4 Best Ways to Recover Deleted Files in Windows 11 Without Software
If you've deleted a file in Windows 11, don't panic - there are still several ways to recover your data. Despite popular belief, it is often possible to recover deleted files in Windows 11 without software, and this blog post will discuss the four best approaches for recovering deleted files in Windows 11 to get your important documents and data back quickly and easily.
Why Do You Lose Data in Windows 11
Windows 11, a powerful operating system, can be vulnerable to data loss due to various reasons such as software crashes, complex drive malfunctions, unexpected power loss, virus attacks, and insufficient backups.
System crash: When Windows 11 experiences a sudden power outage or system crash, written files in progress are often damaged, becoming incomplete due to the interruption in processing.
Hardware failure: Hardware failures can cause Windows data loss due to mechanical breakdown of the disk or physical damage, corrupting internal data pathways and rendering the drive inaccessible.
Virus attack: Malicious code can overwrite system files required for Windows 11's operation or delete personal files, especially if no backups were made beforehand, causing serious impact on Windows 11 files.
Accidental deletion: The most common cause of permanently deleting files in Windows 11 is pressing the shift + delete or ctrl + delete option, which permanently deletes files without moving them to the Recycle Bin.
Windows 11 update: Another cause for Windows 11 data loss can be improper Windows updating, which can cause files to become corrupt or unreachable.
4 Ways to Recover Deleted Files in Windows 11 Without Software
Accidentally deleting important files can be frustrating and time-consuming, but there are measures that can be taken to recover deleted files in Windows 11 without using software.
Method 1. Recover Deleted Files from Recycle Bin in Windows 11
When you delete a file on Windows 11, it typically goes to the Recycle Bin, making it a first step to recover deleted files without software. To restore deleted files, check the Recycle Bin and follow the steps to retrieve them.
Step 1. Find the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop.
Step 2. Right-click Recycle Bin and select "Open".
Step 3. Find the lost file you want to restore.
Step 4. Right-click the files and choose "Restore" to recover the deleted file to its original location in Windows 11.
To restore multiple files, simply click on the "Manage" button on the top toolbar and select either "Restore the selected items" or "Restore all items".
Method 2. Recover Deleted Files in Windows 11 Without Software via File History
To recover deleted files in Windows 11, you can use Windows 11 File History, which allows you to easily retrieve lost files by accessing your previous backups. Ensure that File History was enabled before the file loss, and then follow the on-screen instructions to restore the deleted files.
To recover deleted files in Windows 11, follow these steps. First, stop using the affected device and storage drive to prevent overwriting the deleted files.
Step 1. To restore your files from File History, search for "File History" in your Start menu, and then select "Restore your files from File History".
Step 2. All backup files and folders will appear in the File History window.
If there are multiple backup versions, you can switch to a different one by clicking the left and right arrows at the bottom of the window.
Step 3. Choose the version that contains the lost files.
Step 4. Preview the selected file if necessary. Then click the green arrow to restore the files.
Method 3. Recover Deleted Files in Windows 11 with the Previous Version
If you've made a Windows 11 backup, you can recover deleted files without using software by following these steps. Since this method only works if you have a backup, it's essential to have a regular backup routine in place. This way, you can easily restore deleted files and avoid data loss.
Step 1. Go to the folder or location where the deleted files were saved, and search for them using the computer's built-in search function or a third-party recovery software, and then try to recover them.
Step 2. Right-click the blank space on the folder and choose "Properties".
Step 3. To determine if a backup is valuable for restoring data, check the "Previous Versions" tab and look at the date the backup was made, which can help you decide if it's a useful source for restoring data.
Step 4. You can restore the file to either the original location or a different location by clicking "Restore To" and selecting a new location, or by clicking "Restore" to return the file to its original location.
Method 4. Recover Deleted Files in Windows 11 with CMD
To show hidden files on your Windows 11 computer, open File Explorer by pressing the Windows key + E, click on the three dots (…) at the top right corner, and select “View” to check the box next to “Hidden items”. You can also click on the “Show/hide” button to toggle the visibility of hidden files. To recover files, look for the files you want to recover and right-click on them to select “Restore previous versions” to restore a previous version of the file.
Step 1. To open the Command Prompt, go to the Start menu, type "cmd" in the search bar, and press the Enter key.
Step 2. Open Command Prompt and type the commands below.
attrib -h -r -s drive letter:\*.* /s /d
"Go to the drive letter of your hard drive or external storage device where you lost files, and look for a folder or file with the name 'Recycle Bin'. If you find it, check if the deleted files are inside.
How to Recover Deleted Files with Software (Recommended)
Data recovery software like Deep Data Recovery is a good option if you don't have a backup, as it can quickly recover lost data from any storage, even in scenarios such as drive errors, accidental deletion, or other data loss situations.
- It allows users to scan their devices and quickly preview recoverable files.
- This tool enables the retrieval of deleted documents, photos, videos, and other files.
- This tool provides a straightforward and comprehensive solution to recover files from any computer or storage device, making it a reliable option for users.
Download this data recovery software and recover deleted files in Windows 11.
Note: To increase the chances of successful data recovery, install Qiling data recovery software on a different disk from the one where the files were lost. This approach helps prevent overwriting of the original data and ensures a higher recovery success rate.
Step 1. Launch Deep Data Recovery on your Windows computer, choose the file types you want to recover, and click "Next" to start the recovery process.
Step 2. Select the disk partition or storage location where you lost data and click "Scan".
Step 3. This recovery software will scan the disk to find lost and deleted files, and then allow you to filter the results by file type.
Step 4. Preview and restore lost Windows files by scanning, previewing, selecting, and recovering them to a safe location.
Conclusion
To recover deleted files in Windows 11 without software, you can try the solutions above, which work well in getting back lost files from Windows 11/10/8/7. If you don't have a backup, you can also try using a hard drive recovery software like Qiling to restore files from your drive with simple clicks.
Recover Deleted Files in Windows 11 Without Software FAQs
If you still have problems, read the questions and answers below.
1. Can I recover permanently deleted files in Windows 11?
Yes, you can recover permanently deleted files in Windows 11.
- Donwload and run Deep Data Recovery
- Select the partition and click the Scan button
- Preview the files after the scan in Windows 11
- Recover the permanently deleted files in Windows 11
2. How do I undo a delete in Windows 11?
You can recover deleted files from the Recycle Bin as long as they haven't been permanently deleted or emptied.
3. Does Windows 11 have File History?
The Windows 11 File History feature allows for automatic backup of files from specific folders on your PC to an external source, such as a USB drive or network location.
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