Can Deleted Files Be Recovered: Hard Drive, SSD, USB, SD Card

Storage devices such as Hard Drives, USB, and SD cards have totally changed the way data is stored. As analog data storing has been replaced as soon as the arrival of computers, these devices came with the blessing of storing a vast amount of data while ensuring portability. But sometimes because of human error important files get deleted and that can cause a big issue. Can these deleted files be recovered? Or Are these files permanently gone?

In most cases, there is a solution to bring your deleted files back. Ever since data started to be digitized, people have continuously made the mistake of deleting their files. Thus, data recovery systems have been developed as a savior in such cases.

Data recovery has been developed side by side as data started to be stored in modern devices. There was a time when your deleted files couldn’t be brought back in any way. But in recent times, there are so many in-built systems and also external software that enables the recovery of the data.

This can save you from a lot of trouble and it is so easy you can do it yourself. So let me answer a few common questions about file recovery and help you with the processes.

Can Deleted Files Be Recovered?

Deleted files even though look to be erased from existence, aren’t actually always totally gone. The process of totally erasing a file will take a lot of time and most probably will make your computer very slow.

So whenever a file is getting deleted from your computer, it isn’t actually going away. Rather, the file’s entry is being deleted for freeing up space but the content of the file is actually stored in the computer itself.

That is because, overwriting the file’s data takes a bit of time and the operating systems tend to focus on free up space as quickly as possible.

So they free up space and store the content of the files for an amount of time, till it finds it suitable to overwrite the data with a new one.

So, when you are deleting a file or formatting a drive, the computer just deletes the entry of the data and stores it away so it can be rewritten again.

When you delete a file, it goes to the recycle bin. When you delete it from the recycle bin, you might feel like the entire file is lost, but in reality, it still exists within the hard disk and just can’t be viewed.

So if you delete a file that you want to recover, you can do it. Except be quick about it, cause it is impossible to say how long it will take for the computer to rewrite those data and if it starts to rewrite the data, it will get complicated to recover the data.

It is to be kept in mind that you won’t be able to recover a file that has already been rewritten. Although it takes time to rewrite the data depending on your usage. If you use the hard drive continuously after deleting a file, it will most probably get rewritten in no time.

But if you didn’t use your hard drive much, there is a possibility the data will stay there for a long time. So you can recover your months or years old deleted file as long as the file’s data is kept in store.

Apart from this, if you have backed up your Microsoft or Apple account, then it is very likely that your deleted file is stored safely in the cloud. Which gives you the option to restore it by downloading the backed-up data.

Windows even lets you restore previous versions of many files and folders. There is also third-party software for data restoration. So most of the deleted files can be recovered and there are several effective ways to do it.

Are Deleted Files Gone Forever?

When you are deleting a file, it is not getting removed forever. If you are doing a normal deletion, it will place the file in the recycle bin. Now, you can easily restore the file by going to the recycle bin.

But if you select the permanent deletion option or simply delete it from the recycle bin, it gets a little bit complicated. Even after that, deleted files are generally not gone forever.

As we have discussed, when you delete a file from your explorer, you are just deleting the entry of that file. This is just to quickly free up space for you, so you can put something new in it.

The content of the files which entries you have deleted is still stored in your hard drive. This data stays in there as long as it isn’t being rewritten. So as long as it is not completely rewritten the data of the file remains within the computer.

Your computer even stores the previous versions of your data and it also enables you to restore it. But there is a chance that you might completely lose your file. That is when the content of the files you have deleted, starts to be rewritten again.

When this happens, the earlier data is erased and new data inputs are placed. So when the computer completes rewriting the data on your deleted file, the version of the file is gone forever.

So in order to recover your file, you have to restore it before the operating system rewrites the data of your deleted file.

Where Are Deleted Files Kept?

When you delete a file from your computer, it goes to the recycle bin. It is stored in the recycle bin as long as you don’t restore it or permanently delete it from your computer.

Once the file has been either restored or deleted the file no longer exists in the recycle bin. The files in the recycle bin don’t free up space, as its entry is still stored in the hard drive. So, both the file and space it occupied still remain in the hard drive.

Now when the files are permanently deleted or the recycle bin has been emptied your file entry can no longer be seen on the computer. That means, there is no visible way to access the file, the space has been cleared for new data to be written.

But it simply does not mean that the file is totally erased. The file content still remains in the computer in the form of data. But it doesn’t stay there for very long.

As your deleted file loses its entry and now only the data remains, the computer waits until it has new data to rewrite over the deleted data. Until the data is rewritten, the file still stays on the computer.

The computer does this, cause it is easier to just remove the data entry for space usage. Overwriting the data takes a little time. So until the data is rewritten, the deleted files stay in the computer in the form of data.

Can You Recover Deleted Files From Years Ago?

This is a very complicated question to answer. Yes, there are ways you can recover your deleted data from years ago but only if you are lucky. Most of the time it is nearly impossible to even recover a deleted file that was deleted 1-2 months ago. So recovering a file from years ago depends on a lot of things.

If your deleted data was stored in the windows or mac backup then it will be very easy to bring back the files that you have lost years ago. You can simply download the backup and search for the files. Backup can be a lifesaver, and it is the easiest way to keep your important files safe.

So, it is always a good idea to keep a backup by uploading your files to the cloud.

Now, if you haven’t kept a backup, this is where things get very complicated. Now everything will depend on the usage of your hard drive. Let’s say you have deleted your file 2 years ago.

And for the next two years, you have hardly used your hard drive or didn’t use it at all. If that is the case, you are very lucky. There is a big chance the file that you have deleted is still on the hard drive. Only the data entry was deleted, but the data is yet to be rewritten.

If that is the case, then you can recover your file using data recovery. Even if your hard drive wasn’t used for 5 years, you could still retrieve the file. But if you have used your hard drive continuously for the last 2 years, it is nearly impossible to recover those files.

As you remember the files stay in the form of data. This data is kept in the computer as long as it doesn’t need the space. If it needs space, it will rewrite the entire data and the previous data will be lost.

So, when you are continuously using your computer, it starts to require more space to store the new data. That is when it starts rewriting the deleted file’s data from your computer.

Once that happens, your entire file is lost. So if you have a backup or a storage drive that was barely used since the deletion of your file, you can recover it no matter how old the file is.

How Do You Recover Permanently Deleted Files?

Normally when we delete a file, it goes to the recycle bin. But permanent deletion is when you delete the file entry totally and can not access the file from your computer anymore.

The data, even though it is stored in the hard drive for a limited amount of time, will get erased after the data is rewritten with new ones.

So, to recover your file after permanent deletion, you will either require a backup or a hard drive that still holds the data intact.

I will guide you with some easy methods as to how you can recover your permanently deleted files easily. The methods are given below:

Recovering from Backup

In Windows 10, you can find a very useful option known as Backup And Restore. Using this option, you can backup any files in the cloud and restore them when needed. Now if you have backed up your deleted files, you can easily restore them using this option. The steps are given below:

Step 1: Click on the search bar and type ‘Control Panel’ and press enter.

Step 2: Go to the option ‘System and Security.’ There find the option ‘Backup and Restore’ (Windows 7)

Step 3: Click on the option ‘Restore my files’ and complete the procedure to recover your files from the previous backup.

If you can’t find the option to restore your files, click on the option ‘Select another backup’ to restore the file form and follow the procedure to restore the files.

File History Backup

File history backup a built-in option in Windows 10. It is a backup and recovery tool that will help you to find and restore deleted files from your computer. It is very useful and should be used when you are backing up important files. Follow the steps given below to restore your files with fire history:

Here are the steps to recover deleted files from a File History Backup:

Step 1: Go to ‘File Explorer’ and open the folder where the file that you want to recover was situated.

Step 2: Click on the home tab above and select the ‘History’ option.

Step 3: Find the files or folder that you want to restore and select them.

Step 4: Now use your mouse to navigate through times and check out the different versions of the files or folder you wanna restore and select the one you want.

Step 5: Click on the ‘Restore’ option to restore the file to where it originally was.

Step 6: You can also change the location of the file and restore it elsewhere and also change the name to avoid naming conflicts.

Restore Previous Versions

This is another way to use the file history option to restore a previous version of the file or folder you are looking to recover. It is rather easier and doesn’t take a lot of steps. The steps to restore your deleted files with this option is given below:

Step 1: Go to ‘File Explorer’ and select the file or folder which contained the deleted file you are looking to restore. Right-click on the folder and select Properties.

Step 2: There select the ‘Restore previous versions’ option.

Step 3: Now you will be shown a list of versions of the file or folder to choose from. Choose the version that contained your file.

Step 4: Now click on the option ‘Restore’ and restore the version of the file or folder you are looking for.

File Recovery Tools

There are a lot of file recovery tools on the internet that helps you to restore your permanently deleted file and folders. Microsoft has a file recovery tool named Windows File Recovery. This helps you to recover your files that are still in the hard drive in the form of data till it is over-written. But the problem with Windows File Recovery is it is very complicated to use and requires manual commands to function. So it is not the most user-friendly experience.

So I would suggest a much easier recovery tool to use that will help you recover your files without getting a headache. Disk Drill Data Recovery Software is one of the most popular data recovery software in the market.

It is safe to use and very user-friendly. It lets you recover 500 MB worth of files for free in its trial version. It can restore files from hard drives, external storage, windows, mac, and even your android devices.

Using Disk Drill is quite easy and you can restore your files very quickly. To restore files using Disk Drill, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Download Disk Drill and install the software.

Step 2: Open the software. You will find your hard disk option. Select the drive from which you wanna recover the file from.

Step 3: After selecting the drive or file, press on the option Search for lost data. The software will then try to recover the deleted files that still exist on the hard drive.

Step 4: Select the file you wanna recover from the list of files and then press on the option Recover. Select a location to recover the file.

How To Recover Files From Hard Drive?

If you have a hard drive you wanna recover files from, you can use file recovery software like disk drill. Remember you can only recover the files that are still encoded in your hard drive. So to recover files from a hard drive with a disk drill follow the steps below:

Step 1: Connect the hard drive to your computer.

Step 2: Download Disk Drill and install the software.

Step 3: Open the software. You will find your hard disk in the list of options. From there, choose the hard drive you wanna recover the files from.

Step 4: After selecting the drive, press on the option ‘Search for lost data’. The software will then try to recover the deleted files that still exist on the hard drive.

Step 5: Select the files you wanna recover from the list of files and then press on the option Recover. Select a location to recover the file.

How To Recover Files From SSD Trim?

Trim is a feature used in the latest SSD versions. This improves the drive performance and makes it a lot faster. It can quickly overwrite data and erase a file when deleted.

It is impossible to recover a file from a trim-enabled SSD, as the data unlike in HDD or trim-disabled SSD no longer stays in the drive.

So once you permanently delete a file from a trim-enabled SSD, not only the file’s entry but also the data is erased from the drive.

You can disable the trim feature from your SSD. It is likely to make your SSD slower but you can recover files from the SSD.

How To Recover Files From USB Device?

If you wanna recover files from a USB device, you can use file recovery software like Disk Drill. The steps to recover files from USB Device through Disk Drill is given below:

Step 1: Connect the USB to your computer.

Step 2: Download Disk Drill and install the software.

Step 3: Open the software. You will find your USB in the list of options. Select on the USB drive.

Step 4: After selecting the drive, press on the option ‘Search for lost data.’ The software will then try to recover the deleted files that still exist on the hard drive.

Step 5: Select the files you wanna recover from the list of files and then press on the option Recover. Select a location to recover the file.

How To Recover Files From SD Card?

To recover files from an SD card you can use Disk Drill like the other drives. It can easily recover the files from your card. The steps are given below:

Step 1: Insert the SD card into a card reader and connect it to your computer.

Step 2: Download Disk Drill and install the software.

Step 3: Open the software. You will find your SD card in the list of options. From there, select on your SD card.

Step 4: After selecting the Card, press on the option ‘Search for lost data.’ The software will then try to recover the deleted files that still exist on the SD card.

Step 5: Select the files you want to recover from the list of files and then press on the option Recover. Select a location to recover the file.