Have you gone and accidently deleted a file that you needed? If you did, did it somehow bypass the recycle bin? Are you wondering how you will possibly get it back? This article will explain how files bypass the recycle bin, and how you will get them back.
Usually when files are deleted, they get sent to the recycle bin. But this is not always the case. Files will bypass the recycle bin when:
- you hold down the SHIFT key when you delete the file
- deleting the file through a DOS comand prompt
- the recycle bin is configured to bypass all deleted files
- the file you are deleting is on a removable disk (this includes CD’s, USB flash drives, floppy disks etc.)
- the file being deleted is located on a network drive
- the file being deleted is located in a compressed (zipped) folder
When a file is deleted from or bypasses the recycle bin, the file is not permanently deleted. It is still located on the disk and is only marked as free space. This means that you can still recover deleted files from hard drive, but only through a peice of software that has been specifically designed for that purpose.
These programs scan the hard drive’s free space for deleted files. When it shows you the results, you will see a lot of files that are just system files that are no longer needed. You don’t need to worry about these. When you find the file that you want to recover, usually when you select it there is an option to “Recover Deleted Files” You may have to right click the file for this option. You will be prompted for a location to restore the file to.
Even though many people think that when you delete a file from the recycle bin that it is permanent. It is not, files deleted from or that have bypassed the recycle bin are recoverable.