Recovering Deleted Files With Recuva

If I had a dime for every time a client accidentally deleted a file . . . well, I do have a dime for every time a client did that. It really does raise blood pressures and shorten breaths to think you’ve lost valuable files, unique photos or essential emails. You look in the recycle bin and they are no where to be found. Fear not. Your hard drive is only hiding the information from you. It won’t actually erase it until your computer needs the hard disk space. So don’t go crazy creating new files just yet. Stop right now.

There are several programs out there to help you recover deleted files. Be careful because some include malicious software. Certainly, you should never install any program without virus checking it.

Not too long ago, I had to install and use a file recovery program for a client who lost his whole computer system. I found and successfully used Recuva by Piriform. Recuva does a good job of cataloging deleted files. You can choose which drive to scan, whether it should look for pictures, emails or other types of files, and then which ones to restore. Pretty much, that’s what you’ll want and need in a file recovery program.

The main thing is don’t panic and don’t keep saving data to your computer. Ideally, the hard drive you need to recover files from should be removed from your computer and put in a hard drive cage so that there’s no risk of over-writing the files. If you have to install Recuva after you’ve already deleted files, you could risk overwriting those files.

If deleting files is a big concern, a good preventive measure is to install Recuva now and have it available if you need it.

Of course a file recovery program is no substitute for a good backup system. Hard disks are mechanical — they literally have a disk inside that spins — and mechanical things have a limited life span. If your drive is malfunctioning, a simple file recovery may not work. So, always back up your important files. Always.