modified, location, and condition. If the required file is found, you need to select it and press the “Restore” button, specifying the location to copy. If the document was not found, you can try to enable in-depth analysis.

Other programs are structured in a similar way. In general, the functionality of such software is at the same level, only the professional versions have wider capabilities and increased efficiency.

If 2, 3 or even 5 programs show equally disappointing results, you will have to accept: the data is lost forever. Most likely, they were overwritten, and even the professionals, who demand significant money for their work, will not be able to help.

Conclusion

Recover deleted files from Recycle Bin after cleaningCan. The likelihood of success directly depends on how timely the accidental deletion was detected. There is a lot of software for these purposes on the Internet, both free and for money. The programs have limited but sufficient functionality. Which one to choose is a matter of taste and wallet; you don’t have to “donate” to recover deleted files.

To get a positive result, you should prevent overwriting a blank area of the media by avoiding placing new data in it. You can do this yourself, and the chance of saving the information is quite high. You should follow all the recommendations, and then the question “how to recover deleted files from a flash drive or hard drive” will not bother you.

If you need help or don't knowhow to recover deleted files on your computer– ask in the comments, we will try to answer all questions.

Have you permanently deleted files from your computer or removable storage device? Don’t despair, there is still a chance to recover data that was deleted from the drive; to do this, you should resort to the help of specialized software. That is why we will take a closer look at the procedure for recovering files using the popular Recuva program.

The Recuva program is a proven product from the developers of the program, which allows you to recover deleted files from a flash drive and other media. The program has two versions: paid and free. For normal use, you can get by with a free one, which will allow you not only to perform recovery, for example, after formatting a flash drive or after an attack by the Vault virus.

How to recover files on your computer?

Please note that the disk usage from which the recovery will be performed should be reduced to a minimum. If you are using a flash drive, then you should not write information to it yet in order to increase the chances of correctly restoring all contents.

1. If files are being restored from removable media (flash drive, SD card, etc.), then connect it to the computer, and then launch the Recuva program window.

2. After launching the program, you will be asked to select what type of files will be recovered. In our case this is MP3, so we check the box "Music" and move on.

3. Mark the location where the files were deleted. In our case, this is a flash drive, so we select the item "On the memory card" .

4. In the new window there is an item "Enable in-depth analysis" . During the first analysis, you don’t have to turn it on, but if the program couldn’t detect files with a simple scan, then this item needs to be activated.

5. When the scanning is completed, a window with detected files will automatically appear on the screen. Near each item you will see circles of three colors: green, yellow and red.

A green circle means that everything is fine with the file and it can be restored, a yellow one means that the file may be damaged and, finally, the third one means that the file has been overwritten, its integrity has been lost, therefore it is almost pointless to restore such data.

6. Check the boxes next to the items that will be restored by the program. When the selection is complete, click the button "Restore" .

7. A window will appear on the screen "Browse folders" , in which it is necessary to indicate the target disk with which the recovery procedure was not carried out. Because We recovered files from a flash drive, then we can freely specify any folder on the computer.

Done, the data is restored. You will find them in the folder that you specified in the previous paragraph.

Modern computers are multimedia devices and at the same time data storage centers. But sometimes you can accidentally delete necessary files. In this case, don't worry because they can be restored.

How is information stored?

Once you delete a file from your computer, it is not physically erased. In the file table it is assigned the label “0”, which means that other information can be recorded in this place on the hard drive. Therefore, it is possible to recover an accidentally deleted file. But remember that some information may be irretrievably lost.

Data Recovery

To recover deleted data, special methods and third-party programs are used (they scan the drive and look for fragments marked “file deleted”).

Windows tools

The easiest way to restore is to return files from the Recycle Bin. This is a place to back up deleted documents before erasing them. It is limited in volume, after exceeding which the information stored there is deleted to make room for new information.

Open the Recycle Bin → RMB on the required document - Restore.

You can restore files from the Recycle Bin only if you have not permanently deleted them (by pressing Shift+Del) or have not emptied the Recycle Bin. In this case, you can only recover lost information using special programs.

Special programs

After emptying the Recycle Bin or permanently deleting data, it can only be recovered using special programs that scan the device’s internal storage.

Important! To recover deleted information, it is better to remove the hard drive and connect it to another PC to eliminate the possibility of “accidentally” overwriting data.

Recuva

Recuva has an intuitive interface.

In the Recovery Wizard window, specify the file type and disk to scan.
After that, start the search. If the information was deleted a long time ago, enable a deep system scan.
Once the process is complete, the found files will appear in the utility window. Those marked with a green circle can be restored. If a found file is marked with a red circle, it cannot be restored.

Healthy! Before restoring, you can view the document data.

EaseUS Data Recovery

The advantage of the EaseUS Data Recovery program is that it creates a secure Recycle Bin in which files are stored for as long as possible and are protected from overwriting.

Select the type of files to recover and the location to search.
If EaseUS Data Recovery doesn't find anything, run a deep scan.
Specify the required documents and start the recovery process.

Often, novice users delete data from their laptop or accidentally lose it without knowing whether it is possible to recover deleted files, including those on the desktop, and how to do it. There may be quite simple situations where lost documents are literally a couple of clicks away, but there may also be more serious problems that require the use of special applications to solve.

Recovering from the Recycle Bin

All files after deletion while maintaining the standard computer settings fall into the so-called. Recycle Bin is a special folder on the desktop, by opening which you can easily restore any deleted information by highlighting the desired object and selecting the appropriate item in the menu. But files can be deleted permanently without being placed in the trash.

Inexperienced users often accidentally delete application shortcuts and documents from the desktop, believing that if they are gone, then the rest of the program has also been deleted entirely. In this case, many people do not know how to recover deleted files. This is very easy to do, even if the basket is empty. There are two options:

Roll back the system to the nearest restore point;
Find the program in the main menu of the Start button and drag the desired shortcuts to the desktop.

The second option is preferable, but if lost programs and documents have disappeared from the list of the main menu on the computer and you do not remember the directory in which they were installed, you will have to use the first.

If you are deciding how to recover a deleted folder from your desktop, and the erroneous action was performed recently, then you probably won’t even have to go to the Recycle Bin. Deletion can be canceled by simultaneously pressing hot Ctrl and Z.

Using a restore point

It is important to understand that rolling back to a previous restore point will not return the program, documents and files if they were deleted. In this way, only erased shortcuts on the desktop can be returned to their place. Here's how it's done using Windows 8 as an example:

A window will open in which, by default, you will be asked to restore to the most recent checkpoint. If necessary, you can specify any other existing restore point.

We use third-party applications

If data and documents from the laptop’s hard drive are completely deleted and cannot be returned using standard OS tools, you will have to use special utilities to recover deleted files. It is important to remember the main rule that increases the chances of successful data recovery - do not write anything to the disk partition that you will be working with later.

Recuva is a simple free utility

The most famous and simple application with which you can recover deleted files is . When installing, select the partition of the disk on which there is no data to be recovered. The principle of operation of Recuva and other similar utilities is approximately the same:

After the scan is completed, the recovery wizard will display on your desktop a list of all the lost documents that it was able to detect. Those that are marked with a green circle can be restored by the utility without any loss.. If the icon color is red, then this file most likely cannot be returned - a recording has already been made over it and most of the data and information about the file are completely lost.

All that remains is to select the files (you can use the corresponding function to search for specific photos and documents), select the directory to save and click “Recover”.

PhotoRec is another functional free utility

The name of the program should not be misleading. The utility recovers not only photos, but also most other types of files. Its advantage is that there is no need for installation - it can be downloaded from the office. site in the form of an archive, unpacked, after which you can work with it. This is an important property for such applications - the program can be immediately downloaded to a flash drive and worked with it.

The scheme for returning long-lost information is as follows:

After launching PhotoRec, the main window immediately opens, in which the drive is selected in the top drop-down menu - you will have to work with it during data recovery. The program also works with img format images created in other applications.
Below in the window there is a list in which you can select a full disk scan or individual sections.
Below, you can set the file type to scan by clicking File Format. If you skip this step, the program will try to recover all accidentally deleted data that it can detect.
You can specify a folder to save the recovered information by clicking the Browse button. In addition, in the File System type menu you will need to select a file system. If you are working in a Windows environment, check the second box. Ext 2-4 system is the standard for Linux.

Let's compare the considered applications

For novice users, the PhotoRec program is no less suitable than the above-described Recuva. It is more powerful - it often extracts data from the computer better, but it still has one unpleasant feature. Free PhotoRec does not allow you to view the found files after scanning and select something specific from them. This must be taken into account when working with large hard drives - if you do not specify in advance which files are to be restored, everything will be saved.

Above we discussed the simplest free applications for retrieving accidentally deleted information on the desktop or lost documents after formatting flash drives, hard drives and other media.

It is important that PhotoRec, unlike Recuva, is also a cross-platform utility, i.e., capable of working in any operating environment.

A headache for PC users is the loss of files: photos, documents and other data. We won't go into theory: this practical guide explains the basic principles of file recovery. We hope you can put them into practice.

Let's look at three main scenarios on how to recover deleted files on a computer:

Programs used during recovery:

Is it always possible to recover deleted files on your computer?

Not always, but in many cases it is quite possible. Let me explain.

After deletion, the files remain on the hard drive. In the file table they are assigned a label – “0”. This means that this space is not occupied and can be used to record other information.

Thus, the file is hidden from your eyes, it is deleted only conditionally and can be restored as long as it is not overwritten by other data. (By the way, you can restore files after overwriting, but there is a risk that they are partially damaged and cannot be returned).

How to assess the chances of recovery after removal?

The likelihood of file recovery depends on many factors. The checklist looks something like this:

How the deletion was carried out - through the Recycle Bin, bypassing it (Shift + Del), through the formatting command
Time elapsed since deletion - the further you go, the higher the risk of files being overwritten
Type of deleted files - some files (images, videos) can be partially recovered, others cannot be recovered if even one byte of data is lost
Type of storage device – hard drive, RAID array, etc.
File system type - NTFS/FAT/exFAT, etc.

If the circumstances are successful, the files can be restored in whole or in part. It’s impossible to determine the probability in numbers, but it’s worth a try.

How to recover files from the Recycle Bin

Usually, after deleting (via the Del key), files are sent to the Recycle Bin. The Recycle Bin is temporary storage; the data is there for 30 days, after which it is automatically deleted. If during this time you change your mind (for example, remember that the files you need are among the deleted files), check the contents of the Recycle Bin and restore the files. How to do it:

Open the Recycle Bin through the icon on your desktop or through Explorer
Select the files to be restored and use the Restore item in the context menu
The files will be restored to their original location

How to recover files if the Recycle Bin has already been emptied

Even when you empty the Recycle Bin, the files are not permanently destroyed. However, you will need additional utilities and time to successfully recover deleted files. Recovery programs work on the same principle: they scan the file system, looking for sectors on the computer marked “file deleted.”

Note. By installing a program, you inevitably make changes to the file table, reducing the chances of recovery (depending on the amount of computer information recorded on the hard drive). We recommend installing the recovery program on a flash drive, another computer, or a disk partition that was not used to store deleted files.

Recovering files after formatting

Let's move on to more “severe” cases. In particular, after formatting, not only individual files, but also the entire partition of the hard drive undergoes changes. The result is permanently deleted files.

Is there a chance to recover data on a PC in such a situation?

After quick formatting - yes
After full formatting the chances are minimal

What programs will help you recover files on your hard drive?

In fact, there are dozens of recovery programs. We do not recommend taking the first one you come across: there is a risk that you will not only not recover your files after deletion, but will also waste money on useless functions. We will list three programs that have been tested and are respected by other users.

1. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard: advanced file recovery after deletion (in difficult cases)

Convenience. Data Recovery Wizard is perfectly integrated with the file system and Windows OS. Thanks to the built-in recovery wizard, working with it is convenient.
Secure Recycle Bin. Unlike the standard Recycle Bin, you can store deleted files in it and restore them even after cleaning.
Solving complex cases. Recovering files deleted without the Recycle Bin (via Shift+Delete), after formatting or on HDD partitions with the “raw file system”.

2. Recuva – a universal solution for file recovery

Recuva is a free and actively developing program for the Windows platform. It's very easy to restore files on your computer, plus it doesn't require money for basic functions or lifting limits. By the way, on the pages of Softdroid we have already told. Read our detailed guide.

Let us note three main features of this program.

Simplicity. Recuva offers the most novice users to use the Deleted File Recovery Wizard. Here you can specify certain file types (for example, only photos), select a search location, and set other parameters for finding deleted information.
Deep scanning. By activating the option, you increase the chances of recovering a deleted file, even if a normal scan using other recovery utilities failed to find anything.
Visibility. All found files are marked. The color indicates the probability of recovery: high, medium, low. A quick preview is available for found images.

3. DiskDrill – recover deleted files on PC and Mac OS X

DiskDrill is a young product on the computer recovery software market, but good technical support and community indicate the maturity of the program.

DiskDrill functionality is suitable for recovering most files stored on a PC: images, music, videos, documents, archives. There is a version of the program not only for Windows, but also for Mac OS. Regardless of the OS, you can recover 100 MB of found files for free (and this is a generous limit).

Features of DiskDrill:

Selecting the type of data to be recovered. You can only select file types that will appear in the search results. Filtering by attributes and flexible search among recovered files are also available.
Pause/continue scanning at any time. Convenient if you have a large HDD/SSD.
Overwrite protection. By locking partitions while DiskDrill is running, you protect your hard drive from overwriting deleted files.

Recovering files on your computer using Hetman Partition Recovery

Hetman Partition Recovery: universal recovery toolkit

Question-Answer

Photos were deleted from the computer in an unknown way. I suspect that some kind of virus could have done this. I tried to recover a deleted file using the Wise Data Recovery program. All files that were found are in the "LOST" state. As I understand it, they cannot be restored? Did the virus eat them? Or is there a way to somehow cure these files and still restore them?

Answer. See if Wise Data Recovery has a deep scan mode. Most likely not. Install other recovery programs. For example, Recuva has an in-depth scan feature, which increases the chances of recovering deleted files. You can also use PhotoRec to recover photos on your computer. Both recovery utilities are free.