5 Free Ways to Recover Deleted Files from Hard Drive

The hard drive is known as a hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, or fixed disk. HDD has dominated the secondary storage device for general-purpose computers since the 1960s. Therefore, many users are accustomed to saving their documents, photos, videos, and other essential data on hard drives.

However, it is unavoidable to suffer data loss while using computers. At the moment, you may wonder: Can I recover deleted files from hard drive? How to recover deleted files in Windows 7, 8, 10, 11? Please continue to read this article and get the answer.

Help! Can I Recover Deleted Data from Hard Drive?     

“Oh no, I deleted the important files.” This is probably the first thought of many users. You may feel panicked and overwhelmed. But data loss is a very common scenario on a PC, and you can recover deleted files from hard drive, even the emptied Recycle Bin folder.

The method of recovering files may also differ due to different deletion methods:

Besides, this article also includes methods to recover files from a damaged hard drive. If you have problems recovering deleted files, please read this article for recovery methods.

How to Recover Deleted Files from Hard Drive for Free

In the following, you will learn 5 effective and safe methods to recover deleted files from hard drives in Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, etc. Some methods are also applied to recover deleted files in Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, and previous systems.

• #1.Recycle Bin
• #2. FastRecovery
• #3. Windows File Recovery
• #4. Previous Version
• #5. Backup Image - Backup and Restore (Windows 7) & File History.

Warning: Please stop using this drive or add new data to it, which may overwrite the “free” space occupied by deleted files. Meanwhile, don’t use much of your PC. These will result in data recovery failure.

▶ Way 1. Recover Deleted Files from Recycle Bin (for Recently Deleted)

If you use the “Delete” button to delete files on a hard drive, the first thing is to check the Recycle Bin. If you empty it and want to recover deleted files, try the other methods in the following.

Step 1. Double-click Recycle Bin icon to open it.

Step 2. Locate the deleted files in the Recycle Bin. Then, right-click these files and click Restore to restore deleted files to their original location.

Or navigate to the Manage tab and click Restore the selected items.

▶ Way 2. Recover Deleted Files from Hard Drive with FastRecovery (Powerful & Fast)

FastRecovery is a professional yet user-friendly data recovery software for Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, etc, and Windows Server that can recover deleted files from internal or external drives (e.g., recover deleted files from SSD), USB drive, SD card, etc. Even novices can operate it in simple steps. Besides, you can benefit from its excellent file recovery capacity and fast speed.

Free download and install FastRecovery to get started quickly. You shouldn't save it to a partition containing deleted files, as this may cause data overwriting. 

Step 1. Launch FastRecovery after installing. Select Deleted Files Recovery among all scenarios. You can also select a more suitable alternative. All of them help retrieve data without causing damage. 

Step 2. Hover the mouse over the hard drive, including the accidentally deleted files, and click Scan.​ 

Step 3. The Quick Scan will automatically scan the drive for deleted and lost files.​ You won't have to wait long. 

Step 4. Usually, under the Type section, you can check the data type and specific format. Click the arrow next to name, date modified, type, etc, to sort files. Once found, double-click them to preview files

Step 5. Select the desired data and click the Recover button to recover deleted files from hard drive. Please select a new location to store these files, as restoring to the original location may cause data overwriting, resulting in data recovery failure.

Except for hard drives, it still allows you to recover files from external hard drives, USB drives, SD cards, digital cameras, etc.

Download FastRecovery to recover deleted files now!

▶ Way 3. Recover Deleted Files with Windows File Recovery (Microsoft's Official Tool)

Download the Windows File Recovery from the Microsoft Store first, and run it. Then, type the right commands to recover the deleted files you want. If there is a problem with it, please refer to how to use Windows File Recovery.

Step 1. Get Windows File Recovery.

Search Windows File Recovery from the Microsoft Store and click the Get button to download and install it.

Step 2. Type the right commands to scan.

Enter Windows File Recovery in the search box, and click Run as administrator. Select a suitable mode and switches based on file system and filter scan range.

• For recovery mode: If you deleted your files recently, select the Regular mode directly. Besides, select the Extensive mode.
• For switches:

Switches	Meaning	Supported mode(s)
/n	Filter the scan range: scans for a specific file with its file name/path/type, etc.	All
/y:	Recover specific extension groups.	Signature
/k	Recover system files.	NTFS Segment
/u	Recovers undeleted files, for example, from the Recycle Bin.	NTFS Segment

• Give an Example:

To recover files from the C drive to the E drive, type as follows: winfr C: E: /n \Users\username\Documents\.

Step 3. Waiting for recovery to end.

Press“y” to continue. The recovery time and speed depend on your source disk size.

★Tips:

 The source and destination drives must be different. That suggests your recovered files need to be saved in a new location from the scanning drive.

 If you want to stop the recovery process, press Ctrl + C.

 You can try Windows File Recovery, but it may not retrieve your deleted files every time. And you may encounter errors during the file recovery process, such as, “Winfr.exe is not recognized as an internal or external command”, “WinFR requires admin privileges to run”, etc.

▶ Way 4. Recover Deleted Files from Previous Version (Require a Backup)

If you enable the system restore point or File History feature, you can recover deleted files from the previous version. It works even after you empty the Recycle Bin folder.

Step 1. Start Windows Explorer. Locate the folder containing the deleted file, right-click it, and then select Properties > Previous Version.

Step 2. Select the folder version based on the date modified and click Restore to restore deleted files from hard drive.

▶ Way 5. Recover Deleted Files from Backup Image (Require a Backup)

If you create backup images with Windows backup software like Backup and Restore or File History, you can directly restore deleted files from backup.

From Backup and Restore:

Step 1. Navigate to Control Panel > System and Security and select Backup and Restore (Windows 7). Then, click Restore my files.

Step 2. In the Restore Files window, you can search or browse for files and folders to locate files you want to recover.

• Search: type part of the name of files and select the deleted files to restore.
• Browse for files: navigate to the folder containing deleted files from Recycle Bin and select it. Then, click Add Files.
• Browse for folders: select the entire folder with deleted files.  

Step 3. Select a new location to restore deleted files from Recycle Bin. Then, click Start Restore.

From File History:

Step 1. Navigate to Control Panel > System and Security> File History and select Restore your files with File History.

Step 2. Click the left or right arrow to find out the backup version you want to restore and click the green button to restore them to their original location.​

Tip: To restore deleted files to a new location, click the Setting icon at the upper right corner and select the Restore to option. Then, you can specify a location you want.

Different Scenarios of Hard Disk Data Recovery

Hard disk data recovery is more than you think. For example, unlike traditional deletion, some users may also use Shift + Delete to delete files permanently or empty the Recycle Bin after deleting files. 

📌 Recover Permanently Deleted Files in Windows 10

Usually, when you delete a file, it will be put into Recycle Bin, allowing you to restore it. Sometimes, deleted files are not visible. In this case, your files are permanently deleted, and you cannot find them on the computer. This guide provides several methods to recover permanently deleted files. 

📌 Deleted File Not in Recycle Bin 

If you find deleted files not in Recycle Bin, they're usually permanently deleted. It's time to look for available backups or reliable Windows data recovery software to retrieve files on the hard drive.  

📌 Recover Files from Formatted Hard Drive  

If your drive is formatted, you cannot access it or any of the data on it. Standard recovery methods will not work. It will be worse if you don't have a backup. In this case, the most effective solution is to use professional data recovery software designed for this type of situation.

📌 Recover Data from a Crashed Hard Drive

You may experience system crashes, blue screen of death, boot failure, etc, or receive error messages indicating your hard drive is damaged like "your hard drive needs to be formatted before using it, your hard drive may bedamaged or failing. You can try to copy data if it's still bootable. If not, connect it to another PC for data recovery or considering data recovery services.

More FAQs about Hard Disk Data Recovery

✍ Is it true that deleted files can not be recovered?

In fact, deleted files are not always recoverable. It depends on whether the space occupied by deleted files is overwritten. Any new data will destroy previous data completely.

✍ Are permanently deleted files gone forever?

The permanently deleted files are removed from the file system table instead of being erased. So it still exists on the hard disk.

✍ How to recover deleted files from hard drive without software

To recover deleted files from hard drive without software, try to restore from a file history backup or Backup and Restore. The premise is that you have an available copy of your files.

✍ How to recover permanently deleted files from hard drive

To recover permanently deleted files from hard drive, restoring from backup is a great choice. Be sure you create a copy of your files. If not, try reliable data recovery software or service.

✍ How to recover deleted files from hard drive on Mac?

To recover deleted files from hard drive on Mac, try the built-in backup software - Time Machine, which allows you to create a copy of the files and put them back.

In Conclusion

You can easily recover deleted files from hard drives in Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, and Windows Server. Among them, the best hard drive data recovery software, FastRecovery is the most effective method. It can directly recover your files, up to 1000 file types, and has a high success rate.

It would be a devastating experience for some individuals to recover data from the hard drive. At the moment, it’s necessary to make easy-to-use backups for Windows. A highly praised backup software, AOMEI Backupper Standard can assist you with making automatic, full, incremental, and differential backups within clicks.