subject: How to Recover Accidentally Deleted Files [print this page] Have you ever accidentally deleted a very important file, only to realize weeks later that you actually needed it? You've checked the recycling bin, but its been cleaned out as well, you begin to panic and think that the file is gone forever, "what am I going to do?" Well worry no more, as luckily for you these days there have been huge advances in technology and there are proper ways to get your files back.
I don't care if you're a full computer wizard or just a beginner, accidentally deleting files from your hard drive can happen to absolutely any of us and it's just a matter of time before you get struck. When it does happen, it can cause extreme frustration, anger and most of all panic and anxiety if the file was really important. Now what you must know is that when you delete files from your hard drive they are not permanently deleted, yes even if you delete them from the recycling bin, how is this possible you might ask?
You see most operating systems provide protection against accidental deletion of files, in windows the method is known as the recycling bin. Once the file has been removed from the recycling bin it has been deleted, however it still exists in the system and is recoverable. The file just disappears from any folder listing and the disk space occupied by the data becomes available for re-use. The disk still contains the data and it has not been physically erased. Now with the aid of special data recovery software you can recover accidentally deleted files fairly easily.
There are a number of good products available on the market, and if you act quickly it is almost certain you will recover you deleted files. The reason you must act quick is because the longer you wait, the more you download, and depending on how full your hard drive is, the space occupied by your deleted files could get used up and over written. So to make sure you get your lost files back DO NOT:
- Download any file onto the disk you wish to recover files from
- Install any new programs onto the disk
It also depends on how full your hard drive is, if you have plenty of space available on your hard drive, then it is more likely to recover the files. This is because Windows tries to avoid using disk space that has recently been freed; hence it will use the already available space on your hard disk before using the available space from your deleted file. So if you have a lot of free space on your hard drive then your chances of recovery a very good, although it is still recommended to act quickly and not to download anything new to the storage device.
Therefore if you wish to recover accidentally deleted files that you really needed, do yourself a favor and get a good undelete program, you should have your files back in no time. These days most of the programs offer a free download so you can try them out free to see if your files are recoverable.
