Select the files or folders you want to restore by pointing to each item and clicking the circle check box that appears, and then click Restore. Tip: If you're using OneDrive with your personal account, you can select Restore all items to restore everything in your recycle bin. This option isn't available in your work or school OneDrive. Files deleted from your Personal Vault will only show up in your recycling bin if your Personal Vault is unlocked before you check the recycle bin.

You can use the Show Personal Vault items command in the recycle bin to unlock the Personal Vault and see those items. If you're signed into OneDrive with a Microsoft account, items in the recycle bin are automatically deleted 30 days after they're put there. If you're signed in with a work or school account, items in the recycle bin are automatically deleted after 93 days, unless the administrator has changed the setting. See more information about how long deleted items are kept for work or school accounts.

Note: Deleted online-only files will not appear in your computer's Recycle Bin or Trash. To restore files from your Recycle Bin in Windows, open the Recycle Bin, select the files or folders you want to recover, then right-click them and select Restore.

The file or folder will be restored to its original folder. You can also drag the file out of the Recycle Bin and drop it on a new location where it will be stored. Step 4. Verify the files have indeed been restored to their original or new location. The Recycle Bin provides temporary storage for files that were recently deleted from your Windows system and that will fit in the Bin.

Files that exceed the capacity of the Bin will be permanently deleted instead of stored for potential recovery. You will not find these files in the Recycle Bin. You can adjust the size of the Recycle Bin and how long it retains files by modifying its settings.

If your lost files are not in the Recycle Bin, you will need to use another method for recovery. Read on to see what other options you have to recover lost or deleted files.

Using file recovery software may be necessary in order to undo the effects of a data loss event. It is a comprehensive data recovery application which makes use of advanced algorithms to scan any storage media for deleted files that can be recovered. Its deep scanning mode will scavenge your disk for fragments of files that can be reconstructed long after they have been deleted from the storage device. Disk Drill can be downloaded for free and can be used to recover up to MB of data and view all files that are available for recovery without any financial investment.

Larger restores will necessitate the purchase of the Pro version of the tool. Download and install Disk Drill. It is strongly recommended that you do not use the disk that will be used for the recovery.

Installing on that disk can lead to corruption or overwritten files before you get the chance to recover them. Launch the application. As it processes, you will be presented with a list of the files that can be recovered. Step 5. Select the files you wish to restore and a new location where you will store them. Step 6.

Click Recover to perform the data recovery. Step 7. Navigate to the new location and verify that the files are fully recovered and usable by your applications. One of the most important tasks for all computer users is the protection of the data that reside on the machine.

The best way to accomplish this is to perform a regular system backup using the backup tool of your choice. Windows 10 offers a built-in backup and recovery tool called File History that can be instrumental in allowing you to restore deleted items.

Windows users should take the time to set it up to protect the data on their laptop or PC. Drag the file or folder that you want to restore to another location, such as your desktop or another folder. The version of the file or folder is saved to the location that you selected. Tip: If you don't remember the exact file or folder name or its location, you can search for it by typing part of the name in the search box in the Documents library.

Right-click the file or folder, and then select Restore previous versions. The list will include files saved on a backup if you're using Windows Backup to back up your files as well as restore points, if both types are available. The Previous Versions tab , showing some previous versions of files. Before restoring a previous version of a file or folder, select the previous version, and then click Open to view it to make sure it's the version you want. Note: You can't open or copy previous versions of files that were created by Windows Backup, but you can restore them.

To restore a previous version, select the previous version, and then select Restore. Warning: The file or folder replaces the current version on your computer, and the replacement can't be undone. Note: If the Restore button is unavailable, you can't restore a previous version of the file or folder to its original location.

You might be able to open it or save it to a different location. It definitely helps to be prepared though. A dead hard drive, or a nonworking computer, presents an extra layer of trouble when you need to recover a file.

While this is possible in most cases, follow our troubleshooting guide for a computer that won't turn on. Are you sure the file has actually been deleted? It may have been moved to a different folder that you've since forgotten about, or maybe you copied it to a flash drive or other device no longer attached to your computer. Use a file search tool like Everything to comb through your whole computer for the file.

The smartest thing you can do is to stop writing data to the drive that contained the deleted files. The only way the file you want to recover disappears completely is if the same physical space it occupied on the drive is overwritten.

So, don't do anything that might cause that to happen. Most write-heavy tasks are things like installing software, downloading or streaming music or videos, etc. Doing those things won't necessarily overwrite your file, but the chances go up the more you do them. Before you do anything else, attempt to restore the deleted files from the Recycle Bin.

You've probably already looked in the Recycle Bin, but if not, do so now. If you're lucky enough to have not emptied it since you deleted the file, it might be here and in perfect working order. Files you delete from media cards, USB -based drives, external hard drives of any kind, and network shares are not stored in the Recycle Bin. The same goes, more obviously, for things like your smartphone.

Very large files from any source are also often deleted outright, skipping the Recycle Bin. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile.