Wondering how to restore the emptied recycle bin? If your answer is yes, then I am here to help you out. There are times when we accidentally delete a file or folder and then delete the empty recycle bin completely. As a result, we also lose data that was deleted by accident in the first place.
You probably cannot afford to lose the important data, then the only option you have is to restore it. Luckily, restoring data from an empty recycle bin is not as hard as it seems. As there are many methods available, such as CMD, Data recovery software, and so on.
Solution 1 – Using Command Prompt(attrib commands)
One of the first things that you can try out is the command prompt. It’s a powerful command-line tool shipped with all the Windows systems out there. And it can be used for recovering deleted files from the Recycle Bin. Using the Command prompt is our first attempt to recover the files of the emptied Recycle Bin
However, before you go ahead, you should know that CMD is not an effective method of data recovery. There is no guarantee that it will recover all your files.
1. First things first, press the Windows + X keys at the same time to open up a menu.
Alternatively, you can search “CMD” in the Start Menu and get to the command prompt.
2. From the menu, click on the Command Prompt (Admin) option to open the Windows Command Prompt with administrator privilege.
3. Once you are on the command prompt, you have to run this following command:
| chkdsk C: /F |
Over here, C represents the drive letter of the drive where your files were deleted off. As we are scanning the Recycle bin over here, so do select the C drive.
In any case, if your system drive, in which the windows is installed, is not C, then replace the letter with the respective letter of the drive.
4. Schedule the check for the time when the computer restarts next time. Press the Y button to confirm and hit enter to continue with the command.
5. After that, type C again and hit the enter. (Remember C represents the drive letter.
6. Finally, you will need to run this following command and hit the enter button.
| C:\>attrib -h -r -s /s /d *.* |
Once you are done executing the above command, you will need to wait for CMD to finish the scanning, and the results will be displayed on the on-screen.
Here is what the commands do that we entered above.
1. -h: This command provides hidden attributes to the files.
2. -r: This one is a read-only attribute.
3. -s: With this command, you will be able to get a specific file’s attributes.
4. /s: This instructs the tool search for recovery in specific sub-folders, directories.
5. /d: All the process folders are covered with this command.
Solution 2 – Recover from a Backup
The unconventional method is used only when you have ample storage space that can be set aside for backup.
It can backup your files in a separate drive in a secure folder, which will act as a copy of your original.
All you need to do is select the drive where the folders consisting of essential data.
1. Search for “backup settings” in the Start Menu search, and the backup wizard will appear on the screen.
2. Select a drive in which your important files and folders are located.
After selecting the drive, you will come across the option to include or exclude specific folders from the scope of the backup.
Windows 7 users can check out backing up files from their official guide.
Solution 3 – Using Wondershare Recoverit
Apart from the CMD method, there is this software called Wondershare Recoverit, which you can try out. The best part of this software is that it offers you a dedicated Recycle Bin Restore button.
Consequently, you don’t have to select any drive and manually recover your data. Plus, this tool will recover whatever data is present in the recycle bin.
Note – Recoverit is a premium tool that has a trial available, which you can use to get things rolling.
1. First of all, go ahead and download Wondershare Recoverit recovery tool from its official website.
2. After that, run the installation file and complete the installation by following all the steps.
3. Once installed, launch the application, and on the dashboard itself, you will find the Recycle Bin option under select location.
4. Select the Recycle Bin and hit the Start button given in the window’s bottom right corner.
5. After that, let Wondershare Recoverit scan for the deleted files. This process may take a while, depending upon the deleted files’ size from the Recycle Bin.
6. Once the scan is completed, you have to select files or folders you wish to recover. You can also navigate through folders to find the exact file you want to recover.
7. After selecting files and folders, hit the Recover button from the bottom left, and it will ask you for a location to save the recovered files.
8. Select a location where you wish to save the recovered files, and you are all done.
After that, Wondershare Recoverit will recover all the files and store them in your selected folder, and you are good to go.
Moreover, with the Wondershare Recoverit, you will not just recover from the recycling bin. You can also use this tool to recover files from flash drives, hard disk drives, and other locations.
Conclusion
Emptying a recycle bin containing your important files is the last thing you would want to do.
Recovering files, folders, and other sorts of data have become an effortless endeavor in recent times, thanks to tools such as Recoverit, which provide easy-to-use and effortless ways to recover files. By the way, here is an article to introduce the theory of recycle bin recovery.
