“I erased my entire movie collection without realizing it, and now my deleted files are not in Recycle Bin. Can I get them back?” —A Question from Reddit
Usually, if you delete files on your computer they go to Recycle Bin. But what if you’ve emptied Recycle Bin or its settings are configured to bypass deleted files? Can you recover files then or are they permanently gone?
Using your computer continuously can overwrite deleted files, making them impossible to recover.
However, keep your fear aside as it’s plausible to recover deleted files not in the Recycle Bin. But on condition that you must act quickly because the longer you wait, the harder it is to get them back.
Moving on, this article presents you with four ways to restore deleted files not in the Recycle Bin on Windows 11/10.
We’ll also show how to configure your Recycle Bin to prevent deleted files from bypassing it. So, peruse further to know more details!
Part 1: Why Are Deleted Files Not Going to Recycle Bin in Windows 10?
When deleted files are not going to Recycle Bin in Windows 10/11 it could be due to reasons such as:
- Your deleted file might have exceeded the size allowed to be sent to the Recycle bin. It will be permanently deleted instead of being sent to the Recycle Bin.
- You used Command Prompt to wipe files.
- You might have used “Shift + Delete,” also known as the permanent deletion shortcut to quickly delete files and folders without sending them to the Recycle Bin.
- The Recycle Bin is full or corrupted.
- You may have disabled Recycle Bin from its settings to save storage space.
- You’ve emptied the Recycle Bin.
Part 2: 4 Top Ways to Recover Deleted Files Not in Recycle Bin
Look below for four methods to recover deleted files not in Recycle Bin. Try them out step by step depending on various situations:
Fix 1: Recover Deleted Files Not in Recycle Bin With Tenorshare 4DDiG
The most successful way to get back deleted files not in Recycle Bin is to use a professional recovery tool like 4DDiG Data Recovery.
It can restore deleted files not in Recycle Bin on Windows 11/10 with a greater possibility of success compared to other ways we’ll confer about later.
Other than that, 4DDiG can retrieve 2000+ file types from various data loss situations like permanent deletion, corruption, formatting, etc. The tool offers key features like:
- Supports deleted file recovery from internal/external Windows storage devices including hard disks, USBs, drones, digital cameras, NAS storage, SD cards, etc.
- Retrieves data from system crashes, lost partitions, virus attacks, etc.
- Restores it all be it documents, videos, images, audio, archives, etc.
- Impressive success rate and fast scanning speed.
- Offers a free trial.
Check out the solution below to recover permanently deleted files in Recycle Bin with the help of this tool:
Step 1: Download, install, and launch tool on a computer. Next, choose a disk where the deleted files were originally located. Press “Scan.”
Step 2: The scanning and recovery process for deleted files will take some time so wait for it to finish. You can pause or stop the scan once your target files/folders are recovered.
Once the recovery process is completed, preview recovered files/folders in categories like “Photo,” and “Documents” under “File View.” Or check them out in “Deleted Files” in “Tree View.”
Step 3: Choose target files/folders to save. Next, press “Recover” to save them in a safe location. However, don’t retrieve them to the same location where they were deleted.
Fix 2: Recover Deleted Files Not in Recycle Bin by Previous Versions
Windows comes with a Previous Version feature that keeps a history of files and folders. You can restore deleted files not in Recycle Bin Windows 11/10 using this feature.
It works even if you’ve deleted files using the “Shift+Delete” command or emptied the Recycle Bin. However, you must’ve enabled the “File History” feature beforehand. Here’s how to recover deleted items not in the Recycle Bin using this feature:”
Step 1: Right-click the folder where the deleted file resided previously, and pick “Restore previous versions.”
Step 2: Choose the right version of deleted file from the list, and click “Restore.”
Fix 3: Recover Deleted Files Not in the Recycle Bin via Backup and Restore
Windows has a Backup function to make copies of your files regularly. So you can restore deleted files not in Recycle Bin on Windows 10/11 whenever needed.
Here’s how to recover deleted folders not in the Recycle Bin with the help of “Backup and Restore:”
Step 1: Open “Settings,” and following that choose “Update & Security.” Click “Files backup.”
Step 2: Move down to select “Go to Backup & Restore (Windows 7).” Next, press “Restore my files.”
Fix 4: Use a Cloud Drive to Restore Deleted Files Not in Recycle Bin
You can also use a cloud service like OneDrive to restore deleted files not in Recycle Bin Windows 11/10. But only on one condition.
You must have synced your files/folders with OneDrive beforehand. This means you can access them from anywhere anytime as they’ll be stored on Microsoft servers.
Here’s how to get back deleted files that are not going to Recycle Bin on Windows 10/11 from OneDrive:
Step 1: Visit OneDrive on your PC’s browser. Following that, log in with your Microsoft account and passcode.
Step 2: To restore deleted items not in the Recycle Bin, search for them and select the ones you want back. Press “Restore” to retrieve them to your computer.
Part 3: How to Prevent Deleted Files From Bypassing the Recycle Bin?
In “Part 2,” we taught you how to restore deleted files not in the Recycle Bin on Windows 10/11 in four ways. But, if you want to stop files from skipping Recycle Bin altogether, you must ensure it’s configured correctly. Here’s how you check it:
Step 1: On “Desktop,” then, right-click “Recycle Bin.” Following that choose “Properties.”
Step 2: Uncheck the box next to the option that says “Don’t move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately when deleted.”
Step 3: Press “Apply” then, click “OK.”
On the other hand, Recycle Bin can become corrupted for some reason. If so, follow these steps to fix it:
Step 1: Right-click on the Start button and open Command Prompt as administrator.
Step 2: Type the rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.bin command and press Enter to execute it.
Deleted Files Not in Recycle Bin FAQs
Q1: How to retrieve deleted Excel file not in Recycle Bin?
You can retrieve deleted Excel files not in Recycle Bin by using any of the mentioned ways above.
However, the best solution is to use an automatic recovery tool like 4DDiG Data Recovery. It can get back deleted files not going to Recycle Bin on Windows 10/11 with higher success than other manual ways.
Q2: Are permanently deleted files really gone?
No, permanently deleted files are not completely gone. They stay on your hard drive even after you empty the Recycle Bin.
The operating system just removes link to files and labels space as usable. But until new data overwrites it, you can retrieve deleted files.
That’s where a recovery tool like 4DDiG Data Recovery can scan your hard drive for permanently erased files and bring them back successfully.
Conclusion
If suddenly you open up your computer only to find deleted files are not in Recycle Bin, don’t feel distressed.
We’ve shared four grand ways to get back permanently erased files even if they are gone from Recycle Bin or never arrived in it.
However, each method comes with certain limitations, like needing a backup except the 4DDiG Data Recovery tool.
It can revert permanently deleted files, even those deemed irrecoverable with a high success rate.
Moreover, it offers an all-in-one solution for retrieving files from different internal/external storage devices and complex data loss scenarios.
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