Recover deleted file

[dasadler]

I mistakenly deleted a file and since my recycle bin is set to not retain deleted files, I cannot simply restore it. Does anyone know of any utility that will 'see' deleted files and allow recovery?

[Rudi]

The free version of Recuva could hopefully help.
Its worth a try...

[HansV]

If possible, download the portable version of Recuva to a USB stick; that way it won't overwrite your deleted file.

[Rudi]

Oops... yes! Excellent advice Hans. You don't want to do any writing to your hard drive at this point and risk overwriting that sector!!

[dasadler]

Thank you for the help.

I purchased the Recuva Pro and D/L to a USB stick - now waiting to learn if I can run it directly from USB drive or if running it will install itself on my hard drive.

[HansV]

The Pro version is probably an installer. There is a separate free portable version.

[dasadler]

I saw the free version but expected to use it more frequently than I would like so decided to pay for it. It was, indeed, installed on my HD. It is a moot issue anyway since despite deep scanning, it could not locate the file I was looking for. I don't understand how there can be absolutely no trace of it.

EDIT: Actually, I saw the free version but not the portable version... until just now. Too late but I D/L anyway - could be useful on a thumb drive.

[HansV]

That's a pity. You can try the following:
- In File Explorer (aka Windows Explorer), right-click the folder that contained the file.
- Select Properties from the context menu.
- If the Properties dialog contains a tab Previous Versions, activate it.
- See if there is a version from just before you deleted the file.
- Select that version and click Open.
- Select your file and copy it to the current version of the folder.

[Rudi]

Been away for a while.
That's hard luck that the file could not be recovered by Recuva. It is a good program and its helped me out a few times in the past.

[John Gray]

Being able to recover a deleted file is highly dependent on how much disk file activity there has been after the file was deleted. So many temporary files get created by newly-started programs, even reboots, so unless you attempt recovery of the deleted file quite rapidly you may lose some or all of the file's clusters or its directory entry.

That's why allowing the Recycle Bin to work can be useful for non-networked files. You can always empty it when you want with two clicks!