How Can I Recover Deleted Files from Recycle Bin without Software?

In essence, the Recycle Bin serves as a repository for files that have been deleted. Deleted files are initially relocated to the Recycle Bin, where they await automatic or manual deletion, rather than immediate deletion from your computer. The files are permanently deleted from your computer if you empty the Recycle Bin or select the Shift + Delete keys to delete them.

Numerous methods exist for recovering irreversibly deleted files from the Recycle Bin on Windows. Continue reading to recover files that have been deleted from the recycle bin without using software.

3 ways to recover deleted files from Recycle Bin without software

Some people want to try file recovery without using software, to assist you in this, we have included the three methods below, along with their usage suggestions.

Way 1: Recover deleted files from Recycle Bin using File History.

File History is a Windows built-in application that creates incremental backups of files that can be recovered if they are unintentionally deleted or destroyed. You can recover deleted files from backups in Windows. When File History is enabled, it performs frequent backups of files in the Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop folders. If you have set up a File History backup drive, follow the steps below.

Step 1. Navigate to the Control Panel first, and click the File History.

Step 2. Find and click the Restore personal files on the left list.

Step 3. Restore target files. The deleted file will appear on your interface and then click the Restore.

Way 2: Recover deleted files with the Previous Versions

Before choosing this procedure, be sure to enable system restore points or File History. Otherwise, you will discover that the restored earlier version does not display the problem. Consider restoring the earlier version of a Word document as an example.

Step 1. Go to the folder containing modified or overwritten files. Right-click the folder and click Properties. Then, select Previous Versions.

Step 2. Go to Control Panel to turn on "System Protection".

Step 3. Click on "System & Security" > "System" > "System Protection" (on the left sidebar).

Step 4. Available drives with corresponding protection will be shown.

Step 5. Select a particular drive and click on "Configure".

Step 6. Click "restore system settings and previous files versions" and click "OK". That's all. You will now see an option to recover the particular file.

Way 3: CMD recovers shift deleted files without software

If you wish to recover deleted files from Recycle Bin without using software, you can use Microsoft's official command-line utility to restore data that has been completely emptied from Recycle Bin via command prompts.

In 2020, Microsoft introduced Windows File Recovery, a command-line application that allows users to recover deleted or lost files even after they have been emptied from the Recycle Bin. It only works with Windows 10 2004 and later. However, it lacks a user-friendly graphic interface, requiring you to enter certain CMD commands to recover deleted files.

There are four options for using Windows File Recovery correctly: Regular, Extensive, Segment, and Signature. To restore deleted files from the Recycle Bin, first recall the previously saved location and then run the command. The following is the fundamental command format for Windows File Recovery.

winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]

Step 1. Type “Microsoft Store” in the search box and open it. And then find “Windows File Recovery” and click “Get”.

Step 2. After installing Windows File Recovery on your computer, type Windows File Recovery in the search box and select “Run as administrator”.

Step 3. Right-click the drive which saved the deleted files and select “Properties” to check the file system.

Step 4. There are some common switches to use. You could check them and their description in the following chart. To find more switches in the Windows File Recovery tutorial.

Step 5. For example, if you want to recover a zip file but you don’t know the detailed name from C: drive to E: drive, you could input the following command:

winfr C: E: /regular /n \C:\Recycler\*.zip

How to restore permanently deleted files not in Recycle Bin

If you are unfamiliar with computers or if some data have been permanently removed from your PC, it may be tough to restore deleted files from the Recycle Bin using Windows File Recovery. As a result, you could try using AOMEI FastRecovery, a useful Windows data recovery tool.

AOMEI FastRecovery allows users to recover deleted files from the Recycle Bin without having to utilize complex command lines. It has a pleasant user interface. Users may effortlessly recover lost or deleted data from HDDs, SSDs, external hard drives, USB drives, SD cards, and other devices in Windows 7/8/8.1/10/11 and Windows Server.

Step 1: Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery on your computer.

Step 2: Select a location to scan first to find the lost data on your Windows.

Step 3: It Will take some time to scan and find the lost data. Wait patiently.

Note: AOMEI FastRecovery provides two scan modes, Quickly Scan and Deep Scan. The Quickly Scan will search for your deleted data in the fastest way. The Deep Scan will make further search for other missing data.

Step 4: After the scan is complete,  here you can preview the recovered files, and select the ones you want to restore. Click "Recover".

Step 5. Select a folder path to store the recovered items and click "Select Folder".

Then the recovered files will be saved in the specified location.

Final words

File History and Previous Versions will help you restore your files and folders if you wish to recover deleted files from Recycle Bin without software; alternatively, Windows File Recovery will enable you to restore permanently lost files from Recycle Bin. Moreover, if you find it difficult to do file recovery using cmd, AOMEI FastRecovery is a great substitute for Windows File Recovery.