How to Recover Deleted Files from the Recycle Bin (Even AFTER Empty)

A common problem faced by Windows users is realizing that they need a deleted file after the Recycle Bin has been emptied. While their first reaction may be to panic, the situation is not as bad as it seems. Disk Drill Data Recovery for Windows offers a method that enables users to perform the recycle bin recovery in a few simple clicks.

How to Recover Data from the Recycle Bin BEFORE Empty

It’s always the easiest to recover lost data before the Recycle Bin has been emptied. If you haven’t made any recovery attempts yet, we highly recommend you start with the two simple methods described below. You might get lucky and successfully undelete all lost files without having to download and use a third-party data recovery software application.

Method 1: Try the CTRL + Z Shortcut

The Windows operating system remembers your actions, allowing you to undo recent changes, such as the deletion of an important file or folder. How? By pressing a single keyboard shortcut: CTRL + Z.

Method 2: Check the Recycle Bin One Last Time

You’ve probably already done that, but practice shows that many users often forget to check the Recycle Bin to see if the files have actually been deleted. So, to recover data directly from the Recycle Bin:

1. Open the Recycle Bin by double-clicking on its icon.
2. Locate the items that you want to recover.
3. Check the box next to the files or folders you want to retrieve.
4. Right-click and select Restore to recover the items to their original locations.

Is Recycle Bin Recovery Possible?

The only problem is that Windows doesn’t come with any native data recovery application that would let you restore access to permanently deleted files. As such, you need to use third-party data recovery software (learn how data recovery software works here).

Here’s a 30-second explanation of how it works:

1. Data recovery software analyzes your storage devices, looking for all recoverable files.
2. The software then lets you specify which files you want to restore.
3. The restored files are moved to a safe location, and the logical links to them are restored.

All this sounds simple in theory, but there are many factors that may influence your recovery success rate, including the cause of the data loss, the quality of the selected data recovery application, the amount of time passed since the data loss incident took place, and the type of storage device on which the deleted files were stored.

How to Recover Deleted Files from the Recycle Bin After Empty

Just because you’ve already emptied the Recycle Bin folder doesn’t mean that your files are gone for good. If you act quickly enough and closely follow the instructions below, you should be able to get them back in no time.

For the purposes of this article, we’ve decided to use Disk Drill as our data recovery software of choice, and there are many good reasons why:

• 🤗 Easy to Use: Disk Drill has an intuitive and polished user interface that reduces the entire data recovery process into a single click on the Recover button.
• 🦾 Powerful: It supports hundreds of file formats and can restore them from all storage devices and file systems, making it a professional-grade data recovery solution loved by over 500,000 PRO clients and used by many world-famous companies.
• ⏱ Fast: With Quick Scan, you can discover all files deleted from the Recycle Bin in no time, and Deep Scan can find files that are likely missing their original file names and locations.
• 🛡️ Secure: Disk Drill recovers your files in the safest manner possible, taking great care not to cause more harm than good. It warns against recovering files to the same storage device on which they were originally located.
• 🆓 Free Trial: The free version of Disk Drill enables you to recover up to 500 MB of data, and the Pro Edition has no limitation on the amount of data that can be recovered.
• 📁 Original Name Recovery: Disk Drill can recover files with original names and directory structures using advanced algorithms that analyze file system metadata and other information. This is only possible if the metadata wasn’t erased or damaged during data loss.

Step 1: Download, Install and Launch Disk Drill to Start the Recycle Bin Recovery

First, you need to download Disk Drill and install it on your computer (make sure to avoid installing it on your system drive, which is where the Recycle Bin is located). Then launch the application by double-clicking its newly created desktop icon.

Step 2: Choose the Location and Start Scanning for Lost Files

Disk Drill’s main window will display all the disks that are available for recovery. Clicking the Search for lost data button after selecting the disk on which the Recycle Bin resides (this is usually your computer’s main internal drive) initiates the scanning procedure, which defaults to using all available scanning methods in the optimal order, which is what we recommend.

Step 3: Preview and Select the Files That You Want to Recover

Once Disk Drill finishes scanning your disk, you’ll be able to preview the files available for restoration in the recovery panel.

Files are grouped by type, such as Pictures or Documents, to streamline this process. You can view all files inside a folder and nested subfolders by holding the ALT key and clicking on the top folder. To preview a file, simply hover your mouse over it and click the preview icon (a small eye). Generally, all files that can be previewed can also be successfully recovered. Just keep in mind that the preview feature can preview only the file formats supported by Windows.

When you find a file or folder that you want to recover, click the checkbox next to it to add it to the recovery queue.

Step 4: Click the 'Recover' Button to Perform the Recovery

After making your selections, click the Recover button and you will be prompted to choose a recovery destination for the selected files. Avoid using the same disk to minimize the chances of file corruption during recovery. Disk Drill will confirm that you’ve selected a suitable destination. Click Next to proceed.

Step 5: View the Recovered Files

It should take just a short while for Disk Drill to recover your files and display the “Data recovery complete” message. To view the recovered files, click the Show recovered data in Explorer button.

If you’re not satisfied with your recovery results, you can return to the list of all the disks that are available for recovery and try to rescan the disk or scan another disk. You can also try other software solutions, but our experience shows that Disk Drill has one of the highest recovery rates on the market, if not the highest.

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Interested in learning more about Disk Drill? Read our full review.

How to Recover Files Deleted From the Recycle Bin after Empty Without Software

You actually don’t need to download and install a third-party software solution to recover files deleted from the Recycle Bin if you had enabled one of the built-in data backup features in Windows prior to data loss.

Method 1: Restore a Previous Version from File History

Recent versions of the Windows operating system come with a backup feature called File History. When enabled, File History takes regular backups of files stored in the Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop folders.

As its name suggests, File History creates incremental backups of files that can be restored at a later date, allowing you to go back in time and get back an older version of a file that has been overwritten a long time ago.

Here’s what you need to do to recover previous versions of files from File History:

1. Right-click on the folder that contained the deleted file.
2. Choose Restore previous version from the menu.
3. Select the version you want to restore and click the Restore button.

Method 2: Restore Files from Windows Backup and Restore

Windows 7 introduced a backup feature that allowed its users to back up selected libraries, folders, and system data with a few simple clicks. Called Backup and Restore, the feature offers two main backup options:

• 💡 Let Windows choose: Windows will back up data files saved in libraries, on the desktop, and in default Windows folders. Windows will also create a system image, which can be used to restore your computer if it stops working. These items will be backed up on a regular schedule.
• 🤔 Let me choose: You can select libraries and folders and whether to include a system image in the backup. The items you choose will be backed up on a regular schedule.

Regardless of which of the two options you choose, you can always recover your data with minimal effort.

On Windows 7 systems:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Select System and Security.
3. Choose Backup and Restore.
4. Click Restore my files and follow the wizard.

Windows 10 users should:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Update & Security.
3. Select the Backup.
4. Click the Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7) options.
5. Select a backup to restore from and follow the instructions.

On Windows 11:

1. Connect the external storage device that contains your backup files.
2. Type Control Panel in the search box on the taskbar.
3. Select Control Panel from the list of results.
4. Select Backup and Restore (Windows 7).
5. Choose the backup you want to restore files from.
6. Select the location of your external storage device.
7. Follow the instructions provided to complete the restoration of your files.

What’s the Best Way to Prevent the Loss of Important Data

It’s always a good idea to take extra steps in order to prevent the loss of important data. Even though it’s usually possible to recover deleted files from the Recycle Bin or using a data recovery software tool like Disk Drill, why risk permanent data loss when you can easily prevent it by following the tips below?

Frequently Asked Questions