How to Recover Deleted Files From C drive After Formatting and Permanent Deletion?

Can you recover deleted files from C drive?

Many Windows users face the issue of the C drive running out of space, often indicated by a red bar under "Devices and Drives." The most obvious solution is to delete unwanted files to free up space. Some might even go further by formatting the drive or emptying the Recycle Bin to ensure no unnecessary files remain for taking up space.

However, these actions can cause serious problems. The C drive also called the system drive, holds your operating system, applications, and downloaded files. While some files might seem unimportant, deleting the wrong ones can disrupt your computer’s functionality.

What hppens if you delete C drive data? The results depends on the type of files you delete. If you remove cache files, your system won’t be affected. But deleting system or software-related files can cause errors, prevent programs from opening, or even stop your computer from booting altogether.

Improper recovery attempts gone wrong can make things worse, which may potentially corrupting the system. To safely recover data from the C drive, it is suggested to use a professional data recovery tool. These tools are specifically designed to handle such situations effectively and securely.

How to recover deleted files from C drive?

If you’ve been searching for solutions online, you might have already tried basic troubleshooting but didn’t succeed. A data recovery tool like AOMEI FastRecovery offers the simplest way to recover files from your C drive. Whether the data loss is due to formatting, emptying the Recycle Bin, or a virus attack, you can recover your files easily and safely.

 Why do we recommend you choose AOMEI FastRecovery to perform C drive data recovery:

• User-friendly interface: The software features a user-friendly interface, making it easy to use for people of all skill levels. Besides, it provides 24/7 technical support for your convenience.

• Versatile functionality: The tool boasts high-speed and reliable data recovery from external hard drives and various storage media, including HDD, SSD, USB drives, and SD cards. It supports over 1000 types of data with recovering unlimited data, covering texts, deleted photos, videos, audio, emails, and compressed files, or a Word doc that was not saved, among others.

• Wide compatibility: The software is compatible with nearly all Windows versions, including Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Windows Server. It also supports various file systems such as NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS, ensuring wide compatibility across different devices.

• Performs well in complex cases: Recover data from formatted disks, encrypted hard drives, system crash, corrupted USB drives.

• Security assurance: Users can download the software without worrying about bundled software, and it guarantees a secure environment by refraining from displaying any malicious ads during usage.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery. Choose the exact partition or disk where your data lost and click Scan.

Step 2. Then, the recovery tool start to scan and search. lt will execute the “Quickly Scan" first for finding your deleted data fast, and then execute the “Deep Scan" for searching other lost data.

Step 3. Once the scan is completed, all deleted files, Recycle Bin and other missing files will be displayed. Please select the file you would like to recover and then click "Recover".

Step 4. Then, select a folder path to save your recovered files.

Step 5. Wait patiently for this process of recovering to end.

Tips: How to safely free up C drive space?

The C drive tends to fill up fast, especially if your disk is small, and you might start seeing that annoying red bar. To avoid issues like system boot failures or losing important files again, here are a few easy tips to free up C drive space and keep things running smoothly.

Tip 1. Run C drive cleanup

Disk Cleanup is a useful Windows built-in program that helps clean junk files including cache and cookies from drives on your PC.

Step 1. Click Start, type “disk” in the search box, and select Disk Cleanup.

Step 2. In the Disk Cleanup, select the drive you want to clean up. Here is the C: drive. Click OK.

Step 3. After that, it will calculate how much space you will be able to free on the C: drive. Then, choose to delete files you do not need.

After cleaning up C: drive, you can create a system restore point. Once you need it, you can use it to restore the system. If the System Restore greyed out, you can click here to read the solutions. 

Tip 2. Show hidden files or folder

If your C drive is full without any reason, and you find no files, that may indicate there are hidden files. You can unhide files and folders to check whether the hidden terms have taken up the C drive space.

Step 1. Open "Control Panel" > "File Explorer Options" > Click "View" tab > Check the box in front of "Show hidden files, folders and drives".

Step 2. Return to the problematic drive and check how much the hidden items eat up disk space. If it's necessary, delete the ones you don't need any longer.

Tip 3. Uninstall some programs

Windows comes with a lot of built-in programs, especially in Windows 10 and 11, many of which you might not use. You can uninstall any programs you don't need to free up space. If you've installed programs that won't be needed in the future, it's a good idea to remove them as well.

To uninstall a program, right-click the Start button (in Windows 10 and 11), then go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features. In Windows 8/8.1, just search for "uninstall" and select Programs and Features from the results. Right-click on the program you want to remove and choose Uninstall.

To sum up

How to recover deleted files from C drive? AOMEI FastRecovery is the most ideal method for C drive data recovery. You can follow our guide to recover any lost data with ease. Besides, we also share 3 tips about how to safely free up C drive space. For data recovery in other drives, like D drive data recovery, AOMEI FastRecovery also offers solutions.