How to Recover Deleted Files from Windows 10 PC?

Summary: Have you accidentally deleted some important files from your Windows 10 PC? You can restore those deleted files using the proven and credible ways mentioned in this post. Also, you will find some trusted data recovery tools to recover the deleted files from Windows 10 PC.

It is unfortunate to lose essential files from your Windows PC. You can restore the files from Recycle Bin if you’ve deleted them by pressing the “Delete” key. However, if you’ve mistakenly pressed the Shift+Delete keys to delete the files, then you can’t restore them from Recycle Bin.  Therefore, we have come with some useful ways that will help you to recover the data from such data loss situations. However, it would help if you acted quickly as soon as you realize that your data is deleted. And, make sure:

इस पोस्ट को हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिए यहां क्लिक करें।

• Stop using the affected folder or drive partition to avoid data overwriting.
• If it takes some time to recover the data, close all unnecessary applications to buy some extra time so that the affected drive partition won’t get hampered.

Now, let’s discuss the ways to recover permanently deleted files from Windows 10 PC.

Also Read: How To Recover Files Deleted From Recycle Bin?

How to Recover Permanently Deleted Files from Windows 10 PC?

Follow the below-mentioned ways to recover deleted files from Windows 10 PC.

Reminder Alert! Before proceeding, remember to save the restored files to some other destination to avoid data overwriting.

1. Use the “Restore Previous Versions” Feature

You can restore the deleted files by using the Previous Versions feature in Windows 10, provided that you have activated this feature beforehand. If not, skip to the next method. However, you can activate it now by following the below steps:

• Open the Start menu.
• Type “System Protection” and press the “Enter” key.
• Select the hard drive partition under “Protection Settings” and click on “Configure”.
• Enable the “Turn on System Protection” and click on “OK”.

The feature is activated now.

If you have already activated this feature, then follow the below-mentioned steps to retrieve your files.

• Right-click on the folder from where the files have been deleted.
• Click on “Restore previous versions”.
• Choose the files that you want to restore and click on “Restore”.
  

2. Retrieve Deleted Files from Backup

If you are using the Windows backup feature, you can restore your deleted files by using this feature. Follow the below steps:

• Press the “Win + I” keys to open the Control Panel.
• Navigate to “Update and Security” à “Backup” à “Backup and Restore (Windows 7)”.
• Click on “Restore my files” and follow the on-screen instructions to restore the deleted files.
• If you can’t see the “Restore my files” option, click on “Select another backup to restore files from” and follow the further steps.
  

3. Recover Deleted Files from a Previous System Restore Point

‘System Restore’ is one of the useful backup features of Windows 10. It automatically captures snapshots of your system so that you can undo unintentional changes by reverting your computer to a previous point in time. Follow the below steps to restore deleted files from a previous system restore point:

• Open the Start menu and type “create a restore point”. Hit Enter.
• Click on “System Restore”.
• Choose a system restore point and click on “Next”.
• Analyze and confirm your restore point and click on “Finish”.
• Your PC will restart automatically to apply changes.
  

4. Restore Deleted Files Using Command Prompt

You can also restore your deleted files using Command Prompt. Follow the below steps to recover deleted files using Command Prompt on Windows 10 PC.

• Open the Start menu.
• Type “cmd”.
• Right-click on “Command Prompt” and click on “Run as administrator”.
• Type “chkdsk X: /f” on the window and press the Enter key. Replace ‘X’ with your desired drive letter in the command.
• Type “ATTRIB -H -R -S /S /D X:*.*” and hit the Enter key. Replace “X” with your desired drive letter.

This process may take some time. Do not perform any task or process while this process is running. Your activities during the recovery process may overwrite the deleted files.

• File Recovery Tools to Recover Deleted Files from Windows 10 PC

Above, we have discussed multiple ways to restore deleted files from Windows 10 PC. Now, we will discuss the Windows File Recovery Tool and a third-party tool – Stellar Data Recovery for Windows, to recover deleted files successfully.  Let’s start with Windows File Recovery Tool first.

1. Windows File Recovery Tool

Windows File Recovery is a command-line tool offered by Microsoft for free. You can use this tool to restore deleted files on Windows 10 PC.  Follow the below steps:

• Download the Windows File Recovery application from Microsoft Store and install it.
• Open Start Menu. Type “Windows File Recovery” and hit the Enter key.
  
• Choose “Yes” to allow the application to make changes to the device.
• In the Command Prompt window, enter the command: winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches].
• After running the command, enter ‘Y’ to start the recovery process.
• Now, you can have multiple options to restore the deleted files. For example, you can recover PDF files, Word documents, images, etc., using this command.

Also, read the windows file recovery tool is not perfect for data recovery

2. Stellar Windows Data Recovery Software

Stellar Windows Data Recovery software is 100% secure and a proprietary product of Stellar. It can recover the deleted or lost files from any logical data loss scenario—steps to recover deleted files using Stellar Windows Data Recovery Software.

• Download Stellar Data Recovery software
  

• Install the software on a different partition drive or any external USB drive to avoid overwriting

• Launch the software 

• Select “All Data” or the desired file type that you want to recover from the main interface. Then, click on “Next”.
  

• Select the location from where the files are deleted. Then, click on “Scan”.
  

• Once the scan is completed, you can view the recovered files listed in the left pane.
• Preview the restored files.
• If you cannot find your desired files, click on “Deep Scan” to thoroughly scan the drive based on the file signature.
• After deep scanning, select the recovered files you want to recover and click on “Recover”. Then click “Browse” to choose the location to save the recovered files.
  
• Finally, click on “Start Saving” to save the recovered files.
  

Helpful Tip: To prevent such data loss situations, always create a backup of your data on the same or external storage media.

Also, read the complete work of Stellar Data Recovery Professional software.

Bottom Line

It is impossible to safeguard your data totally against any data loss incident. However, using the above-outlined methods, you can restore your deleted files successfully. Furthermore, you can opt for the inbuilt Windows backup features to recover your deleted files. Make sure to activate them before initiating any operation on your Windows 10 PC. In case you don’t have any backup, you can go with Windows File Recovery Tool. But, that requires some level of professional knowledge.

On the other hand, Stellar Windows Data Recovery Professional software is an easy-to-implement tool that any non-technical person can easily use. It has the capability to restore deleted files, formatted data, and even files from the deleted drive partitions as well. Thus, it is your last resort when all backup options fail.