One of the biggest troubles of almost all computer system users is inattention when working with files and directories. Apparently, everyone was in a situation where he accidentally deleted files, but did not think about how to recover the information. Okay if the removal is done only in the "Recycle Bin". But what if, after that, the “Basket” was emptied, and the section with the original location was formatted? How to recover files deleted from the hard drive? This and much more will be discussed later. Consider several specialized programs, sorting them as they become more complicated.
Theoretical issues regarding file deletion
Before looking for an answer to the main question related to information recovery, we briefly consider the theory. And to begin with, a few words about the principles of deleting files from the hard drive.
The usual procedure, when an object is placed in the "Recycle Bin", is not a deletion as such. The file simply moves to another system-reserved area of ​​the hard drive.
Even when the “Recycle Bin” is cleaned up, provided that after that no action has been taken related to installing new programs, copying or moving other files, the deleted object from the hard drive still does not go anywhere. It simply becomes invisible in the file system, because its name changes (instead of the first letter or character, the symbol "$" is written in the name of the source object). The action of almost all known utilities for data recovery is precisely based on the search for such objects on the hard drive. These are, so to speak, general principles on how to recover deleted file / files. Now let's move on to more critical situations.
Types of formatting disks and partitions
It goes without saying that many users care about how to recover deleted files after formatting. Here, you also need to give a brief explanation. Windows provides two types of formatting: fast and full. In the first case, information can be restored, in the second without the use of professional equipment and software - no.
You can understand the difference between the types of formatting with a simple example. Suppose you wrote something on a misted window with your finger. The glass dried and the inscription disappeared. This is a quick format. If sprayed on it, the inscription will appear again. But when a rag is walked over the misted glass, then it will not work to return the inscription. This is full formatting. But what then is to be done to restore important files in which extremely important and necessary information was stored by the user?
The best information recovery software
Initially, we assume that the user has deleted the file from the Recycle Bin. How to recover information? Unfortunately, in the Windows operating systems themselves, not a single tool is provided for this, so you have to resort to using third-party software of different levels of complexity and with different capabilities.
If you sort the most popular applications from the simplest to the most complex and effective, the list may look something like this:
- Recuva;
- Pandora Recovery;
- Undelete Plus;
- Free Undelete;
- SoftPerfect File Recovery;
- Diskinternals Uneraser;
- PC Inspector File Recovery;
- R-Studio;
- R.Saver.
How to recover deleted files from the hard disk using Recuva?
This application is one of the simplest and most popular with users of all stripes. Actually, it all comes down to selecting the types of objects that are to be restored (music, video, office documents, etc.) after starting the program. If the user does not know the exact type of object, you can search for all deleted files.
If possible, files in the scan results will be marked with different colors:
- green - can be restored;
- yellow - restoration can be made with a probability of 50/50;
- red - cannot be restored.
How to recover files in this program? You just need to mark the necessary objects and press the corresponding button or use the RMB menu. However, when it will be offered to choose a place to save the restored information, you need to specify a section that is different from the initial location.
The minus of the program is that it does not always find the deleted information in full, does not know how to recover some objects that could be restored by more advanced utilities, and when saving it does not assign the files their original names.
How to recover deleted files in Windows using Pandora Recovery?
Before us is another simple utility. Despite the assurances of the developers, this application is designed only for actions performed on NTFS and FAT32 file systems. The program simply does not want to work with USB devices or memory cards, on which there are filesystems other than those specified, to put it mildly (it sometimes does not even identify drives). But as a simple and quick analyzer will do.
Undelete Plus app
Now let's look at another program. This utility, unlike the previous one, works just fine with removable media.
First, it scans, and then gives a complete list of everything that can be restored. The utility is very simple, but it has one feature related to the installation of a custom filter, which is intended for the initial selection of objects that need to be restored.
Free Undelete Utility
This application in its capabilities is very similar to the previous one, however, it only works with FAT32 and NTFS, and batch recovery is not provided. In other words, confirmation of restoration must be given for each selected object. But the detection system is potentially suitable for recovering files here on top.
SoftPerfect File Recovery
This program is included in the list only for the reason that it has the smallest size of all presented and works very quickly. She, of course, is far from all kinds of professional tools, however, for the accelerated search for remote objects, she can be used by ordinary users, inexperienced in the intricacies of information recovery technologies.
Diskinternals Uneraser Package
This application can be classified as semi-professional software products. Its distinctive feature is that it can recover information from hard drives that have started or have already “showered”. In addition, the program even starts from damaged hard drives, and this, you see, is very rare.
PC Inspector File Recovery
Now let's see how to recover deleted file (s) using this utility. She knows a lot. First of all, it is worth saying that the application is able to work with all types of FAT and NTFS file systems, including NTFS5 and IDE or SATA hard drives.
Scanning is performed at the sector level, which allows you to fully find even the surviving remnants of damaged objects, and then build a chain to restore the original file. An ordinary user is unlikely to need such a utility, since it is quite difficult to master. But professionals will be able to fully appreciate all the features of this unique program.
R-Studio and R.Saver programs
Finally, we consider two Russian programs for recovering deleted files, which today are recognized as one of the most powerful utilities in their area. It is these applications that are able to recover information from any type of media, even after formatting.
Scanning and detection of potentially recoverable objects in these programs is a cut above that of all previous ones. Many users also note the fact that both utilities even on removable cards after fully formatting found such information that many have long forgotten about it.
Let's say a user deleted a file from the Recycle Bin. How to recover information using these programs?
First, the scan of the selected partition or medium is started, and then the result is displayed, in which there will be a restored model of the formatted (previous) file system with all the objects that were previously present. The only negative is the scan time. Depending on the volume of the hard drive, this can take a fair amount of time. For example, a full analysis of a 32 GB flash drive takes about 5-7 hours. But the result exceeds all expectations.
Mobile systems
In conclusion, we will consider how to recover deleted files on Android. With removable memory cards, I think everything is clear. It is enough to remove the card from the device and restore information on the computer by connecting the card through a card reader. As for the mobile systems themselves, the easiest way to restore information is to use a saved backup, if one was originally created.
But how to recover deleted files on Android, if there is no such copy? In some cases, if objects were saved in the “cloud” (photo, music, video), restoration can be done there.
Mobile versions of Recuva and DiskDigger applications are also useful. If for some reason they do not work, you can use the ES File Explorer utility, which has the option to restore from the Recycle Bin, however, it is most often used to cancel deleting downloads. Contacts file recovery can be done from the Google Contacts web service, deleted letters and streaming audio from the “cloud”. For a thorough analysis, the Minitool Power Data Recovery utility is perfect. However, by and large, the problem of how to recover a deleted file in the system section of a mobile device can be reduced to connecting the device to a PC, but when choosing a section in some program, it is necessary to specify the internal, and not the external drive. R-Studio and R.Saver cope with this task without any problems.
Brief summary
How to recover a deleted file (s), understood. In the end, the question arises as to what software to use to recover lost information. It will be quite problematic for the average user to use professional utilities, but if you first learn the basics of working with the simplest utilities, you can take on R-Studio or R.Saver. These two programs are the best of their kind.