How to Recover Deleted Files With Vista Freeware

Erased files on a hard drive are rarely erased completey.

Nothing can be more frustrating than discovering you accidentally deleted a file you actually needed. But when a file is deleted from a hard drive it isn't necessarily lost forever. Deleted data really isn't actually deleted at first, it remains on the hard drive for some time. Nothing is gone forever until new data is written over it. Searching through this data can be done easily using freeware programs that are compatible with Vista and most other forms of Windows.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Hard drive with the deleted files
• Recuva, Pandora or EASEUS Recovery software

Instructions

Using Recuva

1. Download and install Recuva. Launch the program. The "Recuva Wizard" will start and ask you questions that can help make the process of finding deleted files easier. Answers the questions asked and click "start" to begin the recovery scan.

2. Let Recuva scan the folders specified. After scanning is complete, a list of files should appear. Click the boxes next to the files you want and then click "Recover."

3. Select a location for the recovered files and click "OK." Note that some files will most likely contain errors or may be completely unreadable.

Using Pandora Recovery

1. Download and install Pandora Recovery. After installation is complete launch the program.

2. Click next on the "Welcome to Pandora Recovery Wizard" screen. Follow the instructions about searching your Recycle Bin and click "Next" again.

3. Select the drive you want to search for deleted files. Your main hard drive is typically the "C" drive.

4. Choose a recovery method. Select "Browse" if you don't know the name of the file you want to recover. Select "Search" if you know the full or partial name or extension of the file. Select "Deep (Surface) Scan" if you want to see a list of every deleted file detected. This last method takes the most time but is the most thorough. Click "Next" after selecting your method. Pandora will now scan your drive for deleted files.

5. Search the directory listing for files you deleted. When you find a file you want to recover right-click on it and select "Recover to." Select the folder you want to save the file to and click "Recover Now." Pandora will now attempt to recover the file. This process is not always successful.

Using EASEUS Deleted File Recovery

1. Download and install the EASEUS Deleted File Recovery program. Launch the program after installation is complete.

2. Click on the drive that has files you want to recover and click "Next." Your "C" drive is most often your main hard drive. EASEUS will scan the drive for lost files. This may take some time.

3. Search the directory listing for files you want to recover. If you know the files' names but not their location, use the "Find File by Name" function. After you've found the files you want to recover click on the small box next to them and then click "Next."

4. Choose a destination folder for your recovered files and click "Next" again. EASEUS will attempt to recover the files. After the recovery process is complete you can either close the program or chose to go back to the file list to find more deleted files. The recovered files will not always be readable.

Tips & Warnings

• The sooner you launch these programs after the files are deleted the your chances for recovering them.

• Install these programs to a flash drive or an external hard drive whenever possible. Anytime you install anything to your main drive deleted contents are overwritten. For the same reason you should also save any recovered files to a secondary drive as well.

References

• EASEUS: Data Recovery Manual
• Pirifon Docs: Recuva Wizard Mode
• Pandora Recovery User Manual: Recovering Deleted Files

Resources

• Pandora Recovery
• Piriform: Recuva
• EASEUS: Data Recovery Software