How To Recover Deleted Files

Author: Debbie Grignani, 2BrightSparks Pte. Ltd.

Have you deleted a file and then wished you hadn’t done so? By the time you realized the deletion was accidental, you were unable to retrieve it as your Recycle Bin had been emptied. You believed it was too late to recover that file, and you’re not alone.

As high as a third of data loss is the result of human error. Is there a way to prevent the accidental deletion of files? No. Human error is a fact of life, and no matter how many times we remind ourselves to be more careful, errors will happen and the Recycle Bin containing that all important file will be lost. The good news is that there are ways to retrieve data lost in this way.

Undelete Software

You have two options that will help in recovering your lost files. The first is to use software that undeletes data. 2BrightSparks launched OnClick Utilities, a collection of user-friendly software utilities. A program called UndeleteOnClick is included in the suite that does exactly what its name suggests. OnClick Utilities is completely free.

Although an undelete program gives you the opportunity to recover deleted or erased data files, the success of undeletion depends on whether the deleted file’s space is still available. You see, when a file gets deleted in Windows, what happens is that the space on the hard disk allocated to that deleted file is freed up and made available for writing. So, if you do any task that requires disk writing before you retrieve the lost file with UndeleteOnClick, you risk corrupting, or even completely losing that file. Using UndeleteOnClick requires you act quickly, and that you make sure you stop writing anything to disk immediately after your accidental deletion. Do not email or browse the Internet. Don’t copy or save any more files. You will need to stop working at your computer altogether as you run UndeleteOnClick which will search your disk for your deleted data, then hopefully recover it.

Restoring Your Data

Your second option is easier to implement. Backing up your data files and restoring the accidentally deleted file is less risky since you won’t have to worry about the possibility of file corrupted that can occur when using an undelete program.

2BrightSparks offers backup and synchronization software. A freeware version called SyncBackFree and commercial versions called SyncBackPro and SyncBackSE. Simply schedule a profile to backup your data daily, weekly or even hourly depending on the sensitivity of the files. A simple backup takes around three minutes to set up, after which only a single click is required to make the backup time and again. You could set up a schedule so you the backups are automatic, and you can even do real-time synchronization so that files in your source folder are synchronized with your destination folder and vice versa whenever any files have been updated. In this way, in the event of a file being deleted due to human error, the latest version of that file can be restored efficiently and easily.

The differences between SyncBackFree and the commercial versions of SyncBack are tremendous since there are many more additional features in SyncBackPro and SyncBackSE. They include the ability to copy open and locked files, extra security, improved compression technology, better encryption, higher FTP performance, SFTP support, scripting, cloud backup and technical support from our technicians. Despite the considerable advantages, SyncBackFree does offer a basic, easy to use, and efficient backup and synchronization solution for users who just want to backup their data files.

Undelete Data Your Way

Choose between the two options outlined in this article in order to retrieve your files if you ever delete them by accident. Ideally, you would use both programs. If a backup copy of the deleted file is available, then restoring the file from the latest backup would be enough. If the latest backup file is a version older than the deleted file, because the backup profile has not yet been executed, then using an undelete program to retrieve the file would be a better alternative.

Decide on your data retrieval plan today, and never worry about accidental data loss ever again.

For more information and guidance about backing up read The Backup Guide.