How to recover missing, lost, or deleted files

Updated: 01/07/2025 by Computer Hope
Computer hard drive

It's frustrating when you want to view a file and it appears to be missing. The following suggestions are different ideas that can be done to help either locate the file's location or recover the file if it's been deleted.

Note

Realize that if a file was deleted, any new file created since its deletion could overwrite some or all of the data marked for deletion, making file recovery impossible. If you're certain about a files location and that location doesn't contain the file, focus only on file recovery suggestions. Trying to locate a file may create files that overwrite deleted data.

Recent document

If the missing file was recently viewed, it'll be shown as a recent document or recent file. Open the program you used to view the file and try opening it from the "Recent documents," or "Open Recent" section of the program. Sometimes when viewing a file (e.g., a download or e-mail attachment), where that file is saved may be a temporary location you're unfamiliar with, making locating it difficult.

Tip

If the file is located and can be opened, choose the Save as option to save that file in a location you'll remember in the future (e.g., Documents).

If the file is shown in Recent but says it cannot be opened or is missing, the file was moved or deleted.

Restore from Recycle Bin or Trash

If you're running Apple macOS or Microsoft Windows and the file was recently deleted, it may still be in the Trash or Recycle Bin.

If present in this area, it can be recovered by right-clicking the file and selecting Restore in the menu.

Search for the file

If a file was moved, it may appear that the file is gone. Search the hard drive for the files you believe to be missing by running find or search on the computer. If the file is found elsewhere it can be moved back to where you'd like it to exist.

Note

The process of searching for files creates new files that could overwrite any deleted data. If you believe the file was deleted and not moved, do not perform this step.

Recover file from backup

If the file was backed up to floppy disk, CD (Compact Disc), USB (Universal Serial Bus) flash drive, or cloud storage we recommend the file be restored from that backup if the file cannot be found.

Download freeware program or purchase a program

When a file is deleted (even when removed from the Recycle Bin), the space used by the files is marked as available. However, the data in that space is not immediately overwritten with new data. Assuming no other file has overwritten the deleted file on the hard drive, a recovery program can recover deleted files. Below lists freeware file recovery programs that help recover lost data.

Tip

Using a portable version of a data recovery program prevents overwriting deleted files, ensuring a higher chance of successful data recovery.

  1. Recuva
  2. Restoration
  3. Disk Drill - for Mac and Windows
  4. FileRestorePlus
  5. Photorec
  6. Wondershare RecoverIt
Tip

In Windows, if you're prompted to run a program as an administrator, such as Restoration, right-click the executable file and choose Run as administrator.

Note

If other data has overwritten any of the data marked for deletion you're attempting to restore, it cannot be completely recovered using any of these programs.

Utilize a service from a company that specializes in recovering lost data

Utilize the service of a local data recovery company or an out-of-state data recovery company. One word of caution is that these services can sometimes be very expensive. We recommend they be used only if the data is critical or data cannot be read from the hard drive. For example, if the hard drive is bad or data is corrupted, these services help recover data. Below is a listing of some data recovery companies.

There are also several companies that specialize in the service of recovering files or documents that are password protected. Below is a listing of some companies that provide this service.