Can deleted files be recovered?

The answer to the above question is yes. It is a common misconception that once the file is deleted, it’s completely lost. However, things are not always the same as they seem to be. Infact one can still retrieve the data from a file that has already been deleted because the data is not actually gone from the hard drive. The only thing required is a suitable software to recover those deleted files.

So what actually happens when you hit that delete button on that file? Well, the file gets deleted but not erased. What is erased is a little bit of information (or technically, a pointer) that points to the location of the file on the hard drive. These pointers provide a way to the operating system and hence the users to connect with the files stored in a hard drive. Now when the pointer pointing to a file itself gets deleted then the file becomes invisible and unusable to the users. It just ‘seems’ to be deleted but it still exists. It is, however, easy to retrieve deleted files with suitable softwares. Some of the free file recovery softwares are:

PC Inspector File Recovery 4 (5.83 MB)
SoftPerfect File Recovery 1 (276.5 KB)
Smart FAT Recovery 3.3 (797.21 KB)
Smart Flash Recovery 3.4 (802.39 KB)
Pandora Recovery 1.1.20 (1.87 MB)

Then you might think how to delete a file securely that cannot be recovered? Well there is a solution to this also. The targetted file just needs to be overwritten. By default, the operating systems eventually overwrites the ‘orphaned’ files (files that have no pointers). This is where probability comes in. The older the unpointed file, the greater the chances of it to be overwritten. Many softwares are available that can securely and permanently erase a file by overwriting them. Some of the secure file deletion softwares are:

Disk Redactor 1 (362.44 KB)
AbsoluteShield File Shredder 1.41 (508.48 KB)
EZ Wipe 1.5 (523.84 KB)
FileDeleter LT 1 (194.95 KB)
JB File Shredder 1 (155.21 KB)