Question: I've heard of companies finding data that people thought they had deleted from their work computer. How do they do that? Might be good information in case I accidentally delete some important files from my home computer too!
Answer: Yes, there are several ways to retrieve data that has been deleted from a computer system, even if you've deleted them from the recycle bin or reformatted your hard drive.
I accidentally deleted a year's worth of family photos and financial documents on my wife's laptop, after using the factory restore CD that reinstalled Windows and removed her user folder where all the pictures were stored. Even after that mistake, I was still able to recover all of the files.
Why files can usually be recovered even after they've been deleted:
When you delete a file, Windows only marks the file as deleted, but doesn't actually remove it from your system. Those files are only truly deleted (well, replaced actually) when other data is saved to the same location on your hard drive.
If you accidentally delete files from your system, they can usually be undeleted - even if you deleted them from your recycle bin - as long as you attempt to recover the files shortly after you delete them, and before Windows saves other data in those same file locations on your hard drive.
How to recover files that have been deleted:
If you've accidentally deleted an important file or erased a folder containing files that you later realize you still need, don't worry. Chances are good that they're still on your system and can be recovered.
You'll need a good undelete program like iRecover that can find files that have been deleted. I've tried a few different programs that claim to be able to do this, but have discovered that some of them are only able to show you what's still in your Recycle Bin (not much help if you've emptied your Recycle Bin), but iRecover is even able to recover files that have been deleted from your Recycle Bin.
Here's the data recovery test I use to determine if a program can actually recover files after they've been deleted:
- Delete a file or folder
- Empty out the Recycle Bin
- Run the data recovery program and see if it's able to find and undelete the file.
I ran through these steps with iRecover and discovered that it was able to find the test file I had deleted, and also found hundreds of files from other folders that I remember deleting several days ago.
iRecover is an advanced data recovery program that will help you recover data that was lost because of file system corruption, formatting, virus damage, partition deletion... or in my case - user error.
Here's a screenshot of iRecover that shows all of the files and folders it was able to recover after completely clearing out my Recycle Bin:

Here are some other features worth noting for iRecover:
- Supports FAT, FAT32, NTFS and Ext2 formatted drives
- Extracts data from lost partitions
- Recovers data from deleted partitions (partition recovery)
- Unformat recovery - Recover data from corrupt, not formatted, RAW partitions
- Recovers data from formatted partitions (unformat recovery)
- Retrieves data from severely corrupted disks and volumes
- Digital image recovery, digital photo recovery - recovers deleted files from memory cards (e.g. camera flash cards)
The trick to effective file recovery is to run a good undelete program like iRecover as close to the time of deletion as possible (to minimize the chances of the file getting overwritten on your hard drive with other data).
An Ounce of Prevention
It's also a great idea to frequently backup your hard drive, so that you can still restore important files, even if they can't be recovered using a file recovery program. I bought a Seagate FreeAgent 320 GB USB External Hard Drive. This new drive plugs in via USB cable and doesn't require any installation or configuration. Windows automatically recognizes it when you plug in the USB cable, and it has plenty of space for backing up both of my home computers.
I also highly recommend that you backup your hard drive on at least a monthly basis, although weekly is even better. If you're looking for a good backup program for your home computer, I recommend Genie Backup Manager which I use for my home systems.
I consider myself fortunate to have been able to retrieve our family photos and financial documents... and my wife is finally willing to speak to me again. However, I'm hoping to avoid this whole scenario in the future by making regular backups to this new backup drive (at least weekly).
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rene (not verified) Says: Wed, 2008-12-03 21:21
while reinstalling the OS to my lap top i had the external HD USB plugged in and accidentally deleted the partition to the EHD as well as the partition for the lap top. i already replaced the system to the lap top. how can i get my saved items on the EHD? does it work the same? can i use my pc to do this too? please help...losing my mind!
Ricky Says: Fri, 2008-12-05 18:42
Yikes!
Does your system still run with all the partitions deleted?
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Sun, 2008-12-14 18:53
if i wanted to permanently delete something so that it can never be found again how can i do that if someone has this? do i have to delete the file then save something with the same name as it? Is that right? if not please tell me!
Ricky Says: Fri, 2008-12-19 15:17
Some people still believe that when they delete a file, it is gone forever. In reality, even if you remove it from your Recycle Bin, the file may be easily recovered by some ill-inspired people who are secretly snooping on your computer activities.
The only way to be certain that your files have been deleted is to make sure that the entire file is overwritten by blank data.
There's a program called Aevita Wipe & Delete that does just that. It implements eight secure sanitizing methods including the US Department of Defense DoD 5220.22M, RLL, MFM, VSITR, Gutmann and GOST P50739-95.
By utilizing these methods, Aevita can erase any file or folder by overwriting it several times, thus rendering it completely unrecoverable even for the most sophisticated recovery software.
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Wed, 2008-12-24 20:22
but wouldn't that person be able to see that you have Aevita Wipe & Delete? how could you hide the program so you cannot find it? burn it to a cd?
Ricky Says: Thu, 2008-12-25 11:40
Why would it matter if they saw that the Aevita program was installed? The files that Aevita wiped would be deleted, which is the main goal, right? :-)
Renee (not verified) Says: Sat, 2009-02-21 20:51
My niece reinstalled the OS on my Sony Destop PC about 8 months ago. I was devastated, lost so many pictures from my child's life. Recently someone told me that the data may still be there and be recoverable. Is that true? If so how can I recover the and still maintain what I ave on it now. I do have an external hard-drive. I am desperate to know if I can get my pictures back.
Ricky Says: Sat, 2009-02-21 20:53
It's certainly possible, although after that many months there might only be a few pictures that can be recovered (since between now and then the chances of Windows saving other files over the files marked for deletion increases significantly).
The iRecover program mentioned above is really the best I've seen, and would be able to restore the files if they haven't been over-written.
Alternatively, if you take the computer to a data recovery specialist, ask if they'll only charge you if they actually find deleted photos - not sure if you'll find any who will do that, but it'd be worth asking.
Sarah (not verified) Says: Sun, 2009-03-15 04:40
Hi Ricky , I have just read about your recovery program for deleted files. Last night I had an accident and was deleting files from my ext hard drive (classic SE)whilst it was plugged into my work laptop. It was too big for the recycle bin and deleted permanently.
Will I have to recover the files through my laptop (as its due to go back today) or can I do the restore through my PC with the external hard drive? I guess what I'm asking is, are the files i deleted on my external hard drive still sitting on it hidden or will they have been transported to my laptop?
regards sarah
Ricky Says: Sun, 2009-03-15 04:43
Good question. Since the files were deleted from your external hard drive, you'll need to run iRecover on the external drive. That's where the files will still reside.
They're only marked as deleted, but won't actually be deleted until other data is saved in the same location on that drive.
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Fri, 2009-04-03 00:43
Hi Ricky,
So I wanted to delete some documents from my hard drive and I wanted it to be gone forever. From what I have read, I would assume that the way to delete something a hard drive would be the same as an external hard drive... but when I deleted a document out of my external hard drive it went to my computer's recycling bin, so it made me question if it is the same procedure? Does the external hard drive have the same option to retrieve deleted files as a regular computer hard drive? If so, how do I come about retrieving those deleted files?
Vishnu (not verified) Says: Sun, 2009-04-12 01:10
I lost lot of files including photos & videos on my External drive -size of data lost around 140 GB. I do not know how all the files deleted and one folder names windows with few system files has appeared.
I am not using for further use as I intend to retrieve the data including Videos. Pls advise.
Robert (not verified) Says: Tue, 2009-05-05 20:00
Good day!
My half terra with enclosure recently fell on the floor.
I tried using it again..my usb wont read it..I tried putting it directly on my cpu..it wont read the hard disk..tried using another enclosure, wont read either...is there anyway I could save my 300gig files, before I had it replaced?
Robert
Alin (not verified) Says: Sun, 2009-09-13 12:06
Thanks a lot! Based on your article, with Irecover, I saved my photos deleted by mistake :).
Keep up the good work !
Alin Ciula
Nica (not verified) Says: Sat, 2009-09-19 19:37
I lost all my files too on my external hard drive but those aren't accidentally deleted files. It might have fell on the floor. The good thing is that I can still access it. While checking the properties, I noticed that the used space is still 74.2 GB. My question is: could I still recover it even if I didn't accidentally delete all of it?
Hope to hear from you very soon. Thanks!
Hawk (not verified) Says: Tue, 2009-11-10 12:53
Nov 10, 2009
Hi Rick,
I’m so glad to see your website.
Some thing has happen to my computer couple days ago. I have the blue screen and unable to do anything with it. I try to reboot and reinstall the Operation System but the system indicated that unable to locate the hard drive.
I took my desktop to the local computer to get it repair, and they said everything in the hard drives is empty. They will able install the OS with a new hard drive.
I have taken out the old hard drives and hope to be able to recovery all the family photos. In my case, the hard drives are shows as empty. Will I be able to use the iRecover to recover all my photos?
Thank you,
Hawk
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