Recover accidentally deleted files
Try the trash, then backups, then recovery tools — and remember that stopping disk activity dramatically improves your chances.
Step 0: Stop writing to the disk
- New writes overwrite the blocks that still held the deleted file.
- If possible, power off and recover from another machine.
Step 1: Trash / Recycle Bin
- macOS: Finder > Trash > Put Back.
- Windows: Recycle Bin > right-click > Restore.
Step 2: Backups
- Mac: restore a prior snapshot via Time Machine.
- Windows: Previous Versions or File History.
Step 3: Recovery tools
- PhotoRec (free, open source) — excellent for photos and videos.
- Recuva (Windows) — friendly GUI.
- Disk Drill (Mac / Windows, paid) — professional-grade.
When recovery isn't possible
- SSDs with TRIM zero the blocks as soon as the file is deleted — unrecoverable.
- The real defence is layered backups (cloud + external drive).