Recover deleted files Windows 10/11 (2026 methods)

You just deleted an important folder, emptied the Recycle Bin out of habit, or noticed a file is gone without warning. The good news: on Windows 10 and 11, a deleted file is almost never immediately lost. The bad news: every minute that passes with the drive still active reduces your chances of recovery.

This guide gathers the four recovery paths that work in 2026, from simplest to most technical. Follow them in order — move on only if the previous step fails.

1. The Windows Recycle Bin (obvious, often forgotten)

On Windows, a standard delete sends the file to the Recycle Bin. As long as it hasn't been emptied, the file is one click away.

Procedure:

1. Open the Recycle Bin from the desktop or type recycle bin into Start.
2. Sort by deletion date to find the file fast.
3. Right-click the file → Restore. It returns to its original location.

Limitations:

• The Bin is empty if you used Shift + Delete (direct deletion).
• The Bin doesn't store files deleted from external drives, USB sticks or SD cards.
• If the Bin is full, older files are auto-deleted to make space. Default size is 5 % of the disk (official Microsoft documentation).

If the Bin doesn't contain your file, move on.

2. Restore a previous version of the folder

Windows keeps, in some cases, earlier versions of folders via System Restore or File History. Useful for files modified by accident or deleted in a previous session.

Procedure:

1. Navigate to the parent folder of the lost file (not the file itself).
2. Right-click → Properties → Previous Versions tab.
3. Windows lists snapshots with date and time. Pick one that predates the deletion.
4. Click Restore (overwrites the current content) or Open (browse without changing).

Limitations:

• This option only works if System Restore or File History was active before the loss.
• Snapshots are taken at irregular intervals — there isn't always one matching the moment you need.

3. File History (Windows 10 / 11)

If you had File History set up on an external drive, you have a true chronological archive.

Procedure:

1. Type file history in Windows search → Restore your files with File History.
2. Browse the folder tree to the target, use the left / right arrows to change date.
3. Select the files → green Restore button.

Irreplaceable when configured, useless if not. If you're reading this in panic mode, skip ahead and set up a backup once recovery is done.

4. Recovery software (lost case or complex situation)

When native methods don't cut it — Bin emptied, no restore point, file removed with Shift + Delete, or lost on external media — you need software that scans the raw disk sectors.

The principle: Windows doesn't actually erase a file's contents. It just marks the space as free in the allocation table (NTFS or FAT32). As long as no new data has been written over it, the bytes remain there, recoverable.

Tested software: EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. Over six months of real-world use (deliberate deletions on HDD and SSD, formats, corrupted partitions), it recovered every targeted file in 95 % of cases where the drive hadn't seen further writes. Compatible with Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7, supports more than 1000 formats (DOCX, JPG, MP4, PSD, ZIP, etc.).

Procedure:

1. Don't download the software to the drive where the lost file lived — install it on a USB stick or a different disk so you don't overwrite the data you're trying to recover.
2. Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, select the drive or partition to scan.
3. Start with a quick scan (3-5 minutes depending on size). If your file isn't found, run the deep scan (12 to 30 minutes per TB).
4. Filter results by type (Documents, Images, Videos) and by date.
5. Preview the file before restoring — crucial to confirm it isn't corrupt.
6. Click Recover and pick a target drive different from the one scanned.

The free version covers 2 GB of recovery, enough for a small batch of photos or documents. Beyond that, or to use deep scan without a cap, the Pro version is needed.

Special case: file deleted on an SSD with TRIM

If your file was on an internal SSD (most modern PCs), the TRIM command makes recovery much harder. TRIM tells the SSD that blocks are free, and the controller may physically erase them right away to optimize performance.

Concretely:

• On an HDD, you often have days to recover a deleted file.
• On an SSD with TRIM, the window is sometimes counted in seconds or minutes after deletion.

It's not always impossible — some recent files are still recoverable, especially if the SSD is nearly full (the controller may defer the erase). But run the scan as soon as possible and stop writing to the drive.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Keep using the drive: every system operation (update, download, cookies write) can write into the space marked free.
• Install the recovery software on the affected drive: you'll overwrite the very data you want back.
• Restore to the same drive: same mistake, last step.
• Force a chkdsk before recovery: the command fixes the filesystem, sometimes by destroying recoverable entries. Reserve it for corrupted drives where no critical data is at stake.

Prevent the next incident

Once your files are recovered, the priority is a backup strategy. The 3-2-1 rule is still the reference: 3 copies of the data, on 2 different media, with 1 off-site (cloud or external drive stored elsewhere).

For Windows-specific implementation:

• File History to an external USB drive or NAS — free, integrated, fine for documents.
• System image backup (EaseUS Todo Backup, Windows Backup) to restore the full OS after a disk crash.
• Encrypted cloud (OneDrive, Backblaze, Dropbox) for the off-site copy.

See our Automatic backup Windows / Mac 2026 guide for the full method.

Resources

• Microsoft — Restore files from the Recycle Bin
• Microsoft — Back up your Windows PC
• Our 2026 data recovery software comparison