There are times when you mistakenly delete a file on your PC, and you are stuck on how to retrieve that particular document, picture or video. Below are some quick solutions to pursue in case you land yourself in such a situation;
Visiting the Windows Recycle Bin
This is the easiest and quickest means to retrieve your files without any hustle. The moment you delete a file from your PC, it automatically heads to the Recycle Bin. To recover the file, locate the Recycle Bin icon on your computer, open it and then peruse through the folders to find the document you want. After finding, right click on it and you will get a “Restore” option which puts it back in the previous location.
This method is however useless to a user who has already deleted files from their Recycle Bin. If that’s your scenario, then the next option should help you.
Utilizing the inbuilt backup feature
If you already cleared the Recycle Bin, the easiest option to retrieve your data will be to rely on the inbuilt backup and restore feature of your device. For users using devices running Windows 8 and later versions, open the folder where the file was previously located, click on the “history” button under the “home” tab and a list of previous files will be displayed which you can click to restore.
For first time users, you will be required to configure your ‘file history settings’ by adding either an external drive or using a network location if your device is connected to another and has internet; where the files will automatically get stored for a short while.
Should the above fail you, your next option should be using a data recovery software.
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Using a data recovery software
A lot of data recovery software exist online and once downloaded and installed have the capability to retrieve every type of data lost. These data recovery software are intended to handle erased files, format recovery, a system crash, data lost due to virus attacks, etc.
Depending on the nature of the software you have downloaded, all data recovery software have specific steps a user can follow to recover their data. Some of the data recovery software aren’t free of charge. The EaseUS data recovery software is a recommended app one could download and use to recover their files.
Users should always make a backup of their documents and files to avoid incurring charges involved in purchasing data recovery software or visiting professionals to do it. When this data is backed up, it can easily be accessed the moment you mistakenly delete or lose it.
Windows devices today come with OneDrive preinstalled which offers cloud storage to users and allows them to access these files on any device. If you have sufficient internet, you should always have your OneDrive account connected to upload the files you create each day. This helps prepare you for an abrupt data loss disaster that might be coming your way.
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