3 Common ways to restore deleted files on Windows 10 or 11 for free

If we delete files on Windows 11 or 10 then to restore them there are three common ways. And in this article, we will discuss them. Our documents and other crucial files are important to us, hence we cannot afford to lose them. However, if you have accidentally deleted your files, don’t panic. Although the solutions given here to recover files (documents, videos, emails, photos, and audio files, etc.) are not from some other planet, we are already acquainted with them. Nevertheless, if you are a beginner then you should check them out.

Restore files from Recycle Bin

The first and simple way to recover deleted files is of course is the “Recycle bin“. If you have deleted some files accidentally, the initial place from where you can get them back on Windows operating system is this.

Follow the given steps to get your files back:

  • Go to the desktop and open the trash icon shortcut.
  • Find the recently deleted file or folder that you want to recover.
  • Double click the selected items and then click the Recover button to get your important files back

The files or folders are restored to their original location. Alternatively, we can also cut and paste selected files from the Recycle Bin to save them in the desired location.

Beware: This option will only work if you haven’t deleted files or folders using Shift + Delete keys or emptied the Recycle Bin, otherwise, the files will be permanently deleted from the system. In such a situation, we need to go for Recovery software solutions.

Recover files from Recycle Bin free

 

Restore using File history

If you have Turned ON the built-in “File History” feature on Windows 10 or 11, then it is very easy to recover files or folders even if deleted permanently from Recycle bin. File History is a Windows backup solution that when enabled and configured to back up files, can easily be used to restore them later.

If you haven’t Turned ON “File History” yet, see our tutorial- How to Enable File history on Windows 10 or 11.

  • Go to the ‘Control Panel ‘ and open the ‘ File History ‘
  • Select ‘Restore Personal Files ‘ given on the left options panel.
  • A-List of all backed-up files will be shown there.
  • Select the file that you want to restore. Right-click on the green button.
  • To restore the file at some desired location, then click on the Gear icon given on the top right side and select ‘ Restore To ‘.

Recover Previous file version

 

Use Free Data Recovery Software to Restore Deleted Files

I know the above-given solutions to recover deleted files do not apply to everybody. Because you might have deleted the file permanently or may not have enabled File history, then what is the other left option? It is the usage of some dedicated “File recovery software“.

With such recovery software, the users can recover data lost due to accidental deletion, virus attack, etc. You can also recover the lost or deleted photos, videos, documents, and more on your Windows PC, laptop, and external storage media.  This free data recovery software supports storage drives with NTFS, FAT (FAT16 / FAT32), and an exFAT file system.

There are dozens of free Data recovery software such as EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free Software. and Recuva. EaseUS offers both free and premium versions, the user can use a free version that allows recovering 2GB of data before investing the money.

Thus, if you have deleted some critical files accidentally then 2GB is enough to restore files and folders. However, those who want to recover files from some damaged and formatted drive with a large amount of data then need to go for the paid version.

Whereas, the Recua is also a good option to start recovering files free of cost. With its free version, there is no limitation, however, for more features, the user has to go for the premium option.

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