How to Get Back Deleted Files

As a regular computer user, you will realize in time that one of the keys that you should be careful in using is the 'Delete' key. Be it a Windows or a Mac, the computer operating system has some provisions for recovery of deleted items, but when some files are permanently deleted, recovering them back again can be real tough. You need to use specialized tools in that case.

I outline ways in which you can recover deleted files, stored on your hard drive for Windows and Mac machines. One of the best practices that can save you from the hassle of recovering permanently deleted files is to back up your data at regular intervals of time. You can save a lot of time and distress if you do so. Get hold of a good data back up software. Let us now see what you can do if you accidentally or intentionally delete files and you want them back.

Retrieving Deleted Files on a Mac

Let us first have a look at how to get back deleted file on a Mac machine. There are two ways in which you can do it, besides the obvious one of recovering your data from backup, if you have any.

Time Machine to the Rescue
Mac OS X Snow Leopard comes with an inbuilt file recovery mechanism called 'Time Machine'. This program lets you restore your hard drive status to the way it was at any recent time in the past. Using this program, you can easily recover deleted files.

Use a Data Recovery Software
If Time machine doesn't work for you, there is always the option of using specialized data recovery programs. One such program is Mac Data Recovery Software, released by Disk Doctors. It can recover permanently deleted data for you. Buy it, install it and see what it can do for you.

Retrieving Data On Windows Machines

If you haven't backed up the data on your Windows machine, recovering deleted files can be done in two ways. First delete with the case where you have only deleted the files and haven't used the 'Shift+Delete' option.

Recycle Bin to the Rescue
If you have just accidentally hit the delete button and a file disappears from a folder, you don't need to worry. It can be salvaged from the recycle. Let us see how to recover deleted files from recycle bin. Just click on the recycle bin icon that you find on the desktop in Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, right click on the file you want recovered and select the 'Restore' option. Your file will be found again at its original location. Remember, if the file size exceeds the storage limit of the recycle bin, it will be permanently deleted. So you can always get back deleted files from recycle bin as long as they are not too big for it to hold and you haven't hit Shift + Delete.

Use a Special Data Recovery Software
If the data is permanently deleted and you do not have it already backed up, you can use any specialized data recovery software. One such recommended software is Digital Rescue Premium 3.1. Check it out and get it installed to end all your worries about data retrieval.

One of these hard drive data recovery programs can come in handy when you need to recover deleted files pronto. As suggested above, one of the best ways to save yourself from data loss is to back up files regularly. That way, you can get back permanently deleted files by accessing your backed up data. It is important that you exercise discretion and stop your 'Delete happy finger' from wiping out important data. Organize your data and back it up periodically to avoid facing data loss problems. Of course, if the files still get deleted you can always take help from data recovery software that is designed for the purpose of retrieval.