Have you ever gone on a cleaning binge deleting what you thought were useless files or documents? A stray document here, an unviewed image there, the short private video… I used to go on “cleaning crusades� clicking willy-nilly and dragging files to the Recycle Bin. I’ll give a brief background on what role that innocent desktop recycling icon plays, and the steps available to attempt accidental deletion recovery.

The Recycle Bin is a holding pen for files. Any folders or files you ‘delete’ – using the right context menu or by dragging on to the icon – are no longer associated with the system. The files in the RB do take up disk space. When you empty the RB, you’re giving Windows permission to reuse the disk space. That’s right; Windows never actually destroys your files when you empty the RB. The files are not destroyed until they are overwritten by the system meaning that some files are recoverable after an accidental deletion. By clicking on “Empty Recycle Bin�, you’re telling Windows: “I don’t need these files anymore. Take your time and reuse the disk space when needed�. You’re not telling Windows: “These are sensitive amateur videos of my ex from the other night. Obliterate these files NOW and keep them from my girlfriend� (hypothetical situation).

In order to attempt a file recovery, you’ll need special software like Restoration. Restoration is a simple utility for recovering files emptied from the Recycle Bin. For this recovery tutorial I’ll delete a file, pull my hair out, run Restoration, and resurrect the file without breaking a sweat.

Step one: I don’t need you!

As an example, I’ve located a file to move to the Recycle Bin. Wednesday_night.jpg, an image from some historic party. I didn’t think the image was flattering so I decided to trash it. To send a file to the Recycle Bin right-click and choose ‘Delete’ or simply drag the file on top of the desktop Recycle Bin.

Step two: Bye bye file(s)

Most users will do this next step assuming all their files will permanently disappear. Right click on the Recycle Bin and choose ‘Empty Recycle Bin’. If you would rather not have the confirmation box pop-up in the future, right-click on the Recycle Bin and select properties.

Uncheck the “Display delete confirmation dialogue�.

Step three: Damn I actually wanted that file

Ergh I mad a mistake. I realized that the image was the only proof that I was standing next to Angelina Jolie (hypothetical). Thankfully I have Restoration. Download your copy from here. After downloading, extract and run the Restoration.exe.

Restoration can search deleted files for a specific file by name or allow you to browse all deleted files. For this tutorial I chose to search for a specific file. Because I knew part of the filename, I entered it into the search box. You can also browse all deleted files using by selecting ‘All Deleted Files’ in the right column without entering anything into the search box. Locate the file to be recovered and select ‘Restore by Copying’. Restoration will then ask you where the file should be copied. Presto. File recovered.

Note: Keep in mind Windows will overwrite files marked for deletion whenever additional disk space is needed. If Windows does overwrite part of a deleted file, Restoration will be unable to restore the complete file.