How to Recover Unsaved, Deleted, or Corrupted PDF Files

Can I recover PDF files?  

PDF files, or Portable Document Format files, were developed by Adobe in the 1990s and are widely used for work and academic purposes due to their ease of sharing, viewing, and collaboration.

However, losing or accidentally deleting important PDF documents can be quite distressing. Fortunately, this article will introduce effective methods to recover lost PDF files.

You can restore unsaved and deleted PDF as well as recover corrupted PDF files, but there are some important prerequisites:

◆ Ensure that the AutoSave feature in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader is enabled. This feature automatically saves a copy of edited PDF files.
◆ Avoid saving new files in the same location as the lost PDF files.
◆ Do not use a TRIM-enabled SSD for storing PDF files, as the TRIM command will erase deleted data immediately.
◆ Ensure that the disk where your PDF files are stored is not physically damaged.
◆ Deleted files typically move to the Recycle Bin before being permanently removed. Even then, they logically remain on the disk until overwritten.
◆ Additionally, if you have working System Restore Points or File Backups, you can recover deleted PDF files from those backups.

What causes PDF files to be lost?

You can easily find solutions to recover PDF files if you understand the reasons behind the loss. Here are some common causes:

✍ Accidental deletion or misuse: Users may unintentionally delete PDF files or make mistakes while managing files, such as dragging files into the Recycle Bin or mistakenly deleting them.

✍ Formatting storage devices: If you format a USB flash drive, hard disk, or any storage device containing PDF files, the files will be erased.

✍ Hardware failure: Issues like storage device failure or corruption—whether it's a hard disk, USB flash drive, or SSD—can lead to file loss. This includes physical damage, bad sectors, and problems with the logical board.

✍ Virus infection: Viruses or malware can delete or hide PDF files, making them appear lost.

✍ File transfer issues: During the transfer of PDF files over networks (such as via email or cloud storage), problems like incomplete uploads, interrupted downloads, or corrupted files may occur, resulting in lost or unopenable files.

5 ways to recover deleted PDF files step by step

In addition to unsaved PDF files, accidental deletions and file corruption can lead to significant data loss. Attempting to repair a corrupted PDF improperly may result in permanent loss. To prevent this, it's essential to recover corrupted PDF files first. For detailed instructions on repairing these files, please proceed to the next section.

Way 1. Check the Recycle Bin

If you've deleted your PDF files by moving them to the Recycle Bin or using the "DEL" key, you can quickly restore them from there.

Step 1. Open the Recycle Bin and locate your deleted PDF files.

Step 2. Right-click on the PDF files and select "Restore" to recover them.

Way 2. Recover deleted PDF using File History

If you can't find your PDF files in the Recycle Bin, they may be permanently deleted or the Recycle Bin may have been emptied. In such cases, restoring PDF files from backup images using File History can be an effective solution. Ensure that File History was enabled prior to the deletion.

Step 1. Navigate to Control Panel > System and Security, then select File History.

Step 2. Click on "Restore personal files".

Step 3. Use the left or right arrows to locate the deleted files, then click the green "Restore" button to recover the PDF files that are not in the Recycle Bin.

Way 3. Recover deleted PDF files with AOMEI FastRecovery (Recommended)

AOMEI FastRecovery is an intuitive data recovery software compatible with Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11, featuring a user-friendly interface and a variety of powerful tools. It boasts a high success rate and quick recovery speeds, allowing you to restore deleted or corrupted files, including PDFs, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, images, videos, and over 1000 other file types.

Advanced scanning techniques help you locate all your PDF files while preserving their original names, formats, quality, and paths. The filtering feature enables you to find lost PDF files quickly. You can recover deleted PDFs from the Recycle Bin or restore files lost due to formatting, virus attacks, system crashes, and more.

Take advantage of this free and effective file recovery tool, which offers 100MB of free data recovery. Download AOMEI FastRecovery now to easily recover your deleted or corrupted PDF files.

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

Step 2. Then, the recovery tool starts to scan and search. lt will execute the “Quickly Scan" first to find 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 bins 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 recovery to end.

Way 4. Recover PDF files using Windows File Recovery

Windows File Recovery is a specialized tool for data recovery, operating through the command prompt rather than a graphical user interface. This option is best suited for professionals seeking greater flexibility in their recovery processes.

Before diving in, it's essential to familiarize yourself with the command syntax, recovery modes, and available switches. For detailed guidance, refer to "How to Use Windows File Recovery."

Step 1. Download and install Windows File Recovery from the Microsoft Store.

Step 2. Open File Explorer by pressing Win + E. Right-click the drive from which you deleted your PDF files, then select Properties.

Step 3. Input the winfr command using the appropriate syntax and confirm your intention to recover the deleted PDF files by pressing 'y.'

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

✍ Important Notes:
▲ If your files were deleted recently from an NTFS drive, utilize Regular mode; otherwise, opt for Extensive mode.
▲ To refine your search, use the /n switch to specify the full name or path of the files. Wildcards (*) can help define the file type or a specific string in the file name.
▲ Ensure the destination drive is different from the source drive.

For instance, to recover PDF files deleted over several days from the C: drive to the D: drive, use the following command:

winfr C: D: /extensive /n *.pdf

Once the recovery process is complete, a folder labeled "Recovery_date and time" will be automatically created on the D: drive, containing all the retrieved files. You can easily access and review your deleted documents within this folder.

Way 5. Recover PDF Files to Previous Version

If your goal is to revert your PDF files to an earlier version, the Previous Versions feature is a convenient option, provided that System Restore or File History was enabled beforehand.

Step 1. Launch Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder that contains the deleted files.

Step 2. Right-click on the folder and choose Properties. Then, go to the Previous Versions tab.

Step 3. Select the version of the folder from just before the deletion occurred, and click Restore to recover your deleted PDF files to that previous state.

How to recover unsaved PDF files

PDF readers like Adobe Acrobat feature an AutoSave function that automatically stores a copy of edited PDF files in a temporary location, typically every five minutes.

Step 1. To ensure AutoSave is enabled, navigate to Edit > Preferences > Documents. In the Save settings, you can adjust the interval for automatic saving by modifying the option labeled “Automatically save document changes to temporary file every X minutes”.

Step 2. If your computer crashes, experiences a power outage or forgets to save your work in a hurry, the next time you launch Adobe Acrobat, it should prompt you to open the auto-saved PDF file. Click "Yes" to access it.

Step 3. If the prompt doesn’t appear, you can still find your auto-saved PDF files in one of the following directories:

C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Acrobat\1X.0\AutoSave\

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Acrobat\DC

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp\Adobe\Reader\11.0

Notes:
☛ Replace "username" in the path with your actual device username.
☛ The temporary files will be deleted once you close the PDF reader or the document you’re editing, so act quickly.
☛ If you encounter files with different extensions, simply rename them to .pdf and attempt to open them in Adobe Reader.
☛ You can also check the AutoSave locations for other applications, such as PowerPoint, to recover unsaved files.

Conclusion

Recovering unsaved, deleted, or corrupted PDF files in Windows is straightforward, provided that you haven’t overwritten the lost files. If you’ve simply forgotten to save your PDF, begin by checking the temporary file location for any auto-saved versions.

For deleted files, the most reliable approach is to use data recovery software, especially if you lack a backup. I recommend AOMEI FastRecovery, as it’s user-friendly and allows free recovery of up to 100MB of data. Give it a try!