Have you ever deleted something and then instantly knew it was a mistake? Did you know that it is possible to retrieve deleted files? Many people already know that the first stop for a file is in the recycle bin.

Maybe you did not know this, but it is very simple to locate your recycle bin and retrieve deleted files from it with a few clicks of your mouse. You simply need to minimize all open windows and programs so your desktop is visible. Now look for the recycle bin icon.

Just double click on the icon for recycle bin. It will open, showing you all of your deleted files inside. Looking for your file, highlight it and right click it. You will then see a selection list of four separate choices. If you select “restore”, this will move your file back to its previous location.

You can still retrieve deleted files that aren’t in the recycle bin anymore; however, this is a little bit more involved. Once a file is deleted from the bin, the operating system puts it back into free space on your hard drive. It does this by stripping all file extensions and then allocating that space by marking the file to be overwritten.

This is a crucial and important time to locate that file, because if it is overwritten, there is no chance of getting it back. If it is at all possible, save nothing more to your hard drive. Look for a data recovery software program. You will need to partition your hard drive first before you download the software to prevent it from overwriting your file.

Data recovery software programs are specifically designed to locate your lost data and restore it, and this can be crucial if you really need to recover something.