Aran Pitter, our Commercial Director says:
"Start by checking the Recycle Bin on your desktop. Open it, find the deleted file, right-click on it, and choose “Restore” to return it to its original location."
Recovering deleted files on Windows 11 is often easier than people expect, especially if you act quickly. When a file is deleted, it isn’t immediately erased from your system; instead, Windows marks the space as available for new data. This means recovery is possible until that space is overwritten.
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Check the Recycle Bin: The first place to look is the Recycle Bin. Open it from your desktop, locate the deleted file, right-click it, and select “Restore.” The file will return to its original location. This works if the file was deleted normally and not permanently removed.
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Use File History: If the file isn’t in the Recycle Bin, try File History, a built-in backup feature in Windows 11. Go to the folder where the file was stored, right-click, and choose “Restore previous versions.” If File History was enabled, you may see earlier versions of the folder or file available to restore.
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Try Backup and Restore: Another option is Windows Backup and Restore. Go to Control Panel > System and Security > Backup and Restore. From there, you can restore files from a previously created backup. This is especially useful if you back up your system regularly.
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Use data recovery software: If no backups are available, data recovery software may help. Tools like Recuva, EaseUS, or Disk Drill can scan your drive for recoverable files. Install the software on a different drive to avoid overwriting data, run a scan, and follow the prompts to recover your files.
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Consider professional recovery services: For severe cases such as drive corruption or hardware failure, we can help. Our services can recover data from damaged drives.
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Improve recovery chances: Stop using the affected drive immediately after data loss. This helps prevent new data from overwriting deleted files. Setting up regular backups with File History or cloud storage can also help prevent future data loss.
By following these steps, you can significantly increase your chances of successfully recovering deleted files on Windows 11.
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Author:
Aran Pitter, Commercial Director
Further reading
AI: Transforming the future of data recovery
Ransomware-resilient recovery and immutable backups
A guide to encrypting a hard drive with BitLocker