Restoring Lost Data: Methods for Data Recovery on Windows OS

Why need to restore lost data?

In today's digital world, data loss can be a distressing and frustrating experience. Whether it's important documents, cherished memories, or critical business information, losing data can have serious consequences. However, all hope is not lost when data disappears unexpectedly.

Is there any good method for restoring lost data? Yes. In the next parts, we will discuss some useful methods to retrieve the lost data.

What need to pay attention before the data recovering task？

Before recovering lost data on Windows PC, there are some points you need to be careful about.

★ Stop using the device

The moment you realize that you've lost data, the most crucial step is to stop using the affected device immediately. Whether it's a hard drive, SSD, USB flash drive, or memory card, continued use can potentially overwrite the lost data, making it unrecoverable. By halting all activities on the device, you increase the chances of successful data recovery.

★ Check backups

Before diving into more advanced data recovery methods, check if you have any backups available. Regularly backing up your data is one of the best preventive measures against data loss. If you have a recent backup of the lost files, you can easily restore them without resorting to complex recovery techniques.

★ Check Recycle Bin or trash

If the data loss occurred on a computer, check the Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (macOS). Deleted files are often moved to these folders and can be easily restored from there. However, keep in mind that files might not be recoverable if they have been permanently deleted or if the Recycle Bin/Trash has been emptied.

★ Remain calm and patient

Data recovery can be a time-consuming process, especially if the data loss is significant or complex. It's essential to remain calm and patient throughout the recovery process. Avoid making rash decisions that might further compromise the data. Sometimes, data recovery might not be possible, but with the right approach and tools, there's a good chance of successfully restoring lost data.

Two methods to recover lost data from your PC

If you cannot find out the lost data in the Recycle Bin, you can try the following two methods to recover the target data and files.

▶ Method 1. Retrieve the lost data via the File History Backup

Windows offers File History Backup as a means to retrieve lost files. This feature allows recovery of deleted Documents, Videos, Music, Pictures, Desktop folders, and more. How to restore data? Here is the answer.

Tip: This way is only effective if you have previously backed up the files.

Step 1. Open the "Control Panel" and select the "System and Security" option.

Step 2. Under the "File History" tab, click on "Restore your files with File History".

Step 3. Choose the "Restore personal files" option in the left panel.

Step 4. To restore deleted files to their original location, simply click "Restore". Right-click "Restore", then you can choose your desired destination.

 ▶ Method 2. Perform restoring lost data task with third-party software

How do I recover lost data? If you have backup the file history, you can effectively reset the data on your PC. If not, this method is useless for you. When facing such a situation, turning to a professional data recovery tool becomes a wise choice.

AOMEI FastRecovery offers you the “Recover Data” function to retrieve lost data from various storage devices. Files, documents, photos, videos, or other files, no matter what file it is, whether the data is accidentally deleted or lost due to formatting, partition deletion, or virus attacks, this feature has you covered.

With an intuitive graphical user interface, data recovery becomes effortless with just three simple steps. It excels in high-speed and reliable data recovery from various Windows storage media, including HDDs, SSDs, USB drives, and SD cards.

Users can use it without any malware, and it maintains a secure environment by refraining from displaying any malicious ads during running this tool. It can be compatible with Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, and Windows Server editions.

Functions of AOMEI FastRecovery:
✔ Recover deleted or lost files from HDD, USB, SD card and various storage devices.
✔ Retrieve Word, Excel, PPT, photos, videos, audio, emails, zipped files, and over 200 other file types.
✔ Keep the original format of recovered files.
✔ Search for target Word files by typing the file name during the scan, or wait for automatic discovery with Quick Scan and Deep Scan.
✔ Supports NTFS, exFAT, FAT32 and ReFS file systems.
✔ Compatible with Windows Server and Windows 7, 8, 10, 11 64-bit and 32-bit.

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 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 recovering ends.

Verdict

Do you know about restoring lost data? Whether it's due to accidental deletion, hardware failure, or other unforeseen circumstances, losing valuable data can be devastating. However, by following the tips mentioned in this article, you can increase the chances of restoring lost data successfully.