I deleted a folder in error

[Roxanne]

Hi,

I guess this will teach me to be more careful about
emptying the recycle bin! Yesterday I was cleaning up my
computer and evidently deleted a folder full of files
that I need. Then I emptied the recycle bin. Is there
any way to restore those files? They were fairly new and
weren't backed up. I use Windows XP Pro.

Thanks, she says sheepishly...

 

[Redmond]

Hello,
You'll need 3rd party software to recover these files. I use FileSaver,
from http://www.file-saver.com

Of course, the less work you do with your computer, in the meantime, the
better your chances of recovering your deleted files/folders intact.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

I guess this will teach me to be more careful about
emptying the recycle bin! Yesterday I was cleaning up my
computer and evidently deleted a folder full of files
that I need. Then I emptied the recycle bin. Is there
any way to restore those files? They were fairly new and
weren't backed up. I use Windows XP Pro.

"Deleting" a file doesn't actually delete it; it just marks the
space as available to be used. There are third-party programs
that can sometimes recover deleted files. The problem is that the
space used by the file is likely to become overwritten very
quickly, and this makes the file unrecoverable.

So your chances of successfully recovering this file is decent if
you try recovering it immediately after deleting it, and rapidly
go downhill from there. If you've been using the computer since
then (for example to write this question and read this answer),
your chances are probably very poor by now.

But if the file is important enough, it's worth a try anyway.
Stop using the computer in question immediately, if you haven't
done so already. Download an undelete program (there are several
to choose from; do a Google search) on a friend's computer and
bring it yours on a floppy to try.

If this fails, your only other recourse is to take the drive to a
professional file recovery company. This kind of service is very
expensive and may or may not work in your case.