Accidentally deleted a file? Ways to get back

It only takes a moment of carelessness to permanently delete important data from your PC. But don't worry, you may still be able to recover most of it, if you stop using your-PC immediately and use data recovery software. When a file is deleted, even from inside the Recycle Bin, it doesn't actually vanish from the hard drive.

Instead, the computer merely changes the file's properties to make it invisible to the user. The file truly gets deleted only when the operating system overwrites fresh data to that space. You can try to recover the deleted files using free software.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery
This is a versatile software. It can not only recover the deleted files, but also help you save data from damaged partitions, pen drives, SD cards and CDs. MiniTool puts the retrieved files in folders, but you will have to go through several folders, Lost Files and Desktop, for example, before you find the actual files you were looking for. Once you have found the files, just click "save files" to get your data back. www.powerdatarecovery.com

Recuva
This lacks the advanced features of Mini-Tool , but one advantage of using Recuva is that you can see a preview before saving the retrieved files. This is handy because the computer often changes the names of deleted files to something like $ABC.MP3. www.piriform.com/recuva

Glary Undelete
In our tests, this was the slowest of the three. But one good feature is its ability to home in on the full name of the deleted files. This makes finding the right files a lot easier.