Deleting a file rarely erases it straight away — it usually just marks the space as free. That's why quick action often gets it back, and why the worst thing you can do is keep using the drive. Here's how to do it right.
A deleted file survives until something overwrites it. The instant you realise, stop saving, installing or downloading to that drive — that's what gives you the best chance.
When you delete a file and empty the Recycle Bin, the file isn't scrubbed off the drive. The operating system simply removes the pointer — the entry in the file system that says “a file lives here” — and marks that space as free. The actual data stays exactly where it was until something else happens to be written over it. That's the whole reason deleted files can be recovered: for a while, they aren't gone, just unlabelled. It's also why the clock is ticking. The moment new data lands on that space, the file really is gone — so the single best thing you can do after deleting something important is to stop using the drive.
For a straightforward deletion on a healthy drive, there's a good chance you can recover the files without paying anyone — and we'd rather you saved your money. It's a sensible DIY job when a few things are true.
It's detected normally, it's quiet, and there's no clicking, grinding or SMART warning. Software only works on healthy hardware.
The less time and use since the files went, the more of them will still be sitting there intact, waiting to be found.
Nothing much has been written to it, so the free space where your files live hasn't been overwritten yet.
Free, well-regarded options like Recuva, or PhotoRec and TestDisk, recover deleted files well. Disk Drill is a friendly paid option with a preview.
One rule matters more than which tool you pick: stop writing to the drive, and never recover onto the same drive you're recovering from. Every byte written to that drive is a chance to overwrite the very files you're trying to save — and the recovery software itself, if you install it in the wrong place, is one of the things doing the writing.
Software recovers files from a healthy drive. In these situations it either can't help or actively makes things worse — and it's worth knowing which is which.
Clicking, grinding, not detected, or SMART shows reallocated sectors. Software forces a sick drive to read every sector, which can push it over the edge. Stop and get it assessed.
Most SSDs run TRIM, which wipes deleted data within seconds, so there's usually nothing left to find. USB sticks and memory cards don't do this, so they behave like hard drives.
If new files have landed on top of the old ones, that data is genuinely gone. No tool and no specialist recovers truly overwritten sectors.
Sometimes recoverable, but riskier. When the data matters, a professional imaging the drive first is the safer route than a live scan.
When it's beyond a safe DIY job — the drive's failing, it's critical, or software has already been tried — here's how we approach it, in-house.
We check whether the drive is healthy or failing, and how much of the deleted data is still intact. You get a clear answer and a fixed, written quote first.
We clone the drive read-only and work from the copy, so nothing we do — and nothing that's already been done — puts the original at further risk.
We rebuild the file-system records to bring files back with their names and folders where possible, and carve files by their content where the records are gone.
You get a full list of what came back before you commit to anything. If the drive was physically failing, we repair or bypass that first.
The questions we're asked most about deleted files.
On a healthy hard drive, often yes — provided you act before the space is overwritten. Stop using the drive straight away and try a reputable recovery tool, or send it to us. On an SSD it's usually not possible, because TRIM will have erased the deleted data within seconds.
If the drive is healthy and quiet and the data isn't critical, yes — we'd honestly rather you saved the money. Just don't install the software on, or recover files to, the same drive. If the drive is noisy or not detected, don't run anything — that's a case for professional recovery.
Maybe not entirely. It depends on whether your deleted files' space was overwritten by the new ones. Some may survive and some may not — the key is to stop writing to the drive now, to save whatever is left.
Usually not, once TRIM has run — which on a modern SSD is almost immediate. The exception is flash without TRIM, such as some USB sticks and memory cards, where deleted data can survive. We'll tell you honestly at the diagnostic which case you're in.
Recovery from a single drive starts at £300 + VAT, with a free diagnostic and no fix, no fee on most jobs. Memory cards and USB sticks start at £250 + VAT. You only pay if we get your files back.
Whether you try software yourself or send it to us, the first move is the same — stop writing to the drive. If you'd like us to handle it, we'll diagnose it free and tell you exactly what's recoverable.