Data Recovery Guide: Undelete Files: The Recycle Bin

The best possible solution for you to undelete some deleted files is the Windows Recycle Bin. You may recall at some point deleting some files and seeing a Windows dialog box that says something like "Are you sure you want to send these files to the Recycle Bin?" That message means those files aren't really gone (at least not immediately), but are just moved to a special place out of sight.

You can think of the Windows Recycle Bin like the trash can in an office. If you throw something in the trash can and later realize that was a mistake, you can always dig it out of the trash can. Of course, if anyone has emptied the trash can (because it was overflowing, or because it always gets emptied on Fridays, for example), then you may be out of luck.

Like the trash can in an office, the Windows Recycle Bin can be a real easy way to recover something you later realize you shouldn't have thrown away. However, like the trash can in an office, those deleted files may not be in the Windows Recycle Bin when you need them, for a variety of reasons.

The pages that follow contain just about everything you'll ever need to know about the Windows Recycle Bin. If you just want to know how to recover a file you recently deleted, you can skip straight to:

UDF ReaderUndelete Deleted Files