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View Full Version : Is it possible to restore something that is deleted from recycle bin?


Sunnywootxp
Sep 5, 2008, 09:34 AM
Hi Everyone

I accidentally deleted a file from my recycle bin is it possible to restore something from the recycle bin.

Thanks

progunr
Sep 5, 2008, 09:36 AM
It is possible, but the average user would not know how to recover that lost data.

You will probably have to take it to a repair shop and let them dig into the bowels of your hard drive and dig up what you deleted.

jcdill
Sep 5, 2008, 10:32 AM
You may also have luck with data recovery software (http://www.google.com/search?q=data+recovery+software).

When a file is deleted, the file itself still exists on your hard drive. What is deleted is the index that tells the computer where the file's contents were. Data recovery software looks at the "empty spaces" and finds the deleted files. Most data recovery programs have a trial mode that will tell you what files it can find, and then you pay to register the program, and then it will actually do the file recovery.

HOWEVER it is CRITICAL that you not use this computer for anything else (browsing the web, reading email, opening other files) because every single thing you do increases the odds that the computer will use the "empty space" where the deleted file was (before it was deleted) and overwrite the data. Once that happens, the data is gone for good. So shut the computer OFF and use a different computer for your research, to download a recovery tool, etc.

The best recovery tool is one that will run from external media (doesn't need to be installed on the computer, because "installing" can overwrite the data you are trying to recover. You would use a different computer to download the software, and then copy it to a USB thumb drive, floppy drive, CD, etc. Then boot the target computer, and run the program directly from the external media without "installing" it.

Good luck.