My deleted files are not in the Recycle Bin, how to recover them?

"Just several minutes ago, I accidentally deleted a working file, and soon I realized my mistake. Then I went to the Recycle Bin thinking to restore it back there. But to my disappointment, the deleted file didn't show up. I want to know how to recover deleted files not in recycle bin?"

Why Deleted Files Not in Recycle Bin

When you deleted files in the following situations, the deleted files won't end up in recycle bin. 

No matter which of the causes result in deleted files not in recycle bin, you can try to troubleshoot with the methods below. 

Recover Deleted Files Not in Recycle Bin with EaseUS Data Recovery Software (Most Effective)

Whenever you delete files, your operating system doesn't completely erase data right after they were deleted. In reality, the space freed is marked as available and is ready to be used to store information. As long as the space is not overwritten, there is a good probability that you can recover your deleted files even not in recycle bin by using EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

This sophisticated data recovery tool enables you to recover lost data from external hard drives, emptied recycle bin, HDD, SSD, USB flash drive, Pen drive, CF/SD card, and so on. 

Although you may find several solutions altogether in this article are helpful, applying the EaseUS data recovery program is the safest and most effective one. Start the recovery now!

Your Second-to-None Choice EaseUS

  • Recover data from emptied recycle bin, memory card, flash drive, digital camera, and camcorders.
  • Support data recovery for sudden deletion, formatting, hard drive corruption, virus attack, system crash under different situations.
  • You can recover any data that has been showing up in the result during the process of the scan.
 Download for Win Recovery Rate 99.7%
 Download for Mac Trustpilot Rating 4.6

Step 1. Choose the exact file location and then click the "Scan" button to continue.

select the location to scan for deleted files

Step 2. After the process, select the "Deleted Files" and "Other Lost Files" folders in the left panel. Then, you can apply the "Filter" feature or click the "Search files or folders" button to find the deleted files.

check the results

Step 3. Click the "Recover" button and save the restored files – ideally, it should be different from the original one.

recover deleted files

How to Recover Deleted Files Not in Recycle Bin Without Software

If you don't want to use third-party software to retrieve deleted files, there are still another two ways to do it by using the previous versions or file backup.

Restore Deleted Files from the Previous Version

The Previous Version feature is a part of the Volume shadow service. With this service, Windows creates a restore point that helps you effectively to roll back the changes. In this case, when you mistakenly deleted one or more critical files or folders, you can try to retrieve them back from the Previous Version without downloading or installing any third-party data recovery software. It works even you emptied the recycle bin or shift deleted your files or folders. 

1. Right-click the folder that used to contain the deleted file and click "Restore previous versions". Now, you will see an option to recover the folder.

Recover permanently recover deleted files from previous version.

2. Select the deleted one from the list of the available previous versions. And click "Restore".

If you don't see "Restore previous Versions" by right-click, then follow the steps below to continue.

  • Go to Control Panel to turn on the "System Protection".
  • Click on "System & Security" > "System" > "System Protection" (on the left sidebar).
  • Available drives with corresponding protection will be shown.
  • Select a particular drive and click on configure.
  • Click on "restore system settings and previous versions of files" and click on "OK". That's all; now you will see an option to recover the particular file.

Retrieve Files from Windows Backup

If you have created backups with Windows Backup feature, then you can probably recover deleted files not in recycle bin in Windows 10 by from the backup. 

1. Connect your backup storage media with your Windows PC.
2. Press Windows + I key to go to "Settings". 
3. Choose "Update & Security" > "Backup".
4. Click "Go to Backup & Restore (Windows 7)".
5. Click "Restore My Files".

recover from backup

This method only works if you have a backup. If not, you're unable to restore the deleted files. But don't be discouraged, you can go through with the reliable EaseUS EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard software. Give it a try. It won't let you down.

 Download for Win Recovery Rate 99.7%
 Download for Mac Trustpilot Rating 4.6

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Updated by Cedric

Cedric Grantham is one of the senior editors of EaseUS who lives and works in Chengdu, China. He mainly writes articles about data recovery tutorials on PC and Mac and how-to tips for partition management. He always keeps an eye on new releases and loves various electronic products.

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Written by Tracy King

Tracy joined in EaseUS in 2013 and has been working with EaseUS content team for over 10 years. Being enthusiastic in computing and technology, she writes tech how-to articles and share technical solutions to resolve Windows & Mac data recovery, data backup, partition management, data transfer, Windows update issues, etc.

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