Data & Backup
Recovering accidentally deleted files
Deleted, overwritten or vanished files. The first ten minutes decide whether recovery is easy or impossible.
Read before you start
Stop using the drive immediately. Every new file written can overwrite what you are trying to recover.
This guide is for you if
- Files gone after emptying the bin
- A folder disappeared after a sync
- Drive shows as empty or raw
Step by step
Work top to bottom0 of 6 steps done
Stop writing to the drive
Close anything that saves to it — downloads, sync clients, temporary files. If the operating system lives on that drive, shut down rather than carry on working.
Check the obvious places
Recycle Bin or Trash, search by file name, and the app's own 'recently deleted'. In OneDrive, Google Drive or iCloud, version history often still holds the file.
Cloud sync can remove the local copy while keeping 30 days of history.
Restore from a backup first
Check File History, Time Machine or your cloud provider's restore option before reaching for recovery software. Backups are faster and cleaner every time.
Scan without installing to the same drive
Tools like Recuva, PhotoRec or Disk Drill scan a drive and recover to another location. If the drive is the system disk, run the tool from another machine.
If the drive clicks or disappears, stop
Mechanical noise means the head or platters are damaged. Power it down and take it to a data recovery specialist — software will make it worse.
Set up a backup that runs itself
Once the files are back, set up an automatic backup: an external drive plus a cloud copy. A backup you have to remember is not a backup.